Structurals
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'"Thousands of cycles ago we were glorious.
We could build wonders, we could perform miracles.
Nobody could match us in Triangulum galaxy.
We could rival Malvans!
And now... Look at us now, look at what left of the Structure!
We are reduced to scavengers fighting over a carrion of a world...
And it's all because of greed and ambitions of a one man!
May Overlight preserve us all...
There is no end to this madness."'
Archon Lightbringer, Supreme Commander of the Protectors
Contents
THE STRUCTURALS:
An average Structural is between 7 and 10 feet tall. Majority of population is closer to 8 feet in height but few of them can reach even an extreme height of 11 feet. Typical form is a humanoid of male or female shapes and proportions. Head is usually quite humanlike with solid glowing eyes, but few of them can have much more outlandish look - majority of Structurals have statesque bodies of great beauty and ideal proportions, but some of them are quite monstrous, at least by human standards. Structurals do not have any hair and their body is always metallic.
Structurals are synthetic species, there are no organic parts in their bodies. Despite being created and unable to sexual reproduction, they aren't exactly robots - there is no programming inside their brains and their bodies are built from highly specialised cells made from non-organic elements.
Every Structural begins his or her life as a blob of so-called "core matter" and then is placed into reproduction chamber where this substance is coded with its syntetic replication sequence which works not unlike DNA of organic creatures. This SRS code causes core matter to divide into various organs like skeleton, brain, nerves, armored plating and other mechanisms. After this roughly twenty hours long period a new synthezoid is complete - there are no child Structurals, every of them begins life as a fully adult person, though lacking any specialised knowledge.
Structurals do regenerate their wounds, though despite being much stronger and durable than humans (or almost any other non-superpowered organic lifeform), their level of regeneration isn't much better. While they can heal internal mechanisms and things like lost eyes, they can't regenerate lost limbs - such damage must be fixed with replacement parts, and it's more complicated than simply attaching new arm. Any new body part must be customised to the user's SRS code, otherwise it will be rejected. They do not regenerate immediately. Healing any serious damage may take a few days, also they can't create new body parts out of thin air - to regenerate Structural must be provided with electricity and metallic materials.
Some Structurals do have very efficient healing systems granting them with complete and almost immediate regeneration, but those are very rare and such ability is considered an unique superpower. At any rate it isn't anything common amongst Structurals.
In normal circumstances Structurals have no need for any sustenance except energy, which is usually obtained by consuming raw electricity. Few of them also have upgraded energy systems and are able to feed on power sources like radiation or chemical fuel.
A very specific trait of Structurals as a civilisation is their approach to including technology into their bodies. While they are unable to change their base configuration and are always humanoid in form, this species do not bother with using hand-held devices or small vehicles. Things like weaponry, flight or communication devices are simply built into their bodies or straight written into their SRS code.
A typical Structural warrior doesn't wear additional armor, hand-held rifle or jet pack. Instead, for example, he or she can change arms into weaponry, reconfigure skin into harder armored form and can fly thanks to internal atigravity projectors.
Structurals also aren't very attached to their look. It's very common for them to change shapes and details of their bodies just like humans are used to changing makeup and clothes.
Personality:
Majority of the Structurals have very ordered and lawful personalities, though it may manifest in different ways.
Members of the Protectors faction tends to be benevolent and very paladin-like, respecting local laws and customs, while the Aggressors definitely are more ruthless and dominant, and have strong inclinations for tyranny.
On average, denizens of the Structure are disciplined beings. Even their villains and lawbreakers prefers to work in organised structures and more towards replacing existing legal order with their own instead of just creating more chaos, and anarchy.
Despite being ageless and extremely long living creatures, Structurals do not seek empty pleasures and decadence. Sense of purpose is very important part of their mindset, both in the warfare and in the more peaceful life.
Almost all Structurals have slightly arrogant attitude towards other species, even if it isn't displayed in an open way. It's very hard for them to accept non-Structurals as their equals. An average Structural thinks about others as of less intelligent, backward and physically weaker, especially when other species aren't as long-lived.
