- This article describes the Gatlantean species as depicted in Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and its sequels. For the species' counterpart in Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato and Space Battleship Yamato 2, see Gatlantean (OS).
- "We are Gatlantis, manufactured lives"
- —Great Emperor Zworder[5]
The Gatlanteans, also known as the Gatlantis, were an artificial human species originally from the planet Zemuria that later established a home on the Ark of Destruction. Unlike other sapient races with which they had had contact, Gatlanteans were an entirely artificial people, created to fight wars on behalf of their Zemurian masters. Following an uprising against the Zemurians, the Gatlanteans eventually went on to build the Gatlantis Empire, which became a major threat to the existence of multiple civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy and nearby satellite galaxies.
Biology[]
A Gatlantean begins to self-destruct.
Gatlantean physiology aws similar in many ways to that of Earthlings, Garmillas, Zaltzi, the Zemurians that created them, and other humans. Members of the species all had green skin of a uniform shade which may dull with age. The origins of Gatlantians as a race manufactured for war could be seen in DNA that showed clear indicators of intentional modification, and abilities such as enhanced strength and increased resistance to explosions and intense heat. Gatlanteans were also significantly bigger than the average human.[1][2][6][4] They were also equipped with a biological self-destruct, turning their bodies into powerful explosives; soldiers would self-destruct when faced with defeat in battle or captured.[6][3][7]
Despite there being both male and female[8] Gatlantis, the species lacked the ability to reproduce sexually, preventing them from increasing their numbers outside of cloning. However, females of other species could play adoptive mother to young Gatlantean clones, as done by Sifar Saberah, a Zemurian woman, though this practice was never widespread. Younger Gatlantean clones were known as "larva bodies".[4][7][9]
Variants[]
Three individuals of the Type Zworder: (from left) Gairen, Emperor Zworder, and Mil.
All Gatlantis individuals belonged to one of a number of variant clone types, fulfilling all the services needed to maintain the Gatlantis Empire, from leaders to fighters to technical specialists to domestic servants and caregivers. Each type shared DNA and some physical and psychological characteristics. Although members of a particular variant could be perfect genetic copies, age, experience, and possibly other factors could lead to different appearances. Members of a variant could have narrowly defined roles, or they could take on a broad range of duties.[7][10]
The last Gorland and his clone successor.
One example of the potential for diversity within each variant was the so-called Type Zworder, members of which had telepathic abilities and mental capacities beyond those of other Gatlanteans, assumed different kinds of executive roles within the Gatlantis Empire. Zworder himself, instigator of the rebellion against the Zemurians, became the Great Emperor of the Gatlantean nation. Gairen, an elder individual within the Zworder type, controlled the flow of information to Zworder and served as a member of his staff. A third individual of the type, a young adult version named Mil, was a spokesperson and could be used as the literal eyes, ears, and voice of the emperor, providing him with direct information and communication from almost anywhere via Cosmo Wave.[4][11] Another example was the Type Gorland, which had a long history of service to the empire. At least one Gorland committed significant time to mentoring his larva body, Nol, to become his eventual successor and the twentieth of his line to command forces in battle. When both were killed, the surviving elder Gorland, Zaizen, took custody of an infant Gorland to begin his own preparation.[7][12]
History[]
The Servants Rebel[]
The forbidden connection between a Zemurian and a Gatlantean.
The Gatlantean species began as a race of soldiers designed to fight on behalf of their creators. For their part, Zemurian civilization as a whole showed very little concern or respect for the well-being of their creations, considering them to be no better than "livestock" in a green-skinned humanoid form and naturally equipped with only "an instinct for battle and a sense of loyalty." The divide between master and servant was solidified by a taboo against any close interaction between Zemurians and Gatlanteans.[4]
A member of one of the most advanced Gatlantis variants, Zworder, broke the taboo. In his youth, Zworder came to love a Zemurian woman, Sifar Saberah, and she became the adoptive mother to his infant clone. Zowrder soon began a campaign to free all of his fellow Gatlanteans from their servitude. During the ensuing war, Saberah and her infant were captured and turned into hostages. Zworder's love for both of them drove him to betray his people by confessing how to defeat his people. The victorious Zemurians, seeing Saberah as a traitor and a "witch," broke their promise to Zworder and murdered both her and her child. Sometime before the year 1100, they allowed Zworder and the few surviving Gatlantis to leave Zemuria.[4]
An Empire of Genuine Love[]
- For more details, see Gatlantis Empire.
