| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
The Taelon race are an offshoot another alien species, the Atavus . Some members of the Atavus race broke off to devote themselves to the pursuit of spiritual perfection, which eventually lead to a state of existence as pure energy. The remaining members of the Atavus race pursued a life of warfare. This divergence led to the speciation of the Atavus, producing the Taelons and the warlike Jaridians . Conflict between the two brances of the Atavus family has raged since (with the Jaridians taking largely the upper hand). The two species despise one another: the Taelons deride the Jaridians as "bloodthirsty heathens with no respect for life", while the Jaridians consider their more philosophically-minded cousins to be weak, affected wimps.
Taelons share a partial collective consciousness, known as The Commonality. This serves as a telepathic link between Taelons.
Several centuries after the birth of Christ, a Taelon scientist named Ma'el visited Earth. Ma'el's task was to assess the suitability of the human race for contact with the Taelons, an idea which was thought to be integral to the survival of both races in the fight against the Jaridians. Ma'el concluded that humanity was not ready for contact with the Taelons, as she perceived the gulf between the relative intellects of the two species was too great.
Much later, the Taelons arrived in full force despite Ma'el's warning. Referring to themselves as "Companions", they set about eliminating world hunger and poverty. However, some within the human race had reservations regarding their true intentions.
Taelons are tall humanoids of a slender build. They have pale, mottled skin, and are hairless. Their appearance is androgynous, although Taelon gender and reproductive physiology appears to be more complex than that of humans. They have high, resonant voices.