Quental (Zithir view)

(The creatures I'm writing about belong in he same world as the planets Cryolith, Behemoth, Cauldron, etc., hopefully for a future mod.  To make things a bit more interesting, I'll try and describe the three species involved from each other's point of view, although the "Human" perspective will be the most basic.)

First encounters

It took us some time after encountering the Quental to figure out what they were like.  Our first scouts to encounter Quental saw similar looking creatures, camouflaged, with a similar body shape, but larger, and no head protrusions, but they disagreed greatly on the emotions sensed from the creatures they encountered.  Some described the Quental as wary observers, they they either avoided or stayed away from, much like some prey on our own world.  Most described the creatures as looking for fights, and having to defend themselves or run from attacks.  A few, increasing over time, described Quental as looking for contact without desiring a fight.  While we later learned that these responses were from different roles of Quental in society seeking to impress others, our first responses to the species were confused and uncertain, with different groups in our society responding differently.

Continued contact with Quental societies, and our own exploration, exposed us to much less aggressive Quental, and communication became more commonplace as we learned how the species worked, and to recognize which members ot talk to.  A full ability to interact with the Quental took longer, however, as the Quental appeared to view us as lower level members of society until we learned to make and use a substance apparently used to organize Quental into hierarchies.

Body

Quental do not have a fixed form, as most creatures do.  They change their bodies to adapt to a particular role or situation.  In some Quental societies, these adaptations are mostly permanent after a short period of childhood or education, while in others, Quental choose forms that can fill a variety of roles, or be easily changed at any point.  Only their minds are not adjusted in this way, the Quental say that these changes are almost impossible to do successfully, and are often dangerous.  Quental also can share these changes amongst each other.

Most Quental are more injury resistant, and better able to heal, than we are.  They are larger and stronger as well, and can adapt to ingest or breathe materials that we would find poisonous.  Soldiers, physical workers, or others who work in dangerous situations, or situations requiring toughness, can enhance themselves even further in these ways.

Mind

Quental cannot sense emotions, or thoughts, directly as we can, leading to a great deal of confusion at first over how intelligent the Quental would be.  Instead, they use body motions, tone of voice, smells, and other such methods to communicate these things to others, and to see what emotions others are experiencing.   Quental with enhanced senses appear better at this, and Quental who must read these things in others, such as hunters, scouts, or diplomats to aliens, will enhance their senses to better detect these effects.  The most important communication tool for Quental, though, is a particular substance that the Quental use to organize all relations.  This substance appears more common in Quental who are more active or successful in their roles, and Quental with less of it feel a greater willingness to take orders, accept less resources, and a desire to copy, those who release more substance.  All Quental experience these urges strongly when interacting  with other members of their society, and when interacting with us or the humans.  Quental interacting with humans or us have great difficulty accepting orders or following requests, as they sense the lack of substance and instinctively feel that they should be in charge, and often have more difficulty in general respecting the work of aliens, as the lack of substance suggests a less successful person to their mind.  Anyone who must commonly interact with Quental will bring a supply of artificial substance, and is taught to release it in a way to appropriately signal the Quental around them. 

Society

Quental societies organize themselves based on their substance release, and little else.  In some societies, large amounts of substance is release, and Quental form strict hierarchies, at other times substance release is weaker, and smaller groups of Quental compete for power.  Competition or ambition among the Quental is common, in order to encourage substance release, and gain the resulting respect and power, and this competition sometimes leads Quental to create or seek out situations to prove themselves, sometimes to the disadvantage of their group as a whole.

Quental roles from within society are mostly determined early in life, where each individual changes their body to fill a particular role.  Quental societies change in how specialized they expect their members to be, some societies have most members choose more flexible forms, some have most specialize.  Within these roles, Quental attempt to gain status and success, and in societies with less substance release, different groups within society compete as well.  Most Quental societies divide into soldiers and scouts, physical workers, some who use their bodies to produce materials, and thinkers and planners, along with a few much smaller groups.  Soldiers and Physical workers gain the most respect and deference, while Thinkers usually get the least.

