Secret Origins #23 (1988)

In response to questions from the Chosen, Herupa Hando Hu and Nadia Safir recount the origins of the Oan race. Ten billion years ago, the planet Maltus formed. Eventually, there evolved on its surface not only lifeforms resembling those which would later appear on Earth, but also complex microscopic creatures which coexisted with the dominant species in a form of symbiosis. As their population increased, the humanoids evolved into separate races, blue-skinned and white-skinned, and began to make war. Biological warfare resulted in the creation of a deadly disease which almost wiped out the humanoids. Since the disease was activated by sexual contact, in order to survive, the blue-skinned male scientists of the polar city of Ap formed an alliance with an isolated society of white-skinned women who inhabited the Zamar area, and produced future generations of children by laboratory means. The males came to be called Aps, and the females Zamars. Those chosen to form a mediative group, who also raised the children, were known as Oans. As ages passed, the Oans, with the aid of their symbionts, evolved fantastic mental powers and increased lifespans, becoming virtually immortal. Then the Oan named Krona engaged in a forbidden experiment to learn the origin of the universe itself, and thereby changed history, unleashing the force of evil on the cosmos at the dawn of time. While Krona was occupied, Herupa, the Oan youngster whose guardian he was, slipped away and met his female counterpart, Nadia. As they touched for the first time, their symbionts united, and the two realized that the division between the sexes was not the natural order. Almost immediately, however, they were discovered together, and were separated; they were never again allowed to be alone together. Nevertheless, they remembered their brief encounter over the centuries and remained devoted to each other. To atone for Krona's crime, the Oans decided that a group of volunteers would colonize a planet near the centre of the universe, which they named Oa, from which they would champion the cause of order; they became known as the Guardians of the Universe. Using their mental powers, the Guardians gathered the majority of the magic in the universe and stored it in the heart of a star, thus ensuring the dominance of science. They created the Central Power Battery, which would amplify their own natural energies. Finally, they built the android warriors which they named the Manhunters, to serve as their agents on various planets. As time passed, some Oans perished, and in the new environment of Oa, it became impossible to create new children to replace them, so that the Oan population decreased and the two genders grew further apart. The sole exceptions to this were Herupa and Nadia, who stayed in contact with each other. All the Oans' plans did not run smoothly. The Manhunters revolted against their creators and were stripped of their powers, eventually resurfacing as an evil cult. A splinter group of the Guardians, disagreeing with the disposal of the Manhunters, left Oa and became known as the Controllers. Still, the Guardians continued their work. To replace the Manhunters, they recruited living agents from the different planets, and gave them individual power rings and power batteries which drew energy from the master battery on Oa. These they called the Green Lantern Corps. Eventually even Herupa and Nadia lost contact with each other. The male and female Oans grew still further apart, until finally, the Zamarons left the planet to seek a world of their own. Their departure might have gone entirely unnoticed had not Nadia contacted Herupa with a final farewell message. Her appearance as a mental projection distracted Herupa as he and the other Guardians monitored the progress of the Green Lanterns in the Andarean Spider War, and three Green Lanterns under his guidance died in the battle. More ages passed. The Guardians delegated more Green Lanterns, one for each of the 3600 sectors of the universe. Sinestro, Green Lantern of the planet Korugar, turned renegade and allied himself with the evil Weaponers of Qward. Hal Jordan of Earth became the new Green Lantern of Sector 2814 and perhaps the most famous of the Corps. Krona returned to work new evil and was defeated by the assembled Green Lantern Corps. Finally, in the wake of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Guardians and the Zamarons were reunited, and departed the cosmos together to seek the reunion of the two sexes.