Genofexians

Originating from planet Ternion, the Genofexians (or, Genofex) are a species of culture-rich aliens living in a once thriving civilization. Their population is approximately 60 million, however, their numbers are quickly dwindling due to the nearly uncontrollable Breach pandemic sweeping across their planet; before the lethal disease made its first appearance, their population stood at about 3 billion.

Biology

While Genofexians are similar to humans in shape by sporting a humanoid, bipedal form, their anatomy differs greatly from that of a human. The most defining details of their appearance is their four arms, range of skin colours, and face; they have no nose or mouth, their eyes are larger than a human's, and their eyes can also glow depending on their health.

Genofexians don't have a skeleton, but their bodies are instead covered in a segmented series of tough plates that serve as an exoskeleton. These plates require a great amount of sunlight over the course of a lifetime in order to strengthen and become tougher, which also causes them to become darker as they become more dense. Because of the density and weight of their carapaces, Genofexians are comparatively heavier than humans and are naturally incapable of swimming as a result. However, they can remain underwater almost indefinitely because they do not breathe air, though they cannot handle the high water pressure of extremely deep water. Their carapaces also lack nerve endings; because of this, they feel very little (if any) pain if something were to affect their exoskeleton.

Because they cannot eat, drink, or breathe conventionally due to their lack of facial features, Genofexians rely on other methods of sustenance to survive. They drink water through a form of osmosis in the sections of skin between their exoskeleton's plates, and they provide their bodies with nutrients through a form of photosynthesis as well as a variety of nutritional salves and balms. Typically, they can survive healthily for up to 4-5 days without a source of light or nutrients, and 2 without any water. Over 7 days without any sustenance can be very dangerous or fatal. Their eyes and carapace are good indicators of their health: their eyes will show a slight hint of bioluminescence if they're in good condition, and their plates will be smooth and generally uncracked if they aren't in need of water.

Many factors in a Genofexian's youth can contribute to the colour of their carapace. Upon birth, skin tones range between light shades of white and grey, but this colour can slowly change over the course of their childhood and adolescence. The most prominent factors that alter their exoskeleton's colour are sun exposure, temperature, and water intake. Sun exposure and high temperatures will darken a carapace, low temperatures will lighten a carapace, and overly prolonged water submersion can give a carapace a turquoise shade, due to a special enzyme found in Ternion's water. As genofexians grow older, their exoskeletons become more resistant to change, and their natural carapace colours become permanent around the age of 30 Hallow years. An important detail to note is the only element that can affect the density of their plates is sun exposure; a teal exoskeleton may not indicate density or strength.

Genofexians not only have a distinct masculine and feminine gender, but they also have a biological third gender that is a mix between the two. Males have slightly indented cheeks, more rigid jawlines, narrower eyes, and their exoskeleton's plates are usually more pointy at each corner and edge. Females are somewhat to the contrary - flush cheeks, pointier chins, and rounder plates, while the androgynous third gender can have many combinations of the above traits, but they often feature rounder chins and spikier carapaces (similar to how males' are pointier, though an androgyne's will normally point outwards). Additionally, biological androgynes have an overwhelming tendency to be more energetic than other genders, due to a brain development pattern unique to the gender. Some other statistical comparisons between the different genders are listed below:

On average, the lifespan of a Genofex is 130 Hallow years. They are typically considered adults around 25 years, but they can continue growing until they are 45 years old. Although they generally mature slower and at a more linear rate than a human does, they can stand up to almost 8 feet tall in adulthood, and their carapace can cause them to weigh several hundreds of pounds after reaching adulthood despite their typically lean appearances. Due to carrying their heavy carapace at all times, Genofexians generally have high endurance and stamina.

Society

The biggest difference between their society as opposed to other races is their lack of speech. Because they cannot naturally speak, sign language and writing are the most prevalent forms of communication. However, because quick communication can be important depending on the situation at hand, Genofexians have developed neural interfacing devices simply dubbed "Voices." They are typically given only to those in situations where communication is crucial or those of high status (such as royals or those in military positions), and these devices can range from being a crown, piece of jewelry, helmet, or anything between. These devices all have the ability to neurologically read the user's brain and vocalize select thoughts through a small speaker in the object. While this almost flawlessly allows Genofexians to speak, it creates a large dissonance between the written and spoken version of their language. If a genofex expects to speak, they would have to learn both mediums of their language and how to fluently translate between them.

Their government is split up into High Councils, which act as the governing bodies over individual cities, and Royal Councils, which have control over entire regions of land. Every council is comprised 10-50 people depending on the status and size of the region being dictated upon, one or two of whom will be the appointed leader of that land (males leaders are referred to as Kings, females are Queens, and androgynes are Guardians). They have the most influence when political decisions are to be made. To differentiate between the different levels of councils, their leaders and participants are addressed as either High or Royal. Positions in governmental councils are highly sought after, as people in these positions are often recognized with a great level of respect.

