Vaurca Biology: различия между версиями
>Desven |
>Desven |
||
| Строка 235: | Строка 235: | ||
Vaurca Queens possess a markedly different physiology from their subjects, appearing significantly larger even in comparison to imposing Diplomats. Their most striking feature is a swollen abdomen, giving them a segmented, almost worm-like appearance. This enlargement is theorized to be a consequence of their prolific egg-laying capabilities. However, the biology of Vaurca Queens remains shrouded in mystery, as they maintain strict seclusion from both public and private scrutiny. | Vaurca Queens possess a markedly different physiology from their subjects, appearing significantly larger even in comparison to imposing Diplomats. Their most striking feature is a swollen abdomen, giving them a segmented, almost worm-like appearance. This enlargement is theorized to be a consequence of their prolific egg-laying capabilities. However, the biology of Vaurca Queens remains shrouded in mystery, as they maintain strict seclusion from both public and private scrutiny. | ||
'''Surrogates''' | '''Surrogates''' | ||
| Строка 241: | Строка 242: | ||
Surrogates share a similar morphology to Vaurca Queens, albeit on a smaller scale, though still imposing by most standards. Like their Queens, they possess distinctly swollen abdomens, a trait attributed to their egg-laying functions. As with Vaurca Queens, the biology of Surrogates remains enigmatic, as they largely remain concealed from public view. | Surrogates share a similar morphology to Vaurca Queens, albeit on a smaller scale, though still imposing by most standards. Like their Queens, they possess distinctly swollen abdomens, a trait attributed to their egg-laying functions. As with Vaurca Queens, the biology of Surrogates remains enigmatic, as they largely remain concealed from public view. | ||
'''Aliates''' | '''Aliates''' | ||
| Строка 247: | Строка 249: | ||
Some Aliates may increase their size. While they never become as big as Queens or Surrogates, the size increments allow Aliates of important and historical hive-cells to distinguish themselves. | Some Aliates may increase their size. While they never become as big as Queens or Surrogates, the size increments allow Aliates of important and historical hive-cells to distinguish themselves. | ||
'''Diplomats''' | '''Diplomats''' | ||
Текущая версия от 07:12, 15 марта 2024
| Vaurca Lore Pages | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vaurcae | Vaurca · Vaurca Biology · Virtual Reality · Hivenet · K'ois | |
| Factions and Politics | Vaurca Hives · Queenless · The Lii'dra · Zo'ra in the Republic · K'lax in the Hegemony · C'thur in the Federation | |
| Notable Settlements | Sedantis · Colonized Vaurca Worlds · Flagsdale · Tret · Diulszi | |
| History and Culture | Vaurca History · The Great Hive War · Hives Renaissance · War in Heaven · Vaurca Religion · Vaurca Culture and Society | |
Biology
Vaurcae are eusocial insect-like sophonts stemming from the distant Sedantis I. To humanity, Vaurcae bear most a resemblance to terrestrial ants. The species’ similarities to the Formicidae family have led human scientists and media to use traditional insect taxonomy to classify the Vaurca species. While the Vaurca understand themselves under distinct biological terms–something that has, in recent years, interested xenoanthropologists–the efforts made by the Xavier Trasen Medical School in Biesel permeate all current biological discussions. Thus, this article is written following the perspective of the most recent taxonomy accepted by the Vaurcaesian Research Journal, a human publication vouched by the Zo’ra Hive.
Taxonomy
Vaurcae are a polymorphic species with radically different forms, known as Bioforms. Each Bioform is described by various observable characteristics (such as unique phenotypes), physical traits, and ecological niches.
Bioforms are diverse and divided into four traditional castes: Workers (Ka), Warriors (Za), Breeders (Ta), and Cephalons. In 2463, a new Vaurca bioform was introduced to the public: the Bulwark (Ra). However, Bulwarks are not a traditional caste, and scientists still debate whether they can be formally classified under the Worker caste. More information on the Bulwark discussion can be read here.
Furthermore, some Vaurcae are lobotomized during their development. To state the type of ‘freedom’ each individual has, the Vaurca use two terms: Bound (Viax) and Unbound (Akaix). In human taxonomy, the two types are known as the psyche.
