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The Indigene; The Aliens of Colonized Space
Topic Started: Aug 19 2008, 07:10 PM (1,252 Views)
Reedstilt
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First, a distinction must be made between traditional uses of the word indigene. The indigenes are the native inhabitants of life-harboring planets, or in a broader sense, an indigene is the all-encompassing clade of a single world. For example, all the animals, plants, fungi, protists, and archaeans, and bacteria that have inhabited Earth, and all the organisms that have evolved from them on extraterrestrial worlds, compose a single indigenous group. Alternatively, in a colloquial sense, Indigenes, traditionally capitalized, are those members of an indigenous clade that are those species capable of human-like thought, including humans themselves. Since the majority of First Contact events have occurred when humans arrived on previously occupied worlds, this term is preferred over the archaic "alien." Here we will discuss only the Indigene themselves, of which there are slightly over a dozen in Colonized Space and its frontiers. We shall begin with the oldest known species of Indigene, the humans.

Humans
The genus Homo is one of the oldest, most enduring, and most adaptable form of life in Colonized Space. The genus was already over two million years old by the time it departed its ancestral Earth for other planets, and has persisted for over two-hundred million years since that time. As the genus spread away from Earth, it formed a 100 to 1000 lightyear thick sphere around the planet. This sphere slowly expanded as humans colonized a new planet, inhabited it for several thousand years and then moved on when it no longer could sustain them. Humans practiced limited terraforming and until recently did not possess the techniques necessary to stabilize planetary climates for extended periods of time. Typically, within less than a million years, the fragile planetary ecosystems they created collapsed and they would search out new planets to colonize, spending long generations in vast colony-ships drifting between stars. This pattern of colonization and migration in the face of severe climate change has preserved the genus relatively unchanged along the ever-expanding periphery of Colonized Space, which by definition, is the area humans have reached.

Since departing Earth, this pattern has occurred enough times to expand Colonized Space to roughly half the Galaxy. Human expansion was hindered by the galactic core, and the presence of advanced Indigenes on either border. Eventually the sphere containing the genus Homo began to break up and thin into narrow bands, as old colonies died out or the local inhabits who remained behind adapt to unique local conditions.

Humans and their descendants have been the dominant force in Colonized Space since they first departed Earth. Because of their activities, countless worlds now possess life that would not have otherwise, and from the wildlife they left behind on those worlds, nearly a hundred intelligent lifeforms have developed -- either through their own natural evolution or with the guiding hand of human geneticist.

Recently, Colonized Space has been most influenced by three groups of human descendants. First came the Massah, a species of human of uncertain origin. The most well supported theory, based on similarities between technology, is that they descended from the extinct human lineage from Lamur. The Massah incorporated a vast array of technology into their biology. They crashed through a technological ceiling that had been holding humanity back for millions of years and devised ways around the speed of light by linking distant gravity wells with temporary wormholes. The methods they used to achieve this has never been understood by lesser minds, though a few species have managed to duplicate the technology without fully understanding it.

The Massah forged a vast civilization, called the Kaldim, across Colonized Space. Worlds within the Kaldim were retained limited autonomy which ended at their planet's gravity well. The Massah facilitated the movement of people and ideas, and swore off interfering with local concerns unless it was an interplanetary concern or an issue between Indigene, in which case they would attempt to moderate an equitable solution. In exchange, the Massah received exclusive rights to the natural resources of all uninhabited worlds. This vast collection of resources was necessary to fuel and maintain their technological superiority.

The lengthy rule of the Kaldim was broken when an offshoot of the Massah exceeded the technological capacity of their parent species. Known as the Triumphant, they earned their name in a brief terrifying war against the Massah. The reasons for this war are as inscrutable as the beings who fought it, but in the end the Massah had been utterly eliminated the control of Colonized Space fell to the Triumphant. When most people think of these beings, they picture the all-too-human public face of the Triumphant, but the "person" that interacts with others is just an avatar of a planet-sized world-computer. No one is sure where the Triumphant themselves are, but the avatar is connected to the vast consciousness of an individual Triumphant through micro-wormhole technology. Though the avatar is destructible (and various early assassination attempts ended catastrophically as the avatar's wormhole connection destabilized), the Triumphant themselves are, for all practical purposes immortal.