Larger cities often have extensive networks of automated public transit. Similar to buses in function and shape, they hang from rails in the air and run on a timed system to transport people from one location to another. In major areas of a city, dozens of rails may be seen in the air above the ground, routing vast amounts of people to their destinations. Because of this system, vehicles are not used within cities, but they may be found outside of city borders instead. However, some cities may have rails that lead to-and-fro other regions or cities, as the land outside of any given settlement is often considered undesirable because of Ternion's generally malevolent conditions.

All Genofexian cities have many housing spires, not unlike apartment buildings, that extend thousands of feet high and are almost equally as wide. These spires serve as homes for the vast majority of a city's population, containing thousands of apartments for families to comfortably live in. Those with enough money to purchase their own pieces of land are among the wealthiest in their civilization, as owning real estate is one of the greatest luxuries in their society.

Culture & Customs

Because of Ternion's frequent inclement weather, most genofexians wear many layers of clothing on an average day, including coats, parkas, and cloaks. However, when skies are clear and sunny, they are encouraged to wear minimal clothing so they can both absorb more sunlight and showcase their natural beauty. Genofexian clothes are all-around very extravagant, and it's common to see middle-class and sometimes even low-class civilians with at least some pieces of decorative clothing. Moreso, body art is viewed highly in their culture. Similarly to how humans have tattoos, Genofexians can artificially colour their carapaces in many different shades and patterns. Some may choose to "dye" themselves a different colour, some may have their entire body decorated in a single flowing pattern, and some may see each of their plates as a blank canvas and have a unique image on each.

A particularly interesting practice are Genofexian funerals. Corpses will be flayed to remove their exoskeletal plates, and those plates will be crafted into an artifact that best represents who that person was. As they traditionally see it, those who have passed away will always remain in spirit, because they are believed to remain in those artifacts. They can range from crowns, weapons, centerpieces, or simple artistic sculptures, and they're frequently passed down from generation to generation. The rest of each body is usually cremated, as they hold very little sentimental value after they've been flayed.

Gold is considered a royal material in Genofexian culture. There is a common believe that says gold is reserved for those of the highest status, though this rule is highly outdated; it was once a law in ancient times that commoners were banned from wearing gold, and some older generations still view it as such.

Tanmor-An

Tanmor-An is the most widely spoken Genofexian language; because of its widespread prevalence, it is often referred to as the common language of their species. Its alphabet consists of 22 characters, with each written character having a heavy emphasis on dots and individual lines. It is typically written horizontally from right to left, but quotes and dialogue are written from left to right. Genofexian books are most commonly bound at the top so that pages must be flipped upwards rather than turned right to left to continue reading.

Genofexian names are highly representative of a person's rank in society and have varying structures, social rules, and translation quirks. The most important rule is that there are certain pairs of characters that represent a genofex's status if present in either a surname or appended to a given name as a suffix, and it is highly encouraged for a person to represent any special status they may have through their name. The characters that represent high status or heritage are IL and LI, and a royal status is denoted with IX and XI. Letter combinations denoting a higher status take priority over lesser ones in the same name; for example, the letter combination XIL can represent both a high and royal name, but the royal denotation is recognized because it is a more powerful societal rank.

If a surname or given name's suffix denotes a lesser status than a person's current status, they may legally add an appropriate suffix onto their given name to properly represent their position. Additionally, if someone legally joins a family of higher status, they may also follow this suffix rule. Upon the birth of a child, any suffixes on the parents' given names may be incorporated within the child's surname (either by attaching the suffix onto the end of their surname or by working the two letter combination into the surname); if both parents have different suffixes on their given names, the one denoting the highest status may be passed down.

Additionally, there are a few grammatical rules and tendencies their names follow when translated to English:

• > E, I, R, V, X, Y, and Z are very common letters
• > M, U, and W are very rare letters
• > B, G, J, P, and Q are never used
• > ZA is always replaced by XA; XE is always replaced by ZE
• > C is only ever used as a hard consonant

Breach

Breach is the colloquial name of the flesh-eating disease that is common in genofexian civilization. It is a devastating illness: Breach is highly contagious, painful, and almost has a 100% morality rate among those infected by it. Roughly 98% of the genofexian race has been eliminated by breach (over 2.9 billion lives total), leaving them in a serious state of endangerment. Many of the remaining genofexians live in fear because of Breach.

The following description of symptoms refers to "days" as Ternion days rather than Hallow days:

Within two days of the virus entering a genofex's body, they will primarily experience irritated skin and dry carapace plates. In about one to three more days, cracks will begin forming in the genofex's carapace, the sections of skin between their plates will become inflamed, and their eyes will start losing colour. This is followed by the peeling, breaking, and swelling of both skin and carapace, fever, chills, and muscle loss. The disease will begin deteriorating the infected person's circulatory system and organs, usually causing death within three to four more days. The longest anyone has ever survived a breach infection is 23 days under intensive care, and 16 with no medical assistance.

On a planetary scope, Breach may be isolated only to the genofexian species.

