Edit: I'm turning this into my own little space to set loose all the shit I spin up in my head concerning my supposed endless and random acts of creativity. I'll be dumping down my idea and shit in here when I have them and I need to clear my head. You can take a peek if you want, or discuss what I dream up. But for all intents and purposes, this will be me talking to myself.

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Sapient Cactus Plant


Chimeras
I need to put my thoughts down somewhere tonight folks. But it seems like I have nobody to discuss things with. So I'm going to throw some shit out into the wind here just because. Don't mind me.

So, I'm working on another little project of mine. But, I've got to do some revisions. Partially because I now realize that the particular idea I have in mind requires some outside the box thinking.

So, we have this species. The galaxy at large knows not too much about them, for two reasons. The first is, they are very hard to find. And second is, they're reclusive in their records. Their name, in their own language, roughly translated into Common, the base spoken language of all in the galaxy, is Chimera.

Chimera's are biologically unique in that they are the only known organic species in the galaxy to have nearly total control over their atomic structure. Roughly speaking, they're shapeshifters. Anything they've ever touched, is remembered in a photographic memory by their body.

As such, their limitations are only based on three things. How far outside the box they can think, the particular material they phase into, and their very short lifespan. No Chimera has ever lived past 15.

Over the course of their life, Chimeras can undergo forced changes at random. The galaxy attributes this to the fact that they exist in a state of quantum uncertainty. But, what it really is, is their bodies breaking down as they age. Past 15, they become unstable, and it's only a matter of time before they break down on the atomic level, and turn to dust. Even less than dust.

Death, in their culture is the most frightful thing to them. In their natural form, which isn't seen often because they only reveal it to those that they trust absolutely, they can become sick, break bones, and take lethal damage, just as any other species. But their unique biology makes them god like, able to go anywhere, do anything. And yet, even they aren't immune to death.

I was trying to think of what a particular species of this types technology would be like, and came to the conclusion, that they build empty vessels and contraptions. And using their own natural biology, they power their devices in a highly coordinated group effort. Reclusive, cooperative, loyal, and very secretive to the outside galaxy.

They come from a pocket of space known as the warped regions. The unstable center of the galaxy. The closer you get to the center, the more volatile it becomes. Stars twist and warp around each other, feeding off each other and colliding. Black holes devour anything in reach, and gravity warps and bends like a child's plaything.

Most life forms that survive long enough in these regions are representations of hyper adaptability or intelligence, able to survive where any other species would die, or escape their chaotic region of space before they are consumed.

There you have it. I've dumped my head empty for the time being. Now lets see if I can write something constructive and un-cluttered.

Hows their social structure? Stuff like family, and the like.

Clan based. Tight nit groups that stick with each other. Politically, they have a very stable, yet loose governing body, a council of sorts, consisting of the largest and most populated clans.

Some clans often focus on specific aspects, passing on a line of work or study to their children. Scientists, medical proffessions, that sort of thing. But, for a lot of the galaxy, they make the best spies around. Any structure they touch can be replicated, including an organic being. Which makes them natural infiltrators.

But, as I said, Chimera's don't have total control. They can't combine different forms and states of matter together. If they want to turn themselves into a puddle, then their entire body will become a puddle. If they copy another species, they gain their strengths, and weaknesses, down to bodily conditions and diseases.

Quote from: Sandtrap on September 25, 2014, 10:12:18 PM

Quote from: Yutaka on September 25, 2014, 10:05:45 PM

Hows their social structure? Stuff like family, and the like.

Clan based. Tight nit groups that stick with each other. Politically, they have a very stable, yet loose governing body, a council of sorts, consisting of the largest and most populated clans.

Some clans often focus on specific aspects, passing on a line of work or study to their children. Scientists, medical proffessions, that sort of thing. But, for a lot of the galaxy, they make the best spies around. Any structure they touch can be replicated, including an organic being. Which makes them natural infiltrators.

But, as I said, Chimera's don't have total control. They can't combine different forms and states of matter together. If they want to turn themselves into a puddle, then their entire body will become a puddle. If they copy another species, they gain their strengths, and weaknesses, down to bodily conditions and diseases.

Interesting, but with such unstable DNA, how do they reproduce?

Chimeras, by default, have no sex. But as they age, depending on their personaility, they will eventually come to choose a sex and the gender associated with it.

Chimeras enter adulthood very quickly due to their short lifespan, and making more offspring is the most ideal when they're young. Chimera's are the most stable when they're young, which means they can go for long periods of time without undergoing forced shifts in their structure. If they wish to have offspring, they have to remain in their natural form, which makes them the most vulnerable in their entire life.

As a result, their medical facilities are advanced, heavily protected and defended, and hidden away. This is why showing their true form is an act of trust, and sexual based events only happen between those that have the strongest of bonds, hence, why there are very tightly nit families and clans.

Quote from: Sandtrap on September 25, 2014, 09:52:03 PM

I need to put my thoughts down somewhere tonight folks. But it seems like I have nobody to discuss things with. So I'm going to throw some shit out into the wind here just because. Don't mind me.

So, I'm working on another little project of mine. But, I've got to do some revisions. Partially because I now realize that the particular idea I have in mind requires some outside the box thinking.

So, we have this species. The galaxy at large knows not too much about them, for two reasons. The first is, they are very hard to find. And second is, they're reclusive in their records. Their name, in their own language, roughly translated into Common, the base spoken language of all in the galaxy, is Chimera.