Unbound Vaurca are sapient beings with a similar sense of identity to any other living being in the Spur, but Bound are considerably different. Bound Vaurca are popularly called "lobotomites", but this is known to be inaccurate. The environment and unique pheromones that Bound eggs receive from birth induce what is more or less a deliberate birth defect. The brain of a Bound Vaurca is largely atrophied, and they are docile, simple-minded workers who will prioritize orders they are given above their own well-being.
Besides their biological differences, caste, and psyche play an important part in Vaurca society, as reflected by the Vaurca naming system.
Morphology and Physiology
Exoskeleton
Vaurcae are best characterized by their exoskeleton, also known as carapace. It is composed of a complex polymer chain involving sulfur as a key catalyst with silicon, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen forming a strong bond.
The exoskeleton itself is very tough. Depending on the bioform, it can be more tightly packed. This exoskeleton provides the Vaurca with numerous benefits, such as high radiation resistance and strong structural support against a vacuum.
Blood and Respiration
Vaurcae have an open circulatory system, allowing the free flow of their sulfur-based blood. Unlike other sapients, Vaurca blood does not require oxygen but phoron. The dependency on phoron has been one of the greatest challenges the Vaurca race has faced in recent years.
In Sedantis, oxygen was found in small traces in the atmosphere. Unlike pure phoron, which is highly volatile in contact with oxygen, the common phoron compound in the Vaurca home planet did not react to any basic elements. In nature, Vaurcae inhaled phoron with oxygen and exhaled carbon monoxide with remnants of phoron. The current filter ports used by Vaurcae in human space use minimum oxygen to power their internal phoron tanks. In exchange, the filter ports exhale carbon dioxide as humans do, fully repurposing all phoron.
Dangers in Human Space
Because humans require oxygen to survive, Vaurcae must wear a filter port at all times. While filter ports cause no phoron leakage, there is a record of some incidents occurring during the early days of Vaurcae integration to Biesel which caused spillage. However, despite the adverse reaction caused by media and local politics, and the remaining misconception among many Biesellites, the leaks were not a result of a faulty design but rather improper use by individuals who were unfamiliar with the technology. Alongside k’ois outbreaks, both problems have been solved in recent years.
Castes
Shortly after making first contact with the Titan Prime, Vaurcae were divided into four castes—the Workers, the Warriors, the Breeders, and the Cephalons—each assigned a letter of the alphabet. In 2463, the Bulwark lifeform was introduced and marketed as a new caste, assigned the letter “E.” However, xenobiologists disagree that the Bulwark is a “true” caste, but rather a subtype of Worker. While the same argument has been made for the Cephalons, most literature still considers them to be their own caste.
In Vaurca xenobiology, the definition of a caste remains debated. Many components are considered, including each caste’s echelon and behavior in Vaurca society. Thus, a caste can be loosely defined as an established bioform, reinforced by hormones and augmentation, that serves a specific niche that cannot be interchanged. This means that a Breeder Vaurca will always retain its function and may not act as, instead, a Worker.
Subcastes are defined as specialized bioforms with similar behavioral patterns and ecological functions as the larger, all-encompassing caste. Some subcastes have incredibly specific niches, only manufactured for one particular industry and rarely seen by the public. Nonetheless, all Vaurcae, regardless of their caste or subcaste, are restricted by their same biological constraints. The more creative subcastes, which are imaginative and have no limitations to their forms, exist only in Virtual Reality.
In general terms, high-ranking Breeders and Cephalons are amongst the largest Vaurcae. Some highly-specialized subcastes, such as the so-called Warforms, may achieve similar heights. Nevertheless, due to their open circulatory system, maintaining larger bioforms is incredibly difficult. For example, Queens require various augmentations to ensure their blood is properly pumped—a problem a regular Worker would not have with their stand dual-heart system.