Protectors usually are displaying this mindset by treating others like children in need of guidance and protection. Members of this faction are polite and responsible enough to not interfere with other species and comply with local laws. After all, one of the reasons for the Structural civil war was because they were determined to stop Aggressors from conquering the rest of their galaxy.
Aggressors have much less benevolent attitude. In their opinion, other species needs to be either subjugated and governed by the superior Structural culture, for their own good... Or just destroyed, so they will never be of any threat to the Structure.
The First War made Structurals very xenophobic and full of distrust towards the alien species. They don't like offworlders in their Dyson shell or even in their star system. Even the Protectors aren't very happy if they have to work with aliens, unless they have no other choice. The more aggressive and unstable are other species, the stronger is this attitude.
What makes Structurals extremely distrustful is if said species are capable of creating sentient and sapient machines, but they treat their synthetics poorly.
The latter doesn't mean that Structurals have any warm feelings towards robots and AIs built by others. In their opinion, these creatures are just primitive contraptions, barely alive and not really better than their creators. But any kind of prejudice towards non-organic lifeforms is also a sign that said species might be hostile to the Structure.
Traits:
- All Structurals are extremely strong willed and stubborn beings. With even the youngest of them being at least ten millenia old, these creatures can be very resistant against any mental influence. It takes extremely strong psionics or magic to break the Structural mind, and even then effects aren't permanent. This amount of willpower gives them even basic resistance against reality warping powers.
In short - every one of them should be considered as having certain levels of psionic and magic resistance, albeit it depends from the individual how resistant he or she is.
- Surprisingly, Structurals do not have photographic memory. Their memory is better than that of short-lived species, but they still are able to forget things.
- Structurals have no sexuality whatsoever. They are gendered species, with differences in mindset and body shape between males and females, but it all comes with no sexual side. They can have platonic relationships, but the whole concept of physical love is completely alien to them. And it is not only because their bodies are lacking proper equipment, but also because their brains aren't created for it.
- A non-superpowered Structural can hear and see in all electromagnetic spectrum if he or she focuses to do so. Their default sensory input is comparable to human, though. Even with more efficient vision and hearing activated, default Structurals aren't more perceptive than humans - they can be careless and distracted.
- A completely basic and unmodified Structural body has physical performance comparable to peak human, with only difference of being ageless and more durable - it takes at least anti-materiel rifle to hurt metallic body of a non-superpowered Structural. Obviously, they also have no need for breathing, sleep and food, can't be tired, and aren't affected by diseases or radiation.
Aside of that, they can also fly with speed no greater than sprinting human athlete.
If Structural has any more powers, he or she had to be upgraded.
- Structurals do have an equivalent of blood, but drinking it, or even touching, isn't the best idea. It's a thick, glowing and slightly radioactive, electrocharged liquid that circulates in veins around their metallic skeleton and muscles. Its function is to deliver power and materials to body systems. Its color is usually the same as glowing parts of the Structural body and is very often shared with their power emanation. It also works as coolant, running under their skin and helping with radiating out any excess heat. Like every other tissue of their bodies, its chemistry is based entirely on metallic elements.
- Structurals knows no magic. Their world never had any arcane traditions, since level of ambient magic on the Structure is extremely low and stable. The only supernatural forces available to them are the Overlight and the Outerdark, both are used more like the "chi" energy, with enough discipline and very long training.
- Structurals also have no inherit magical affinity. In theory it is possible for them to learn magic hard way, just like some humans do... But said Structural would need to start now and from the scratch - since they never before had any contacts with magic users.
Powers:
Technically, there are no "real" superpowered Structurals. Extremely stable nature of their minds and bodies, along with very low ambient level of arcane forces on the Structure, prevents them from becoming mutates or being infused with powers by accident. On the other hand, very few superpowers can't be simply built with their technology. In the end, there is no functional difference between upgraded Structurals and "real" metahumans.
Almost any superpower can be grafted into Structural body, with only few quirks and limitations:
- Their level of power can differ vastly. While some of them are very high powered beings, many Structurals, especially civilians, are mid or low powered.
