The Others are a non-human sentient species which present the greatest threat to the continued existence of humans and the Bobs known so far. First detected by Mario in Chapter 57 of We Are Legion (Book 1), their homeworld is located in Gliese 877.
Biology[]
They are physiologically unlike any Earth organism. Initially, Bobs compare them to squids, mantises, and sometimes simply blobs or sacs. Later, detailed scans reveal forms unlike any singular creature on Earth, with many small eyes located around their heads, a large vertical mouth opening, and a hunched quadrupedal stance.
They "stand" at about four feet tall, and have "color shaded between an oily green-violet sheen through gray, to black." (228) Book descriptions of their physical appearance are somewhat abstract, leading many to fall back on their social and behavioral characteristics and envision them as strange insects. However, Bill gives no direct indication of this, and is instead attempting to characterize something far more alien in nature.
Artist's impression of a member of The Others by M.W.F. Baily, based on book descriptions and refined with feedback from the author. This design is based on the blue glaucus sea slug, reportedly D.E.T.'s inspiration for The Others.
"Okay, think of the posture of a gorilla. Not quite a quadruped, but not quite upright... The back limbs are more like a split tail, except there's also a tail. Visualize a sea lion's back end with a tail tacked on. The front limbs have these big appendages that look like fat fingers, but I don't think they're for manipulating. They have suckers on them, so I think they're more for gripping prey. The creature has what I'd have to describe as feeding fingers that fold out from here... and appear to be dexterous enough to act as manipulators. They also direct food into the maw." (228)
Their mouth is described as a vertical gash running down the front of their body, which appears better suited to grind and strip a meal, as opposed to chewing. Two sets of six feeding fingers run down either side of the mouth. Bill adds that it would be "particularly slow and painful to be eaten by these things." (228)
While they do have a distinct head, their central nervous system is more centrally located in the body, leaving the head's function almost exclusively sensory. They have 360 degree vision due to numerous small eyes spaced evenly around their domed heads, but their overall eyesight is fairly poor by human standards.
Society[]
They are stated to be socially organized similar to Earth's insects, specifically those who function in large colonies. Their ships have large living areas, where the Others appear to be packed in like sardines.
A Prime, analogous to a queen, is at the top of the social structure, with sub-primes below the single Prime, and presumably the rest of society below the sub-primes. The latest Prime, and by extension the rest of the Others society, seems to only be concerned with what will happen during the current Prime's lifetime, with little to no thought given to how the next Prime's reign will be impacted. If a Prime is created or born while another lives, war ensues between the two Primes, strongly discouraging interstellar colonization.
"Sub-Primes can be controlled, but not over interstellar distances. We know you are using this dialog to probe for information. This amuses us. The scurrying of food as it evades the inevitable end is perhaps for us what you mean by 'art." (222)—The Others, to Bill, For We Are Many
They use a base twelve number system, which corresponds to the number of feeding digits that each individual has.
Contact[]
The Others know one human language, Mandarin, after capturing and presumably dismantling the Chinese Von Neumann probe, which the Bobs deduce had peen piloted by an AMI. It is not known how The Others communicate among themselves, but based on their ship movements in battle, they do not have the faster-than-light communication enjoyed by the Bobs via SCUT.
Bill makes official first contact with The Others by sending a probe to intercept a convoy in the Gliese 54 system, which they are about to invade. The probe is carefully crafted by Mario to be low-tech and poorly constructed, so as not to reveal the true extent of the Bobs' technology and abilities. The Others provide only as much information as is convenient for them, before destroying the probe as soon as it comes within range. The brief conversation makes it clear to the Bobs that they will not negotiate, and are bent on consuming everything in their path.
"You are food. It is not the purpose of food to co-exist. We will, in time, make our way to your Sol and your Epsilon Eridani. We have seen your radio beacons. Food always thus announces itself." (222)—The Others, to Bill, For We Are Many
The Bobs conclude that total destruction of The Others is necessary, if the Human race — and the Bobs — are to survive.
Invasion[]
The Others invade entire solar systems and harvest all resources, metals, woods, organics, and even life forms. The life forms become food for their population, and the metals and other resources are allocated to the construction of a Dyson Sphere around their home star. Interestingly, The Others' never mention the massive amount of energy that would be produced by the Dyson Sphere they plan on building. The only goal they speak of is creating more living space. Their system harvesting methods are described as being incredibly efficient — centuries or perhaps millennia ahead of what humans or Bobs could achieve.
The Others go out of their way to destroy other life: they target inhabited systems for harvesting, bypassing uninhabited systems that are even closer to their home system and richer in metals than the inhabited systems. The harvesting process destroys all life, even intelligent species, as they regard other species as "food." Or, if a species proves to be enough of a nuisance, the Others label them "pests". After the Bobs' defense of Delta Pavonis, the Others label the Bobs (and by extension, humanity), as "pests'" and vow to destroy humans in the Epsilon Eridani and Sol systems.
Expeditions[]
Before the Bobs learn of their existence, The Others have already invaded several neighboring systems, including Beta Hydri and Zeta Tucanae. Later exploration reveals that they had already invaded even more systems on the opposite side of GL 877 from Earth, probably due to the other systems’ proximity and/or plentiful resources.
After the Bobs discover The Others, they launch four additional expeditions:
- Gliese 54
- Delta Pavonis
- NN4285 — the expedition is mentioned but not described, since it is not within the Bobiverse at the time.
- Sol — the fleet likely launches October 2227 from the far side of GL 877. It arrives in 2257.
Technology[]
Theories on Bobnet suggest that the Others may have obtained their advanced technology from another, even more advanced species, rather than developing it themselves. This is owed to the fact that they are not very inventive.
Propulsion[]
The Others’ vessels are equipped with Casimir drives, which use a quantum effect to generate massive amounts of energy.
SUDDAR[]
The others use SUDDAR as a kind of “subspace radar” in the same way the Bobs use it.
The Others also have the capability to emit a mega-ping of intense SUDDAR energy, which will light up every object within four light minutes.
They also use the same SUDDAR technology to beam energy to their worker ant robots. When Mario discovers the ants, they are dormant until he pings them with SUDDAR.
Vessels[]
Their expeditions consist of three types of ships:
Cargo Ships — cylinders that are ten kilometers long and one kilometer wide, these are massive vessels used to transport the plundered resources of entire star systems back to their home system. The Bellerophon is one example of this type of ship.
Death Asteroids — large spheres that serve the same purpose as the Death Star in Star Wars: to destroy life. A top 1/8 section of the sphere has an energy grid that fires intense gamma rays, which the Bobs refer to as “zapping” a target.
Escort Ships — these are small ships of indeterminate size and shape. Hundreds of them accompany each expedition convoy.
Weapons[]
Their primary offensive weapons are gamma ray generators aboard the Death Asteroids. These are used not only for combat but also to kill all living things on a planet, prior to harvesting.
The Others also have plasma weapons for use in space battles.
Finally, they have missles tipped with fusion warheads and powered by Casimir drives that are many times more efficient than the propulsion systems of the HEAVEN vessels.