Spode is a deity worshipped by Philosophy of Faith (Zealot) civilizations. These civilizations have a habit of having violent traits, being distrusting of strangers, and being aggressive towards anyone who refuses to accept "the wisdom of Spode". Spode is most prominent in the Space Stage, but religious cities in the Civilization Stage may also give a player a bonus or a penalty depending on if they are religious or not. However, they worship a deity known as The Source.
This appears to be a glitch in which a Bard empire uses a Zealot text string for mission completion. The text is in Portuguese. The English translation reads "The glory of Spode shines in each of these samples! Please accept 30,000 Sporebucks and talk to our missionary brother when you leave."
About Spode
Spode's name is a mixing of "Spore" and "God". Little is known about Spode, but the Scrolls of Faith dictate some, if not all, of the beliefs. They detail how Spode is almighty and how his teachings will bring enlightenment, as well as instructing that all who reject the ways of Spode must be destroyed. They also state that the Grox are evil and so is "The false God That Will Come". They also tell people to seek the Eye of Spode. This likely refers to the center of the galaxy. After completing the Tribal stage as a friendly tribe, the villagers will talk of vehicles and the vehicle will have a large eye over it. Religious Civilizations in Civilization Stage are also represented by a stylised eye, meaning the symbol of the religion of Spode may be an eye.
Also, according to what Zealot empires say on delivery missions, Spode has tentacles. This has led some to believe that the Eye of Spode is the Galactic Core and the tentacles are the arms of the spiral galaxy, This would mean that Spode is the entire Galaxy. Based on how Spode is referred to, it's possible that Spode created the Galaxy in his image. Because of Zealot empires' violent tendencies, they will often be among non-religious players' first enemies. One of the missions that you can recieve from a Zealot civilization is a retrieval mission in which they ask you to bring them a creature that some of their people believe to be the same species as Spode's companion, which implies that Spode supposedly exists in a physical form.
It is also possible that the Debug Squid could be Spode, being the first creature created, having tentacles (see below), and being nearly unmakeable in-game. The tentacles also appear to resemble the Spore Insignia.
The Debug Squid.
In Spore Galactic Adventures, there is a mission called, "Shenanegan's Fun-Tasy Theme Park". In this adventure, one of the clowns says "Oh Steve,if you are up there, please put me out of this misery...", implying that Steve could possibly be Spode. It is also possible that Spode is Will Wright, as he created Spore; or even the player, as the player can create many of the creatures in the galaxy.
Trivia
- Spode is also an Archchancellor from the Unseen University of Ankh-Morpork, on the Discworld (Terry Pratchett books), as seen in the book "Hogfather".
- Spode is also a brand of British Pottery.
- In PG Wodehouse's book series, Roderick Spode leads an amateur Fascist party in London, named the "Black Shorts". His followers also frequently shout "Hail Spode" during meetings and parades.