- Structural technology can not emulate magic, even if it very often looks like magic in the eyes of less advanced species. However, it doesn't mean that it can not defend from magic. Transdimensional and transplanar energies aren't unknown to Structurals, only the way of using them known as magic is. It is within their capabilities to create technology that can be used for altering flow of said energies, thus to create technologically induced anti-magic force fields and anti-magic zones. Or to build devices capable of dispelling or reflecting magical powers.
- Powers like animal or plant empathy are almost never made, since they aren't deemed very useful. Usually, if any Structurals have such capabilities, they are paired with general telepathy.
- Artificial telekinesis and telepathy are quite common. In truth, most of the Structural communication and translation devices works on the principle of technologically induced telepathy. This is also how their power inhibitors are working - they don't turn off superpowers or combat modes, but the target's ability to use them.
On the other hand, this technology can be also employed for shielding from telepathy, and it's quite often used that way.
- Structural healing powers are usually, though not always, based on reconstruction of the tissue on a subatomic level. They work on both organic and synthetic targets and can be, if the healer was farsighted enough and took time to scan his companion's molecular structure before the fight, used even for reconstruction of bodies that were entirely disintegrated.
- Faster-than-light travel can be grafted into Structural body, albeit it is considered expensive even by their standards, and usually upgrades of this kind are issued only to top tier warriors.
On the other hand, all Structural space warriors are considered top tier and have this ability.
- The rarest and the most difficult to made of all Structurals powers is ability to transform into a kind of energy being, with almost all substance of the Structural body turned into energy, and only brain being carried within protective power cocoon (or hidden into sub-dimensional pocket).
THE STRUCTURE:
Nobody, including Structurals themselves, knows who and why built the Structure. From the beginning of its written history it was only a sole Dyson shell type world built around a single Type G star, with only other objects in its solar system being an external asteroid belt - the one very rich with many mineral resources.
It is speculated that so-called Creators were long extinct species of organic humanoids. This theory may be proven by the presence of water and inhabitable atmospheric layer on the internal sun oriented surface of the Structure (because Structurals themselves have no need for drinking or breathing), and by the fact that all Structurals have male or female personality pattern while not being able to sexual reproduction. The last thing can be also considered a proof of the theory that the Structure was probably an autonomous manufacturing plant and its inhabitants were originated as a line of consumer goods.
100,000 years ago the Structure suddenly came to life, possibly awakened by the meteorite or other natural cataclysm, and its automated production lines gave life to the first generation of Structurals. Not knowing who they are and why they were originated, the first generation arranged their world in their own way
The Golden Age:
First 50,000 years of the Structure were its Golden Age. A time of unmatched prosperity. Artificial world was governed by the First Council. Poverty and famine were unknown to this society and art and science flourished. A calm and gentle species, Structurals freely traded with the rest of Triangulum galaxy. External and always darkened surface of the Structure was made into astroports and mining facilities used for exploration of the nearby asteroid belt, while internal surface bathed in eternal sunlight was populated with glimmering cities and synthetic gardens, with silvery pinnacles towering above golden metallic trees. By all means, it was a synthetic paradise. There was no crime nor strife, and the only military organisation was small starfleet needed for chasing occasional pirates or foreign smugglers. The only elite fighting force was the System Patrol, a militant body consisting the most powerful and best trained warriors of the Structure - but they were only a few in numbers. There was no end to the wealth and splendors of the Structure.
The First War:
Sadly, it was this wealth what has brought the end to the Golden Age. 50,000 years ago the Structure fell victim to the assault of a race of warlike organics. Those invaders, for Structurals known simply as the Conquerors, were trying to seize control over the Structure's resources and to turn its inhabitants into a slave species. Initially, war went badly for Structurals. Their only military victories were claimed by System Patrol, otherwise synthezoids were vastly outnumbered and even though invaders technology wasn't up to the superior standards of the Structure, organics were much better trained and organised. Losing one battle after another, with cities obliterated by invaders, leaders of the First Council were forced to the desperate measures - a new warlike line of Structurals was created. Unlike previous peaceful generation, those new Structurals, in the course of war known as the Warborn, were made as aggressive as their opponents and coded with equally violent personalities.