During their million-year reign, the Triumphant used a particular branch of the genus Homo as their enlightened middlemen. This species possessed a unique genetic condition that predisposed their bodies to act as hosts for the nanotechnology swarms that formed the backbone of much of Triumphant technology. It is uncertain whether this genetic condition was natural or created by the Triumphant themselves. Regardless, the Numen Manitu, as they came to be called, were useful tools for the Triumphant. When the Triumphant regime fell, another interstellar war broke out. Traditionally, this war is attributed to the Numen Manitu overthrowing the Triumphant and liberating humanity and its descendants from the inhuman rule. Though this makes for an inspiring narrative, a more reasoned scenario based on what is known about the Triumphant is that these great beings simply tired of ruling Colonized Space, and most moved on to other projects, retaining a small portion of Colonized Space for those of their number that had not yet grown bored with the exercise of power. In the power vacuum that followed, the Numen Manitu rose up against each other and squabbled for dominance. In the end, Colonized Space collapsed into a great Dark Age, with neither the Massah nor the Triumphant to facilitate travel, and the Numen Manitu bloodlines diminishing and their technology waning in the absence of their masters -- as well as having their birthright stolen by genetic pirates that cracked the code and held the information random in exchange for power and technology.

Today Colonized Space is collection of fractured polities. In those civilizations with a sizable human population, some variation or offshoot of the Numen Manitu always feature prominently.

Other prominent groups of humans and their descendants throughout history include:

The Aminwar -- a nomadic, zealous civilization. They patrolled a region of Colonized Space near Lamur until eventually defeated by the Lamuri. When they encountered a new civilization they took up the role of judge, inspecting the civilization and administering aggressive genetic manipulation of the local populations for whatever crimes the Aminwar perceived. Their sense of justice had a karmic poetry to it, re-engineering the local species into a form more fitting its chosen lifestyle. Most were unrecognizable as descendants of humans afterwards, such as the Kimnpur, which in all respects save a few key genetic appear to be intelligent rove beetles.

The Kasata'a -- this species was the most reviled of the genetically manipulated species under the rule of the Anthropic Commonwealth, one of the polities that emerged briefly after the departure of the Triumphant. They resemble seahorses with large heads, mostly human like with a bulging cetacean-like melon. Their arms are thin, and their legs transformed into small flippers. The propel themselves, much like a sea horse, with a rapidly moving dorsal fin, and possess a long prehensile tail and gills. How the Kasata'a came to be is a matter of debate, but fossil evidence makes it clear that they evolved from more primitive forms that show no sign of tool use. Considering the other animals that inhabit the surface of their planet and the oceans, it seems that all large animal niches are filled with organisms derived from human stock. Whether this was the results of a whim, an intentional experiment, or a harsh necessity (for example, the popular apologist answer here is to hypothesize that the original colony-ship arriving to this world had suffered a critical systems failure and lost the storehouse of genetic material which is usually used to produce the organisms needed to great ecosystems for human habitation. As such, the colonists used their own genetic make-up to produce replacements.) The Anthropic Commonwealth used their homeworld as a internment colony for species of humans that had artificially altered their genetic structure -- with a certain amount of irony, they considered it improper for humans to interfere with their own evolution. Today, the Kasata'a and their allies form one of the major polities in Colonized Space.

Khimur-Nayan Nomads -- this group of highly modified humans have spent the several million years in their original colony ship, The Golden Jubilee orbiting between a pair of stars halfway between Earth and the galactic core. They have allowed all but the most vital systems on the Jubilee to cease, and have adapted to the dark, low gravity environment within their vessel. Robotic resources gatherers established in two star systems await the Jubilee's return, delivering natural resources needed maintain the colony through another interstellar cycle and build new robots to replace those that have been damaged in the intervening time. The Khimur-Nayans have little contact with the rest of Colonized Space, and over their history overlapping polities have respected their autonomy. The Khimur-Nayans' way of life is currently threatened, however, by the advent of increasingly smaller vessels capable of wormhole travel. This has allowed small, independent operations to poach resources from the Khimur-Nayan robots while the Jubilee is away.

