Elashani History

Gas is one of the three classical states of matter. The most abundant gases are hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon. Near absolute zero, gas becomes a solid. As heat is added, it melts into a liquid, and if heated high enough, it enters a plasma state. It is the most unstable of all three states of matter, yet one of the most abundant. More than 70% of all planets are made of gas, yet 0% of life can be found on these gaseous planets. That is…until the Elashani were discovered.

It began when Novacon miners embarked on their first waive of gas harvesting sessions along the Elashani home planet. The huge mining ships began draining the precious gases to use for fuels, unaware that the Elashani creatures were camouflaged among the vapors. The Elashani attempted to communicate with the fleshly visitors, but found that they could not speak to the solid aliens the way they did with one another (sharing electrically-charged data between gas atoms). So the Elashani leaders decided that they would send diplomats up to the Novacon mining vessels, sneaking inside with the energy enriched nitrogen harvested from their own planet.

The plan worked at first, as Elashani easily made their way up to the Novacon vessels. As the Elashani reached the crafts however, they found that there were still no means to speak with the alien miners. So they began to manipulate Novacon computers, using the electric based equipment to speak to their fleshy excavators. Novacons first believed that they were under attack by some rogue AI, but as time went on, they were shocked to find out that they were merely conversing with the very gases they had been gathering.

Novacon command immediately alerted the rest of the Hexisan Union, causing Altarians to call upon their Elders. The Elders used their potent psionic abilities to more accurately commune with Elashani, and after a long period of introductions, the gaseous creatures were finally ready to leave their planet in search of new worlds. They bartered a deal with the Hexisan Union, offering not only some of their planet’s resources, but knowledge on how to convert unrefined gases into precious fuels.

In return, Hexisan engineers developed mechanical shells that the Elashani could use to not only communicate with the physical world, but keep themselves safe (as outside environments were far more dangerous to the gaseous species than other races). Since the Elashani had no real past, merely living in a suspended state of consciousness, they were excited to begin a new chapter in their race’s existence. Their open mindedness also helped them influence Hexisan scientists to launch new hypothesis on how sentient life can be formed.