Ka, The Workers (Ka, Type A)
Workers are the most abundant caste in Vaurca populations. These types of Vaurcae can be defined by various characteristics. Physiologically, most Workers have a characteristic thick exoskeleton composed of tightly knit polymer chains. The robustness of their exoskeleton allows them to be very versatile, providing moderate protection against radiation and high tolerance to the vacuum of space. Workers may be bipedal or quadrupedal, equipped with bird-like talons that provide a strong grip. Furthermore, their hands include two middle fingers and two opposable thumbs–a left and a right on each. All of these features ensure that Workers are the best caste for manual labor and other similar tasks.
Perhaps more important are the psychological attributes of the Worker. The caste is notable for being mostly pacifistic, avoiding any danger when possible. As subjects to the Breeder caste, Workers are also known for their unquestioning loyalty.
This does not mean that Workers are literally incapable of violence; if seriously pressed, or very agitated, they may lash out. How comfortable they are with scenes of bloodshed or fighting likely depends on the individual Worker, though in the case of fighting, they tend to make poor combatants regardless. A construction Worker might become sick at the scent of blood, while a surgeon Worker may simply hate the thought of fighting or be a staunch pacifist. Fear of violence also does not preclude Workers from being verbally belligerent, snarky, or teasing.
Average Workers traditionally range from 4’3” to 6’3”. Depending on their niche, they may be taller or even a bit shorter. The recent stability of the Hives has also allowed newer Workers to be 7 feet tall, especially in human and Unathi space.
Examples of Type A Vaurca Bioforms
Za, The Warriors (Type B)
Warriors are the second most prominent caste in Vaurca society. They are also some of the most diverse, especially when considering augmentation. Because of this, it is hard to define Warriors physically. Some notorious trends include modified exoskeletons that favor agility in combat and a usually higher size – a notion challenged by some niche Worker bioforms. Warriors are also known for their increased amount of limbs. While some basic Warrior morphs may be bipedal, more advanced Warrior types can be quadrupeds, hexapods, and even decapods.
The biggest defining factor in a Warrior is their psychology. Unlike Workers, who are typically passive or averse to violence, Warriors are considerably more aggressive. This can range from being better-suited to high-stress combat situations to outright bloodlust. Warrior personalities tend towards the straightforward or brutish, though it would be incorrect to assume Unbound Warriors are unintelligent. Despite the stereotype of aggression, many Warriors are perfectly capable of more diplomatically-focused officer positions, and have taken on such roles in the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate, Tau Ceti Armed Forces, Hegemonic Navy, and the Kala.
Breeders may raise Warriors for a variety of non-combatant positions, especially with regards to medical positions. Most Queens prefer Workers for peaceful doctoring and Warriors for first response but are unwilling to run the small risk of a completely blood-averse batch of Workers. As a result, it is standard procedure to grow the number of Warriors alongside.
Examples of Type B Vaurca Bioforms
Za'Kax, Warforms (Type BD+)
Warform is the title given by human languages to Bound Warriors, constructs of war heavily augmented and outfitted with in-built weapons. They come in a variety of heights and forms, ranging from as small as 2 feet to towering behemoths standing at heights of 20 feet.
The basic Type BD are the Warforms that the majority of the public in places that know of Vaurca have seen or heard about. It is from them the caste derives its name. They are tall bipedal Vaurcae designed by the Zo'ra Hive that have been augmented and induced with large amounts of growth hormones to reach heights of 10 to 20 feet. Many possess large scythe-like blades in place of their claws, capable of cutting through reinforced steel, and they can be equipped with a varied arsenal of in-built weaponry, with the most infamous and perhaps terrifying being a strong napalm-like compound known as Zo'rane flame, expelled through the Warform’s mouth. Those in the Spur who have seen the rare occasions the Zo'ra Hive has deployed Warforms for actual warfare rather than simply parade duty, most prominently members of the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion during the second Solarian Invasion, have witnessed the Zo'rane Flame in action and tend to speak of it grimly. To be covered with the substance is almost invariably to die slowly, painfully, and utterly, skin dripping from bone and ligaments melting away until all that is left is a dissolved puddle where man or vehicle once stood.
Many other types of Warform exist or have existed in the past but were destroyed in events such as the Great Hive War, where creative Warforms were deployed in the thousands, and its conclusion, in which a return to traditional cultural combat replaced many of the underhanded tactics employed by the Bioforms led to the loss or outlawing of many designs. The Zo'ra Hive poses both the most Warforms in the Spur by numbers and the most designs, having long mastered them.
