1. Species Name

Common Name: The Altered
Self-Designation: Varuul Continuum (working name, easily changeable)

2. Description of Looks

The Altered appear outwardly restrained and deliberately understated. Their forms are broadly humanoid, but their movements are slow, precise, and economical, as if every action has been weighed before being taken. Visible augmentation is minimal by design; exposed machinery or excessive cybernetics are considered failures rather than achievements.

Their bodies show signs of internal modification rather than external replacement. Subtle seams along the skull, spine, and limbs hint at integrated systems beneath organic surfaces. Their eyes are often muted in color or slightly reflective, adapted for reduced sensory input rather than enhancement. To human observers, they feel unsettling not because they are monstrous, but because they seem less alive than expected present, aware, but carefully limited.

3. Their History

Long before humanity reached the stars, the Varuul were a thriving, expansionist civilization. They were emotionally rich, politically divided, and technologically ambitious. Their culture prized innovation and individual achievement, but this rapid growth pushed them toward instability. Conflicts escalated faster than they could be resolved, and systems meant to protect them instead accelerated their collapse.

The Varuul homeworld was orbited by three moons, and in their expansionist phase, they colonized two of them. These lunar colonies developed distinct cultures and political systems, growing increasingly independent from the homeworld. Tensions mounted as resources became scarce and ideological differences deepened. Multiple wars erupted between the main planet and the two moon colonies, each conflict more devastating than the last.

As the wars escalated beyond any hope of resolution, the homeworld's leadership made a desperate decision: to destroy the two moons entirely. Recognizing that such an act would fundamentally alter their planet's environment, they first undertook a massive program of body augmentation. These modifications were designed with minimal visible aesthetic subtle, internal enhancements that would allow them to survive the coming environmental catastrophe. The alterations were integrated beneath the skin, preserving their outward appearance while preparing their bodies for extreme conditions.

The destruction of the moons was successful, but the consequences were catastrophic. The planet's seasons became erratic and unpredictable, thrown into chaos by the loss of the moons' gravitational influence. Worse still, the debris from the shattered moons formed vast clouds of fragments that drifted through space, periodically blocking sunlight for months at a time. The planet endured extended periods of darkness, with some nights lasting for many months as the remnants of the moons cast long shadows across the world.

Their near-extinction came not from a single enemy, but from these cascading failures of their own making, runaway technologies, the moon wars, and the environmental devastation that followed. Facing total annihilation, the Varuul made a collective decision that would define their future survival at any cost. They radically altered their biology and cognition to suppress the traits they believed led to their downfall, unchecked emotion, impulsive decision making, and rapid technological escalation.

The Alteration saved them. It stabilized their civilization, halted internal conflict, and allowed them to endure where others vanished. However, it also stripped away much of what they once valued. Art lost meaning, passion faded, and individuality became subdued. The Varuul survived, but as something diminished. Their history is preserved in vast archives and memorial structures, studied but no longer fully felt a reminder of who they were and what they lost.

4. What Drives Them

The Altered are driven by one overriding principle: preventing irreversible collapse. Survival is not a triumph to them, but a responsibility. They believe that certain thresholds, once crossed, cannot be undone, and that civilizations often recognize these points only after it is too late.

They do not seek expansion, worship, or dominance. Their actions are guided by long term stability and the avoidance of existential risk. Every decision is slow, consensus-driven, and shaped by the memory of their own failure.

5. Why They Are at War with Humanity

The Altered see humanity approaching the same critical threshold that once doomed them. Human expansion is rapid, fragmented, and technologically reckless by their standards. Developments in artificial intelligence, augmentation, autonomous warfare, and large scale space infrastructure mirror the warning signs recorded in Varuul history.

From their perspective, humanity is not evil or inferior but dangerously close to making a choice that will force irreversible change. Their attacks are aimed at slowing human progress, destroying specific technologies, and removing strategic capabilities they believe will corner humanity into the same survival at any cost decision they once made. To the Altered, war is preferable to allowing humanity to repeat their fate.

6. Tech Breakdown

Philosophy:
Altered technology is built around limitation and control, not enhancement. Their systems are designed to prevent escalation, isolate failure, and enforce restraint.

Key Characteristics:

Modular Augmentation: Enhancements are temporary, task-specific, and reversible.
Cognitive Dampening Systems: Used to suppress emotional spikes, aggression, and impulsive behavior.
Bounded Networks: Information is shared through controlled consensus frameworks, not hive minds.
Defensive Priority: Strong shielding, redundancy, and containment-focused weapons.
Fail-Safe Dominance: Systems default to shutdown rather than overload.

Weaponry:
Precise, efficient, and designed to disable infrastructure rather than annihilate populations. Collateral damage is viewed as a strategic failure.

Technology Aesthetic (Conceptual):
Functional, subdued, and deliberately non intimidating tools meant to endure, not inspire.

Design Note:
The Altered are not conquerors or assimilators. They are a civilization living with the consequences of a choice they believe no species should ever have to make again.