Community (species)

			Intelligent Lifeform Index

Community (species)
Four Letter Code	CMMN
Federation Status	Unknown
Planet of Origin	Zeta Equulei system
Encountered	2376, USS Rutledge
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	Unknown
List of Named Community
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The Community appears to have arisen as a collective consciousness from their ecosystem, but -- after first contact -- seemed comfortable lodging their minds in single individuals from their world that approximate humanoid dimensions.

Warp-capable, there are reports that they may also possess dangerous, subspace weaponry.

Backstory

The Community are curious about other species but apparently didn’t realize that some of the other races they had encountered were sentient until they made telepathic contact with a Deltan ambassador on board the USS Rutledge. They refused all diplomatic contact with the Federation after the incident.

In 2391, they made contact with the deep space survey ship Tyson. The crew of the Tyson reported seeing things--people that weren’t really there: long lost relatives and friends speaking to them, but something was off about how these representations behaved. Shortly thereafter, the crew realized it was actually the Community itself attempting to communicate with them using their own memories as avatars. It was the first direct communication the Federation received from the Community in over a decade. When the Tyson crew later beamed down to the moon's surface, they encountered actual physical bodies the Community were able to "inhabit" for direct interaction, but it seems such physical forms are more vestigial now, with very little sentient thought on their own unless infused by the Community's consciousness. The Community didn’t take hostile action against the survey ship, instead asking for assistance.

The USS Garuda was subsequently sent to further investigate the matter, discovering the Community were actively engaged in a blockade against their enemy the Myr Luuk.

Homeworld

Officially designated as Zeta Equulei 6A, the Community homeworld is a class M moon orbiting a Jovian-type gas giant. The average surface temperature is 17 degrees Celsius. Dense vegetation covering much of the land mass. The surface is 64% water, however tides caused by the neighboring gas giant are extreme, leading to extreme changes in water levels. Much of the habitable zones of the moon are swamps.

Culture

The Community's culture is built entirely around the collective consciousness - the Confluence - of billions of individuals that the Community refers to as intelligences. Intelligences can be separated from the whole and siphoned into individual bodies. On the planet, such bodies are in full contact with the ‘confluence’, but are able to think, learn, develop, plan, etc… as individuals. This allows for innovation, art, and societal growth. Over time, some members of the Community have chosen to leave the planet. Most return after a few years, with their experiences adding to the greater experience of the whole. As an organization, the Community is extremely conservative and slow to adapt to change. When they discovered that they were so different from other sentient races, they returned their fleet to their home system and have had little contact with the outside universe. As recreation, many intelligences will siphon themselves into other native life forms in order to experience different types of existence.

Appearance

The Community possesses an extraordinary level of control over the other life forms on the planet, with individual intelligences apparently able to inhabit formed bodies for utilitarian purposes. During the Myr Luuk / Community conflict of 2391, the Community generated a humanoid body made primarily of wood and other plant matter to serve as liaison to the Garuda's crew. The Community ships blockading the Myr Luuk homeworld during the same conflict were also living members of the Community.

Communication

Vocal cords never evolved on this planet and the Community has struggled to adapt to the use of verbal language employed by nearly every other sentient species. They communicate through thought with each other, and with those they can connect with. Non-telepathic races may be read by the Community, with effort, but such experiences are uncomfortable for both. Few telepaths can handle contact with so many thoughts at once. They create emissaries when outside communication is necessary. Knowledge can be instilled into any individual, but is usually only granted as it becomes needed. Away from the moon, the Community loses contact with the whole, though they can still connect to other individuals in range. Some of these limitations have been reduced due to advances in subspace communication technology.

Ships

All Community ships are alive and supplied with numerous Community intelligences in order to remain efficient and operational. They have traded with several outside species in order to advance their technology, but they are still about 50 years behind the Federation in terms of technology. Propulsion technology has not improved much at all since their initial warp ships, since the Community has not seen the need to travel beyond their system. The ships are not meant to sustain a crew, but each is equipped with womb that allows it to generate a limited number of lifeforms that may be used to suit some purpose such as communication or repair. If in range of the Confluence, new intelligences can be siphoned into the new body. If not, the ship must sacrifice some of its own intelligences to be placed into the body. The Community does not employ the use of computers in the traditional sense. Computer-like functions are handled by multiple intelligences assigned to perform a specific task.