Altara Blind Warrior Women

People call them the Blind Warrior Women. One of the countless races enslaved by the Slugorth whose home is long forgotten, they call themselves the Altara. Somewhere, in some deep memory they all share, the name persists like the red cinder of a cold fire.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Altara could easily pass for human. Besides their oddly shaped ears, their eyes are pure solid white with no iris nor pupil. Yet despite this, they still seem to be able to look straight at you.
Altara Blind Warrior Women are not truly blind. They can see in the microwave spectrum and perceive their surroundings in relief like a radar.
This is possible because Altara eyes are made from a natural biologic fluoropolymer very similar to what you, dear reader, may know as Teflon®, Unlike synthetic materials, Altara eyes are a bit elastic and compressible, enabling them to focus and optimize their 'vision' to span a wide range of frequencies and focal lengths.

Genetics and Reproduction

Millions of years before the Altara existed, their homeworld's atmosphere became chemical soup, rendering normal vision useless. This opaque and refractory atmosphere drove the existing fauna to develop alternatives to vision or die out. Two evolutionary traits led to success and dominance by the beings who eventually became the Altara:

1. The first was asexual reproduction. The atmospheric changes brought about a mass extinction across the planet and so food and population were severly limited, preventing large social groupings (herds, colonies, prides, etc.,) of the animals of the time. Being unable to find a mate in a world without sight was an obstacle for most high order species. Those creatures way down the evolutionary ladder that were capable of asexual reproduction had a competitive edge and became dominant in the new environment. The offspring were, of course, genetically identical clones of their mother and are fundamentally just nature's way of ensuring a female's genes could persist long enough to find an unrelated male.

   By the time the Splugorth found the planet, females of all high order animals were capable of producing clones asexually. Altara were no exception, and with Splugorth scientific and even magical intervention, the Altara are now capable of producing fully-grown clones in a matter of days, as befitting a race of combat drones. This modified replication takes all the stem cells and bone marrow and uses the fat and flesh of the mother for nourishment to grow and can not be accomplished without sacrificing the mother. It is apparently a painful and lengthy process but it results in the transfer of memories and personality for guaranteed loyalty and immediate combat readiness. In fact, the mental transfer is so complete, they have stopped refferring to their mothers as mothers and instead refer to them as their "previous selves."

2. The second evolutionary adaptation was the conversion of eyes that could see only the visible spectrum into eyes that could see the microwave spectrum. The opaque and refractory atmosphere of the Altara homeworld was invisitble to the longer wavelengths of the microwave spectrum and it took very little evolutionary time for the eyes of creatures to evolve accordingly. The Altara are benefactors of this evolutionary development with the ability to actually illuminate their surroundings with low powered psionic microwaves not unlike how a firefly or anglerfish illuminates its surroundings with visible light here on earth.

The Splugorth have been breeding Altara in their laboratories for hundres of generations. It is unknown whether they do this with some secret repository of "extinct" Altara males or by genetically manufacturing gametes for this purpose from the Altara themselves. This breeding program is used to fill the ranks of Altara and deploy them across hundreds of worlds. Deployed Altara on those worlds are expected to replicate themselves if maimed or ill to keep their losses to a minimum.

Growth Rate & Stages

Altara are genetically modified and designed to be a soldiers. As such, born Altara grow about twice as fast as humans. Their mental development is on par with humans, however, enabling the Splugorth to take advantage of immature yet fully grown recruits, ripe for brainwashing and mental conditioning.
As expected, and contrary to born Altara, replicated Altara come into existence as fully grown adults minus any signs of aging or wear. Their mental maturity is also carried over from the mother.

Ecology and Habitats

The atmosphere of the Altara homeworld would be considered poisonous to most living creatures on Earth. It contains an abundance of flourine, for example. Because of this, all Altara are very resistant to harmful or poisonous gases. This does not, however, protect them from suffocation. Lack of oxygen will still suffocate them.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Altara are omnivorous with no known restrictions.

Behaviour

Due to Splugorth magical and genetic manipulations, a replicated Altara comes into being with much of her mother's memories and personality intact. This enables them to be nearly instantly useful to their combat units.

Minion and Altara by Kevin Long

Splugorth upbringing and brainwashing produces jingoistic and utterly loyal combat troops out of the Altara. This, coupled with their ability to replicate makes the Altara one of the most commonly encountered Splugorth minions on Rifts Earth.
However, should an Altara remove the figurative scales from her eyes and begin to see the Splugorth and the world for how they really are, they have ample opportunities to defect. A number of Altara have been known to defect in North America and beyond, with several in the The Federation of Magic and other communities along the eastern seaboard of North and South America. Proximity to Atlantis is dangerous and so more than a few emancipated Altara have found their way west to the Colorado Baronies, Republic of Ishpeming and the Manistique Imperium, Tolkeen, and Lazlo.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Altara in the service of the Splugorth have but one purpose: Combat Drone. They form tight, cohesive military units under the direction of higher-ranked minions of the Splugorth.
With their shared experiences, the Altara are a sort of bonded sisterhood.
Emancipated Altara have an undeniable aura of loss about them. They know something their ignorant sisters do not, yet they retain the memories and emotional bonds from when they were part of that sisterhood, even if those memories were only inherited through a cloning process. Altara are capable of forming new friendships and 'found families,' but will forever be saddened, angered and motivated by those memories and bonds they had with their sisters in arms.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Altara radar vision is biological in nature and they can naturally adapt it, flex it and mold it to suit their needs and their environment. As a result they are resistant to technological means of interference. Electromagnetic Jamming may be employed to reduce an Altara's ability to "see," but any penalties to technological sensors such as those imposed by Cyberknights, or any other form of Sensor Jamming are half as effective against Altara. An Altara's radar vision can not be completely blinded except by Magic or Psionics.

