Lassfapans were an advanced but extinct species native to Varda III.
History and specifics[]
Lassfapan were an extremely long-lived non-humanoid reptilian race. Their technology included glowing hover platforms, Vardan illusion machines and organic machinery able to repair injuries and serve as guardians. They developed fine music and art.
25,000 to 40,000 years ago, they built the Vardan buildings.
Lassfapan were an old race, but their machines couldn't fix boredom or disinterest in advancing their culture. Their organic machines continued to function for thousands of years after their creators became extinct, including Fi'lakas and the Healer.
In 2277, Spock and archeologist Galen Tripp believed that the Lassfapans died out because they lost their sense of adventure and curiosity, something their organic machines couldn't fix.
While in stasis on Varda III, Hikaru Sulu had a vision of the Lassfapans and their history, including what appeared to be a flash in the night sky that seemed to mark an end to their civilization. To him, Lassfapans appeared to be tall, handsome, but only vaguely humanoid.
Lex Nakashima, a security guard, and Spock encountered the last-surviving Lassfapan. It was old and dying. After mind melding with it, Spock asked Nakashima to provide it with material from the ship's non-classified library so it would have something to read, including the rules for Dungeons & Dragons and the celebrated Vulcan tome Doon-par-tak-nor. (TOS - Plot-Your-Own Adventure Stories novella: Distress Call!)
- Some reader choices led to offworlders being captured by the last Lassfapan, while others led instead to encounters with Fi'lakas or the Healer.
- The Lassfapan that appears in the book appears to be a trace drawing of the Betasaur that appeared on the cover of the 1972 comic "The Enterprise Mutiny".