The genofexian population as a whole does not yet have any means of curing Breach. However, measures have been taken to ensure the remaining genofexians stay safe:

• > Borders have been erected around many towns and cities. While civilians are generally allowed to leave bordered cities, it is highly discouraged because entry will be strictly disallowed under all but the most special circumstances (e.g. a unit of soldiers wearing full-body protective armour who have been completely disinfected before passing through a border).
• > A genofex exhibiting symptoms of Breach may be quarantined to protect the rest of a settlement's population. In some settlements where moral obligations are low, an infected genofex may be exiled.
• > Provided that proper quarantine procedures have taken place, an infected genofex may be treated with antibiotics and painkillers in the form of moisturizing salves, which do not eliminate breach but help reduce the pain and suffering of the patient while also slowing the progression of breach's symptoms.
• > Queen Vraxi of Zetomerxy has commissioned the construction of the GSA's first Ark-class ship, capable of holding and sustaining hundreds of thousands of occupants in order to live off of Ternion away from the threat of Breach.
• > King Daras of Andarol has devoted his research and development to finding an immunity to Breach.

GSA Fleet

Standing for Genofexian Space Armada, GSA is the designation for all official Genofexian spaceships. Their activity in space is somewhat limited to the area around Ternion, and they have minimal combat ability in space; they have no dedicated bombers, no destroyers or dreadnoughts, and most of their ships are designed primarily for research or transportation.

Sigil - The Sigil class ship is a personal spacecraft issued to those involved in research and development, exploration, or staff related positions in space and GSA stations. It is also available to those wealthy enough to purchase a personal craft on their own accord. The interior of these ships is somewhat cramped, but they have an area where two passengers can be seated, as well as room for small personal installments such as a table, locker, or freezer.

• Capacity: 1 pilot, 2 passengers
• Armaments: None
• Length: 24 metres
• Max speed: 220 KPH
• Deployed: 1840

Vigilante - The Vigilante fighter is the GSA's primary military force. It holds two pulse rifles and carries a maximum capacity of four volcano missiles, making it a powerful craft when coupled with its quick maneuverability. They're often used in escort scenarios, providing larger vessels with adequate protection in the case of an enemy attack.

• Capacity: 1 pilot
• Armaments: 2 pulse rifles, 4 volcano missiles
• Length: 18 metres
• Max speed: 265 KPH
• Deployed: 600

Radiant - Radiant class vessels are solely devoted to research and exploration. With a combination of scanners, beacons, a moderately powerful tractor beam, and an interior spacious enough for several crew members and scientific equipment, Radiant ships are more than capable of independently conducting their own research and experiments with ease.

• Capacity: 20 crew/passengers
• Armaments: Short range tractor beam
• Length: 97 metres
• Max speed: 155 KPH
• Deployed: 50

Ark - Ark vessels are the GSA's largest and most impressive ships, spanning many kilometres and sporting a passenger capacity in the 6 digits. Their main purpose is for transporting civilians and to serve as a mobile station for perilous scenarios, and due to its massive size, only one has ever been built and deployed: the GSA Grand Devotion. Because of this, GSA Grand Devotion is considered the mothership of their species. It is owned by Queen Vraxi and Guardian Daxtra, both of whom reign over the city of Zetomerxy.

Though Ark ships have massive hulls, a large portion of them is used by expansive passenger bays that can house millions of people. Some of the remaining extra space contains docking bays, where other ships can be held for deployment and repair, and the rest of the interior is devoted to the ship's subsystems and bridge. The engines that power an Ark are so numerous and powerful that anything caught in their wake would be torn apart by engine wash. Ark vessels are also the only GSA ships equipped with a FTL drive.

• Capacity: 95,500 crew members, 40,362,000 passengers
• Armaments: 12 ion cannons, 560 anti-fighter pulse rifles
• Length: 17,198 metres
• Max speed: 75 KPH
• Deployed: 1

GSA weaponry is limited in variety, but the designs currently available are actively used in their fleet and are considered acceptably effective for their purpose. They have three primary weapon types: pulse rifles, volcano missiles, and ion cannons. With the exception of missiles, GSA's armaments need recharging after use; the length of time an energy weapon can be used before it needs to be recharged depends on the size of the ship firing it. A Vigilante can fire a single pulse rifle 600 times before it runs out of power, while an Ark's pulse rifle could discharge 800,000 projectiles without running the risk of drying out.

Pulse rifles are standard repeaters that are found on every military class ship. Radiating green when discharged, pulse rifles fire superheated bolts of energy at a rate of 4 projectiles per second. They do minimal damage to larger vessels, but can severely damage and destroy other fighter in skirmishes.

Volcano missiles are powerful, slow-travelling, dumbfire projectiles that have a highly destructive explosion upon impact. These rockets are capable of crippling major subsystems and breaking into capital ships' hulls, and while it would be impractical to fire upon a personal craft with a Volcano due to the terribly slow travel speed, fighters would be immediately vaporized by the explosion if impacted by the missile.

Firing green like GSA pulse rifles, ion cannons are huge weapons capable of expelling a constant stream of superheated energy, with the ability to melt almost any material and burn through the hull of any target. Though superb in power, these weapons have a long charge-up and cool-down period, leaving them unable to fire for periods of up to 20 seconds depending on how extended the previous discharge was. In great quantities, these weapons would be capable of burning sizeable portions of a planet's surface should they be focused on a specific area for long enough.