The Sacred Consortium -- a group descending from the Numen Manitu by way of the Anthropic Commonwealth. They form the largest predominantly human polity in Colonized Space. Parish, the former capital of their interstellar empire, is located between the Perseus and Outer Arm of the Galaxy, as does most of the region they control. In addition these far flung rim territories, the Consortium has retaken Earth, which since the time of the Kaldim has been seen as the symbolic seat of power in Colonized Space.
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Saxophlutist
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Ah, more post-human stuff! How far in the future is this?
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Reedstilt
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Very far. "The genus was already over two million years old by the time it departed its ancestral Earth for other planets, and has persisted for over two-hundred million years since that time."

Though in my variation on this theme, I've taken a slow-and-steady approach, as detailed above, so even after all that time, in some areas there are still things that you would recognize as human clinging on in the far corners of Colonized Space, kinda like interstellar crocodiles, largely unchanged because they keep moving rather than let natural selection kick in, or (unlike some of their kin) they declined to augment their bodies through genetic manipulation.

But aside from that first post, there isn't much in the way of post-human stuff here. Next up are the first Indigenes that humans contacted. If I find time, I might get to that tonight.
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Reedstilt
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Vrrild
For several million years after departing Earth humans thought they were alone. After departing earth nearly fifteen million years earlier, humanity had slowly expanded into a bubble of space nearly 20,000 light-years in diameter. In all that time and space, they had not encountered any intelligent species that was not derived from terrestrial lifeforms. True, they had encountered dozens of worlds that possessed native life, but until the first contact with the Vrrild, no one had discovered a planet inhabited by an advanced mind.

The discovery of the Vrrild was the result of a colonization accident, resulting in a colony ship being sent to a planet that would have traditionally been avoided due to its excessive surface gravity (2.5g). The colonists detected their error en route and spent their centuries of travel through the vast interstellar gulf devising and revising plans to make the most of the situation. All their plans were shattered as they entered the last fifty years of their voyage. The colonists detected faint, artificial radio signals emanating from the planet. When processed correctly, this signals revealed sounds no human ear had ever heard before: the voice on an alien intelligence.

The voice of the Vrrild is full of clicks, trills, whistles, and a sound similar to air rushing out of a balloon. After many years of research, a basic grammar structure was discovered to their speech, but as yet, no one had been able to decipher a word. A major breakthrough came when the Vrrild began broadcasting video as well. This gave the researchers images to associate with familiar words, as well as their first opportunity to see what these creatures looked like.

In basic form, the Vrrild resemble giant starfish, roughly two-and-half feet tall at the height of the central mass, with 6-8 foot length from the tip of one arm to the tip of another. They are radially symmetrical with no immediate signs of encephalization. Each of their seven long flexible arms ends in a tuft of feathery bristles which have an alluring iridescent sheen and serve a variety of purposes. These bristles are primarily sensory organs, a mix of different specialized bristles detect vibrations and chemical stimuli, allowing them to hear, taste, and smell with these tufts. Many of the bristles on the underside of the arm are more properly referred to as tendrils, provided the Vrrild with a strong grip.

For sight their skin is covered in simple photoreceptive patches -- their bodies serve as a single compound eye. They have two orifices that are analogous to human mouths. First, on the underside of their bodies is an opening the serves as both the entry and exit for food. Undigested matter is later regurgitated. An opening on the top of their central mass serves as a mouth for speech. Air is absorbed through a ring of four spiracles surrounding this opening, brought down four lung analogues, where oxygen is circulated into their body stream by three heart-analogues [It appears the "heart" and "lungs" of the Vrrild develop from the same ancestral organs). Air is then expelled through the central opening and manipulated to produce sounds.

The Vrrild reproduce in a more-or-less asexual manner, and fossil evidence has revealed that Vrrild-like species have lived on their homeworld for nearly as long as humans had been exploring the galaxy. It took the Vrrild six times longer to reach their current human-like state from their equivalent of H. habilis. This slow evolution has been attributed to their method of reproduction, however this hypothesis has been debated. Supplementing their mostly asexual reproduction, the Vrrild excrete a genetic fluid from their skin which may be ingested by other Vrrild. Human observers have likened this process to sex, but it is more similar to the exchange of plasmids between bacteria.

