Spinning off from the Astronomy and Religion thread...
My nomination for best (most interesting) alien race goes to the Mitchegai in Kren of the Mitchegai. **Gross-out warning and spoiler warning** Three stages: egg, juvenile, adult. Juveniles are herbivorous and not sentient. Adults are carnivorous; there's no other animal life, so they eat juveniles, alive. Their neurons are such that neurons migrate from a special digestive sack to the brain of the eater: eating someone lets you incorporate that someone's learning and memories. **end warnings**
I'd also nominate the Oankali (Dawn, Imago, and Adulthood Rites). **Spoilers** Three sexes: male, female, ooloi. The ooloi manipulates genes from the zygote. They can even incorporate genes from outside their species. They find human genes both useful and, well, hot: they want to do whatever it is they do (I guess you'd call it mating) with us. **end spoilers**
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Grendals from Legacy of Heorot. I'm not giving any spoilers.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
The aliens down on the planet in Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Agreed on both the Oankali and grendels.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:eating someone lets you incorporate that someone's learning and memories.
There can be only one.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
A couple of years ago on the other side of HR, OSC gave the Oankali as an example of truely alien aliens.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote:eating someone lets you incorporate that someone's learning and memories.
There can be only one.
If only the highlander movie makers had really believed that statement.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Ya, I agree with Oankali too.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade:
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote:eating someone lets you incorporate that someone's learning and memories.
There can be only one.
If only the highlander movie makers had really believed that statement.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade:
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote:eating someone lets you incorporate that someone's learning and memories.
There can be only one.
If only the highlander movie makers had really believed that statement.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Thirding (Fourthing?) the Oankali.
Also, Kay Kenyon's Ahtra from her book Tropic of Creation are pretty awesome too.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
I'm rather fond of the aliens in C.J. Cherryh's Chanur series.
Posted by 0Megabyte (Member # 8624) on :
My first tendency is to say that humans are the most interesting alien species. Probably the best, by any catagory. (If we were considering ALL possibile species, that is.)
But, since that probably won't fly, I'll give something that's close to alien but isn't: The Cylons. They're not human, and though they are the creations of humanity and look very much human, they're different in significant ways. Like the whole "plugging a computer jack in your wrist" thing. Or the many spoiler-heavy parts of them.
Technically not "aliens", maybe, but they're not human, they're partly another species, and theough they've designed themselves (or some of them) to look and be able to breed with humans, they're still very different. And they CHOSE to be humanesque, they didnt' have to be.
So... I say the Cylons!
By Your Command.
Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
Hey, if you like an alien race, tell us why!
I'll answer regarding the grendels. No actual spoilers. The grendels are super-fast predators with no fear of mankind. As the blurb says, when the human colonists try to make themselves safe, it's out of the frying pan into the fire, because of what we don't know about them.
Posted by Ecthalion (Member # 8825) on :
Klingons always appealed to me
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
I vote for the Tiresians, also known as the Robotech Masters. Immortal, they ruled an empire spanning the Local Group of galaxies for tens of thousands of years. And hey, three in one society... think of the possibilities! Mmmmm... Protoculture...
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Others have talked about the Oankali, so I'll speak to the Ahtra.
They're fascinating because of how similar they are to humans...and yet so vastly different. The similarities lead each race to believe they can predict and understand the other, but they are both wrong and the results of being so wrong are disastrous for both species.
Also, I like that Kenyon doesn't have the Star Trek disease of assuming that every member of an alien race has to have only one personality and one set of characteristics (e.g., all Klingons are warlike) The ahtra have individuals just like humans do, and those individuals have individual failings just like us.
Plus, their method of reproduction is extremely alien and fascinating. I can't give details, though, because the working out of exactly how that reproduction takes place is integral to the plot.
Posted by Swampjedi (Member # 7374) on :
8472
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
It might be an unorthodox choice but I choose "The Protoss" from StarCraft.
