Mycon

The Mycon are a fictional race of beings featured in the sci-fi Star Control computer game series. Physically they resemble fungi that thrive in hostile, volcanic environments in which the temperature is close to the melting point of lead (327.5 degrees Celsius, or 621.5 degrees Fahrenheit). Amphibole structures that make up their physiology allow them to withstand such extreme environments. Mentally, they resemble a fractured mirror. Their technology is organic in nature.

Properties
The fungoid Mycon bodies (0.5 to 3.5 m tall) appear simple enough, but this is deceptive. While revitalizing when taken out of a deep freeze may be explainable by their biology, a capability to perform genetic modification on themselves by thought isn't. According to the Umgah, there's no way that the Mycon could have evolved. Indeed, the developers of the game revealed that they were terraforming tools of the Precursors, whose programming drifted after their Creators' mysterious disappearance.. Mycon reproduce by budding and offspring apparently reach instant maturity.

Mentally, Mycon are hard to understand. A coherent Human-Mycon conversation appears to be an impossibility; Mycon ramblings seldom seem to attach any relevance to what's said to them even when they acknowledge the presence of others. From what they do say it is clear that the race possesses racial memory. Mycon receive select memories of their forebears at birth and dead Mycon from millennia ago have been known to achieve momentary dominance to speak with the voices of their living descendants, one of the few times a Mycon will refer to itself with the word "I". They do snap into frightening lucidity when presented with knowledge of a world ideal for their Deep Children (see below).

A central concept to the race is Juffo-Wup, the hot light in the darkness. Whatever it is, there's a definite fervent streak associated with it that seems to be as close to religion you can get with their way of thinking. Mycon live for it, and only for it. Juffo-Wup seems to be a positive thing, connected to them and/or their spread. Related are the Non, what is not Juffo-Wup, and Void, what Non that doesn't become Juffo-Wup must become. Juffo-Wup seems to refer to the Mycon and anything under their control (the Podships, the Deep Children and their worlds), Non is other life and planets that the Mycon have not yet violently terraformed to their liking and Void is anything else, such as space or dust. The Mycon claim that Juffo-Wup recognises Non that cannot be turned into Void at a certain time. The Ur-Quan are an example of this. Instead, the Mycon will attempt to ally with the Non until such time as they can destroy it, turning it into void.

Even if they may appear insane to a human, the Mycon are, in fact, capable of clearly purposeful action and pursues large-scale objectives. Though the specific nature of those objectives is not clear, they are the only known race to actively seek out the Ur-Quan in order to become willing members of the Hierarchy. The Mycon have existed for over two hundred thousands of years, though their Sphere of Influence is only medium-sized - most probably they didn't have the technology required to expand more.

They only live in extreme, hostile environments they create for themselves by implanting Deep Children (living terraforming devices) under the planet crust. In Star Control 3 you can find out that the Deep Children are really a sentient race, that has implanted memories. Only certain kinds of planets are optimal for this operation of theirs, and the "impregnation" of a planet is a holy Mycon ritual. The target typically is a blue, life-bearing planet, and the outcome is known as a "Shattered World" with significant crust destabilization and rivers of magma flowing free in the surface. What or who originally inhabited the planet is not relevant. They are the Non.

Mycon in Star Control 2
While in the first Star Control the creatures had little backstory and Star Control 3 is largely ignored by the fan community, the Mycon were detailed extensively in the second installment. During the second game, after the collapse of the Alliance of Free Stars, they serve as unattended combat thralls of the Kzer-Za, who are otherwise preoccupied, and only concern themselves with the spread of Juffo-Wup. It is of note that they are the only known sentient race to actively seek out the Ur-Quan in order to become combat thralls. It is revealed by the Umgah that the Mycon did not evolve naturally, but rather are genetic constructs (the identity of their supposed creators, however, is not clear). Further, it is revealed that the Mycon spread was originally responsible for the cataclysmic destruction of the Syreen homeworld Syra, and the almost total extermination of their race. When the Syreen find out, they react accordingly, and with the assistance of the Captain, reclaim their mothballed starfleet, and trick the Mycon into an ambush. The Syreen enact their vengeance on the Mycon, decimating their fleet of Podships.

In Star Control 2 is also revealed that the Mycon were in fact terraforming tools created by the Precursors, whose programming drifted through the ages, forming the worship of Juffo-Wup.

Quotes
*"I am Dugee. I am the purity monitor. I choose which buds are permitted to mature, and which must be eradicated. I died of general misfunction 57,283 years ago."
*"When Juffo-Wup is complete, when at last there is no Void or Non, when the Creators return, then we can finally rest."
*"`... planetary transformer biot 94-18: take your place at the transporter dais...'"
*"Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues." (upon attacking)
*"`...incorporation of dense amphibole fibers ensure survival in environmental extremes...'"

Mycon Podship
The spherical Mycon Podship is a large, relatively slow ship. Its primary weapon is a plasma generator that produces a concentrated sphere of energy (plasmoids) with a homing capability, which grow in size but eventually dissipate. At short ranges, the plasmoid is a devastating weapon, but the homing capability of the plasmoid is a double-edged sword: against fast, maneuverable vessels such as the Arilou Skiff, the Yehat Terminator, the Spathi Eluder, the Thraddash Torch and the Pkunk Fury, the plasmoid can be led right back to the Podship that fired it, causing tremendous damage. Likewise, a Podship typically fires while facing backwards (i.e. away from the current direction of travel) to avoid having its own momentum carry it onto a just-fired plasmoid. A common Mycon tactic against faster ships is to use a nearby planet to perform a gravity whip, accelerating to a speed greater than could be generated by the Podship's engines, then turning backwards and steadily releasing plasmoids until the enemy is defeated.

The Podship also has crew-growth zones on the outside of the podship that can repopulate the complement in groups of four, at the cost of a fully charged combat battery. If the Podship can manage to keep the enemy at a distance for a time, even sizeable combat losses can be recovered in this way. With the exception of Doogs from Star Control 3, the Mycon Podships are the only vessels in the Star Control universe that has the ability to regenerate lost crew.

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