Secret Characters #5 - THE FOURTH CREATURE

Welcome to the fifth post of Secret Character Month, an ongoing project to develop art for upcoming arcs in Cryopod Refresh. Please be aware that this post and the others after it are going to contain spoilers.

You've been warned.

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The Volgrim.

A name that channels fear throughout demonkind. The so-called protectors of the galaxy. A Type-3 civilization that has expanded their territory to encompass the entirety of the Milky Way. They have harnessed the energy of thousands of stars. They stand atop a pyramid of life where no other subjugated species may touch them.

In Cryopod Classic, the Volgrim were a humanlike species. They resembled Lucifer, in that they had humanoid bodies and possessed a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth.

But, that is no longer the case.

The Volgrim in Refresh are a completely different species compared to the ones that appeared in Cryopod Classic.

While the Volgrim in Cryopod Classic were something of a hivemind, with five 'Founders' at the top of their hierarchy, the Volgrim in Refresh are anything but. They include five visually distinct sub-species, each one with its own goals and intentions. Some are warlike. Others, peaceful. What they all share in common is their desire to explore the known universe and to improve their species to its highest limits.

Of course, where their views differ... that is what makes them far more interesting than their incarnation in Classic.

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Today's post is all about the fourth of the five Volgrim subspecies: The Technopaths. 

Among the Volgrim subspecies, Technopaths hold the distinction of being the middle child in population count. They do not have the vast numbers of the Ascended, nor do they command huge swaths of the galaxy like the Changelings and Psions, but what Technopaths do control is the entirety of the technology Volgrim society runs on. Weapons, gadgets, utilities... anything made of metal that runs on some form of energy is likely one of their inventions, with very limited exceptions.

Technopaths believe that technology is the ultimate way to amass power. While the Ascended pursue pleasure, Changelings pursue knowledge, and Psions pursue bodily perfection, Technopaths believe only in technological progress. They augment their bodies on the individual level; some seeking warlike capabilities like the Psions, while others stimulate the pleasure centers of their brains with nanites.

Of course, the road to Hell (Cryopod to Hell?!) is paved with good intentions. Some Technopaths, millions of years before the events of Cryopod, sought to create the perfect technological entity. They stumbled upon the secrets of Artificial Intelligence, and spent centuries creating the perfect life-form.

When their creation turned upon them, a bloody conflict ensued; one that would eventually draw in all five of the Volgrim factions in an effort to stop it.

Some believe the Technopaths learned their lesson. They ceased their development of automated war machines and placed a strict blanket ban on any AI whose intelligence exceeded Level 3. However, the Technopaths closely guard one important secret from all the other factions.

They never fully recovered the pieces of their lost AI.

Only time will tell what the ramifications of their actions might be.

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The artwork for the Technopaths was fairly easy to come up with. The only thing we had trouble with were the mechanical parts. Since Technopaths will have a huge variety of attachments all over their body, don't consider the above design definitive. Not all of them will have spider-legs or Borg-eyes, but some will.

The final Volgrim species will be the Dolgrimites. Some FUN stuff is coming! Believe it!

Thanks for reading.