Ing

The Ing were a race of hostile alien organisms capable of some degree of shape-shifting. They were created when an asteroid containing a large quantity of Phazon slammed into their homeworld, Aether, and created a dimensional rift between a 'light' Aether and a 'dark' Aether. Light Aether was essentially Aether in its original form, while Dark Aether was a largely new product of the spatial-rifting process. The Ing themselves were created by this process as part of Dark Aether; the energies of Light Aether were painful and damaging to them.

The rifting event also divided the 'planetary energy' of Aether into portions. A number of stations were built by the Luminoth of Light Aether to regulate this energy, and the Ing launched a vicious war to take control over them. If they could claim the energy stations, they could essentially banish Light Aether from existence and establish the permanent existence of Dark Aether.

The Luminoth fought valiantly against the Ing for decades, but in time were overrun by the teeming hordes. Chief among the Ing's weapons was their ability to commandeer host organisms and grant them increased strength and durability. Critically, the Ing were capable of using Light Aether hosts without suffering the normal harmful effects of 'Light' energies. By taking over native wildlife in Light Aether, the Ing could assault the Luminoth directly, rather than (as did the Luminoth) devising technologies to penetrate into the opposing realm. The Ing were also able to take over intelligent machines, causing countless Luminoth drones to go rogue and attack their former masters.

The Ing were in the process of preparing for a final assault on the Luminoth stronghold when Samus Aran entered the equation. The control module for the last of the Luminoth energy stations bonded with Aran's own armor suit, instantly making her the focus of all future attempts by the Ing to obtain that device. Acquiring a suit that allowed her to move through Dark Aether with at least some degree of protection, Samus set out to reclaim the stations already taken by the Ing and, ultimately, to strike at the core of their command hierarchy.

Samus proved an able infiltrator and superior combatant, as always, and was able to restore Luminoth control over Aether's planetary energy. In doing so, the Ing were either destroyed or banished to some other plane of existence. In either case they no longer posed a threat to the galaxy.

The Ing were broken into a number of castes. Each caste could assume either a solid form with definite structure or a liquid form that enabled them to flow over the ground, walls, and ceilings and under doors. However, while the liquid form of each caste was similar, the solid form was apparently predetermined and limited to that specific caste. The two major castes were the small Inglets, which appear to have served as menial labor, and the large, powerful, five-limbed Warrior caste. Above all others was the Emperor Ing, a monstrous entity loosely resembling a greatly enlarged Warrior. The Emperor Ing was slain by Samus Aran during her pursuit of the remaining planetary energy.

Record 1516 - group - Last update 16 Nov 2007, 13:06:43

Entry written by: Torvus

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