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The Amnion (singular, Amnioni) are a fictional alien species in Stephen R. Donaldson's The Gap Cycle. They are shown to be the only alien race humanity has made contact with and play a major role in the series from ''Forbidden Knowledge'' onwards. Amnion are fundamentally different from any Earth creature - particularly humankind - in their mental and emotional structure. Physically they are humanoid: the Amnioni with whom first contact is made is described in ''Forbidden Knowledge'' as "a humanoid sea-anemone with too many arms." Amnion are however severely different from each other in physical appearance, with differing numbers of limbs, eyes, and other organs, as well as varying vastly in size and shape. This physical individuality contrasts with their mental identicality - their mentality can be likened to that of an insect hive. They are analogous to the Borg in the Star Trek universe, both in their collective intelligence (or "mind union") and in their aim to conquer through assimilation (turning humans into members of their own species). Despite their fundamental opposition and Cold War-type conflict with humanity, they are not portrayed as the main antagonists in The Gap Cycle. Rather they serve as a driving force for the conflict between the human characters. == First Contact == ''Forbidden Knowledge'' explains that in the universe of the Gap Cycle, there is some argument over when first contact can be said to have started. Captain Sixten Vertigus, aboard the ''Deep Star'' was the first human to meet an actual Amnioni aboard the Amnion 'defensive' ''Solidarity'': this is where the above description of an Amnioni comes from. Vertigus's instructions were to "establish proximity with any alien vessel or base" and then broadcast the contents of a tape prepared specially for the occasion. They would record any reply that they were able to for as long as possible, then to "escape into the gap in a way that would confuse pursuit". This seemingly-paranoid set of instructions was due to the unwillingness of Holt Fasner to reveal too much to any alien race "whose intentions were unguessable". Vertigus however was willing to disobey these orders directly: something of an idealist, he resolved to travel to the Amnion ship and deliver the tape in person, mostly out of a desire to lay eyes on at least one Amnioni, but also in the hope of kick-starting diplomatic relations between the two races. The Amnion in return gave him a canister containing mutagenic material - the same sort of material that had led Vertigus there in the first place. This is where the debate over 'first contact' started from: the Amnion's existence had already been known, and aside from matters of appearance, Captain Vertigus learnt nothing new about the race. The Amnion had been discovered when the ship ''Far Star'' encountered a satellite of alien origin, containing mutagens, in a far extrasolar system. The return of ''Far Star'' to Earth is touted as having "enough scientific, economic, and cultural impact to qualify as 'first contact'." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Amnion (Gap Cycle)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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