The Altasi were a highly technologically advanced race of artificial organic lifeforms created by the Ancient Terrans, originally meant to be subservient to them and fight on their behalf.
The Altasi primarily lived in huge underwater cities, the most populous being on their homeworld, Altas.
Initially, the Altasi did as the Terrans programmed them.
However, at some point, they gained free will of their own. Information from this era is scarce but from what is known, the Altasi were able to peacefully form their own civilisation, seperate from the Terrans but working closely together as allies.
Altasi technology, much like the Terrans, is almost entirely organic.
The Altasi somewhat resembled theropod dinosaurs much like those that once existed on Mesozoic-era Terra many millions of years ago. Due to their aquatic nature they posessed a tail with webbed fins and powerful muscles for swimming, as well as smaller webbing on the undersides of their forearms and calves (technically ankles? since they were digitigrade) to help steer in the water. A ventral fin on the back was also present for added stability.
Altasi were never really 'born' more-so assembled, on production lines in their underwater cities. It is generally believed that the Altasi were named as such after the Terran myth of Atlantis, the city that sunk to the bottom of the sea. You can see the resemblance, even despite the differences brought by linguistic drift and repeated translation. Either that, or the Terran(s) who named them wanted to make it sound just slightly different for some indeterminate reason.
It is believed that the Dakiscans may be a result of intentional Altasi genetic experimentation to create a version of themselves capable of surviving on land without specialised respiratory apparatus.
The Altasi were one of the Gatebuilder races, meaning they were able to build Sporegates. This is one of the things they inherited from the Terrans, technologically. The Altasi were created right when the Sporegate network was beginning its construction, when worlds were being seeded with gates for the first time.
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