|
| |
| Psyches | |
| Also Known As | Psychelians Species 0001 (Psychelian species designation code) |
| Race Type | Humanoid |
| Existence | Real |
| Residence | Psychelia |
| Population | More than 100 |
| First Appearance | EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf (novel) |
The Psyches (pronounced sie-keys), alternately known as Psychelians, are a race of beings in the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story series that exist in a hidden village similar to that of the Smurf Village called Psychelia. They were created by its sole leader, the Psyche Master, who dictates their activities from within his temple.
Physical Makeup[]
They are similar in appearance to Smurfs, except that they have pale Caucasian-colored skin, head hair of various colors, and no tails. They are a two-gendered race of both male and female, though except for slight physical differences between the sexes they have a mostly unisexual appearance, and all physical reproduction of the Psyches is handled by the Psyche Master, solely using Smurf essence made from his beard. Psyches are diabetic in nature in that their bodies cannot process sugar, and thus they are restricted to a diet of nutrient paste and water.
Society Structure And Culture[]
The Psyches live their lives mostly for the purpose of education and fulfilling the desires of the Psyche Master, not seeing themselves as individuals but as members of a collective; their usual form of self-identification is calling themselves "this one", with a special designation code given to each Psyche on their first "day of emergence." They are a rather emotionless people who live isolated from the desire of expressing any feelings, rarely communicating with one another except for relaying orders. Their primary language is one they call Psychelian, which is identical to human languages and to the Smurf language, except that they don't use a single word for meaning just about anything. Their religion reinforces their core ideals to the point where faithful Psyches are rewarded with the promise of someday joining the Great Ancestors upon their "day of ascension".
They see outside races such as the Smurfs to be rather savage due to their need and desire to express themselves in any form they see fit, and find any form of physical nudity to be rather offensive. To that end, the Psyches dress in form-fitting bodysuits that cover their entire bodies and wear binding silver cuffs on their wrists and ankles to prevent any attempt of removal. The suits have special glowing circuit lines on them which only become visible when a Psyche is part of the collective conscience "mindlink", and are capable of mending themselves should they ever get damaged or torn. With the exception of the Student rank, all other ranks of Psyches also wear special-colored tunics to denote their rank.
Due to Psyche reproduction handled solely by the Psyche Master, Psyches are programmed with asexuality enforced upon them at birth, and they are bonded with a partner of the same sex within 20 years after their first "day of emergence", through which they can enter a "dream space" together.
History[]
Empath was forced to live as a member of the Psyches when Papa Smurf first brought him to Psychelia as an infant. Though at first he identified himself as a Psyche, Empath came to discover his true self as a Smurf and over time became disenchanted with the lifestyle of the Psyches while living among them, with their particular cultural taboos such as not wearing a Smurf hat among them, until on his 150th birthday he was released from the Psyche Master's custody. He made only one friend among them, Polaris, who eventually understood Empath's need to be among his fellow Smurfs and over time became disenchanted with living among the Psyches that he escaped and came to live in the Smurf Village with Empath.
During a time when Polaris fell sick to a deadly illness that was programmed into the Psyches when they were disconnected from the mindlink, Empath discovered that the Psyches were actually genetically-altered Smurfs who were created solely from Smurf essence made from the Psyche Master. To save Polaris, Empath injected him with Smurf essence made from hair from his own eyebrows and used the mindlink of the Smurfs to help create a graft that would enable Polaris to function outside of a mindlink. This had the temporary unfortunate side effect of making Polaris resemble a Smurf, though lacking a tail, but as much as Polaris hated resembling a Smurf in anything, he came to appreciate what Empath did for him in saving his life. The cure also removed any restrictions in Polaris' daily diet so that he could eat anything, including smurfberries.
Notes[]
- The Psyches are loosely based on the Vulcans of the Star Trek universe, with their collective conscience behaviors patterned loosely on the Borg.
- The clothing designs of the Psyches are based on those from TRON: Legacy and TRON: Evolution.