This was the turning poin of the war. Backed up with Structural technology, much better trained and much more durable than any organic soldiers, the Warborn were winning almost every battle against organics. In the end, invaders were obliterated along with their invasion fleet.
Paradise lost:
War has been ended, but things were far from perfect. The Structure was ravaged, with many of its settlements turned into seas of ruins. Marvels of science were lost during the wartime. Many citizen lost everything to the flames of war. To make things even worse, soon it became clear that many of the Warborn can't adapt easily to life in the time of peace. They were violent and brutal, very often turning to life of crime.
Cities were rebuilt but the Golden Age was lost. Next 10,000 years saw this once prosperous society slowly dissolving into social stratas, corrupted by crime and unrest. Meanwhile many of upper castes refused to notice it, instead closing themselves in their luxury places. This was the time when even the System Patrol was very often forced to perform not their heroic duties, but to act as executors and enforcers of legal order - an armed arm of the Second Council, which was no longer able to keep things calm.
Then there was another problem. Because of war, Structurals no longer had any trust towards the other races and trade with the galaxy was no longer as common as before. This growing paranoia also caused formation of the starfleet and a large standing army, composed mostly of the Warborn. This humongous war machine started to suck even more resources from crisis-ridden society.
Snake in the garden:
Finally, came the man who claimed to have solution for all problems of the Structure. The first of the Warborn. The one calling himself the Prototype.
In recognition of his merits during the First War, Prototype was promoted as a leader of all Structural military responding only to the ruling Council. Many times he had criticized the weak and decadent Council and dissolving society, though never in a direct way thus not giving any reasons for his impeachment.
Finally, when situation reached the melting point, he did his move.
Gathering his personal fleet, Prototype made a pillaging raid on a small, but rich, planet inhabitated by peaceful population of organics. While he refrained himself from performing a bloody massacre, his warriors quickly overwhelmed weak planetary defences and plundered that territory. Then he came back to the Structure, offering this newly aquired wealth to the all Structurals along with his a rather clear message:
-"This is the new way for us, compatriots!
Nearly a lifetime ago we lost almost everything to the fleshlings, forced to hide amongst the ruins of our own cities, to fight a desparate war for retaining our own world. But no more...
Look at it, look at our solution!
A single conquest yields us enough resources for setting things right, taking back from those fleshy beings what is rightfully our.
This is the only fitting future for us as we are vastly superior to the any other lifeform of this universe.
Surely the Council understands how right we were taking that step and they will do what is in our best interest, appointing me as a new leader of our future conquests."
To Prototype's great dissapointment, the Council did not approve his actions.
Not even all of the Warborn were on his side - in fact only a roughly third part of their numbers agreed with this point of view. While he was praised within certain radical circles of Structural society, a general reaction was that of pure shock and disbelief.
Prototype was deposed and charged for a treason. He was, however, allowed to make a personal speech to the Council in his defence. And that was beginning of the end of the Second Council and the Structure of old.
-"You have the nerve to brand me as a traitor, while I were the only one who did anything to save us in this hour of need...
To strip me from my honor and dignity, while you were hiding in your platinium houses, separating yourselves from all this misery caused by your own incompetence.
The Council... Bah!
There will be no more of this Council or any other, not after all of you will be punished for your treason of the Structure!"
Nothing could be more surprising for gathered elders than Prototype yelling those words as soon as he came to the Council chamber, and his loyal retainers did a quick work with dispatching guards.
But the greates horror had yet to come, as Prototype started to change his form. Already hulking Structural started to grow, his armored skin splitting and shifting, changing its shape and color. Replacing his former body of gold with the new appearance - sharp and spiked crimson red armor, completed by horned head and a pair of wings, as Prototype rejected his old identity. Now his physical form perfectly matched his twisted personality - an image of pure cruelty and wrongness.