Religion

Quental religion seems a far less important part of their society than it is for ours.  In the past, Quental religion was often based around the idea of "great shapers" or "great rulers" who were the ultimate dominating forces in the world, responsible for weather, volcanoes, and other natural events that the Quental could not control.  It was assumed that these great shapers would resemble extremely successful Quental, if one would be met, no Quental would be able to resist the power of their dominating substance.  Over time, religion has changed into something less extreme, resembling our understanding more.  Most modern Quental religions assume that some great shapers were responsible for creating this universe, and occasionally interfere, but mostly are active elsewhere or resting.  These creations are a challenge for the Quental, who must learn to overcome the the difficulties of the universe to become the most respected of creatures, and possible more respected than the great shapers themselves. 

As practiced by the Quental, these religions play a small role in their society, and mostly serve as additional motivation for Quental to achieve respect and success.  It has also at times helped shut down attempts be Quental attempts to destabilize society, as a few individual Quental have at times tried to increase their substance releases, or make themselves resistant, removing the major method of organizing Quental society and encouraging success.  Religion itself is usually least common among soldiers, who struggle against other Quental, usually, and is more common among physical workers, thinkers, and other roles that struggle against the natural world itself.

Quental religion in this system has changed with contact with us and the humans.  Our methods or organizing societies are different enough to change how Quental understand their great shapers, seeing them as less dominating and more encouraging of a challenge.  Human science and religion have encouraged the Quental to think of weather, geologic, or other such events as having a purpose, either set up by a great shaper as a challenge of the world to, or as a response to some moral failing.

Warfare

Warfare among the Quental is done only by those who specialize as soldiers. Fighting among them is almost constant, with quental soldiers constantly trying to prove themselves, and gain resources and respect, by finding dangerous enemies to fight against.  The Quental are quite callous about these wars, as relatives or friends of the dead soldiers are all too willing to stop fighting after a few victories, and accept rule by the winners in the war.  Non-soldiers are highly reluctant to change themselves to become soldiers, to respond to these attacks, and soldiers are reluctant to kill or attack those who would support the enemy who is attempting to kill them.  Most Quental seem to view these attacks and killings as mere competition between different societies or groups of soldiers.

When encountering us or the humans, Quental soldier killing becomes random and constant, as they attack border patrols, settlements, or anything in an area.  Many soldiers seem to view aliens as merely another dangerous creature to prove themselves against, and as anyone could be a soldiers, the quental soldiers attack anything possible.  Quental leaders who wish to maintain peace have had to find other ways for their soldiers to compete, and impose strict discipline, although even in these cases many soldiers find ways to fight and kill neighboring aliens.

In combat, Quental rely mostly on their toughness, and ability to shape their bodies.  Basic soldiers are strong, fast, and very hard to kill, and other types of soldiers can specialize their bodies to fight in different ways.  They adapt quickly to different environments, and can give themselves unique senses as well.

Quental History

(The creatures I'm writing about belong in he same world as the planets Cryolith, Behemoth, Cauldron, etc., hopefully for a future mod.  To make things a bit more interesting, I'll try and describe the three species involved from each other's point of view, although the "Human" perspective will be the most basic.  Histories are described only from the point of view of the species in question.)

First Records

We have few records of the origins of our species, or what life was like for much of that time.  The other two species guess that we lived as small groups of omnivores, much like some predators, and similar to how to two other aliens originally lived.

Our earliest stories describe groups of tribes banding together in larger and larger groups, organized around rich areas of our world, and by attraction to particularly dominant groups.  The stories describe these groups getting bigger, and skilled laborers and warriors appearing, but describe few details.

The earliest writings describe patronage groups and organized tribes, but details are thin.  They describe Quechari as merely food and clothing, and talk about soldiers and laborers, but we do not know the details of our early history as the humans and zithir do.

Ancient

The first detailed description of an organized group is a set of records of the "Thurastin", a group of several cities near a particularly rich forest region.   For most of their existence, the Thurastin were organized as patronage groups, with laborers, warriors, and thinkers described as separate types.  Laborers and warriors switched as dominant groups for much of this group's history.  This group gradually expanded over several hundred years, dominating nearby tribal areas, but itself was eventually dominated by a group from nearby mountains called the Pechthal.

Groups following the Thurastin left similar records, and followed similar histories.  Most started as large tribal groups near unusually rich resource areas, expanded into nearby tribal areas, and were eventually conquered themselves by other groups.  A few of these civilizations were organized as tribal groups, but most were patronage groups.  Few different specializations are recorded, with laborers, thinkers, and warriors being the main distinctions.