Examples of Type BD+ Vaurca Bioforms
Breeders (Ta, Type C)
Vaurca Breeders are considered the most important members of Vaurca civilization and amount to a tiny percentage of the whole Vaurca population. The only Vaurca that retain their sex organs after birth, they are the species' only fertile members. The male Breeders (Type CA) are all raised as Bound, while the females (Type CB) are all Unbound. The species Euosoecial nature has Breeders as the top members of Vaurca hierarchical society.
Perhaps due to their importance as individuals, the scientific literature does not recognize different bioforms or subcastes of Breeders. Nonetheless, female Ta fulfill different important social functions and can be distinguished by size and other unique features. The debate on profiling the Breeder caste with similar nomenclature used for the other Vaurcae still persists.
Type CA - Consorts, Male Breeders
The Type CA, also known as Consorts, are the only male representatives of the Vaurca race. The Consorts are huge, with a fuzzy carapace and lightly-patterned wings. On average, a modern Consort can live up to 500 years.
The role of the Consort has radically changed throughout the history of the Vaurca. In ancient times, the Consorts were not mentally stunted but rather important children of the Vaurca Queens. As late as the early Agricultural Revolution, male Breeders were known as “Princes” and served as representatives of their respective Hives. They were highly educated members of the Vaurca society and, as evidence suggests, may have held administrative roles in the earliest large-scale Hives.
The royal courtship was also different than in modern times. Typically, when ready to mate, a Queen would secrete powerful hormones to summon Prince Vaurcae into her chambers. The farther one of these Princes traveled, the better suitor they were considered. Once they arrived, the Princes had to prove themselves by completing a series of challenges. Usually, these tasks included mortal fights against the Queen’s Warriors and complex puzzles to prove their intellectual capabilities.
As the Vaurca Hives became more complex, this old system became problematic. The Consorts once helped create primitive alliances between smaller Hives, but the large-scale empires that emerged during the Age of Death had different political needs. Additionally, the short natural lifespan of a Consort (around 70 and 90 years) when compared to a Vaurca Queen made long-term political pacts harder to maintain.
It is also believed that the Princes eventually threatened the political power of their sisters. Though the actual motives are varied, the male Breeders fell in grace and the royal courtship system was dismantled. In turn, the Consorts were traded as chattel by the Hives and kept uneducated. By the Era of Augments—the time when the modern psyche system was developed—the male Breeders became fully Bound.
The Modern Consort Trade
Today, Consorts are prized commodities that are still exchanged between Hives. Historically on Sedantis, the main Hives maintained a sufficient supply of male Ta to avoid inbreeding through trade or conquest. The Exodus and modern technologies have necessitated a change in this system with some Consorts now “cloned.”
These expensive procedures restructure the DNA of young Consort larvae into copies of male genomes that each Hive keeps as a reserve. Since their introduction to the Spur, the Vaurca have drastically improved their methods of cloning and trading Consorts. These new processes are responsible for the large new numbers of Vaurca populations.
Type CB - Gynes, Female Breeders
The Type CB, or Gynes, are the leaders of Vaurca society. They have huge bodies with prominent gasters, 6 elongated legs, and four thin large arms. Female Breeders additionally have long, non-functional wings, often adorned with intricate cultural patterns. Unlike other castes, the carapace of female Breeders is sturdy yet highly flexible, allowing for an increase in size. Such a change may occur for any number of reasons throughout the Gyne's lifespan, a lifespan that is theoretically unlimited as a result of modern medicine. Those Ta unfortunate enough to find themselves without access to such life-extension technologies, such as many Queenless, would either be beholden to the historical lifespan of 1000 years or forced to rely upon extensive augmentation to sustain themselves.
All Gynes are female and, while they are technically all born fertile, most are sterilized as larvae to prevent the formation of rivaling Hives. This sterilization may be reversed by the Hive if a Ta advances to an Aliate or if it is otherwise required. Alongside their individuality, the unclear biological distinctions of Gynes make scientists doubt the existence of Type C subcastes. Instead, their preferred nomenclature for the different subtypes of Gynes is ranks.