Their lore is just awesome, and the way they are presented in the game is way cool. The Zerg are also really cool but too similar to The Borg for my tastes.
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: It might be an unorthodox choice but I choose "The Protoss" from StarCraft.
Their lore is just awesome, and the way they are presented in the game is way cool. The Zerg are also really cool but too similar to The Borg for my tastes.
The Narn, philosophers turned warrior race from the Centauri occupation, in under 200 years conquered an empire of their own and became one of the Big Five galactic superpowers.
And just look at their ships! Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
The dude in the overcoat in Fallout 2.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
Who wrote Legacy of Heorot?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Niven, Pournelle, and Barnes.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
Survivor.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
I don't know if I have a favorite alien species, but I know the creepiest to me: the Hippae from Sheri Tepper's Grass. The humans ride them as mounts for a brutal parody of fox-hunting, but it is not the mounts that are being ridden. Add a perversion of human sexuality the memory of which is twisted apart afterward, and *shudder.*
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
The aliens from Sparrow.
Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
What's that?
Posted by RunningBear (Member # 8477) on :
I second Lisa.
They were creepy awesome.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Ah, yes, the Gallifreyans. Of course, we don't know much about the race as a whole, though whether that matters much anymore is up for debate.
I also love the Tines race from Fire Upon the Deep. I liked figuring out what was going on early in the story, before it became apparent what the Tines were.
The Gethenian race from Left Hand of Darkness has a fascinating system of reproduction. The short story "Coming of Age in Karhide" explains this system from the point of view of a pubescent Gethenian.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
Long live the Time Lords!
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
The scramblers from Peter Watts' Blindsight. I like them for their incredible, terrifying efficiency, and for what they show us about humans.
Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
Summary (because I want to read some good books!):
Mitchegai, from Kren of the Mitchegai Oankali, from Dawn, Imago, and Adulthood Rites Grendels, from The Legacy of Heorot and Beowulf's Children Tines, from Fire Upon the Deep (why?) Ahta, from Tropic of Creation Aliens, from Chanur (why?) Scramblers, from Blindsight Dude in overcoat, from Fallout 2 (video?) Puppeteers, from Ringworld & sequels, and other Niven stories Hippae from Sheri Tepper's Grass Gethenians, from Left Hand of Darkness Aliens, from Sparrow (why? Who's the author?)
Video: Cylons, from Battlestar Galactica Klingons and Species 8472, from Star Trek Narn, from Babylon 5 Time Lords, from Doctor Who
Games: Protoss, from Starcraft
Other: Survivor. (I hate to play into that, but hey, he was listed)
I'll also add pequeninos from Speaker for the Dead, although surely everyone here's read that already.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
The Sparrow is by Mary Doria Russel.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Tines, from Fire Upon the Deep (why?)
I really don't want to say anything because the reveal is so wonderfully done that I don't want to spoil it at all for anybody.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Yep. That's why I was vague.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
quote:Originally posted by Swampjedi: 8472
Hell yeah!
-pH
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
The Leviathan's from "Farscape". Specifically Moya and Talyn, obviously. Living ships: frelling drad.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: The aliens from Sparrow.
Which race? Agreed though, they are cool/creepy/intriguing.
All time best alien species ever....
Zem the Mattresses of the planet Squornshellous.
That's not to be confused with Zim, of course, who is of the second best alien species ever, the Irkens.
Hmm, thats quite a coincidence. I shall name my child Zym, so that he/she may be of the third best alien species ever: Vonk.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
For those that haven't read the Sparrow or its sequel Chldren of God, there are two alien species on the planet Rakhat.
The Runa are a peaceful, low tech vegetarian people.
The Jana'ata are a carnivorous species and the rulers of the planet.
I don't want to say much more because I don't want to delve into spoilers. They're good books, I didn't like them as much as some, but the language stuff is interesting (the main character is a linguist who goes to the planet after first contact, which comes in the form of us picking up the sound of beautiful, alien music originating from the planet).
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