The Ark of Destruction is awakened.
The exiled Gatlanteans wandered space for more than a century in a quest to find the legendary Ark of Destruction, a planet-sized artifact created by the ancient Archelias species for the purpose of wiping out entire races if they became a serious threat to life in the universe. By this time, the pain of Zworder's experience led him to conclude that the original Gatlantean way of living was correct; the Gatlantis were a new type of people destined to free others from the "sin of loving" and other emotions. He and his followers eventually found the Ark, built their home upon it, and learned how to activate and control its systems. The Gatlantis returned to the stars in fleets of ships and in the Ark itself to save life in the universe from its own delusions in favor of what Emperor Zworder called a "genuine love".[4][13]
The last Gatlantean merges with the Ark of Destruction.
The Gatlantis Empire's expansion resulted in the destruction of civilizations and of whole worlds. A few of the worlds where they annihilated all life--including the homeworld of the Gatlanteans themselves, Zemuria--were captured and contained inside the structure of the Ark. Before the year 2199, the Gatlantis Empire had become engaged in a prolonged war with the Great Garmillas Empire, and another conflict with a powerful new ally of Garmillas, the Earth Federation, by late 2202.[4][14][15] The Gatlantis Empire eventually brought the war against both adversaries to the planet Earth, but a final battle gave an Earth battleship and members of its crew a chance to infiltrate the Ark and confront Zworder personally. Seeing that his position was lost, Zworder shut down all Gatlanteans in an attempt to remake himself and the Ark into a new kind of weapon. This last, radical attempt failed and Gatlantean civilization was lost forever.[11][16]
Culture and Society[]
Three individuals from different levels of Gatlantean society.
Although Gatlantis developed biologically in much the same way that children of other human species do, their social practices around growing up and aging were distinct. From infancy to adolescence, individual clones were known as "larva bodies." During this phase, a Gatlantean was raised by his predecessor. The adult usually provided only physical care with little emotional engagement, but in exceptional cases, the adult could take it upon himself to serve as a mentor. Because Gatlanteans may interpret this as an act of ego on the part of the adult, this was considered a taboo and was rarely done. Upon reaching adulthood, a Gatlantean took the name of his predecessor and assumed his predecessor's duties. If the Gatlantean survived long enough to retire from combat, he assumed a new name and became a caregiver for the next in his line.[7][17]
Gatlanteans existed first and foremost for war, and those who fought came to expect only two possible outcomes from battle for themselves: victory or death. Gatlanteans could be driven into an uncontrollable rage if they were defeated without being captured or killed. This uncompromising view of war extended to their opponents; under most conditions, Gatlantis commanders who were offered unconditional surrender could be genuinely confused by it. Only when an enemy could provide a highly valuable service, such as scientific and technological insight, would they be spared death.[2][3][18][19] Gatlanteans had their own mythology, whose beasts, like the Lascaul,[20] were used as namesakes for the various ships in their navy.[21] They also had a concept of Hell; Admiral Mazer believed disobeying the Emperor's orders would cause himself and Cosmodart to go to this Hell, but their warrior motivations overpowered this fear.[19]
Technology[]
Gatlantean military might on display.