The following information is not a complete overview of each rank. Instead, it only aims to explain the general cues in size and physical appearance between the Gynes. For more information on the social functions of each Gyne rank, read here.
Gyne Ranks
Cephalons (Type D)
The Cephalon caste is perhaps the least understood of all Vaurcae. The Cephalons serve as biological computers; immense hardware that makes full use of the Vaurcae brain and their biological augmentation.
This artificial caste was first constructed during the Technological Revolution and originally consisted of modified male Breeders with special wires connected to their brains. Eventually, the Cephalons became a caste of their own. They have soft carapaces that never harden, allowing their brains to keep expanding. The body of a Cephalon becomes limp; it is not rare for the gestating modern Cephalon to require augments to keep its other organs working.
In order to protect a Cephalon’s body, a group of Bound and Unbound Workers is dedicated to each bio-computer. These handlers encase the Cephalon in solid iron cabinets. Newer Cephalons are encased in cybertronic cabinets that serve similarly to full-body prosthetics.
Type DA - Cores
The Type DA Cephalons are hyper-computers that function as the main database servers for Virtual Reality and Vaurca computing operations as a whole. Part exceptionally powerful computer, part server, part "artificial" intelligence (if a massive brain augmented with quantum substacks and an array of biomechanical enhancements can be called artificial), part oracular prediction machines, the researchers of the Spur have struggled endlessly to properly categorize or even begin to understand the Cephalon. This is despite the caste having pervaded every element of Vaurca civilization, arguably as much as their magnum opus Virtual Reality, with the two being intrinsically linked. Few Spur scientists have begun to understand the extraordinarily convoluted structure of the Cephalon, with each one a monumental archive in and of itself. The Spur's Hives seemingly do little to alleviate the existing state of confusion outside of correcting the occasional misconception or perceived fear. From what little can be gleaned, it would appear, at least to outsiders, that the amalgam design of the Bioform takes the best of both worlds for wetware and quantum computing, making use of an organic brain's incredible pattern recognition, memory, and decision-making, then incorporating a quantum system's incredible speed, accuracy, and parallel processing.
The creation of Cores is complicated. They are bombarded from birth with special hormones designed to expand their brains. These special treatments hypercharge their thyroid and pituitary glands, which results in a brain that will continue growing far, far beyond the needs even of the Unbound. It will grow so much that the Cephalon's handlers can cut live samples, spread them across trellises and racks, and treat them with more hormones and chemicals to keep them growing further. After a decade of pruning, racking, and tanning, and some cybernetic wirework besides, the end result is a new Cephalon—a biomechanical supercomputer that houses a large portion of the Virtual Reality Network, and will live for millennia. Each Lesser Queen tends to keep several of these in specially designed mainframes, acting as servers from which their Virtual Reality Realm is hosted. These mainframe rooms are almost always stored near the queen's quarters under exceedingly heavy guards, eclipsed only in protection by the rulers themselves. Cephalons are not generally considered Bound or Unbound, but inert, motionless equipment.
Type DB - Terminals
Type DB Cephalons, known as Terminals, vary in size, though all are smaller than Cores. Terminals primarily function as relays, connecting Cores, Virtual Reality, and the outside world. Slices of Cephalon brains are grafted into Terminals, granting them rudimentary processing capabilities. Terminals serve as a physical link to Virtual Reality and the Hivenet, allowing one the ability to modify Virtual Reality externally, initiate neural socket uploads, and monitor the Hivenet. Additionally, Terminals were used as an equivalent to shipboard AI on Vaurcaesian vessels. Smaller spacecrafts only used one Terminal for all operations, larger ones may have several Terminals, each dedicated to a specific function aboard the ship. The smallest Terminals, also known as “Nodes,” are even found inside high-end Vaurcaesian equipment in order to amplify their capabilities, providing such items with a degree of self-referential decision-making and problem-solving.
Bulwarks, (Ra, Type E)
The Bulwark is the most recent Vaurca caste to be developed. There is some controversy over whether they count as an entirely new caste or are simply a bioform of a Worker. Motivated by politics, the Biesellite scientific community is inclined to classify the Bulwark as a unique caste.
