setting

[morphinmods]

setting

The year is 2013. Orlando, the City Beautiful. Mired in the wetlands of central Florida, it’s a bustling urban center, full of life and all of the comforts of the modern age -- and it’s the home of Disney World, Universal Studios, the University of Central Florida, and the largest and fastest growing chapter of The Sharing in the nation.

You live your life here, day to day. You go to work, attend classes, spend time with family, go out with friends -- whatever life has to offer here, you’re apart of it, somehow. Good or bad, it’s the life you know, and it’s what you’re used to. The world is as you know it, and yet...

There is so much we don’t know.



There is a world beyond our planet we have barely even glimpsed. Far beyond Earth, the vast expanse of space contains much more intelligent life than we could have guessed: not only the sinister Yeerk Empire who have already reached our planet, but the space-faring Andalites who gave them the technology to get here. This incident, sparked by the fatal kindness of a single Andalite, has resulted in a full-scale war as the Andalites try to stamp out the Yeerk invasion before it can claim another planet as its victim, as it has the planet of the Hork-Bajir. The Yeerks wage war with stolen technology, keeping the Andalites busy on the home front while they silently infiltrate the population of Earth, a treasure trove of ideal hosts. If they can claim Earth as their own, and all of humanity with it, the Yeerk Empire would have an unstoppable army. If they succeed...

technology

The galaxy's assorted alien races all have a variety of technology at their disposal, not the least of which is space travel. Although the style and design of spacecraft vary widely across alien races, there is only one method of faster-than-light travel: it requires passing through Z-space, an extradimensional plane in which neither time nor space exist. The Andalites were responsible for the discovery of Z-space and the development of technology around it, including ship engines capable of withstanding Z-space travel and Z-space-enabled communications technology. Z-space is also a crucial part of morphing technology, as it is where excess mass is stored and retrieved during morphing. More information about the morphing technology can be found here.

The Andalites have also developed weapons technology. The shredder is a phaser-like energy weapon, both handheld and ship-mounted, which delivers a blast that will either stun or burn clean through steel and concrete depending on the power setting. Andalite weapons are design to kill as cleanly and painlessly as possible; however, the Yeerk-modified version of the shredder known as the Dracon beam is significantly more brutal, and does its damage much more slowly. A high-powered blast from a ship-mounted Dracon cannon can literally cook its victims alive. Handheld Dracon beams are standard issue for most Controllers.

The Yeerks have also developed technology to sustain them away from their home planet. Yeerk pools are massive underground structures -- twice the size of a large shopping mall -- containing individual pools much like the ones on the Yeerk home planet. The pools are filled with a thick, sludgy substance the color of lead in which Yeerks swim about in their natural state. This is the natural Yeerk habitat, in which they can soak up nutrient-rich Kandrona rays, vital to the Yeerk’s health and survival. Kandrona rays are a natural product of the Yeerk home planet’s sun, but off-planet pools must use artificial Kandronas. There are also portable pools and Kandronas, usually only available to higher-ranking Yeerks.

the sharing

The Sharing is the front organization for the Yeerk invasion, and their main venue for recruiting new hosts. It is a philanthropic organization and social group geared at fostering a sense of community and good will -- somewhat like the Boys & Girls Club of America, but geared at people of all ages. Although it is driven by no particular creed other than its own, The Sharing is oriented around family and community values, becoming a productive member of society, and how one can better oneself by contributing to the greater good. The Sharing often hosts open events such as cookouts, camping trips, and community improvement projects in order to draw in new members and maintain their public image, and with the renowned philanthropist Mercedes Ruíz-Elliston as the head of the Florida chapter, it provides a nearly bulletproof cover for the Yeerk invasion. Although not all members of The Sharing are necessarily Controllers, all new members are infested eventually under the guise of becoming a "full member."