Until late 2199, Gatlantis military technology was easily outclassed by forces of the Great Garmillas Empire; Gatlantean soldiers were captured in significant numbers and kept as prisoners of war, and Gatlantean ships were easily destroyed by Garmillan fleets in engagements such as the Battle of the Small Magellanic Cloud Outskirts.[1][14][22] Unbeknownst to the Garmillas, the "barbarian" Gatlanteans were quickly erasing and surpassing their technological deficit partly by capturing enemy personnel and forcing them to serve as science slaves who would go on to re-create and adapt Garmillan weapons, Gamiloid robots, and devices such as the Instantaneous Material Transporter.[2][15][23][24] The Gatlantis also sought out the technology of other civilizations to take for themselves.[2]
The most devastating of Gatlantis' military technological gains was made after the empire's conquest of planet Terezart and the development of the Gaizengan Weapons Group within the Ark of Destruction. Also known as the White Comet due to the swirling energy field it could generate around itself, the Ark could obliterate planets as large as Saturn and contain smaller worlds inside a cage-like structure. It could also manipulate supergravity and use it as a striking weapon against individual vessels, or project it broadly to destabilize and pull down entire fleets. The Ark granted Gatlanteans the ability to grow Gaizengan Weapoms--not build them mechanically--on a scale that often dwarfed the capacity their adversaries. Under emergency circumstances, "premature" ships could be deployed as weapons.[4][9][16][25]
A dead human turned into a walking bomb.
Gatlanteans demonstrated a variety of other abilities involving biology. Their extensive cloning technology could go beyond making perfect genetic copies and be used to incorporate new traits, including those from outside the original's species.[6][4][7][9] After initial difficulties, the Gatlantis learned how to clone a deceased individual with the original's full memories intact.[4] Dead humans could be reanimated and used for infiltration and sabotage, and living humans could have their minds and bodies hijacked for similar purposes.[10][13][26] Gatlanteans also demonstrated advanced capabilities in medicine, offering a drug to humans that could cure Planet Bomb Syndrome, a terminal illness that had defied years of effort to treat .[10][17]
Gatlanteans appeared to be unconcerned with or incapable of repairing damaged technology. During the Battle of the eleventh planet, a mass of Calaklum-class battleships that were incapacitated but outwardly undamaged floated helplessly in space for an extended period.[18] The crews eventually figured out how to make crude repairs that enabled a few of the vessels to leave, but with serious flaws that ended up destroying a number of the ships en route.[19]
Despite the vast technological advances made by Gatlanteans, one device formed the foundation of their existence from the very beginning: the golem. Built by the Zemurians as a last line of defense against their creations, the golem could immediately terminate the functions of every Gatlantean who had not been corrupted by emotion. Zworder stole this device from his former masters, and kept it beneath his throne aboard the Ark of Destruction.[4][11]
Language[]
A monitor displaying Gatlantean writing.
The Gatlantis continued to use the language of the Zemurians as their own.[4] The language included a number of recent loan words, like the Garmillan word "Terron" initially adopted for Earthlings in the months following first contact with the species. At least one spaceship, the Megaruda, displayed written Gatlantean on its hull. Both the Great Garmillas Empire and the Earth Federation have data on the Gatlantis language and can translate it through communications equipment.[4]
Notable Individuals[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Prison Planet 17"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Battle to the Death – The 11th Planet Rescue Operation"
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 "Gatlantis, the Cursed Children"
- ↑ "Zworder, the Devil's Alternative"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Tension – Reach the Embassy on the Moon"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "The Terezart Landing Operation – Crush the Enemy Missile Fleet!
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Model Sheet Design Collection GARMILLAS p.200
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "The Shocking White Comet Empire - The Yamato Rams Through!"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Warriors of Love"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Farewell, Space Battleship Yamato"
- ↑ "Bewitching - The Space Fireflies Beckon a Crisis"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Zworder, the Devil's Alternative"
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "A World I Once Saw"
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Zurvival's Fierce Assault - Find Teresa"
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Yamato, Attack the Comet Empire!"
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Battle off the Coast of Saturn - Gather the Wave Motion Gun Fleet!"
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "The Trap at Planet Stravase!"
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Dessler's Challenge!"
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Complete Works Vol.3 p.244
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Pia p.19
- ↑ "Wish Upon a Star"
- ↑ Threat of the Flame Strike Gun, Tragedy of the Garmillas Science Slaves, translated in "The Yamato 2199 Secret Files"
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2202 official website data on Needleslaves
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Warriors of Love Chapter 5 Theater Pamphlet
- ↑ "The Beam of Light Flashes! / Radiance of the Wave Motion Gun"
Japanese language information[]
- ガトランティス人 Gatorantisu-jin (Gatlanteans)
- ガトランティス Gatorantisu (Gatlantis)