Mhunghus

Sticks McLellan did a staggering amount of research into the Mhunghus, including a trip to Mhung itself thanks to a particularly helpful member of their species. They were more than happy to tell her all about themselves, the Mhunghus, because talking to her was quite a novelty - in its lack of annoyance. Here's a condensed version of what she's dug up on them so far - Mike 013.

When I first met Earnest-River-Castoff-Down-The-Nile, I thought it was a jerk. I mean, it tried to invade my brain instantly - only to realize that my particular training makes that a difficult proposition at best - especially for a novice like it. I had to pound it about for a few minutes, but it got the message soon enough. After that the thing was much more amicable; I guess it was used to most humans being unable to say 'no' to it at all.

Once we'd gotten to talking, I learned a lot more about the creature. It is a Mhunghus, a species of semi-animate fungi from the planet Mhung, which it tells me is rather close to ours in the cosmic scheme of things. Same galaxy, definitely. It wasn't here to conquer us or anything else for that matter, and was in fact native to our world; it was spored by a traveler from Mhung somewhere in Egypt.

Hence at least a part of its odd name, which is typical of Mhunghus; their names do not seem to translate into those such as ours. Pressed for more information, Earnest-River-Castoff-Down-The-Nile went on to describe its species in greater clarity. How they are sentient yet inherently sessile, and that as potent telepaths, its species is always in contact with those in close proximity.

Earnest-River-Castoff-Down-The-Nile itself is a side effect of that, having been 'shoved' down the river some by its parent simply to drown its telepathic 'noise' out a bit. But it had learned advanced psionic disciplines that allowed it to bend space and time to its will, a counter to being unable to move under its own power. It even exclaimed that it had visited Mhung in its explorations through the universe.

Intrigued, I asked Earnest-River-Castoff-Down-The-Nile if it could tell me about Mhung, to better understand its kind. More than agreeable, Earnest-River-Castoff-Down-The-Nile grabbed me and transported the two of us there before I could have any second thoughts. You know, like worrying about contracting all kinds of new alien plagues - only to bring them home and share 'em.

Before I knew it, I was face to face with a whole lot of Mhunghus. They're large fungusoids, about four feet tall, with several spindly growths extending from the center of their stipe that look like arms or tentacles - but aren't really useful as such. The Mhunghus themselves have no eyes, instead 'seeing' thanks to a series of light-sensitive pits across their bodies, most of which are concentrated on their cap-like heads.

Of course, 'head' is a misnomer, since like most fungi, the Mhunghus lack internal organs to speak of. Their intelligence is distributed throughout their fibrous bodies, each cell holding a bit of their conscious mind. As such, most of their mind is concentrated in their rather large umbonate pileus, as opposed to the much smaller (in volume, at least) stipe or their bulbous base.

While most Mhunghus are averse to the proximity of their own kind, those that I'd encountered were in the process of mastering whatever special skills they would need to depart from the point they'd spored in. Not that you could tell much about the terrain here on Mhung; the whole place seemed to be a steamy hothouse of a never-ending jungle, capped at the poles by two large blocks of mountains.

These Mhunghus were more than happy to talk, since I (like most humans, I suppose) don't give off a staggering amount of psionic static like they do. It's almost as if they truly enjoyed talking at someone instead of having several simultaneous conversations going on at once. So I managed to learn about the Mhunghus, their history, and their physiology - as well as their aims on earth.

It turns out the Mhunghus could care less about taking over anyplace as a species - some of the individuals may decide to do something like that, but they don't do so as some sort of official directive; the Mhunghus that do so are simply bad people. Those on our planet are here simply to avoid contact with each other as much as possible, since their population on earth is so incredibly low.

They just need mental space to function to their full potential. This is why you'll often find them all over space, trying to secure entire planets for themselves - or at least a large portion therein. I stayed with the Mhunghus on Mhung for a time, learning what I could from these youthful, chatty folks before asking Earnest-River-Castoff-Down-The-Nile to take me elsewhere.

It's not that I didn't trust these Mhunghus, they were refreshingly open and consistent, but I figured independent verification was in order. Earnest-River-Castoff-Down-The-Nile took me to several random (as far as I could tell) space ports, both near Mhung and pretty far from it, and I interviewed several people thanks to a handy translation device I picked up on our first stop.

It seems that most people have a generally high opinion of the Mhunghus, if only because they usually mind their own business. Sure, I heard at least one bad story about a Mhunghus on each stop, but they were vastly outweighed by the general consensus that what I heard on Mhung was correct. As such, I don't think we need fear the Mhunghus as a whole, but we may still have to face down individual punks.

In addition to Sticks' standard report, here is some additional information, should you encounter a Mhunghus in the field. Notes are included for 'general' members of this alien species, as well as all the details we have on Mhunghus that are active on earth currently. Naturally, as we find more information on these strange beings, we'll add it in for your use - Mike 013.

Earnest-River-Castoff-Down-The-Nile: technically an alien being, Earnest was actually born on earth. It has since adopted our world as its home, though it nonetheless likes to explore the universe for fun whenever it can find the time. Availability:

Hates-Wizards-Like-Nobody's-Business: after several B'ntri spellcasters destroyed its world, this mhunghus decided it didn't like them. At all. Deciding to beat them at their own game, it studied psychoturgy to battle them directly! Availability:

Little-Spore-Resting-On-The-Squishy-Lakefront: Little-Spore has found his way to earth thanks to the hijinks of Charlie Chicanery. Since moving in with his/her former sidekick and neighbor, Wendell Wherever, it has taken to exploring reality! Availability:

Mhunghus (Typical): sentient, mushroom-like fungusoids hailing from the world of Mhung, the Mhunghus are, indeed, among us. This is because the psi-noise of their fellows irritates them to no end, prompting them to seek out places where they can be alone! Availability:

Unrivaled-Brilliance-Before-You: far too intelligent and belligerent for its own good, Unrivaled-Brilliance left Mhung to conquer the cosmos, and to ultimately return as some sort of emperor. That part of Unrivaled-Brilliance's plan is still in progress... Availability:

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