Leeran
Encyclopedia
The Leerans are a fictional race of aliens from the Animorphs
series by K.A. Applegate. They are described as a yellow amphibian
species with tentacles for arms that resembles a manta ray
or frog
. They live in the vast oceans on their homeworld, Leera
, which has only one small continent of land (originally, Leerans needed to go on land to mate, but technology now makes that unnecessary). Leerans have advanced psychic powers, which makes them very desirable Yeerk
hosts. However, their telepathy also makes it impossible for the Yeerks to invade the leera homeland secretly and silently as they have done on Earth. For this reason the Yeerks intended to create versions of Earth sharks with brains large enough to be infestable to serve as underwater shock troops on Leera, but their plan was foiled by the Animorphs. Due to their psychic powers, Leeran-Controllers are able to see past the Animorphs' forms and discover that they are human.
In addition to possessing remarkable psychic abilities, it also revealed in the series that the Leerans are able to regenerate lost body parts. At one point, a pair of Leeran-Controllers (in a moment where their Yeerks panic and lose some control) ask the Animorphs
to bite off the brain lobe at the back of their heads (while the Animorphs were in shark morph) to free them from the Yeerks that currently controlled them. At first the Animorphs did not want to do this as they believed that it would kill the host Leerans, however the Leerans reassured them that it is safe and that they would not die.
The planet Leera is home to a vast and amazing variety of aquatic life. Cassie
remarked that her mother's marine biologist friend would give her arm to go there. However, there doesn't appear to be any species as powerful as an Earthling hammerhead shark, as evidenced by the failure of Yeerk chemical weapons to even faze the Animorphs in shark form.
Leeran speech appears to be composed entirely of monosyllabic words, each consisting of two letters. However, as they speak, the listener can hear (or feel) the meaning that is being conveyed, as is usual with thought-speak; however, Leeran thought-speak goes even deeper than that, and Leerans are also able to sense emotions, as well as thoughts that other beings do not "say." The actual English translation of this semi-telepathic speech is notated in the books using underlined, italicized text.
Leerans first feature in The Escape
, in which a Leeran-Controller attempts to reveal Marco's identity as a human (not an Andalite
-bandit, as the Yeerks believed), using its psychic ability, but is not believed when it informs Visser One
and is knocked out before it can elaborate on its meaning (Marco was in Gorilla morph, and Viser One thought he meant the Gorilla was a human). The Animorphs later travel to Leera in The Decision
, where they help to end the war there in favor of the Andalites and Leerans. A few Leeran children would also be seen as part of the Evolutionist Front in book #41, The Familiar
.
Animorphs
Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...
series by K.A. Applegate. They are described as a yellow amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
species with tentacles for arms that resembles a manta ray
Manta ray
The manta ray is the largest species of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
or frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
. They live in the vast oceans on their homeworld, Leera
Leera
Leera is a fictional planet in the Animorphs series of books. Leera is a mostly aquatic planet, home to the Leerans, a psychic, amphibian race resembling frogs...
, which has only one small continent of land (originally, Leerans needed to go on land to mate, but technology now makes that unnecessary). Leerans have advanced psychic powers, which makes them very desirable Yeerk
Yeerk
Yeerks are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the book and television series "Animorphs" written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic.-Biology:...
hosts. However, their telepathy also makes it impossible for the Yeerks to invade the leera homeland secretly and silently as they have done on Earth. For this reason the Yeerks intended to create versions of Earth sharks with brains large enough to be infestable to serve as underwater shock troops on Leera, but their plan was foiled by the Animorphs. Due to their psychic powers, Leeran-Controllers are able to see past the Animorphs' forms and discover that they are human.
In addition to possessing remarkable psychic abilities, it also revealed in the series that the Leerans are able to regenerate lost body parts. At one point, a pair of Leeran-Controllers (in a moment where their Yeerks panic and lose some control) ask the Animorphs
Animorphs
Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...
to bite off the brain lobe at the back of their heads (while the Animorphs were in shark morph) to free them from the Yeerks that currently controlled them. At first the Animorphs did not want to do this as they believed that it would kill the host Leerans, however the Leerans reassured them that it is safe and that they would not die.
The planet Leera is home to a vast and amazing variety of aquatic life. Cassie
Cassie (Animorphs)
Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...
remarked that her mother's marine biologist friend would give her arm to go there. However, there doesn't appear to be any species as powerful as an Earthling hammerhead shark, as evidenced by the failure of Yeerk chemical weapons to even faze the Animorphs in shark form.
Leeran speech appears to be composed entirely of monosyllabic words, each consisting of two letters. However, as they speak, the listener can hear (or feel) the meaning that is being conveyed, as is usual with thought-speak; however, Leeran thought-speak goes even deeper than that, and Leerans are also able to sense emotions, as well as thoughts that other beings do not "say." The actual English translation of this semi-telepathic speech is notated in the books using underlined, italicized text.
Leerans first feature in The Escape
The Escape (Animorphs)
The Escape is the fifteenth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Marco.The cover quote reads, "The Yeerks are out there...."-Plot summary:...
, in which a Leeran-Controller attempts to reveal Marco's identity as a human (not an Andalite
Andalite
The Andalites are a fictional alien race of grazers in the Scholastic book series Animorphs.-Biology:The Andalites are fictional aliens from the book series and TV series Animorphs....
-bandit, as the Yeerks believed), using its psychic ability, but is not believed when it informs Visser One
Edriss 562
Edriss 562 is a Yeerk that controls Marco's mother Eva. For most of the series, her rank is Visser One. She is the subject of the novel Visser, which describes her rise to and dramatic fall from power...
and is knocked out before it can elaborate on its meaning (Marco was in Gorilla morph, and Viser One thought he meant the Gorilla was a human). The Animorphs later travel to Leera in The Decision
The Decision (Animorphs)
The Decision is the eighteenth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Ax.The inside front cover quote is, "Ax is about to bug out...." The front cover quote is, "Change a little. Change a lot...
, where they help to end the war there in favor of the Andalites and Leerans. A few Leeran children would also be seen as part of the Evolutionist Front in book #41, The Familiar
The Familiar (Animorphs)
The Familiar is the forty-first book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Ellen Geroux. It is narrated by Jake.The cover quote is "They're out of sight...
.
Leeran terminology
- Bright Hole: Leera's volcanic past created large, underground bubbles in the rock that contain phosphorescent minerals and bio-organisms.
- Cha-Ma-Mib: The only known god of the Leerans. (They are one of only two alien species shown in the series to have a religion, the other one being the Hork-BajirHork-BajirThe Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs...
). Mentioned in The DecisionThe Decision (Animorphs)The Decision is the eighteenth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Ax.The inside front cover quote is, "Ax is about to bug out...." The front cover quote is, "Change a little. Change a lot...
. - City of Worms: A large Leeran city. It resembles a giant, multi-colored shell full of holes for entrances. Its name is derived from the fact that hundreds of giant, electric-blue eels constantly swim around the city.
- Leera: The Leeran homeworld. It is mostly covered with water, aside from a single continent and a few islands.