Pastel Defender Heliotrope

Page Number: 162

Justice For All... That Matter

Wednesday 5th, 2006

PAGE FOOTNOTES: The Drapeta-Umor (literally 'shapeless runaway slaves') suffered their enslavement under the blessing of the church of Godan. This was considered proper, because the Umor, the Jellese of Tryslmaistan, were clearly inferior to Man; they could barely survive in comfortable -if windblown- Pastel. Slavery was seen as a kindness to the suffering monsters, who were thought to be subhuman of intellect, and dangerous if uncontrolled.

In truth, 800 years in the past, the Jellese were a problem for the original settlers of Pastel. When they crashed upon the first rectilinear continent, the Jellese writhed in pain - cut off from their life-sustaining electanic radiation, almost half of their biological energy suddenly was missing. They began starving immediately, and those that survived learned to stop making organs at will, but instead to conserve every calorie by maintaining a permanent set of organs within their body by force of will. Unfortunately, brainpower is perhaps the hungriest of all biological systems, so a balance of sacrifice for survival had to be made.

Some of the Jellese, previously scientists and scholars aboard the Nakimono Floating Research Island, became little more than monsters, with little awareness and constant hunger, they attacked all around them in desperation. The salts and chemicals of earthly flesh and plant became digestible in the new universe, and this made them very dangerous to everyone, including each other. The Jellese were contained, and gradually taught how to survive. They were given frames and wheels to reduce the energy requirements of motion, and taught how to keep food in stomach-like pouches inside their bodies, and to gradually and slowly digest, despite the constant pain of hunger. It was constant misery for them, and some committed suicide rather than endure existence within such a horrific cosmos.

Over time, their degraded state and constant needs became a burden to the humans of Pastel. Political and social pressure to put the Jellese to work, to make them pay for their keep arose. Eventually, the Jellese, most barely able to retain language, were forced into servitude as a new social order swept human society; a call to emulate what was perceived to be the greatest of the Tryslmaistan First People, the Romanum, those that came from a divot that was once part of ancient, earthly Rome.

Eventually, some Jellese, now called the Umor, or 'Shapeless', became 'house slaves' of wealthy humans. Provided with extra calories, they slowly began to retain their incredible mental abilities, such as perfect memory, and machine-like minds. Some eventually began to remember the true history of Pastel, and to argue for equality, and this led to a violent rebellion, and an angry flight away from humanity. With the escaping Umor went also some human sympathizers. Somehow, they found a way to survive on continents outside the Triumviral Empire, and began staging raids on human lands for resources.

This is the situation today; with the rebellion of the Umor still personally remembered by elder humans, and raids and skirmishes on the borders of the human Empire. In this volatile environment, it would take little to bring about a final conflict between the humans and their former slaves.

PASTEL DEFENDER HELIOTROPE
By Jennifer Diane Reitz

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