Bulwarks are the second-largest caste, with a height ranging from 8' to 10'5. They are slower than Workers but are excessively strong, able to lift up to a metric ton in each hand. They are completely immune to radiation due to the thickness of their carapace and complex hormonal secretion that neutralizes ionizing radiation in their bloodstream. As a result of their hormonal structure, they are very vulnerable to conventional toxins and illnesses.
Bulwark temperaments are typically purely defensive. Unlike the passive Worker or the aggressive Warrior, Bulwarks are somewhat averse to fighting but are capable of defending themselves with powerful blows if they or their fellow workers are threatened. Nevertheless, they do not have a Warrior’s instinct for killing.
Life Cycle and Expectancy
The lifecycle of a Vaurca is fairly complicated when compared to other species. Each stage of Vaurca development is clearly regimented by biological developments or the introduction of augmentations.
Vaurca eggs are laid by a Hives high or lower Queen, and naturally enter a state of suspended animation when they are outside of the ovipositor, locking the egg in its initial stage until it is received by its surrogate Ta. This is compounded with cryogenics to effectively transport a vast amount of eggs between the Queen and their surrogate Ta. Every Ta within a Hive specializes in the creation of many different types of Vaurcae. Without cryostasis, the Worker and Warrior castes have a life expectancy of 20 years. Meanwhile, the Breeder and Cephalon castes can live indefinitely. For human scientists, the process by which Vaurca Breeders can live forever is not yet fully understood. The scientific consensus is that it consists of multiple factors: constant maintenance, augmentation, a slower metabolism, and some form of biological immortality.
Imagotis
Imagotis is a powerful process in which each Vaurca egg is assigned its function to the brood. The Imagotis consists of an imaginal stage in which Surrogate Breeders hold in their minds the image of their completed offspring. The Imagotis vision is imprinted into the Vaurca egg by a special saliva, providing a cocktail of pheromones that controls the development and gene expression of each Vaurca. These Imagotis pheromones decide the caste of each egg, radically altering their anatomy by the time the larvae hatch.
Beyond simply altering gene expression, the Imagotis pheromones provide a "recipe" for each Vaurca to the Bound Vaurca responsible for nursing the eggs. This recipe determines the type of augmentations, diet, and even Virtual Reality education each Vaurca is to receive. The strength of the Imagotis pheromones is such that, even after death, they remain impregnated in the neural sockets. This way, even without any specific markings, the reclaimers of neural sockets can identify individual Vaurcae by name.
Internal Organs
Internally, Type A are very similar to that of an Earth insect. They have an open circulatory system, with their blood covering their digestive system, dual hearts, lungs, and other organs. Their two hearts provide a significant sloshing motion to prevent the blood from stagnating. The Vaurca's blood is a copper-based hemoglobin, with a high dependency on sulfur, which causes their blood to adopt a yellowish color instead of the red prevalent with other species. It also emanates a very potent stink. This open circulatory system, however, can lead to wounds that pierce the exoskeleton and minor layers of skin to bleed out quickly unless treated.
Vaurcae possess, in their head, a neural socket that allows interface with the hive network communications. The exact mechanics of a neural socket, and how it processes data and keeps information secure is based on biological processes in the regional Queen, who possesses, instead of a neural socket, a neural rod.
Limbs
Vaurcae have two large insect-like eyes with two smaller ones underneath, which are hyper-sensitive to most forms of light. While they can function in light-heavy environments perfectly fine, most complain about frequent migraines and tendency to get frustrated after long exposures to light like the sun, or even general station lighting. This hyper-sensitivity, however, leads to greatly increased eyesight in dark areas. Their eyes are completely black in terms of colouration, with no variation between the castes. They also have large, insect-like antennae that protrude from their head. These antennae are used for greater perception of their surroundings and to communicate with each other through subtle movements, or rubbing them together with another. Also acting olfactory sensory and nerve database, when these antennae are lost, they can cause confusion, dizziness, nausea, communications problems, and extreme pain.
Their mouthparts are similar to a prawn's, in that they have two large mandibles, with small feelers and chewing parts that come out of the bottom.
