{ { Infobox character
| name = Ur-Quan
| image = File:Ur-Quan from Ur-Quan Masters and Star Control 2.jpeg
| caption = The Ur-Quan speaking to the player in The Ur-Quan Masters, the open-source remake of Star Control II | series = Star Control | firstgame = Star Control (1990) | creator = Paul Reiche III, Fred Ford | designer = | voice = Larry Zee, David Bryce | full_name = Ur-Quan Kzer-Za (sub-species), Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah (sub-species) | nationality = | last_major = The Ur-Quan Masters (2002) | alt = An image of the Ur-Quan, as a green insectoid alien, and their dialog text: "You are trespassing within Ur-Quan space." }}
The Ur-Quan are a fictional race of predatory alien caterpillars in the Star Control series of video games, created by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford. Introduced in 1990, the Ur-Quan are the primary antagonist of the first game, leading a galactic empire that seeks to enslave Earth. They reprise their role in Star Control II, which expands on their history as former slaves who since vowed to fiercely defend themselves. During the game, the Ur-Quan enter into a civil war over their ideology, giving Earth an opportunity to defeat them. In Star Control 3, which was developed by a different team, the Ur-Quan ally with Earth against a different antagonist and their role is scaled back. They appear once again in The Ur-Quan Masters, the 2002 open source remake of Star Control II.Reiche and Ford developed the Ur-Quan based on the concepts for unique spaceships in Star Control; their insectoid appearance was inspired by a National Geographic photo of a caterpillar. Their role in Star Control II has earned acclaim among the best game villains in history, praised for their menacing persona, as well as their surprising depth and humanity. The Ur-Quan have also influenced other game studios, inspiring concepts in games such as Mass Effect and Stellaris.
Description
Background
The Ur-Quan are fictional characters in the Star Control series of video games, appearing as an alien race of giant predatory caterpillars. Their history is revealed through character dialog, which describes them as a species who evolved on a harsh planet in a distant region of space. Their biological lineage is compared to solitary predators such as the praying mantis, who are naturally limited in their social behaviors. As the Ur-Quan developed intelligence and culture, they were able to master their fierce territorial and hunting instincts, and build a co-operative spacefaring civilization. Eventually, as they began the exploration of their own solar system, they were discovered by an alien race known as the Taalo - members of loose collection of space faring civilizations known as the Sentient Milieu - and offered membership.
Twenty thousand years before Star Control, Ur-Quan explorers discovered a psychic race called the Dnyarri, who enslaved the Ur-Quan and compelled them to attack and destroy the rest of the Sentient Milieu. Using genetic engineering, the Dnyarri separated the original brown Ur-Quan into two sub-species. The green Ur-Quan became the Dnyarri's favored administrators and researchers, and the black Ur-Quan became their designated soldiers. Many generations later, the Ur-Quan led a successful slave revolt. They discovered they could break the Dnyarri's psychic compulsion by torturing themselves, giving them enough time to kill and eventually exterminate their Dnyarri oppressors.
The Ur-Quan vowed they would never again be slaves, and began to conquer all other intelligent life in the galaxy. The green Ur-Quan were renamed the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za in honor of the Ur-Quan scientist who freed them all. The Kzer-Za moved forward with the 'Path of Now and Forever', a policy of security through enslaving all non-Ur-Quan sentient life, controlling them as either 'battle thralls', or as 'fallow slaves' forever imprisoned on their home worlds under impenetrable force-fields. The Black Ur-Quan, renamed the Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah after their new leader, felt that they could only be safe with the complete annihilation of all non-Ur-Quan life, an ideology they called the 'Eternal Doctrine'. The differing doctrines of the two fiercely territorial species escalated into a civil war. After devastating losses, the Kzer-Za eventually triumphed through the discovery of an enormous ancient battleship created by a lost alien civilization called the Precursors.