The Iskoort are a fictional race of aliens from the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate. They are made up of two parts - an "Isk" and a "Yoort". The Isk (slightly shorter than a human, with a roughly triangular head) is the main physical body, and the Yoort is a slug which must leave the Isk every three days to soak up kandrona rays. The difference between the Yeerk and the Yoort is that the Yeerk are parasitic, whereas the Yoort and the Isk are mutualistic - one cannot live without the other. The Yoort were originally parasitic, but felt limited by their choices, so they created the Isk to be their host bodies. The Yoort also altered their own bodies so that they could not survive without the Isk. The Iskoort have a capitalist society sorted by castes, with each Iskoort having a designated function in their society. Trading and selling is a very important part of their society. They specialize in buying and selling memories, especially war memories. The Iskoorts' planet is comprised by many colorful towers, all rising to over 20 miles in height. The ground beneath is dirty, slimy, and comparable to the Yeerk homeland. Because the Iskoort represent an evolution of the Yeerks (from parasitic to symbiotic), Crayak wants them killed, and The Ellimist wants them preserved. Should the Yeerks and Iskoort ever make contact, they may follow the Iskoort method of becoming symbiotic, and thus, stop their conquest. The Ellimist hopes that, by preserving the race, the Yeerks will one day see that there is a peaceful end to their parasitic existence.
|