Mercantile Academia
General Information
Species Name: Mercantile Academia
Base: Bipedal Amphibian
Mode Of Governance: The Collegium, academically elected council
Tech Level: (Alpha: Pre Warp. Beta: Warp Capable. Delta: Able to harness ALL available resources. Gamma: Q level.) Beta
Physical Descriptors
As varied in height and weight as any species, the Mercantile Academia is an Amphibian species as much at home outside of the water as within it. Tending towards broad shoulders and powerful arms and legs, they have a short neck and a smooth hairless head. Their large eyes are capable of seeing in a wider range of light than human eyes but tend to have poorer long-distance vision.
Their digits are webbed but are dexterous enough to operate advanced technology with ease.
Key Points
The Mercantile Academia has been an organisation and socio-political entity for well over 400 thousand years. How they have accomplished this without seeming to have evolved or suffered the sort of social cataclysm is a closely guarded secret. They are scholars and researchers who sell their skills and knowledge to the highest bidder, usually in exchange for access to scholarly tomes or needed materials.
They have no allegiance to any group outside of their own, bartering with the slavers of the Sleepers Bazaar, the Myriad and even the Concordance without ill effect. Their only goal in life is to gain more knowledge or to refine their understanding of a particular area of study. This can lead to them actively seeking the ire of other races if it means they can access areas beyond their borders.
They have a fixation on the Priors and their technology, either in its trade or understanding. Over their four hundred kilo century existence, they have amassed an impressive knowledge base with theories and understandings of what the Prior’s were planning to accomplish with their machines. Few theories can be proven other than that they must have had a plan of some sort.