Only the most lavish Vrrildian buildings were rall enough for a human to stand comfortably in, and none were built more than a mile from a source of water large enough for a Vrrild to submerge itself. The Vrrild are originally an amphibious species, though they have found ways to cope without extensive bodies of water, such as by building communal bathhouses, the invention of which spurred the development of Vrrildian civilization as much as agriculture did for humans.

The true first contact moment between humans and Vrrild has been lost to history. The Vrrild have two conflicting reports about the matter. First, it is said that the humans sought to invade and conquer their homeworld, cannibalizing its resources to terraform a smaller neighboring world. After a brief war, during which the Vrrild united against the human invaders, the colonists were destroyed. Later historians tell a different story: the Vrrild were in the midst of a nuclear war when the humans arrived. The humans presented themselves as an invader solely to force the Vrrild to unite and avoid their own destruction. Too late did the Vrrild realize the benevolence of their invaders; by then the colonists had already been eliminated. The colonists became martyrs in the eyes of later Vrrild and by the time a second wave of human colonists arrived to their homeworld, these humans were greeted as returning messiahs, much to the surprise of the humans.

Since the second contact, Vrrild have been expanding their territory along side humans. With minor genetic modification they have adapt to surviving on numerous worlds, and their genetic excretions allow them to pass these modifications on to others of their kind with ease. In modern Colonized Space, the Vrrild are prominent and inquisitive travelers, journeying from planet to planet, bringing along with them a retinue of genetic material to quickly adapt to local conditions.
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Saxophlutist
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Good job on this sophont, especially a non-bilateral one.
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Sliver Slave
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I'm going back to basics.

Very nice. looks like you took the time to think this out.
Something is upsetting the ostriches.

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Reedstilt
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Crendd Hwaata
The exact moment of contact between humans and the Crendd Hwaata is unknown. By the time the two species met, the Hwaata had reached the same technological plateau humans had achieved dozens of millions of years before them and had colonized a portion of the galaxy roughly equivalent to the human territories at the time of the Human-Vrrild contact. The Hwaata presence on this fringe of Colonized Space hindered human progress in that direction. The two species require similar climates and ecological conditions, placing them in frequent competition. As human and Hwaata colonists made crossed paths once or twice every 100,000 years or so, violent, but localized, battles raged. Though in specific theaters the human-Hwaata wars came to peaceful conclusions, typically these wars resulted in the eliminate of one species or the other in the area of contention -- until such time as the new colonists arrived. A lasting peace did not develop until imposed by the Massah. A line was drawn through Hwaata territories. On one side was Colonized Space, ruled by the Massah's Kaldim, and encompassing those Hwaata who had learned to peacefully coexist with humans. On the other side lay the Frontier, given over to more beligirent Hwaata factions and whatever beings dwelt beyond them.

The Crendd Hwaata, literally the Six-fold People, resemble, to the terrestrial eye, an unusual amalgamation of arthropod parts. Their bodies are segmented into six major parts, alternating between hard chitinous exoskeleton and a more pliable, leathery exoskeleton. These parts are analogous to the human head, neck, chest, abdomen, hips, and in the case of final segment, the abdomen of insects.

The head contains most of the sensory apparatuses, including two pairs of eyes and two pairs of antennae. The first pair of eyes are exceptionally suited for seeing in low light conditions, while the second pair are designed to see a variety of colors. Hwaata color vision is adjusted to a slightly higher spectrum than human eyes. They can discern at least three distinct colors beyond violet, but cannot distinguish red, orange or certain shades of yellow. The antennae are similar divided by function. The larger of the two pairs detects chemical sensations; while the smaller pair is sensitive to minute changes in temperature. Most Hwaata possess simple mandibles suitable for their omnivorous diet.

Despite having a very different shape, the Hwaata brain is very similar to the human brain. Notable exceptions are the much larger size of the Hwaata olfactory lobe, nearly equal to its occipital lobe, and the greatly exaggerated size of their brain stem which takes up a sizable amount of space in the Hwaata neck and controls their array of limbs considerably more efficiently than any similar form of terrestrial life. Mentally the Hwaata are masters of fine details, though they do miss the forest through the trees from time to time.

