The Thranx

The Thranx are a high-tech militant insectoid species, a major race located between the FAR and the Atorian Empire. While at war with the fanatical Viltrumites, the Thranx have worked diligently with other neighboring races who are also in conflict with the supermen. The Thranx history goes back thousands of years and they were one of the first space-faring races in the region. They are also absorbing many worlds that are breaking away from the Golgan Republik, a process that greatly upsets the Golgans.


Anatomy
Visually, the Thranx are an insectoid race resembling large praying mantises, about 2.5 meters long when on all six legs. Chitin color differs between males and females, being blue for the males and aquamarine for females, deepening to purple in old age. If a Thranx is in a profession that offers a great deal of stress premature purpling of the chitin may be visible. Their exoskeletons are able to withstand most common accidents, making accidental cuts or scrapes unlikely, but if their chitin is breached they bleed far more profusely than their human allies. They can also mend broken or cut chitin with a false chitin substitute.

Thranx also possess vestigial double sets of wings, ritually removed after mating. The head is valentine-shaped, with large, compound golden eyes sometimes banded with red. They have four pairs of appendages; two tru-hands, four trulegs, and a set of intermediaries that can function as an additional pair of arms or legs. Like insects, they have no lungs and breathe through a series of openings at about waist level. Because of this, Thranx are unsuited for exposure to deep bodies of water and most of their population fears it; they are not naturally buoyant and because they breathe through openings at the waist they are easily susceptible to drowning even if their upper body remains above the surface.


Settlements
Thranx cities are primarily subterranean in nature, though on occasion they may possess some surface structures to indicate the hive's existence. Hives may have as few as four underground levels, such as the small city of Paszex on Willow-Wane, while the capital city of Daret on Hivehom's number of levels well surpasses seventy.

Their home planet is Hivehom, the capital city of which is Daret. Human settlement on Hivehom tends to be restricted to the high plains, titled the Mediterranean Plateau, as it possesses cooler, drier climates that the thranx can't stand.

As a major race, the Thranx have dozens of major colony worlds: most have high humidity and a warmer climate than Earth. Heavily colonized areas on most of these worlds avoid the polar caps and major cities are located in rainforests; visiting races often struggle with the heat and humidity most Thranx enjoy.



Heritage
Like most social insects, the Thranx evolved from a hive based social system, with each individual hive being controlled by a single egg-laying Queen. During this time, like insects of Terra, the Thranx relied on a class system (drones, workers, soldiers, etc.). Development of true intelligence for the Thranx coincided with the development of egg-laying ability in all Thranx females. The biological diversity offered by this new means of reproduction lead to liberation and individuality, but always honoring their heritage, the Thranx still pay homage to their Hivemother and Clanmother, a reflection on the matriarchy that their species originally came from.


Language
Thranx communicate using a complex language consisting of clicks, simple whistles and complex whistles (a combination of clicks and simple whistles utilized simultaneously). Due to their limited facial expressions, the Thranx rely also on a complex serious of gestures which utilize their true-hands and foot-hands to represent emphasis as well as the speaker's emotions. Due to the difficulty in learning both Thranx gestures and languages very few outside races have mastered it.

Thranx names are usually constructed as follows: The name of the individual, family name, his/her clan name, and hive name. For example: Ryozenzuzex, protagonist of Nor Crystal Tears is Ryo (name) + Zen (family name) + Zu (clan name) + Zex (hive name). Usually Thranx communicate by reciting each others' full names, but among casual acquaintances (including humans) they may use their individual name or a combination of the individual and family names (for example: Desvendapur of Phylogenesis might be referred to as Des or Desven among casual acquaintances). 

NOTE: HERE is a webpage dealing with the Thranx language in more detail.






 



The most heavily traded goods by the brilliant Thranx are:

Posigravity Drive (wormhole)
Wormhole Weapons