Mɛʧɛs (me-ches)

The philosophy of The Sevenfold Path dictates that humanity cannot be trusted to developed unfettered, and that careful control of its destiny and lineage must be adhered to, else extinction will follow. To this end, Xahian reproduction is tightly controlled, with all fertilisation performed in-vitro, followed by gene assay and implantation into a surrogate of the Mother Caste. Over the ten thousand years of the Federation of Xah's existence, the Technical Caste has become very good at identifying gene alleles, and ensuring that only the 'best' gene expressions are allowed to be developed. However, human genetics is highly complex, and even now the almost infinite number of potential combinations are impossible to determine, and a lot of the selection process is simply weighted random chance.
Far more often than the Technical Caste likes to admit, gene selection results in individuals who not only fail to express the desired traits for the caste they are intended for, but expresses traits that run counter to the entire philosophy of The Sevenfold Path. Those who display detectable genetic ailments or harmful mutations are never allowed to be carried to term, but there are those who will never fit into the rigid heirarchy of the Federation of Xah, and who are then labelled Mɛʧɛs - 'one who has failed'.
Mɛʧɛs are typically easy to identify at an early age - they struggle to fit in with their peers, fail frequently at tasks that should be natural for one of their potential caste, and display physical or psychological traits that do not align with their designated caste. For the vast majority of Mɛʧɛs, this means early relegation to the Worker Caste and, more often than not, the most menial and dangerous of tasks. Considered low, even by Worker caste standards; most members of the Worker caste take some pride in being associated with the caste that they were born to be part of, and the education and training received as part of that. Mɛʧɛs cannot even claim that, as they are often removed from their educational path before the first round of aptitude testing at age 10.
It is no surprise that the majority of dissidents within the Federation of Xah are those designated as Mɛʧɛs, and for those that refuse to settle, the authorities have little sympathy. Mɛʧɛs are a greater proportion of those handed over to the Technical Caste for experimentation, or used as Ninyo Network candidates. They are never acknowleged in Xahian media, and officially, Mɛʧɛs do not exist.

Type

Genetic

Origin

Natural

Rarity

Extremely Rare

Affected Species

• Xahian