The chest serves as an anchor for the first two pairs of the Hwaata's eight limbs, and in some castes, also anchors the wings. In most cases only the first pair of limbs is adabted for fine manipulation; the rest are used for walking. The first of the Hwaata's two heart is also found here. Following this, is the first abdomen, housing, most notably, the respiratory system -- a pair of diaphram-like muscles on either side allows this segment to function like a bellows, pumping in a considerable amount of air through a spiracle-like orifices on its flank. Also in this segment is a tympanic membrane located immediately behind the chest. The hips anchor another set of four limbs and the second heart. The second abdomen contains the bulk of the digestive system, among other organ complexes.

This basic body plan is followed by all six of the original Hwaata castes, and exists in a highly modified state in the seventh caste.

The Breeders are comprised of the immense Queens and the tiny Kings. Both, in addition to the basic body plan, have long feathery appendages extending from the rear of their second abdomen. The Kings use theirs to deposit their sperm, while the Queens use their to move their eggs away from their great bulk. With the exception of the Kings, all Hwaata possess a human-like intelligence; the mind of the Kings appears to be more akin to that of an autistic savant. They excel at one area of expertise but are generally lacking in other areas. This may be the result of their small size; Kings are only 60cm long, half of which is taken up by their slender second abdomens. The Queens, which tend to be ten times size of the Kings, keep several in their the retinue to serve as advisers on specific matters.

In older times, the Breeders formed an elite aristocracy, ruling over the other castes and exploiting their control over population. This came to an end around the time the Hwaata began colonizing other planets. The Workers and the Soldiers revolted and succeeded in overthrowing the Breeders and distributing power more evenly throughout the Hwaata society. The Workers and the Soldiers now have greater say in the direction their societies take and the way their wars are fought. The Workers, all female, are the most generalized of all the Hwaata and perform a variety of functions, including, as Hwaata technology advanced, augmenting the forces of their male counterparts, the Soldiers. The Soldeirs, as mentioned, are the male equivalent of the Workers, though both, of course, are sterile. They are the second largest caste, after the Queens, and possess a variety of natural weaponry. Unlike other castes, their foremost limbs are poorly adapted for manipulation and bare a striking resembles to the claws of terrestrial whip-spiders. Their mandibles are greatly exaggerated and frighteningly powerful. As with the Workers, as technology improved, more opportunities were opened for the Solders to be more than just cannon fodder for the Breeders.

The Hunter-Gatherer pair form the last group of the six original castes. These castes show the least difference between each other, but the most difference with regards to other Hwaata. They both resemble immense dragonflies. Their well-developed wings have freed both pairs of forelimbs for manipulation, though the Hunters also possess slight mantis-like adaptations to their foremost limbs. Additionally, both of these castes possess small pincers at the ends of their second abdomens, a feature which is homologous to the feathery appendages of the Breeders. Unlike other castes which quickly grow uneasy if long separated from the rest of their society, the Hunter-Gatherers are generally uncomfortable in large crowds and prefer the solitude of open places. They form the bulk of the rural population of the Hwaata.

The seventh caste is artificial, genetically engineered sometime after first contact with humans. The Mimic caste is a highly modified, neuter variation on the Hunter-Gatherer castes. The Second abdomen is greatly reduced, as is one pair of forelimbs and one pair of hindlimbs. Unlike other castes, the Mimic walks upright. It was intended to resemble humans, and though at first glance this seems a laughable proposition, it's general form and silhouette is a decent match. Once covered in the clothing worn by humans at the time of its creation, the Mimic could fool a human observer at first glance. More impressively, the castes biochemistry was also altered to register as human to most bio-sensors used at the time. The Mimics served as spies and ambassadors originally, sometimes both at once. They were instrumental in ending human-Hwaata conflicts peacefully, understanding and intereacting with humans better than any other caste. The workers see the Mimics as their trump card, since they control the sole means of producing them. The Mimics remind the Breeders how little Hwaata society really needs them while advanced technology exists.

