Fictional Background
A hive mind consisting of invertebrate, bipedal, crab-like creatures, the Invid came from the world of Optera, the inhabitable planet of the Tzuptum System. Their world was defoliated by the Robotech Masters in an attempt to monopolize the Flower of Life, a powerful narcotic that was native to the planet and also the source of an incredibly powerful energy source called protoculture. Enraged by the devastation and betrayal by those who came as apparent friends, the sedate and agrarian Invid militarize and begin a program of genetic manipulation, evolving to a point where they can strike back. The unleashed rage of the Invid proves superior to the Masters' own power, and the Robotech empire is slowly conquered. Ultimately, the Invid trace the stolen Flowers to Earth (which turns out to be the only other place in the galaxy where the Flower can grow) and invade Earth without a moment's hesitation, thus beginning the Third Robotech War.
The Invid are led by twin monarchs. Long ago, the Regis genetically modified herself to interact more easily with the scientist Zor, who came to Optera to study the Flowers of Life. In this form, she was seduced by Zor, who took from her knowledge of the Flowers' secret before abandoning her and the Invid. The Regis is devoted to the Flower of Life and its ability to transform. While willing to engage in near-merciless conflict in the short term, she views evolution as a path to move beyond slaughter in the longer term and aspires to reach a stage of evolution where the Invid might recapture the idyllic life that was once theirs.
The male counterpart to the Regis is known as the Regent. Less interested in evolution than his estranged wife, the Regent is also physically undeveloped beyond the natural bipedal stage of existence that was the Invid's original form. His path is not transformation but annihilation: while Zor was likely unaware of the Masters' intent to defoliate Optera, he links the personal betrayal of the Regis's seduction to the defoliation and has since that time devoted himself to the destruction of the Masters' race.
With the release of the movie Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, the spelling of the name of the female leader of the Invid was changed to "Regess". Not only was the new spelling used in the movie credits, but references to the character on the official Robotech website were changed to match the new spelling. The reasons for this change are unknown.
Read more about this topic: Invid (Robotech)
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