Hives Period

The period of early civilizations ended when a group called the Pyrkitzes organized a postal service to deliver pheromone packets long distances.  This long distance travel allowed them to organize the first hives, and surrounding tribes and groups were not prepared for the organization and purpose the Pyrkizites brought to warfare and building projects.  The Pyrkitzes conquered all of the tropical area they originally came from, plus surrounding forests and hilly areas, and were only stopped by deserts and flat plains that they never adapted to.

On seeing the success of Pyrkizite organization, the surrounding plains and desert tribes and societies organized into their own hives, and conquered surrounding regions until stopped by vastly different terrain.  The hive method of organizing society spread rapidly throughout the world, with only a few tribal regions remaining outside hive control, and for a few thousand years, hives dominated our homeworld.

Quental today remember many names of large hives from this period.  The Pyrkitzes, Stlengthu, Quetionis, Quager, Spleuthurys, and Theuthemicals were far larger than anything seen before, and together dominated much of the world during their existence, and greatly influenced everything that came after.  In particular, constant wars between these hives greatly changed soldiering and production, as large scale wars demanded constant adaptation, encouraging a host of new specialized mutations for fighters and laborers.  Tools also improved greatly during this time, and the Quechari slime mold first saw widespread use as a mutation tester.

Tribes and Hives

Despite their success, the ancient hive civilizations were greatly reduced at around the same time by organized tribal groups taking advantage of disruptions.  Taking advantage of otherwise normal disruptions within the hives, these tribal groups established large civilizations of their own.  These civilizations were much more unstable and short lasting then the reduced hive empires, but in their times were still powerful and threatening.

During this period, soldier and laborer mutations, and technology, continued developing, but other specializations became common as well.  The first "synthesizrs", individuals who developed their bodies to produce materials, are recorded in these times, and thinkers found ways to specialize further.  The first reports of mutations changing the shape and size, and not just things like strength or stamina, also come from this time.  Individuals during this period were the first to adapt to oceans, dig large tunnels underground, and live full time in icy regions of the poles or mountains.

The Flowering

The flowering is a name for a constant increase in mutations and technology that has been continuing for the past thousand years or so.  This period started during the tribes and hives period, during the constant competition between the remains of the ancient hive empires and the constantly forming tribal organizations forced ever more changes in mutation and technology.  New mutations and experimentation have been a constant feature of life during this period, and new tool development became common enough to notice changes within a lifetime.

During the middle of this period, patronage systems became common again.  Communication between different parts of the world also became far more common, as swimming mutations became far more common and refined.  Synthesizer skills expanded greatly, with a much greater variety of materials available.  Quechari slime mold expended to fill almost all material and synthesis roles.

In the past couple hundred years, mutations took on a staggering variety, with some Quental forming their bodies into deep ocean swimmers, floating balloons, underground diggers, and other forms adapted in ways undreamed of by the old Quental civilizations.  Technology has also improved, with some Quental able to rely purely on tools, with few mutations, if needed.

Space Travel

Among the discoveries during the flowering, some Quental adapted for strong sight discovered that some of the stars seen at night were actually worlds of their own.  We could do little but watch from a distance, however, until a few years ago.  During these times, Quental sighters steadily improved their eyes, and built telescopes to see details of these worlds, and taste their atmospheres and surfaces from a difference, and determine what needed to be done to explore and settle these worlds.

About 50 years ago, our technology and mutations improved to the point where we could enter space.  Flyers allowed us to raise rockets to the atmosphere, synthesizers could generate fuel and materials to build them, and scouts could adapt to require few resources, and deal with gravity changes and radiation.  However, early attempts to enter space were highly dangerous, with most scouts attempting the journey being killed or severely injured in the process.  Competing for dominance, the designers, scouts, and workers involved in the program continued working on space travel until they were finally able tolaunch scouts somewhat safely.  The first targets were orbital travel, than our nearby moon, and than a cold planet called Mondthlin.