Hwaata generally consider themselves more advanced than terrestrial life, noting that terrestrial life has not developed a similarly complex caste syste, and in the case of humans, barely distinguishes between the two sexes. This complexity, however, has raised some questions regarding the evolutionary origins of the species. Examination of their genetic structure shows a highly streamlined genome with little redundant or unexpressed genes. This suggests an artificial origin for the entire species, but the condition is widespread in other species native to their homeworld and fossil evidence shows the complex caste system extends into the deep past. If their peculiar genome is the result of tampering by a higher intelligence, it predates humans considerably. As yet no other evidence has been uncovered to suggest the exists of a pre-human space faring intelligence. The debate currently hinges on whether the ability of organisms in the Hwaata indigenous group to shed unused genes developed naturally. As yet, nothing has been conclusively proven.
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Reedstilt
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Idadev

Compared with the first contact with the Vrrild and the Crendd Hwaata, the first encounter between humans and the Idadev seems almost dull. Humans had actually been living on the planet Matharn for a generation before anyone noticed they were sharing the planet with another intelligent lifeform. Yet for the original colonists of Matharn, this discovery was just as monumental as any other First Contact event. This lineage of colonists had left Earth millions of years earlier, heading in the opposite direction as those who had discovered the Vrrild and the Hwaata, and these were the first intelligent species discovered by their line.

At the time of contact, the local Idadev were still in their equivalent of the Stone Age. As a coastal and marine species, most of their primitive tools were fashioned from remains of mollusk- and coral-analogues native to their planet. They mastered fire thanks to an parasitic fungus-like organisms that excretes a suite of chemicals as a defense against browsers. The chemical reactions created by this excretion generates a considerable amount of heat and can ignite dry kindling.

The Idadev are unusual creations that don't quite resemble anything from earth. On a cellular level, they most resemble fungi. Their bodies are long and low, giving them a lizard like profile -- excepting of course, that they don't have legs. They have a host of telescopic tendrils on their underside which serve as both a means of locomotion on the ground and as means of manipulating objects. Their main means of locomotion, however, is flight. Though they have two sets of wings they usually act as a single pair. The wings have very little flexibility except at the bases which allows for limited flapping, and along trailing edge of the wing which can be manipulated in a fashion similar to a fixed-wing aircraft, allowing for fine controls. Like much of the Idadev biomechanics, the wings are pneumatic and hydraulic, controlled and expanded by controlling the flow of air and liquids into the the muscles and skin. When not in use, the wings are usually deflated and retracted into the body.

The skin of the Idadev contains several small pockets which can be inflated with air to provide a bubble-wrap-like insulating layer, protecting the Idadev from cold air during flight. The tail is long and actually splits for about a quarter of its length before reconnecting at the tip. Using a combination of pneumatics and hydraulics, the Idadev reshapes the end of its tail into a hoop, with interlacing tendrils forming a net in the middle. They skim the water with this tail and scoop up various marine animals. Releasing the pressure in the hoop, closes the net again as the tendrils tighten their grip on whatever they have caught.

The other end of the Idadev has a relatively large head, which is roughly triangular when seen from above or below. The forward facing point of the triangle is covered in a variety of tendrils, which serve not only as the mouth, tongue and nose of the Idadev. This tendrils perceive chemicals in the air and excrete enzymes that break down their food. The Idadevs and other fungus-like animal-analogues of Matharn do not have digestive systems like most Earth animals. Instead food is absorbed through the tendrils and spreads directly through the interlocking cells. Technically, any of the Idadev's tendrils can serve this purpose, but the ones on the head are most specialized for production of digestive enzymes.

They other two points on the triangle have eyes that are angled slightly downward, allowing the Idadev to see the oceans beneath them as they fly. They have four separate transparent eyelids, which can slide one over the other. These augment the rather weak lens in the Idadev's eye and filter out glare from the water. These can be overlapped with other eyelids for various effects and if all are over the eye, they effectively block out all but the most direct sources of light.

