Today, we’ll take our first look at the upcoming Episode 12 of Other-Terrestrial.

Titled “Exodus”, the episode will involve a new species of aliens, who come to be called the !Xomyi. The ! at the start of the name represents an postalveolar click sound, which is a type of click that appears in only a handful of human languages in Africa, and in one ritual language in Australia. It is created with a downward motion of a concave tongue.

The ! sound exists in the word because the !Xomyi are a species descended from nocturnal ancestors who were able to use a form of echolocation. Clicks and other sounds are common in their languages – of which there are many! It exists in the names of specific groups, such as the !A!amo, in animals such as keko!un (a type of predator), he!pa (a type of animal the !Xomyi hunt), and the ko!go (a bird-like animal).

The !Xomyi are not a united people, but exist still as hunter-gatherers. There are many scattered groups of !Xomyi across their homeworld of Ko.

While normally the Sapient Union would be quite happy to leave such a people to their own devices, to allow them to develop in their own way, there are still events that may force contact . . .

I’ve done a lot of work on this, and soon I’ll share some other background material, like my map of Ko and the cover art for the episode!