Launches to orbit went well, with scouts adapting easily, and returning in good condition, able to tel us much more about space travel, and encourage further adaptation.  From orbit, journeys to our moon also went smoothly, and we learned much.  As we attempted to travel to Mondthlin, the experiments once again became dangerous.  Scouts traveling to Mondthlin found it a much more hostile planet than we had realized, with a few dying, and many others becoming stranded and in constant poor health.  Mondthlin proved a difficult world to adapt to, and drastic mutations were needed to thrive there, mutations far different than any we could develop gradually on our homeworld.  Only by effective use of Quechari adaptability could our first scouts survive on Mondthlin, and the long travel times made it difficult to transport enough materials for good health.

However, as with the original space launches, our scouts and workers persevered, seeking the dominance rewards that would come from successful space travel, and after many missions, found the mutations, materials, and technology needed to journey to Mondlith and survive.  The first four successful missions to travel to Mondlith, have the scouts survive on Mondlith materials, and than return, were celebrated throughout our homeworld.

After a few more missions, and the sharing of necessary mutations, our societies decided to send a large group of colonists to this new world.  These colonists were organized in orbit, given a large store of starting materials, and included representatives from all walks of life, to prepare them for long term settlement of this new planet. 

Unfortunately, as these colonists journeyed to Mondlith, they encountered a strange looking piece of scrap.  While flying by this object, the colonists found themselves
suddenly teleported to another location in space.  Looking around, the sighters determine that this was a completely different system from the one we had been found in, with different worlds surrounding a different star.  without the resources to survive a long journey, or to wait inside our Quechari space vehicle, we decided to settle one of the worlds in the system, and than determine where we were, and how to get back to our homeworld.

Quental (human Perspective)

(The creatures I'm writing about belong in he same world as the planets cryolith, Behemoth, Cauldron, etc., hopefully for a future mod.  To make things a bit more interesting, I'll try and describe the three species involved from each other's point of view, although the "Human" perspective will be the most basic.)

First Contacts

Due to the great number of forms Quentals can take, scouting parties did not realize they were all a single organism when these aliens were first spotted.  Quentals were either assumed to be symbiotic creatures, domesticated creatures, or, on Phobis Terra, simply one of the many genetic clusters of alien life found on the planet.  The most common forms spotted were the "Fighter" Quental, resembling more muscular, camouflaged humans, and "scout" Quental, resembling shorter camouflaged humans, but with longer limbs and larger eyes and ears.  Early Quentall scouts used simple tools, so it took some time before any human colonies worked out that the Quental were intelligent.  The Quental did have a reputation for toughness, as scouting parties who got into fights with them learned that the Quental fighters were extremely hard to kill.

Behavior observations of Quental dwellings, captured Quental, and autopsies and chemical studies of dead Quentals eventually showed that these aliens were all offshoots of a highly adaptable organism.  Details of Quental social structures and languages were eventually worked out, and the regular communication was established soon after.

Anatomy/Biology

The most interesting, and unusual, property of the Quental is their great genetic adaptability.  It seems that the Quental are always generating mutations within their genetic system, and can mentally direct and sort between these mutations, to adjust their bodies as needed to handle some new requirement.  The Quental can also share genetic material between different individuals, allowing rapid spread of a beneficial mutation.  Through these mutations, skilled Quental can adapt very quickly to new environments or new roles, and develop their bodies exactly as required for particular tasks.

Because of this property, Quental have no consistent anatomy, but they do appear to have a "base" form that either was the original form of these aliens, or was a popular adaptable form that replaced it.  This form resembles a human, but more muscular, and more smooth.  "Base" colors appear to be different shades of green or brown, although these colors are less certain due to the easy adaptability of skin color.  The Quental "standard form" has internal organs with similar roles as a human, but with more duplicates in different body locations.  Most of the first Quental encountered in this system had variations on this form, but as they have become more established, these aliens have developed more diversity in form.

From the other creatures Quental have brought with them, and what they say about their own world, it appears that this adaptability is somewhat common in other species, but by no means universal.  The Quental appear to be the most adaptive of large creatures with this ability, as their ability to think allows them to pursue more intelligent adaptations, and to change in more radical ways than other creatures could manage.

Quental biochemistry appears to use some material in common, and some different, to Earth life forms, but the species can adapt within a few months to process any nutrients they can sample.  For this reason, they are also highly resistant to poisons.  Quental on good terms with humans can adapt to eat human foods, and can assist in soil fertilization and biotechnology.  Quental can also adapt rapidly to new diseases, although they seem to take few steps to avoid catching diseases outside this adaptability.

