Nartec
Encyclopedia
The Nartec are a fictional terrestrial
species
appearing in the Animorphs
series, that first appeared in Animorphs 36: The Mutation
, narrated by Jake
. They were possibly inspired by the legend
of Atlantis
. They are humanoid
s that live in a giant cave under the ocean off the coast of the Animorphs' home town. According to Queen Soco, the ruler of the Nartec, the amphibian
race once lived on 'the Surface', on an island
in the 'Great Ocean.' Over decades, the sea began to swallow up the island. Over generations, the islanders built a towering wall around the island, which grew and grew. Eventually, they were completely submerged, but enclosed by the wall, whose perimeter bent over, touching each other to create a dome. However, according to Ax
, this story is highly improbable. What is certain, however, is that the submerged humans adapted to their new environment. Queen Soco referred to this as a "supreme act of will". But soon it became apparent that the 'narna rocks', a highly radioactive material that serves as the Nartec's source of light, was the cause of the rapid mutation of the Nartec to their present form, in the space of a few centuries.
Despite being apparently hominids, the Nartec have huge orange eyes that consume much of their faces. Their skin is blue and slippery, and their hands and feet are webbed in order to improve hydrodynamic performance. Finally, the Nartec possess a dual respiratory system
. While retaining their human lungs, which they use on land, they have gills on their necks in order to filter oxygen
from the water
. Jake and Cassie
both draw disturbing parallels to the amphibian Hork-Bajir
Visser Three
's medical staff experimented on. The Nartec move fluidly in the water, but are weak and slow on land, with a few exceptions.
The Nartec culture appears deplorably degenerate to the visiting Animorphs. It seems backward and extremely inhumane to them. The Nartec have stolen human seagoing vessels which have sunk over the millennia. The Nartec 'Searchers' are deployed to retrieve wreckage, as well as any surviving humans, whom the amphibians refer to as 'Surface-Dwellers'. Ship parts, flotsam and jetsam are used to build furniture, houses, and other items. Sunken ships, some as large as aircraft carriers, that have remained intact are placed in giant galleries on the outskirts of the only Nartec city the Animorphs have seen. The Animorphs' views of the Nartec 'wonders' vary on two different extremes: the way the city was constructed from ship parts, and the gallery, is incredible; and yet, the Nartec technology was merely stolen from humans. The Nartec militia
is equipped with a myriad of collected human arms, from bows and arrows to sub machine guns.
It appears as though no accolade can be awarded the Nartec for cultural or scientific achievement. The Nartec are a race of scavengers, using stolen human and Yeerk
technologies. However, they have developed a technique of extracting human DNA
for reproduction.
Society
among the Nartec is comparable to feudalism
, which appears to have changed little over centuries. The royal class and aristocracy
live in the centre of the town. The bourgeoisie live further out, while the traders, artisans and manufacturers live closer to the outskirts. Finally, criminals and the poor eke out an existence outside the town. Cassie makes a remark about the sheer backwardness of Nartec discrimination
.
Human prisoners retrieved from sunken vessels have appeared to have been treated well as guests, at first, but are then subjected to horrible torture. Nartec 'doctors' inject a solution of 'ablata' weed, which 'renders subjects peaceful and compliant'. This drug merely sedates the victims; it does not put them into sleep, or mask the pain. After dissecting their victims alive, the Nartec remove all organs and stuff them with an unidentified material, and are then put on displays on the human vessels as 'educational exhibits', which the Animorphs found shocking, disturbing, and disgusting.
The Nartec are a dying race. The radioactive rocks in their underwater world ensured their survival, but also sealed their demise. Most mutations are detrimental. The population
and life span of the Nartec have dropped over an unspecified amount of time. Infant mortality has been rising as a result of birth defects. The dropping population has forced the amphibian race to inbreed, causing dangerously low fertility. The doomed Nartec have resorted to desperate measures to survive. The main purpose of dissecting the humans is to extract DNA to be somehow transplanted into Nartec females. It has proven a risky process, as a large number of newborns have not inherited the unique Nartec traits needed for survival. Queen Soco's final solution almost came to fruition by chance. By capturing Visser Three's ocean-venturing vessel, the Sea Blade, the Nartec planned to use a powerful, advanced piece of technology to conquer the 'Cultures of the Sun'. The Animorphs came to the conclusion that the Nartec would fail; however, they still possessed nuclear weapons from Soviet and American
submarines, although the Animorphs weren't sure if the Nartec were able to breach the PAL
arming codes.
After nearly being killed by the Nartec, the Animorphs manage to escape aboard the Sea-Blade by forming a temporary alliance with Visser Three, thus saving all of their lives and stopping Queen Soco's plan to conquer the world.
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
appearing in the Animorphs
Animorphs
Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...
series, that first appeared in Animorphs 36: The Mutation
The Mutation (Animorphs)
The Mutation is the thirty-sixth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Erica Bobone. It is narrated by Jake.-Plot summary:...
, narrated by Jake
Jake Berenson
Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...