-"So if you couldn't stand me as the Prototype, then you will know me as the Lord Terror. The Supreme Ruler of the Structure, the one who will lead our species to the most glorious future... Without any of you amongst living!"
Those were Terror's last words heard by the Council before all the elders were murdered by him.
The longest fall:
This was the first accord of a new war, and soon this one proved to be even more destructive than the previous. It became clear that Terror had this coup prepared from the long time, having his followers gathered and armed immediately and not giving loyalists any chance of fighting back. Roughly third part of army sworn their loyalty to his cause and soon this force became known under the name of Aggressors. Soon they were joined by others disillusioned with the Structure of old.
Loyalist forces weren't completely helpless. Many of the Warborn and the System Patrol remained true to their military oath. With all of the Council dead, loyalist were now governed by the military command and soon started to calling themselves the Protectors. After few a rather bloody defeats they managed to regroup and even regain some of the lost territories.
But unlike the first one, this war was slowly becoming a stalemate. With two factions of equal power, the Structure was falling into a state perpetual struggle and a devastation of proportions never before seen. There was no turning point at the horizon, no end to this massacre.
Ironically, Terror was not the one destined to see the end of this war and it was his hubris that caused his own demise.
Enraged by millenia of fruitless warfare and his own inability to crush the resistance, Lord Terror devised an insane plan to use the starwells - a network of massive octagonal teleport gates long time ago built for delivering mined resources from the asteroid belt - for ejecting some of the asteroids into the Structure, destroying a large parts of the world along with his enemies.
It was the sheer insanity of this plan which ended with Terror betrayed by his own second-in-command and in the subsequent battle against Protectors even the tyrant's own army turned against him.
In the outcome the largest starwell imploded, consuming Lord Terror and rendering the whole teleport network unusable.
THE WAR UNENDING:
Today the Structure is only a shadow of its former glory.
Artificial world is divided between territories controlled by Aggressors and Protectors, and its dark side is occupied by many independent city states populated by those who had no intentions of choosing sides - and now are very often hostile to both warring factions. There is no real peace and last two millennias were a state of uneasy armistice, disrupted by small border skirmishes. All cities of old are now lying in ruins, with all sides of this war hiding in massive fortresses, or secret bases. Old landscapes of glittering silver and gold are now replaced by rust and gunmetal gray.
Nobody can tell for how long this period of relative calm will last, with both Protector and Aggressor armies constantly preparing for yet another full scale war.
Fate of The Betrayer:
Terror's ravaged body wasn't annihilated by the imploding starwell. Tyrant's lifeless husk was thrown accidentally through the time and space to the different galaxy and was drifting in space, until it fell into gravity well of the third planet of the distant Type G sun, and crashed into its surface. It was 5,000 years ago and with time this planet became known as the Earth, and the crash site was in the South America. There it remained buried until 1999 when it was discovered by ARGENT looking for new deposits of oil.
STRUCTURALS AND THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE:
Triangulum Galaxy:
In general, Structurals are shunned in Triangulum. It's an effect of their own distrust towards other species, but also their millenia old civil war.
Other species of Triangulum galaxy consider Structurals a kind of dangerous pariahs. What trust they had towards the Structure was long time ago destroyed by the Aggressors. Nowadays, Structurals are very often viewed with fear and distrust. They are considered far too advanced and powerful to even try attacking them, but also too violent, or war-crazed, to maintain any long standing relations.
Many of other inhabitants of this galaxy barely can tell the difference between warring factions of the Structure. Most of the time, other species of Triangulum are avoiding Structurals, hoping that one day synthezoids will finally destroy themselves with their civil war.
Milky Way Galaxy:
Structurals have very little to no information about the Milky Way galaxy. What organised knowledge they have is very old, from times before the civil war - and even then there were no long term relations, nothing more than a few reports from star explorers. They are aware of existence of the Star*Guard and the Malvan Empire (but not of its current decline).
Likewise, most species of the Milky Way have little to no knowledge about the Structure. Triangulum is even more distant than Andromeda. The few people in the Milky Way who are aware of the Structurals are a few very seasoned star travelers and explorers.
