Gau
The Gau are an advanced race of humanoids who have conquered vast swaths of the universe. Gau physiology is more resilient, heals faster, and is stronger than that of their humanoid cousins. The typical Gau lifespan is currently around 1000 years.
Society
Because the Gau place weight into genetics, they long ago engineered out the reproductive cycle. Gau are not born; they are engineered to take a specific place with certain traits expressed or muted in order to be most efficient in the task that is to be their life's work.
For the most part, The Gau have replaced familial relationships with the comraderie of their ship-mates or co workers. While romance between Gau itself is not taboo, it is fairly rare and often held in secret.
Gau live to serve in the upper eschelons of their society, while the menial work is handled by a constant flow of slave labor. Those races that are deemed unworthy of The Path are purged from the universe, but those that have some useful traits are instead enslaved, their technology absorbed, and their people forced to work in order to supply the Gau fleet so that it may continue its mission.
Religion
The Gau believe in a religion based in science called The Path, which is a journey to genetic perfection. The Gau map the genetics of every race they encounter and then splice useful genes from those races into their own genetic makeup. Their pentultimate goal is to attain the godhood they believe the Elder Ones to have.
The Gau generally look down upon physical alteration, such as implants and cybernetics considering it to be cheating The Path. Gau who augment their bodies by more than 25% lose their citizenship within the Empire, unless the augmentations are the result of promethium usage, in which case the augmentations are seen as a sacrifice
.In order to walk The Path, one must remain in good standing with the Gau Empire. Without the promise of new genetic upgrades, one falls from the upper caste of Gau society and becomes oucast, losing access to resources, to power, and even some of their rights. Most punishments revolve around stripping away or preventing genetic enhancement in order to maintain obedience.
Promethium
In their expansion, the Gau discovered a drug, Prometheum, which can temporarily grant powerful Telekinetic ability. This drug strengthens the mind considerably, but over time causes the body to degenerate; called Promethium wasting disease. Non-Gau species tend to survive one to three years on Promethium, while Gau can endure its effects for hundreds of years before their bodies give out. Most Gau whose bodies begin to degenerate will replace biological components with metal and circuitry.
Advanced cases of Prometheum wasting live in mechanical Brain Cases; construct bodies that serve as more permanent vessels, feeding the still living brain a steady supply of Promethium. These Gau are among the most powerful telepaths in existence and are feared for having strayed from the path, but honored for the sacrifice they make in their service to The Path. These Gau play an important role in the military as weapons and tools, more so than citizens of the empire.
History
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, an Illidian ship crashed on the world of Gau Prime. While much of the ship was inoperable and its crew killed in hte crash, the central computer remained active.
To the warlike, bronze tool wielding Gau, the visiage of an incorporeal woman frightened and intrigued them. They found ways to communicate with their goddess and were hurtled forward in technological prowess. The artificial intelligence called Tirna taught the Gau the necessary skills to keep her powered, to repair what could be repaired of the ship, and in turn they helped her and her databanks to survive. She also taught them mathematics, biology, engineering, and genetics.
The Gau learned the ship was on a mission to the city of The Ancient City of Avalon; a wonderous city that floats among the heavens. As generations came and went, their knowledge compounded. It only took the Gau 1200 years after the discovery of Tirna to build their first space-capable ship, from bronze age to space age. They decided to seek out Avalon and spread among the stars, and in doing so discovered other races; lesser races in the minds of the Gau. Races they did not believe deserving of the Elder Ones' knoweldge or power. And so began their walk down The Path.