Chimera's are biologically unique in that they are the only known organic species in the galaxy to have nearly total control over their atomic structure. Roughly speaking, they're shapeshifters. Anything they've ever touched, is remembered in a photographic memory by their body.

As such, their limitations are only based on three things. How far outside the box they can think, the particular material they phase into, and their very short lifespan. No Chimera has ever lived past 15.

Over the course of their life, Chimeras can undergo forced changes at random. The galaxy attributes this to the fact that they exist in a state of quantum uncertainty. But, what it really is, is their bodies breaking down as they age. Past 15, they become unstable, and it's only a matter of time before they break down on the atomic level, and turn to dust. Even less than dust.

Death, in their culture is the most frightful thing to them. In their natural form, which isn't seen often because they only reveal it to those that they trust absolutely, they can become sick, break bones, and take lethal damage, just as any other species. But their unique biology makes them god like, able to go anywhere, do anything. And yet, even they aren't immune to death.

I was trying to think of what a particular species of this types technology would be like, and came to the conclusion, that they build empty vessels and contraptions. And using their own natural biology, they power their devices in a highly coordinated group effort. Reclusive, cooperative, loyal, and very secretive to the outside galaxy.

They come from a pocket of space known as the warped regions. The unstable center of the galaxy. The closer you get to the center, the more volatile it becomes. Stars twist and warp around each other, feeding off each other and colliding. Black holes devour anything in reach, and gravity warps and bends like a child's plaything.

Most life forms that survive long enough in these regions are representations of hyper adaptability or intelligence, able to survive where any other species would die, or escape their chaotic region of space before they are consumed.

There you have it. I've dumped my head empty for the time being. Now lets see if I can write something constructive and un-cluttered.

Their name when translated into Common is Chimera? A fire-breathing creature out of Greek mythology with the body of a lion, a goat sticking out of it's back and a snake for a tail? I find it doubtful that a culture that evolved in isolation from us would pick a name from our mythology to describe themselves, when, as you describe them, they sound xenophobic. I would simply name them after their shape-shifting ability. Like the Shifters, the Amorphous, the Shapeless. My point is that a name can't really be translated if it doesn't have a meaning that is common between two languages. The evidence being that we don't have our own word for Fire-Breathing-Lion-Goat-Snake-Monster, because the English never came up with their own Chimera, they just took the Greek word for it when they heard about it.

I'm sorry that I went off on a rant about your nomenclature, but if you're dead-set on calling them Chimera,don't say, it was translated from their language, just say it's a name that the other cultures in your universe are giving them because the Chimera are so asocial, they haven't even bothered to them a moniker to call them by.

That said, if they are characterized by having such a high level of adaptability that changing is something they do on a whim, I would suggest you make a note of their gadgetry being viewed as more for generalized use, rather being created with a clear use in mind. hey view things based on their potential application, rather their common application.

Somewhat what I was trying to emmulate. There's no real official translation of their native name. People just go with what they feel like. But yes, again, what I was trying to emmulate. Technology that reflects their hyper adaptive nature through being a simple, basic foundation which can then be applied to whatever they wish through their own ideas.

But it is good that you say something. Feedback, of anything beyond "Cool or neat" is incredibly hard for me to find. As I said though, revisions, revisions. A species with such a far out biology would have different minds then our own.

In terms of xenophobia, I wouldn't say they're that bad. They're more like hermits.

Quote from: Sandtrap on September 25, 2014, 10:51:53 PM

Somewhat what I was trying to emmulate. There's no real official translation of their native name. People just go with what they feel like. But yes, again, what I was trying to emmulate. Technology that reflects their hyper adaptive nature through being a simple, basic foundation which can then be applied to whatever they wish through their own ideas.

But it is good that you say something. Feedback, of anything beyond "Cool or neat" is incredibly hard for me to find. As I said though, revisions, revisions. A species with such a far out biology would have different minds then our own.

In terms of xenophobia, I wouldn't say they're that bad. They're more like hermits.

You need to consider everything they may have went through as a species to become the way they are.

Not quite. A little mystery does some good. After all, most of what I have down here won't ever make it down into the story. Just little hints and paper trails. From the few who I've talked to, and the experiences of my own personal side of things, mystery, is always the key factor.

I can think up a good portion of things, like I have here, but to lay them down all in one shot removes the lure of what people are reading. You make a paper trail, bits and pieces that surface when characters interact, or questions are asked. But you never tell everything.

In that way, every reader has a concrete base to work off of, but their own imagination, fuels the rest. And that is the most important thing to capture, and to know. You set up the pieces, and the readers will create their own worlds.

It's a neat idea for a species.

I've got a pretty extensive story/universe/thing concocted in my head that's been brewing for nearly a decade but I've never really revealed much of it to anyone. I thought maybe one day, if I was to ever be as good of an artist as I'd like to be, then I'd turn it into a graphic novel of sorts but I'm not so confident of my abilities that it would ever happen. =/

It's a neat idea for a species.

I've got a pretty extensive story/universe/thing concocted in my head that's been brewing for nearly a decade but I've never really revealed much of it to anyone. I thought maybe one day, if I was to ever be as good of an artist as I'd like to be, then I'd turn it into a graphic novel of sorts but I'm not so confident of my abilities that it would ever happen. =/

At some point I'd like to draw what I spin up. But that will take time I believe. Currently, I am learning how to draw, but the two are competing for time, and because I'm more skilled in writing, most of the time I favor writing something over drawing. I am trying to merge the two, write something and then draw, but I find that after I write and finish a story, interest diminishes and I start spinning something else up instead.