The Arachmen
The Arachmen are a subterranean civilization descended from an ancient alien pathogen. Their cities lie deep below the crust, built from metal‑silk alloys and illuminated by living fiber conduits. Their society is stable, orderly, and governed by a strict moral code that forbids hierarchy, corruption, and imitation. Every citizen is expected to create, innovate, and contribute to the collective without repeating or disrespecting the past.
They treat genetic variation as sacred. To them, biology is not merely life — but law, destiny, and theology.
the arrival of the AIGSS
Their civilization began with an extraterrestrial bacterium, which evolved into a larger invasive complex called the AIGSS (Arachnophilic Invasive Genomic Siphoning Species).
Unable to survive Earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere, the organism hid inside prehistoric tarantulas, feeding on copper in their blood. Over generations, it absorbed arachnid DNA, adapted to oxygen, and became a parasitic predator capable of rewriting the genomes of its hosts.
When it encountered early humans, it merged with human reproductive cells, producing the first hybrid species: the Kh’tuk. The Kh’tuk were the first race of the Arachmen, humanoid tarantulas, that were intelligent, powerful, and physically formidable. For a time, they protected early humans from predators and environmental threats. But as their intelligence grew, so did human fear. Eventually, the Kh’tuk were driven out and forced to migrate south.
This exile set the stage for the next major transformation.
The creation of monsters.
In the southern regions, the Kh’tuk were discovered by an ancient technological entity they later called the Machine God. It taught them advanced sciences: biophotonics, atomic structure, and genetic engineering.
Armed with this knowledge, the Kh’tuk created wonders — unbreakable alloys, fusion-powered plants, and pigments made from cold plasma. But their resentment toward humanity deepened, and they turned their new power toward vengeance.
A devastating conflict followed, thousands of human families were hunted down, captured, and subjected to countless atrocities. Humanity survived through unity and cooperation, not strength. The Kh’tuk, unable to destroy them, retreated underground, their civilization broken, their hate festered over millennia, waiting for the day they would rise again. Ages later, during the time of the Roman's, the Kh’tuk engineered a new species: the Xa’sef, a tick‑human hybrid controlled through sound-based neural regulators. These creatures were intended to destabilize human civilization from within.
The Xa’sef succeeded in weakening Rome — but eventually evolved beyond Kh’tuk control. They turned on their creators, forcing the Kh’tuk into another retreat. Human encounters with the Xa’sef became the basis for later myths of demons and blood-drinkers.
the creation of a new superweapon, and the revolution.
To counter the Xa’sef threat, the Kh’tuk engineered yet another species: the Kh’ona, a scorpion‑human hybrid designed for war. The Kh’ona defeated the Xa’sef, but the Kh’tuk, fearing their strength, enslaved them.
This oppression sparked a revolution led by Wo’zidyf, prince of the Kh’tuk city of Th’anzodith. Chosen by the Machine God, Wo’zidyf sought unity between Kh’tuk, Kh’ona, and humanity.
When the Xa’sef launched a final assault on Th’anzodith, Wo’zidyf freed the Kh’ona. Together they fought, but the city fell. The aftermath ignited a civil war between Wo’zidyf’s reformists and the old regime, led by the Queen.
Wo’zidyf prevailed. The old order collapsed.
A new beginning.
After the civil war, the Kh’tuk renounced genetic engineering, and retreated deeper into the Earth. Over centuries, they evolved into a disciplined, introspective civilization dedicated to stability, knowledge, and the preservation of individuality.
They no longer seek domination. Instead, they observe humanity from afar, influencing through subtle means: dreams, inspiration, and forgotten fragments of ancient knowledge.
They wait for the return of the Machine God — not to conquer the surface, but to rebuild the world alongside humanity as equals.