Overlord (species)
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The "Overlords" are a species featured in Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End". They are bipedal cybernetic beings that are larger than humans both in size and proportion. This is likely because their home world has a weaker gravity field than Earth's.
An observation from the character George Greggson reveals that their body is mostly covered with a hard external armor and it may be their only supporting framework because it is never known if they possess a skeleton. Their main defining features are large wings, a small pair of horns on their heads, and long tails with an arrowhead-like tip. Because of this, they can be compared to demons though they do not appear like the traditional image of them. Direct sunlight is painful to them and can only bear staying in it for mere seconds before finding cover. To remain in sunlight, they wear "dark glasses" as described by Clarke. They can breathe oxygen but carry around canisters of their own specific gas which they prefer to breathe. Both of their hands consist of five fingers and dual opposing thumbs. They have gill-like organs on the side of their faces which has a double action breathing cycle for them.
They are loyal to an entity known as the "Overmind" which can be considered a god to their species. Their servitude to the "Overmind" is why they journeyed to Earth. It is revealed later in the story that their current physical make up is the peak of their evolution and the Overmind will not allow them to join a higher plane of existence with it because of that. It wants the next stage of human evolution for reasons never revealed. On their home world, their architecture is massive and is designed only for species that are capable of flight. If there are any walkways, they are limited.
The notable Overlords in the story are Karellen, Rashaverak, Thanthaltercos, and Vindarten. Karellen is the "super visor" of the Overlords on Earth though he claims he is not the highest in rank of his species. He befriends a human named Rikki Stromgren who he foreshadows the coming events to in the story. Rashaverak is first thought to be a low level Overlord but he is actually an assistant to Karellen. He is first seen living with Rupert Boyce reading a book in his library and he is shown to gain a large amount of knowledge in a short time through reading. Thanthalterscos is called "The Inspector" when he vists New Athens. He is seen wearing a "silvery cloth" over his armor. Vindarten is only mentioned when Jan Rodricks arrives at their homeworld. He is described as having a poor understanding of the human language.