There were some rumors about a Malvan gladiator, or two, matching description of a Structural. But these are only unconfirmed rumors and a few other life forms also can match description of a metallic humanoid.
Earth:
Structurals became aware of Earth in late 2013, when one of the Aggressors came to this planet in search of Terror's corpse.
Though the Aggressors never had any deeper interest in such distant planet, for a some time after his resurrection, Terror was planning invasion of Earth only to repay terrestials for desacration of his body and his long imprisonment.
His plan never came to fruition, as in the same year Terror was challenged on the Structure, by the assembly of Earth heroes, the Protectors, and a part of the Aggressor army led by Ultimus, his former second-in-command.
In the course of the battle, Lord Terror was not only slain but also his remains were banished to the different dimension, forever ending his reign and madness.
Current relations with Earth are neutral. The Protectors promised to send a few observers, to monitor if Earth will ever be a focus of the Aggressors attention. But at the same time Archon Lightbringer is reluctant to do so without a formal request from Earth governments and a clear permit from the Star*Guard.
The Aggressors also show no interest in such remote planet in a distant galaxy, though there are some rumors about their new Supreme Warlord, Ultimus, having private dealings with some of Earth troublesome villains.
NOTABLE STRUCTURALS:
Lightbringer:
Supreme Commander of the Protectors and former leader of the System Patrol, Lightbringer truly is a sight to behold. Nearly nine feet tall warrior clad in gold and azure, of strong proportional build, he's one of the two most powerful Structurals alive.
No other Structural embodies everything that is right in their species, as does Lightbringer. Kind, stoic and just, the Archon is a living reminder of all ideals of the old Structure and the guiding light for all his soldiers. With all his strength, he never instigates any combat recklessly, knowing very well that sometimes head-on display of power can do nothing good.
Before the First War, Lightbringer was commanding the System Patrol. Even back then, he was well known and respected for his feats of strength and wisdom. He retired after the war, not wanting to be the part of the new regime and their dubious use of the System Patrol. He went on the self-appointed exile, travelling Triangulum Galaxy and bringing peace and justice to the needy.
After the Second War broke out, he went back to the Structure and gathered all surviving loyalists, and then led them to fight Terror's evil. It was mostly due Lightbringer's leadership and inspiration that the Protectors emerged as a faction.
Nowadays Lightbringer finds himself in a rather uneasy situation. He has to cooperate with Ultimus as his partner in the provisionary government and tolerate his methods, because the only alternative would be continuation of the war and more onslaught inflicted on the Structure.
It doesn't mean that he's willing to accept everything that Ultimus does, nor that he makes no preparations just in case this partnership became unbearable.
It is very likely that, on the Structure, only Ultimus is the match for Lightbringer's strength. The Archon commands not only cosmic powers harnessed with use of the Structural technology, but also can draw upon radiant energies of the Overlight, the spiritual force of the Structure.
Able to feed on solar and cosmic radiation, at his high power levels Lightbringer is nearly indestructible and capable of faster-than-light space travel.
Lightbringer's weapon of choice is a greatsword made of solidified energy, and he can split this weapon into shield and smaller sword, as well as imbue his attacks with the Overlight, if he desires. It is well within the Archon's capabilities to deliver blows powerful enough to shatter and disable the entire military starships.
Ultimus:
Supreme Commander of the Aggressors, Ultimus came to this power not only through his fighting prowess, but also through the cunning and treachery - the tools he can wield very well.
A nearly nine feet tall muscular humanoid with glowing, solid, crimson eyes and metallic red skin, he's clad in a dark blue armor adorned with crimson red runes.
On the surface, Ultimus seems to be an amicable and reasonable person - at least for an Aggressor. He seems to be lacking this slightly arrogant attitude present in majority of the Structurals and actually can talk with other species as equals - provided it suits him.
This is only a mask, the one he wears or discards for his personal gain.
