Xiaphis

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eleazar
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Xiaphis

#1 Post by eleazar »

originally posted by Patron God of Pirates
Thu Oct 23, 2003



Introduction - The Xiaphis are a race of gelatinous gas bags.

Homeworld -
Xiaphan is world not unlike Venus. A medium sized world with a very active chemically rich atmosphere. The global storms and diverse chemical make up create an inhospitable environment, ill suited to terraforming. It is those traits that have kept the existence of the Xiaphis secret in the active Orion sector.

A reason for leaving the home planet -
The Xiaphis are driven by the near religious desire to find their creators, a species they call the XEV. At long last they have developed the technology to leave their home system and begin the search.

Physical description - The Xiaphis are best described as gelatinous gas bags, similar in appearance to amoebas. The Xiaphis body chemistry produces helium and a number of other lighter than air gasses. They expel these gasses through innumerable pores on their epidermis. This provides them with the ability to control both direction and altitude.

Their unique physiology includes a brain which functions on an entirely chemical basis. No electrical signals are employed. The brain sack is the heaviest portion of the body and so is located at the base. The Xiaphis sensory network is composed of tens of thousands of microscopic hairs along it's gelatin exterior. At the tip of each hair is a tiny droplet of a specific chemical. Each chemical reacts differently to specific stimulus, giving the Xiaphis exceptional senses in all areas.

The Xiaphis food source is the chemical rich upper athmoshere of their homeworld. When hungry, the float up and gorge themselves until the weight they have taken on pulls them down.

Although they lack opposable appendages, the Xiaphis are quite capable of manipulating tools and objects by wrapping portions of their bodies around them.

Social Structure -
The Xiaphisian society is based around age. Simply put, the older you are, the more power you have. The wisdom of the elder Xiaphis is almost never questioned. It is held as truth that experience and knowledge are one and the same.

This structure is made more profound by the amazing Xiaphian life span. In the past century, only a handful of Xiaphis have died of old age, all of them were several thousand years old.

The eldest Xiaphis is Emperor, Pope, Admiral, and Father.


History -
In the time of the Orion Antaran wars, Xiaphan was a world not unlike Earth. It's Terran environment was a home ill suited to the Xiaphis. Early in their evolution, the neophyte Xiaphis filled every small ecological Niche on the planet.

At the same time two sentient races had evolved on another planet in the Xiaphan system. The world was called Gramanat, and the races were the Drosa and the Verasa. These two species evolved in competition and had a near innate loathing for one another. Technology had long forced peace through mutually assured destruction. But that peace would not hold. Each race simply could not tolerate the others existence. An agreement was made, they would settle this conflict on another world. The winner would remain on Gramanat, while the looser was exiled to another system.

It was an odd fortune for the Xiaphis that the chosen world was Xiaphan. To early in their development to understand what was taking place, the Xiaphis witnessed the transformation of their homeworld by an outside force they could not distinguish as two races at war. The Drosa and Verasa on Xiaphan wiped each other out with insatiable zeal. No winner to be named the war spilled over onto Gramanat where the races rendered their own environment unlivable. The last of the Drosa and Verasa went their separate ways, departing the Xiaphan system forever.

Left behind was a tattered Xiaphan. What little life was left teetered on the brink of extinction. All but the Xiaphis, who had been left a world perfectly suited to them. The extensive use of chemical weapons had poisoned the world, but nourished the Xiaphis. Quickly they established themselves as the dominant race on the new face of their world. In the tales and records, the Drosa and Verasa would come to be known as the XEV. A race that sacrificed themselves on a massive scale to breath new life into Xiaphian existence.

Race Attributes -
High population growth-
Small habitability ring-
Slow mining-
Poor ground troops-
Slow research- (hold onto old ideas)
Unique Food Consumption- Consumes Pollution instead of food. If this can be done it will make the race very unique
Unique Diplomacy- Only respects old races (Trilarians etc.)

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