A Vaurca Worker and Warrior may possess vestigial arms below their main limbs, genetic remnants that serve little purpose. Some Vaurcae may remove them for practicality while others are decorating them for fashion purposes. The latter is quickly becoming a fad for Vaurcae who regularly interact with aliens.
Augments
While virtually all Vaurcae look identical in an augmented state, aside from various shifts in colour, virtually all Vaurcae are augmented in some manner, the degree to which depending very much on their caste and purpose.
Bound Vaurcae typically undergo the most augmentation. Much of their organic mass will at some point be replaced with machinery, so they can fulfill one specific task to the best of their ability. Worker Bound will at the completion of their development look more like construction machines than Vaurca, with variable amounts of limbs and a plethora of tools at their disposal. Warrior Bound will assume a variety of forms, varying from simple infantry with weapons and targeting augments to assault vehicles. The more complex the caste name of a Bound, the less recognizable it is as a standard Vaurca.
Unbound however will never undergo such severe augmentation. The great limitation of such heavy modification is that it eliminates versatility, the entire purpose of the Unbound caste. Their augments will typically be performance-enhancing instead of alterations of the form. Most Unbound are today equipped with at least basic communication augments which make them versatile assets for communication with extra-Hive entities.
Ultimately, all Vaurcae currently employed by the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate aboard the SCCV Horizon are of the least augmented tier - either Type AA or Type BA. Their carapace is almost totally unmodified. Bound and Unbound alike will have a neural socket and oxygen filtration system and may utilize full-limb prosthetics. Bound may have several augments designed to increase work efficiency or general survival, while Unbound will typically have very few augments to ensure that they can fulfill any task assigned to them by NanoTrasen.
Sleep Cycle
The Bound follow a predictable sleep pattern. Specialized augmentations control the chemical precursors that induce sleepfulness within Bound and cause them to sleep. While predictable, the times that a Bound sleeps typically depend on its duty within the Hive, with the most physically demanding jobs having the longest periods of sleep.
Unbound Vaurcae spends 98 hours active on average before experiencing drowsiness. Some Unbound may change this sleep cycle depending on their work or needs, similar in scope to how humans change their habits. To sleep, a Vaurca adopts a leaning position that uses specialized joints and hinges in their exoskeletal plates to sleep standing upright.
Mannerisms
Vaurcae typically express emotions, thoughts, and feelings over Hivenet—their keen sense of smell allows them to secrete certain complex pheromones and emit specific vibrations with their antennae that indicate their emotional state. Hivenet cannot transmit actual images, but it can transmit sensations; a Vaurca in pain from being crushed by a rockfall cannot transmit an image of their suffering, but they can project the feeling of being crushed.
This is not to say that Vaurcae have no mannerisms outside of Hivenet projections; quite the opposite. Their large, sensitive eyes set on the sides of their head can see somewhat behind them, so a Vaurca may flick their antennae in the direction of new stimuli rather than turning their head the way a human might. Vaurcae typically chitter in acknowledgment of another, similar to a human’s humming or nodding. Clicking is akin to a human clicking their tongue; it can range from an expression of thought to aggravation.
Expressions of pain, frustration, or anger outside of Hivenet usually involve soft hissing or grinding their mandibles, but mandible-grinding can also be a gesture of deep thought. A particularly startled or suffering Vaurca may let out a shriek, which has been described in several circles as sounding like nails on a chalkboard.
Warriors in particular have a tendency towards restlessness and may pace or jump to attention quicker. It is not uncommon for Warriors to do laps around their place of work if they are out of Virtual Reality, or are constantly on the move.
| Vaurca Lore Pages | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vaurcae | Vaurca · Vaurca Biology · Virtual Reality · Hivenet · K'ois | |
| Factions and Politics | Vaurca Hives · Queenless · The Lii'dra · Zo'ra in the Republic · K'lax in the Hegemony · C'thur in the Federation | |
| Notable Settlements | Sedantis · Colonized Vaurca Worlds · Flagsdale · Tret · Diulszi | |
| History and Culture | Vaurca History · The Great Hive War · Hives Renaissance · War in Heaven · Vaurca Religion · Vaurca Culture and Society | |