. They were possibly inspired by the legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
of Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
. They are humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
s that live in a giant cave under the ocean off the coast of the Animorphs' home town. According to Queen Soco, the ruler of the Nartec, the amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
race once lived on 'the Surface', on an island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the 'Great Ocean.' Over decades, the sea began to swallow up the island. Over generations, the islanders built a towering wall around the island, which grew and grew. Eventually, they were completely submerged, but enclosed by the wall, whose perimeter bent over, touching each other to create a dome. However, according to Ax
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...
, this story is highly improbable. What is certain, however, is that the submerged humans adapted to their new environment. Queen Soco referred to this as a "supreme act of will". But soon it became apparent that the 'narna rocks', a highly radioactive material that serves as the Nartec's source of light, was the cause of the rapid mutation of the Nartec to their present form, in the space of a few centuries.
Despite being apparently hominids, the Nartec have huge orange eyes that consume much of their faces. Their skin is blue and slippery, and their hands and feet are webbed in order to improve hydrodynamic performance. Finally, the Nartec possess a dual respiratory system
Respiratory system
The respiratory system is the anatomical system of an organism that introduces respiratory gases to the interior and performs gas exchange. In humans and other mammals, the anatomical features of the respiratory system include airways, lungs, and the respiratory muscles...
. While retaining their human lungs, which they use on land, they have gills on their necks in order to filter oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
from the water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
. Jake and Cassie
Cassie (Animorphs)
Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...
both draw disturbing parallels to the amphibian Hork-Bajir
Hork-Bajir
The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs...
Visser Three
Visser Three
Visser Three, born as Esplin 9466 Primary and later known as Visser One, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K.A. Applegate. He is the leader of the Yeerk forces on Earth, having inherited the planet from Edriss 562, who was Visser One at...
's medical staff experimented on. The Nartec move fluidly in the water, but are weak and slow on land, with a few exceptions.
The Nartec culture appears deplorably degenerate to the visiting Animorphs. It seems backward and extremely inhumane to them. The Nartec have stolen human seagoing vessels which have sunk over the millennia. The Nartec 'Searchers' are deployed to retrieve wreckage, as well as any surviving humans, whom the amphibians refer to as 'Surface-Dwellers'. Ship parts, flotsam and jetsam are used to build furniture, houses, and other items. Sunken ships, some as large as aircraft carriers, that have remained intact are placed in giant galleries on the outskirts of the only Nartec city the Animorphs have seen. The Animorphs' views of the Nartec 'wonders' vary on two different extremes: the way the city was constructed from ship parts, and the gallery, is incredible; and yet, the Nartec technology was merely stolen from humans. The Nartec militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
is equipped with a myriad of collected human arms, from bows and arrows to sub machine guns.
It appears as though no accolade can be awarded the Nartec for cultural or scientific achievement. The Nartec are a race of scavengers, using stolen human and Yeerk
Yeerk
Yeerks are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the book and television series "Animorphs" written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic.-Biology:...
technologies. However, they have developed a technique of extracting human DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
for reproduction.
Society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
among the Nartec is comparable to feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
, which appears to have changed little over centuries. The royal class and aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
live in the centre of the town. The bourgeoisie live further out, while the traders, artisans and manufacturers live closer to the outskirts. Finally, criminals and the poor eke out an existence outside the town. Cassie makes a remark about the sheer backwardness of Nartec discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
.
Human prisoners retrieved from sunken vessels have appeared to have been treated well as guests, at first, but are then subjected to horrible torture. Nartec 'doctors' inject a solution of 'ablata' weed, which 'renders subjects peaceful and compliant'. This drug merely sedates the victims; it does not put them into sleep, or mask the pain. After dissecting their victims alive, the Nartec remove all organs and stuff them with an unidentified material, and are then put on displays on the human vessels as 'educational exhibits', which the Animorphs found shocking, disturbing, and disgusting.
The Nartec are a dying race. The radioactive rocks in their underwater world ensured their survival, but also sealed their demise. Most mutations are detrimental. The population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
and life span of the Nartec have dropped over an unspecified amount of time. Infant mortality has been rising as a result of birth defects. The dropping population has forced the amphibian race to inbreed, causing dangerously low fertility. The doomed Nartec have resorted to desperate measures to survive. The main purpose of dissecting the humans is to extract DNA to be somehow transplanted into Nartec females. It has proven a risky process, as a large number of newborns have not inherited the unique Nartec traits needed for survival. Queen Soco's final solution almost came to fruition by chance. By capturing Visser Three's ocean-venturing vessel, the Sea Blade, the Nartec planned to use a powerful, advanced piece of technology to conquer the 'Cultures of the Sun'. The Animorphs came to the conclusion that the Nartec would fail; however, they still possessed nuclear weapons from Soviet and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
submarines, although the Animorphs weren't sure if the Nartec were able to breach the PAL
Permissive Action Link
A Permissive Action Link is a security device for nuclear weapons. Its purpose is to prevent unauthorized arming or detonation of the nuclear weapon.The United States Department of Defense definition is:...
arming codes.
After nearly being killed by the Nartec, the Animorphs manage to escape aboard the Sea-Blade by forming a temporary alliance with Visser Three, thus saving all of their lives and stopping Queen Soco's plan to conquer the world.