Valthus

The Valthus were a race encountered by the Compact of Species early in its history. They were in the midst of a civil war when contacted between transorganic and non-transorganic factions. In the present day, they are presumed to be extinct due to possible Devoured interference.

Description
The appearance of the Valthus is unknown.

First Age
The Valthus were encountered during the First Age of Expansion. They had been experimenting with mind upload technology, and had split into two factions: those that embraced uploading and those against it. Both sides were trying to exterminate the others when the Compact stepped in. The Neo-Valthus uploads eventually agreed to embark on massive exodus ships to a Magellanic Cloud, while the organic Valthus remained as a member of the Compact.

Third Age
The Wasting, a engineered plague, infected the remaining Valthus in the Compact during the Third Age of Expansion. It was extremely infectious, and quickly killed or sterilized the majority of the Valthus population. During the pandemic, it was discovered that the plague was sent by a Neo-Valthus fleet infected by Devoured scrapcode. A treatment was found by a Thoughtful researcher, but before production could begin, the manufacturing facility was destroyed by a Neo-Valthus fleet and the research was lost. Soon afterward, the last Valthus in the Compact were killed by the Wasting.

Legacy
The effects of the Wasting and the discovery that Devoured artifacts could still affect modern systems lead to the declaration of the Edict of Brakenguard, later renamed the Valthus Lesson, which mandated the destruction of all Devoured relics. The Valthus are considered extinct in the Compact, and the Neo-Valthus fleets are either too far away or have been destroyed by Devoured artifacts to be relevant.

The Valthus are used as a cautionary tale to new members of the Compact warning against research into mind upload technologies and machine intelligences, as well as a justification for the Compacts protection of lesser species.