For a majority of their history, the Apex were very similar to Humans in appearance and mannerisms. The Apex progressed technologically and culturally with little issues, eventually forming a single planet-wide ‘Ministry of Knowledge’ to govern. The Ministry, or Miniknog for short, pushed scientific advancement as a main cultural focus, prompting the Apex to develop the VEP. This process greatly increased mental capacities at the cost of the physical form, leaving the Apex intelligent but with an ape-like appearance. In present times, the Miniknog is largely corrupt, with the elite enjoying luxurious lives while the general populace is oppressed by Big Ape and a secret police. The Miniknog The Miniknog was originally a democratic body dubbed ‘The Ministry of Knowledge’ which was created in order to govern the Apex populace centralized within The Democratic Apexian State. After many years and a bloody coup, the Miniknog had become a totalitarian technocratic regime fanatically devoted to the acquisition of knowledge and technological growth that controls society with fear, secret police, and an enigmatic ruler, Big Ape. Any opponents to the Miniknog, even those who simply protest or speak out, are considered enemies and are typically sent to reeducation camps or "voluntarily donate themselves to science." They are then given a memorial statue and never seen again. The Resistance Attempts at resistance against the Miniknog are widely regarded by the general population as futile, but resistance cells are still scattered throughout almost every major Apex city. Usual Resistance operations include the destruction of prominent statues and landmarks, the bombings of government offices, and assassination attempts against Miniknog officials. The Miniknog, less than considerate of the lives of its citizenry, takes a callous and indiscriminate approach to the destruction of Resistance cells. When a new cell is located, the city's secret police usually attempt to infiltrate and destroy it from the inside, with Resistance operatives executed or sent to reeducation camps. If an infiltration is unsuccessful or a Resistance cell particularly annoying, more drastic measures such as indiscriminate bombings or poisoning of water supplies are taken. These are almost always successful, at the cost of an incredible number of civilian deaths. Society Apex live in a downtrodden and solitary society, where large public gatherings and organizations have been outlawed by the Miniknog. Apex spend a majority of their day in the workplace, sometimes having shifts lasting upwards of twelves hours. Most of their leisure time is spent in the well known ‘Banana Bars’, but these tend to spawn murmurings of dissatisfaction and dissent, causing them to be closed down first when rebel resistance is found in the area. The average working Apex, as a result, may come to resent the resistance for shutting down one of the only sources of recreation. Apex who are lucky enough to be born in a position of relative affluence are often raised as engineers, scientists, mathematicians, or some other form of scholar. The Miniknog prizes knowledge above all else, and researchers are encouraged to pursue this goal by any means necessary. Culture The Apex are generally monogamous, though the cultural precedents that this results from are being slowly eroded away by the Miniknog (who would prefer as high a rate of population growth as possible). Grooming is a near-ubiquitous social gesture. Family members will groom one another as a sign of familial affection, friends and acquaintances will groom one another for favors, and the more romantically-inclined will groom one another as an expression of love. For the elite, professional groomers exist solely for the purpose of ensuring that a Miniknog official's fur is utterly pristine. Apex can vary as widely as a human in personality, but are almost always held together by the common thread of collectivism. Apex are more able to see the "greater good," and as a result are more willing to sacrifice their convenience or their time for the sake of their families or the world as a whole. It was this drive that resulted in the creation of the Ministry of Knowledge, and this drive that is exploited by the Miniknog to keep the population oppressed. In addition, decades of cultural and genetic tinkering have resulted in most Apex having a natural inclination to obey authority, and many develop submissive and cooperative personalities. Police and Military recruits often require extensive psychological retraining before they can develop assertive or aggressive behavior. In addition, the submission conditioning can be broken if the subject experiences a significant episode of psychological distress, especially at the hands of someone or something they perceive as an authority figure. Events like this often are the precursor to organized rebellion. Through scattered information, provided by historical data recovered by Apex rebels, it is believed that the Apex were once very similar to humans, at least in a physiological sense. After the Apex populace was altered by the VEP-process however, their appearance has come to resemble that of a more primitive creature. Prominent physical attributes are: Apex, on average, tend to be taller and heavier than their human counterparts. Additionally, it has been remarked that their heads are also slightly larger relative to the rest of their bodies. A less known result of the VEP-process is its effects on the Apex' sight; Apex are monochromats: although they aren’t colour blind, their colour palette is severely limited compared to other species. (Only 100 different distinguishable colours as compared to 1000.) Both males and females tend to sport beards as well as full body fur. An Apex commoner will tend to have longer and more unwieldy hair than the elite, who tend to groom their own fur down to more manageable lengths. Apex also possess a slightly enhanced level of physical strength as a result of their newly attained apelike physique, corresponding a loss of finesse. A more subtle, but perhaps the most remarkable change would be the Apex increased mental capabilities. It is quite apparent that the Apex possess a greatly enhanced intellect, however due to excessive genetic augementation, Apex have also become more prone to develop mental disabilities, such as paranoia, insanity or even early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The Apex are the most advanced of spacefaring species, with major developments such as fusion power and lifespan enhancement technologies a staple of the Apex core worlds. Such technology, however, is jealously guarded by the Miniknog, and anyone who attempts to probe too closely into the workings of such wondrous inventions often find themselves volunteered as sacrifices to science. Spaceships that find themselves in the frontier, then, tend to run on technologies equivalent to those of humans and Avians and Hylotl (but decades outdated to the Apex themselves). However, it is not impossible to find modern Miniknog ships in frontier space, should they have good enough reason to use them. Similarly, the most advanced Apex weapons technology tend to be entirely energy-based, able to fire lethal plasma or electricity in concentrated form and over long distances. These developments, however, are carefully protected by the Miniknog. Soldiers have their weapons keyed to their pulse, and should it stop for more than 30 seconds, the weapon will fry itself, destroying the advanced circuitry and devices within.
