In the soon-to-be released novel TAU CETI, there are four alien species from two of the three dynasties that define the evolution of sentient life in our galaxy.

The first dynasty, historically, is the Dran. This is not species but a classification. In TAU CETI we meet three species of Dran: the Krangol, the Ordelif and the Blegllel. Characteristics shared by these the first intelligent species to evolve in the galaxy, are: unisexual, vegetarian, and general pacifist, with strong curiosity and intellectual competence.

The eldest of these, the Blegllel appears as a floating ethereal jellyfish in structure, but has significant mental powers. This species has completely left our plane of existence, living instead in the quantum realm. Events caused by humans lead to them sending an emissary back to our realm.

The second species of Dran that we interact with is the Ordelif, a species that gets described as if a tree had corrupted a Fibonacci sequence. This species is on the verge of leaving our realm for the quantum realm, and is almost extinct.

The last, and more prolific species from the Dran dynasty that we meet are the Krangol. We meet a lot of them. They are scientifically advanced, but apparently unable to evolve to the quantum realm. They’re the last species to evolve during the Dran dynasty. Physically, they look like extremely large bacteriophage with extra limbs and large eye at the top of their stalk.

The Dran created the galactic constitution, referred to as the Law. The Law will expire once all of the signing species have left our quantum realm, an event that is becoming imminent with only one signing species, the Ordelif, left in our realm.

The second dynasty, which has not existed nearly along as the first, is the Wuld. Characteristics of its members include being carnivorous, warlike, not particularly moral. The Wuld have no desire to create a new constitution for the galaxy, preferring the chaos that would come from the collapse the Law.

In TAU CETI, we meet one Wuld species, the Slerc. They steal their technology from Dran or from emerging species such as humans. In fact the Slerc are secretly feeding technology to the humans for development, with the intent of exploiting both the humans and their tech for galactic conquest. The Slerc appear to humans to look like oversized bipedal badgers or wolverines.

Given the shorter lifespan and inherent violence of the Wuld species, the remaining Dran aren’t sure if the second dynasty is going to last for even a single galactic rotation or if a third dynasty, Mrow, that is a compromise between Wuld and Dran, will appear. The Krangol believe that humans represent the emergence of that third dynasty, pointing to the fact we’re omnivorous. The Slerc disagree and insist that humans are Wuld, pointing to our violent history.

These different beliefs drive the actions and motivations of both Krangol and Slerc throughout TAU CETI.