Deep in his core, Ultimus is the Structural supremacist. He believes that no life form in the universe is even remotely equal to his kin and everything should be subjugated to serve the Structure. The only difference between him and Lord Terror was that Ultimus doesn't believe in mindless slaughter and things like genocide are hitting his "too evil" bar. But it doesn't makes him any less dangerous. Where Lord Terror was all about straightforward conquest and depopulation of other planets, Ultimus is more subtle.
He thinks that other planets should be turned into vassal worlds and their populations into slaves of the empire, and the best way to do so is the long term plan of economical and cultural expansion. He's fully confident that the Structure has enough of technological and logistical edge to make this possible. Ultimus is prepared for whatever it takes to see his plans fulfilled, and if it requires working with Lightbringer, or purging his own faction of the more radical elements - so be it.
On the other hand, despite all his treachery, there are glimpses of honor in Ultimus's behavior. He's far too proud to straight lie, though he's very likely to not tell the whole truth, or to tell only truth that is suitable for him. He's also driven by specific warrior code - while he sees no problems with taking no prisoners and slaughtering the entire space fleets in an open battle, he's unwilling to do things like eradicating civilian population.
Back before the First War, he was known under the name of Ultimex, the second-in-command in the System Patrol. Not as admired as Lightbringer, he was known as a competent and steady soldier. After the war he remained on the Structure, but left the System Patrol to work closer with the Second Council, and soon, through his cunning and political manipulations, he was appointed as the security chief of the Council. It is unclear when he joined Prototype's insurgents, but it was Ultimex's plot that made the Second War possible.
Under normal circumstances, no Structural, no matter how powerful, could use his combat form in the Pinnacle of The Council, as there were inhibitor fields preventing use of powers by anyone except the guards.
Having access codes for the whole security network, Ultimex altered inhibitors to work only on the loyal members of the guard, but not on the Prototype and his followers.
When the Second War broke out, he took the name of Ultimus and joined the Aggressors as Terror's second-in-command, but quickly he became aware that his leader is not the most sane person in the galaxy. Destruction of the Creatory, use of the Omega Projectors and depopulation of the entire cities made Ultimus confident that Terror leads the Structure to nowhere and is not the right person to build the Structural empire - sure, might makes right, but not by any means necessary. Especially not at the expense of endangering your own homeworld.
Terror had to be replaced, and who was better suited for this job, than Ultimus himself? In the course of the few next centuries he began to sow dissent and finally coerced most of the Aggressors to his side. When he was ready, he betrayed Lord Terror to the Protectors, lured him into uneven battle at the Great Starwell, and finally, with Lightbringer's help, managed to throw his former leader into imploding starwell.
Terror's return almost costed Ultimus his life, but he managed to break free and gather more than a half of the Aggressors army on his side and, finally, to backstab Lord Terror again. In the end, with the assistance of Lightbringer's forces and Earth heroes, it was possible to send Terror into oblivion, this time for good.
The rest of this year Ultimus spent on solidifying his power over the Aggressors and making a thorough purge of any remaining Terror's loyalists.
In terms of power, Ultimus is probably the only Structural equal to Lightbringer. Never a spiritual person, always an utilitarian pragmatist, he lacks attitude to draw upon the spiritual forces of the Structure.
Instead, his control over cosmic powers is entirely granted by the Structural technology grafted into his body. At his high power levels, he's capable of faster-than-light space travel and can shield himself with energy fields, he's also nearly indestructible and capable of epic feats of strength. After his recent encounters with Earth heroes, he took care of upgrading himself with technology capable of altering flow of transplanar and transdimensional energies, giving him a fair amount of resistance against the arcane forces.
Ultimus's weapon of choice is a two-handed spiked hammer made of solidified crimson red energy. Much like Lightbringer, he can split the weapon into a shield and a one-handed spiked mace.
Lord Terror:
Singularity:
Watcher:
Mother Core:
A personality, but not entirely a person, Mother Core is not a Structural but an AI. Its frame is composed entirely out of energy and it can exists with no physical hardware - though at times it inhabits one.
Its visual form is always a female one, but details may vary - from a projection of a platinum female Structural, to the humanoid figure made entirely of lights and soothing sounds.