Average Intelligence

On average, Altara are not as intelligent as humans. Their lack of smarts is more the result of a culture of apathy and forced ignorance by their Splugorth Overlord than one of biological potential. They suffer from an ingrained cultural belief that introspection, curiosity and inquisitiveness (except with regard to military endeavors like scouting) is undesireable. Slave Altara rarely take initiative or devise clever or inventive combat tactics.
Emancipated Altara are the exception. They would not have striven for freedom if they had remained ignorant and apathetic. As a result, Emancipated Altara suffer no intelligence penalties or bonuses compared to humans. Emancipated Altara are still ignorant of the world outside Splugorth control and suffer from the Clueless hindrance unless they have been emancipated for a long while.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Altara microwave vision gives them some advantages and disadvantages. Since their vision is not limited to the visual spectrum, Altara can see through any level of darkness except magical darkness designed to occlude technological sensors. They are not fooled by optical illusions, but mental illusions may still be effective so long as the illusionist knows the target is an Altara.
Altara radar-like abilities are not much different from a human's eyes. They have "peripheral" vision spanning the full 180 degree forward arc of their head facing, but must focus their "eyes" to see anything with any fidelity. In this regard, their focal width is about the same as and shall be treated the same as that of a sighted person. This is stated so as to deal with the possibility of distractions, sleight of hand, etc. Their acuity drops off precipitously at ranges beyond 400 meters and they do not register returns from objects farther than 500 meters.
Altara can not read or see anything that is purely optical in nature. Anything emitting or reflecting microwaves can be seen and perceived as optical to them, and so they continue to use the word "see" to refer to what their eyes perceive.
While they can see objects in relief, the height difference would need to be a millimeter for every two meter distance from the Altara. This means that within two meters an Altara can perceive height differences of less than a millimeter, making embossed words or braille perfectly legible when held at normal reading distance. At ten meters, a surface texture less than 5 millimeters deep would be invisible.
Unfortunately, particulate matter in the air and dedicated sensor jamming efforts can render Altara nearly blind. See source material for rules regarding this. One would think stealth technology would render an object invisible as well. However, similar to how a dolphin can modulate its sonar to perceive objects a technological sonar never could, so an Altara can modulate her radar to perceive stealthed objects. Altara suffer only half the penalty to their notice checks versus stealthed objects.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Altara in the service of the Splugorth are given numbers instead of names. Socially, they usually refer to each other by the last one or two digits in their number name, such as "Five" or "Seventy-One," depending on how many digits are necessary to differentiate between any others who may be present.
Replicated Altara retain the same identification number as their mother.
The names of emancipated Altara are whatever they want them to be. They follow no standard convention, although some may want to retain a phonetic variation of their number.

Beauty Ideals

Altara typically would not wear makeup, tattoos, or other two-dimensional body art since they can not see it themselves. Friends of Altara may take it upon themselves to apply makeup or other decorations to aid in social integration and conformity.
Altara are capable of using magical tattoos.

Courtship Ideals

Altara fully subscribe to the belief that courtship is an unwelcome distraction, wholly unneccessary to their service to the Splugorth.
Emancipated Altara may be curious to explore this vestigial side of their existence.

Relationship Ideals

Altara are stoic and usually quite single-minded. They will make aquaintences and form partnerships with people who can assist in their goals, but seek nothing more than that. In their utter social naiveté, however, they may find themselves totally defenseless against forming close relationships regardless of their intentions. A companion to an Altara should be prepared to answer uncomfortable personal questions about feelings and to instruct on the nature of friendship and love. This naiveté can be something less scrupulous con-artists and grifters use to take advantage.
Altara may not realize they've become friends with or even love another until it is too late; sometimes not even until they have parted.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

All Altara can speak and read Dragonese (the common language of Splugorthian Atlantis).
Most Altara can also understand Splug, since they are effectively hundreds of years old by cloning and have picked it up just by hearing it spoken among the Splugorth leadership ranks.
Very few Altara ever learn the native languages on the planets they are deployed. Their ovelords frown on the adoption of any cultural influence from outside Splugorth dominion. Their brainwashing has them convinced that any languages or culture from outside Splugorth dominion is inferior, unworthy of adoption, and should be eradicated.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Altara have forgotten any culture they may have had millenia ago in their independent, pre-slave past. Their current culture is one purely focused on war. They are drone soldiers, existing for the greater Splugorth dominion.

Common Taboos

It is taboo for an Altara to posess anything from a culture other than Splugorth. In fact it would be the end of a line of clones if one were to be caught in possession of anything that might be considered a cultural item. Since this is such a broad generalized term, Altara are very keen to shy away from anything that might even be remotely considered cultural.
The reason for this is that learning the language of or taking an interest in the possessions or beliefs of a "lesser" species is the first step in an irreversible and inescapable journey towards emancipation. The mere idea of individuality and of a life not as a combat drone will be forever part of the personality and memories of that line of clones.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

When an Altara is identified as an Altara, she is universally hated across hundreds of different worlds. Nearly everyone knows someone or has heard stories about the Altara-manned slave barges and their ruthless employment as soldiers by the Splugorth. However, their uncannily human appearance makes identifying them as aliens far more difficult on Rifts Earth, especially if they can shield their white eyes and odd ears. Humans will find Altara attractive as they are very fit and well-proportioned. This can lead to a favorable reception from more tolerant humans even when they are identified as aliens.

Average Physique

Altara are surprisingly human-like. They are attractive and fit almost to a fault. They appear similar to each other with little genetic variation from one to the next. It would be very easy to confuse one for another without close side by side comparison.

Someone Asked for the Slaver Girls by Crazy_Canuck15 using the Bing AI image generator