Idadevs reproduce sexually but they do not have the typical male-female division of most sexual organisms. Instead they have eight, any of which can reproduce with the others, and in some cases with members of the same sex. Additionally, an Idadev is not limited to having two biological parents, though that is the minimum. All eight sexes may contribute their genetic material to a child, and the mating season for the Idadev can soon turn into an orgiastic frenzy, at least by human standards. It's during this time of year that most Idadev cultures have their greatest festivals. Traditional says that the mating season occurs around these festivals due to various important events, but in truth the time of the festivals is a matter of convenience.

The Idadev were reluctant to co-exist with humans initially and retreated to remote islands and coastlines. As the colonists expanded their territory and the Idadev were running out of suitable habitation, they began to resettle their ancestral lands. Some Idadev flocks revealed themselves to humans, and tried to establish communication, which proceeded with considerable difficulty. Other flocks chose to raid coastal settlements and poach from farms and fisheries. Despite these early complications, eventually humans and Idadev learned to share Matharn. When it came time for humans to move on, only a small number of Idadev accompanied them to the next world. The ruling authority for the Idadev had elected that they, as a society, would master space travel on their own, rather than live forever indebted to humans for gifting them with such advanced technology.

Today the Idadev possess a very small interstellar polity, spanning roughly two dozen systems a 20-light year sphere around their homeworld. These Idadev have an uneasy relationship with their relatives on other worlds who descended from those who departed with the humans, and unlike most Idadev colonies elsewhere, the Idadev homeworld and its immediate colonies have closed their border to Blight colonists.
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Saxophlutist
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Hmmm, so I'm guessing a large super-group of life evolve from a fungus-like organism them? What's so fungus-like? Is it the cellular passageways that fungi have that allow organelles to flow through them? (Which Seem to bee a good way to develop hydraulic systems.
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Reedstilt
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The similarities to fungus are mostly in the cellular structure, and the only thing on earth that is similar to the their net tails, that I know about, is this mushroom (and probably some related species).
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Saxophlutist
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So they use a system where the organism is mostly made up of multi-nucleate "super-cells"? (With the organelle and cytoplasm channelling system.)
I imagine it would play a big role in the evolution of the hydraulic system then?
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Reedstilt
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Yeah. Of course, I haven't worked out all the details yet. I know the some organs and organ systems are more thoroughly linked together by their super-cells, as you put it, than others. In some cases, particularly in the musculature, there would be cellular values that control the flow and direction of fluids in the cells.

For example, I imagine the muscles would typically come in at least pairs. When relaxed the fluid pressure is in equilibrium between the two parts. Their muscles are extended rather than retracted as ours are, so when one extends the hydraulics drain out of its pair and increase the pressure in the other.

The Pneumatics are probably closely related, with the organs that hold the air, expanding due to hydraulic pressure allowing air to rush in and support the hydraulics without needing to keep its cellular fluid concentrated in that area. The hydraulic systems would be best where quick strong bursts are needed, and pneumatics were endurance is preferred.
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Saxophlutist
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That's neat! I've used the fungus-like super-cell idea also for my project. I have a kingdom I've tried to make non-analogous to Earth Kingdoms as possible. I haven't gotten the body plans down completely, but they will run on a "circulatory system" of cytoplasm with specialized cellular nuclei with differing proteins attached to them according to function.
Just curious you you plan on doing picture for this project?
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PousazPower
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Saxophlutist
Aug 26 2008, 01:06 PM
So they use a system where the organism is mostly made up of multi-nucleate "super-cells"? (With the organelle and cytoplasm channelling system.)
I imagine it would play a big role in the evolution of the hydraulic system then?
Many animals on earth, like some sponges, flatworms, and all rotifers and acanthocephalans have syncytia ("super cells"), and they aren't fungus-like. Also, not all fungi have a syncytium. I think the direct digestion of food without ingestion is more fungus-like :/
Was your nose discovered or invented?

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Reedstilt
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Truth be told, my mycology-fu is weak, so when I say something is fungus-like, I'm speaking rather superficially, though in the case of the Idadev I did try to throw in a several "fungus" features besides the linked cells. The assemblage itself is rather haphazard, to be honest.

As for pictures, almost all of them have sketches done already. I've been thinking of redoing them before posting though I might get around to scanning the originals and posting those as temporary fillers, just to get the visuals out there. Some of the details have changed since the initial sketches were done so those might not match up exactly with the current descriptions.
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