LEVIATHANS
Leviathans are a young species; Moya belongs to their fifth generation. They are also a created species, designed by a race called the Builders. The Builders originally intended Leviathans to be self-replicating, biomechanoid transport spacecraft. Eventually, these architects saw that their creations were gaining consciousness and, moreover, intelligence. They quickly freed the newly sentient Leviathans, and the species came into its own, moving freely through interstellar space.
Certainly, the Leviathans' physiology is far too complicated to detail here. Briefly, they have thick outer skins that are capable of holding in a pressurized atmosphere. A Leviathan can also extend its bioelectric field over small openings in its outer hull to prevent depressurization. They contain countless chambers and compartments; every Leviathan shapes its interior, as it grows, to suit its crew's needs, so no two Leviathans are ever completely identical. My Den, where my body physically links with Moya's, is located at the top of a vast inner core, close to Moya's neural nexus. Amnexus fluid flows through her conduits in much the same way that blood flows through the veins of aquatic or terrestrial species. In the deepest levels of her interior cavity, Hodian trill bats maintain a symbiotic relationship with Leviathans; their excrement helps to seal tiny cracks in the hull.
Leviathans are capable of flying on their own, though generally their Pilots guide them. In an emergency, they can be manually steered by a member of their crew. They are experts in conventional spaceflight, but also possess a capacity unrivaled by any purely mechanical ship: Starburst, a means of faster-than-light travel that catapults the Leviathan through a different dimension of space-time. The experience is nearly instantaneous and very little is known about the science behind it. It also is nearly impossible to predict where any given Starburst maneuver will end; it is easy to become lost while Starbursting. It also is possible to become trapped between dimensions if a Starburst is attempted without sufficient control or power — an experience that Moya and I hope never to repeat.
While wormholes also allow faster-than-light travel, traveling through them can sometimes cause severe burn damage to Leviathans' biological parts. As long as Leviathans possess the ability to Starburst, however, I suspect they will disdain wormhole travel.
Despite their sentience, Leviathans remain extremely large, well-designed transport ships — and not everyone in the galaxy is as enlightened as the Builders. The usefulness of Leviathans and their lack of armaments, as well as their lack of natural defenses other than Starburst, have made them frequent targets of slavers. Like Moya, all too many Leviathans have been captured by hunters and sold into servitude. The Peacekeepers, especially, are notorious for using commandeered, collared Leviathans as prison ships. I doubt I need to elaborate on how deeply I abhor this practice.
Leviathans are ill-suited to slavery (I doubt that any species is suited to such a life). A typical Leviathan desires freedom above all else: liberty to soar through space, exploring and forming bonds with whomever he or she may choose. The most profound such bond links Leviathans and those of my species. We guide our ships, and they carry us to the stars, but the relationship is much deeper than that. Mere words cannot express the nuances of our shared existence.
When Leviathans are dying, they struggle to make their way to the Sacred Leviathan Burial Space. They take this tradition quite seriously; the knowledge that a loved one's remains are interred in the proper place brings deep comfort to a grieving ship, as I learned after Moya laid to rest her son, Talyn.
Unfortunately, the Leviathan population has suffered many needless deaths. Slavery has claimed great numbers; others have been lured into Siren Stars, which are death traps funded by the Prahtikrah, a race of rival shipbuilders; some have been driven insane from the grief and stress of constantly struggling to evade danger.
Moya and I remain optimistic. We have seen many dangers and suffered many griefs, but we also have seen that the stars continue to shine through it all.
JOURNEY LOG REFERENCES
Premiere
The Hidden Memory
Bone to Be Wild
Family Ties
Mind the Baby
The Way We Weren't
Look at the Princess, Part 3: The Maltese Crichton (Pilot's entry)
Self-Inflicted Wounds, Part 2: Wait for the Wheel
Thanks for Sharing
Relativity
Dog With Two Bones
Crichton Kicks
STARBURST TO ANY LIFEFORM
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