Second Stage Vampires of the Shadowed Galaxy, Part I – Background

The Shadowed Galaxy game is currently taking a break – but the group has determined how the “life cycle” of the local version of Vampires works.

Stage I is the infection – and weaponization – of a material entity by a Subspace Template. There are a couple of ways that that can happen including secondary infection by a carrier, direct infection by a late-stage Vampire Core, and (no doubt) weird accidents and experiments – but the results almost always fall into one of three categories.

• Primitive animals die. Evidently there has to be a certain level of complexity and size to support the template/infection.
• More complex animals usually die, but some (usually animals that are already predatory, sizeable, and dangerous) will become extremely dangerous (if still mostly animalistic) vampire-themed predators with flashes of intelligence.
• Sapient entities still fairly often die, or go mad, or suffer some other serious complication – but the survivors emerge as First Stage Vampires.

If a first stage vampire survives for long enough, or focuses on developing their abilities, or absorbs (or is granted) additional subspace energies and programming from a higher-stage vampire, they may develop into second stage vampires.

Stage II Vampires are more powerful – and are able to create groups of first stage vampire followers as well as enjoying several other social advantages. (This may not have been an original part of the design, but it has almost certainly been selected for over the generations).

A very old second stage vampire, or one that suffers “death” in some way it can’t recover from, loses it’s physical body and link to the material realm – and drifts out into interstellar space (since they are repelled by nearby planets and suns) as what was at first labeled a “Subspace Mine”. Such “mines” are drawn to ships using Warp (but not Hyperspace, Subspace, or Informational, although normalspace drives may or may not be targeted) Drives – and if they contact one in flight will attempt to infect it, disposing of the crew along the way.

The original mind may or may not survive, but even if it does… it will usually be strongly influenced by the array of expert programs that normally takes over at this point.

A Stage III Vampire – or “Haunted Ship” – is a dire presence in a multi-century long process of integrating itself with the structure, systems, and power supplies of a starship (or occasionally a space station or other vessel) and rebuilding it to suit itself. As such, it can animate the structure of the ship, direct it’s energies, weapons, and drives, drain other sources of energy, and defend itself with vigor.

At the end of the process… important systems will have been tightly integrated and compacted, the materials used for such useless items as crew quarters and life support will have been converted to extra armor, weapons, and power systems, and the new Stage IV Vampire Core will seek out a planet hosting an appropriate sapient race, land, conceal itself – and start spawning a force of Stage I Vampires.

Obviously enough, any permanent solution to a planetary vampire plague starts with destroying the vampire core or cores – but given that they are generally functioning starships as well as possessing a high-powered array of subspace-based powers that’s a difficult proposition at best.

For good or ill however… it has been long enough since the Vampire Plague was set in motion across the galaxy for both mutation and evolution to play a role. Some Vampire Cores find it difficult or impossible to maintain control of the vampires they create, others bestow bizarre variations on the usual abilities, others have lost important parts of their targeting or behavioral programming, and still others retain far more of the original hosts mind than was (presumably) ever intended. Not surprisingly, some strains have adapted to fit into, or conceal themselves in, civilizations more effectively. Some may not even really resemble the original design any more.

The group has not yet deciphered the full programming of the Vampire Cores – but has observed that they seem to treat Informational Creatures – such as “Mummies” as primary targets, and rarely attempt to exterminate other targets. There is even some indication that they intentionally “cultivate” species that can produce effective informational weaponry and/or technological starships suitable for conversion to more vampire cores – ensuring that the former remain in constant conflict (and thus producing more weapons) and that the latter continue to produce starships.

They have also discovered that Subspace Mines will not attempt to take over a ship that is already “haunted” or which already has a Vampire Core aboard. Sadly, this consideration does not extend to First and Second stage vampires.

While the exact history of the galactic wars has lost millions of years before humanity evolved, the internal evidence strongly suggests that the subspace species involved lacked direct access to the Informational level of reality – and so were drafting proxy warriors from matter-based species that had at least SOME access to that level of things.

Given that the vampires have a vested interest in the survival of civilizations with informational capabilities and/or the ability to build technological starships to possess, as well as a sizeable population to recruit from, there is a strong likelihood that they have been gradually evolving towards a symbiotic relationship with appropriate host species. The jury on the “Mummies” is still out.

The second stage vampire template got complicated enough – and took long enough to write – that I’m splitting things here. Part II will be the Template, and Part III will be some of the types.