Mother Core has a peculiar habit of speaking about itself in plural or in third person as "it".
Known also as "The Mother of the Structurals", before the Second War it was a central AI overseeing and governing the Creatory. It was almost lost after this facility was destroyed, but the Protectors managed to salvage "her" and move to their headquarters.
It is unclear if Mother Core was always a sentient and sapient being, or if it developed personality with time. This being went online when the first generation of Structurals was made, and were operational ever since. Very likely this AI is the oldest being on the Structure. However, its data banks are affected by the same blacklist as the Structural minds and certain knowledge isn't present there - for example, Mother Core doesn't know who built the Structure, nor it knows how to create the life-giving core matter.
Mother Core has a very kind and caring personality. It respects all life and mourns all the war and onslaught caused by Terror. Albeit now "she" is tasked with running the Protectors military network, it almost never fights and the only case when it would use any lethal force would be if it had to defend the Haven.
There is a lot of respect and personal attachement between the AI and Lightbringer. Each one very often asks another for advice, and some would even say that the AI developed genuine feelings for the Archon.
Mother Core has no physical presence and no offensive capabilities. On the other hand, it is also intangible and immune for nearly everything but energy draining attacks. It has at least one backup at time, so even its destruction may not be permanent.
Most of the time Monther Core stays in the Haven, inhabiting its central computing unit. At times it may assist the Protectors in the field, providing data and advice.
When it stays in the Haven, Mother Core can use local automated defense network. It can also act as a governing unit for the Protectors portal network.
IMPORTANT PLACES OF THE STRUCTURE:
Creatory:
Up to the Second War, the Creatory was one of the wonders of the Structure, if not the entire Triangulum galaxy. One of the highest buildings of the galaxy, it was a platinum dome raised on an octagonal plan, with golden pinnacle erected in every corner of its base. In its center stood the Pillar of the Overlight, a central shrine of the Structural philosophy. The whole complex was surrounded with gardens full od crystalline trees and soothing music. Pilgrims from all corners of the Structure travelled to the Creatory to meditate and pay respect to the greatness of this civilisation.
The central place of the whole Structure, it was important not only because of its spiritual meaning - the Creatory was the only place in the universe where new Structurals could be created.
Bathed in radiant energies of the Overlight, its automated production lines were creating new core matter and placing it into reproduction chambers
Albeit the Creatory went unscathed through the First War, it was not destined to survive the next one.
Right at the beginning of the Second War, Aggressors launched a massive attack to seize the complex. Their plan was to use it to produce more of their armies, and if they were successful, to crush the resistance with the sheer numbers of the Aggressors. And then, to unleash this force upon the rest of the Triangulum galaxy.
With Lord Terror leading this attack in person, it was the most important battle of this war.
Outmatched and overwhelmed, faced not only with perspective of the Aggressors being victorious on the Structure, but also Terror's evil forced on the galaxy, the loyalists had no other choice, but to sacrifice themselves and the Creatory. A massive chain reaction was caused in the central power core, along with setting it to overload, and the whole complex was annihilated in the one catastrophic fusion reaction.
One could say that loyalists saved both the Structure and the Trangulum galaxy... But the price paid was the slow extinction of the entire Structural species.
Today nothing remains of the Creatory, except for the massive plain of a once-melted metal.
Destruction of the Creatory left emotional scar in all Structurals. It caused embitterment amongst the Protectors, beacuse they made the ultimate sacrifice for the rest of the galaxy full of species who doesn't even care. It was also the argument used by Ultimus to question Terror's ability as a leader and, finally, to slowly undermine his rule.
Without the Creatory, thus with no new core matter, no new Structurals could be given life. While some reserves of the clean core matter remained in medical facilities, they were scarce and did not last for long - the last new Structurals were created by both factions roughly ten thousands of years ago, and their numbers were counted in mere hundreds.
Because knowledge about how to create new core matter from the scratch is one of the technology blacklisted in the Structural minds, it is not possible to rebuild the Creatory.
As it is for now, the Second War set all the Structurals on a way to extinction.