Adaptations for most roles Quental can play are relatively obvious.  Explorers tend to become smaller, and less energy intensive, while gaining improved senses.  Fighters add additional, redundant organs, become tougher, and gain muscles and heightened senses.  Physical workers enhance precision and strength as needed.  Mental workers reduce their need for sleep, and tend to be smaller and lighter than physical workers.  Unique among the Quental are individuals who process chemicals, almost as intelligent bioreactors, who adapt themselves to generate material products.

The major constant among Quental biochemistry is a pheramone system to determine dominance.  This simple system determines dominance among the Quental, and is a major part of how they organize their society.  Some of this pheromone system is based on genetics, but it is also influenced by relative successes at various tasks, and societies often include ritualized competitions of various types to compare individual skills and dominance, so the system does reflect to some degree the success of various members.  Unlike the mostly subconsious signals (like body language in humans) used by other organisms, the relative amounts and type of dominance pheromones are immediately and obviously noticed by Quentals.

Society/Government

Quental organize themselves using two simple systems, a pheromone cominance system, and a caste system designed around genetic adaptation to particular roles.  The relative importance of these systems, and the way they are used, determines the structure of a particular Quetzal society.

Quental societies that mostly focus on their pheromone system are strongly hierarchical, and tightly organized.  The resemblance to social insects has lead people to describe these systems as Hives.  Though not as tightly controlled as insect societies on Earth, the strong pheromone signals in a hive strongly pressure Quental in one to obey orders, and hives are well suited to times when strong organization and focus in a group.

A less intense reliance on pheromones results in a society results in a patronage type society, where different groups within the society compete for control through the most dominant members, while within groups, loyalty largely is held intact.  The interaction within smaller groups in society provides enough contact for the pheromone based hierarchy to be established, but among groups with little contact, competition of various forms is used to establish relative hierarchies.  These competitions can allow more flexibility, as more successful or needed groups within society can establish themselves as needed, but the infighting within the system can also lead to inefficiency.

Societies that use the least pheromones tend to organize themselves into systems resembling family or tribal packs, although Wolf Packs and Ape troops seem a better analogy to those familiar .  Within these groups, Quental pheromones are still strong enough for dominance to be easily established, but groups must compete amongst themselves within a larger society.  This type of society cannot and does not rely on strong centralized control, instead relying on groups to organize within themselves, and in emergencies, for these hierarchies to be respected.  Any central control that is needed is usually handled on a rotating basis, or with different functions given to different dominant smaller groups.  This system is the most flexible, and handles a number of smaller scale problems more quickly than a hive might, but for tasks which require centralized control, is a hard system ot maintain.

Because direct contact between different members of a society, even those needing ot compete, is uncommon, Quental have over time developed a highly detailed set of sign languages, spoken language, and other communication to describe the strength of different pheromones.  In addition, samples are often preserved and mailed from one region to another, if possible, to ensure that the proper hierarchies are established.

Economy/Science/Technology

Quental themselves are poor systematic thinkers.  Although able to use tools and improve them, even the best Quental craftsman are quite poor at understanding why certain technigues work, or systematically figuring out a way to improve them.  As a result, Quental tools are often crude and simple, with quality control often suffering.  Quental science is also rudimentory, as they often find it impossible to understand how to isolate factors or make the leaps necessary for new discoveries.  For these sorts of tasks, Quental rely on the same trial and error style of thought that they use to mutate themselves.

While outside tools are poor, Quental can mutate their bodies to produce a wide variety of products.  "Thinking bioreactors", as colonists sometimes call them, produce a wide variety of chemicals for other Quental to use, often excreting multiple materials at once, and are able to shift as needed.  The most skilled of these can produce solid materials in particular shapes, which are far easier to work by craftsmen.

In most other areas of a Quental economy, their ability to mutate themselves proves an enormous advantage, making up for their lack of technical skill.  Physical workers build up exactly the types of strength and endurance needed for work.  Precision workers develop extra appendages, muscles, and nerves for fine control.  Wuental doing mental jobs develope an ability to do multiple tasks at once, very quickly.  ironically, mental workers among the Quental are probably the least respected or potent, as Quental find adjusting their minds to be extremely risky and hard to do quickly, so these workers must adapt by reducing their need for sleep, and lowering the rest of their body's requirements for energy.

The most impressive achievements of Quental mutation are those who turn their entire bodies into completely different looking organisms, unrecognizable except to an experienced eye as Quental.  Stories exist from Quental colonists of individuals who changed into airship-like beings, large, tough tank like warriors, or underwater fish catchers resembling dolphins or sharks.  While Quental colonists do not have the genetic diversity yet to experiment in this way, they are making progress towards these achievements again.

Quental have also learned to transfer genetic material to creatures they call "Quechari", slime mold like organisms that can take many conceivable forms.  These flexible creatures are mutated by the Quental to serve as clothing, building materials for houses, or other toolmaking.  Quechari are mainly used to experiment with mutations, for protection in environments where Quental have not yet fully adjusted, or do not wish to adjust, or to handle more roles where Quental do not feel it is worth mutating themselves to fill a role.  Quechari also serve as a base for many types of Quental food.

To organize the mutations necessary for this economic activity, Quental societies must decide where, and much, certain groups will specialize as opposed to choosing more flexible mutations.  Specialized caste systems provide extreme efficiency at particular tasks, but a society is left less flexible than would otherwise be the case.  Quental societies that encourage more flexible mutations for their members can adapt more easily, but members never become as skilled at particular roles, and  constant adjustment is tiring as well.

Without the systematic thinking abilities that humans have, Quental have difficulty creating the legal and bureaucratic systems that humans use to organize societies.  Instead, Quental organizations is done largely through the pheromone interactions.  Roles in greater demand give more opportunities for successes, or at least activity, among groups in more demand.  As these groups establish dominance, they are in a better position to attract new members, as well as resources, and can increase their numbers and skills more quickly than groups in lesser demand.  However, this adjustment process can take a long time, longer even than many red tape filled human bureaucracies, and when extremely fast adjustment is needed, dominant members of a society can force a top down adjustment if needed.

Warfare

Combat among the Quental is common, but usually not destructive on a large scale.  Most commonly, fighting is over resources or establishing dominance between rival societies.  Dominance fights are typically resolved quickly when one military is defeated, as once side directly feels its loss and accepts an inferior position, but resource fights can become highly destructive of the resource in question is scarce.Political civil wars are uncommon, as a dominance contest between a military and other member of society is seen as unfairly favoring the military, though even when they do happen, they are typically not as destructive as equivalent human wars, as dominance establishment takes place very quickly.

Unfortunately for the two Non Quental species in the system, wars between a Quental and Non-Quental last for far longer, and the Quental are far more destructive.  Because humans and Zithir do not give off Quental pheromones, Quental cannot sense the submission or dominance signals that they would in their own society, and as a result are reluctant to accept or offer surrenders, continuing ot fight and kill far longer than normal.  In addition, the lack of mutation based separation between soldiers and other professions typically results in Quental having trouble telling the difference between soldiers and non-combatants, often killing far more than necessary.  Of course, the human and especially Zithir tendencies towards all out war do not help these interactions, as Quental societies in this system have become far more ferocious in response to experience with such wars.

The dominance tendencies amongst Qnental lead to other problems with alien neighbors, as Quental fighters or groups of fighters will pick fights with nearby alien soldiers as a way to build dominance.  While incidents have died down over time as Quental learn human and Zithir protocols, they still happen regularly enough to trigger incidents or wars.  In early scouting days, a similar process lead to Quental being the most likely to start fights with alien scouting groups (With Zithir the least likely.)

When in battle, Quental use relatively simple equipment, often inferior to what a human army could bring, but make up for this lack by using their mutation abilities.  Quental soldiers, among the three aliens in this system, are by far the toughest, designing their bodies with hard skin, fast healing, redundant organs, and strong senses.  In addition, Quental rapidly adapt to whatever environments they choose to fight in, making them particularly dangerous in tough terrain such as mountains, lava fields, or jungle.  Specialized body mutations fill combat roles that in human armies would go to specially trained units.  Quental diggers, in particular, are feared, with a number of corrosive substances, and strength and endurance, are able to rapidly cut through about anything to reach positions from below.