Presenting: The Naucine (part 1)

   "Their Council membership is a continuing stain on the Milieu!" howled Wol'arr, his mien indicating moderate anger per com-main's universal emotional context indication.  "The Arr'yoo call upon the noble Naucine to support our petition to censure and revoke Xylanthan membership!" Sincere respect.

   It was, for former ambassador to the Milieu Aperiodic Tesselation, the same drama on a different day.  After three centuries' tenure as the Naucine representative on the Milieu's Coordinating Council, 'Aper' had become quite accustomed to the various cries of outrage, demands, mortal grievances, and false appeals to nobility and enlightenment various exo-species engaged in to achieve their ends.  What had been surprising was that the tedious litany had mysteriously continued, even increased in volume, since his resignation.

  Quite perplexing.

  Fortunately, private life had freed him from the constraints of formality and political language - he was free to speak his mind, and had told Wol'arr, on no less than three separate occasions, that the CHO-main Canidus was an overdramatic lout.  The fourth was fast approaching.

  It was all a game, no less so than the game Seq they had gathered for, and one that Aper could not seem to escape from.  "I'm afraid the naucine position on the subject of Xylanthan membership is unchanged."  Mild regret, ambivalence.  "They are the natural, evolutionary result of a unique conflux of circumstances.  While we find the duplicitous circumstances surrounding their arrangement with the CHO-main Locus of their world, it cannot be ignored that they chose nnot to obliterate their aggressors."  Minor apology.

  He led his hirsute guest towards the game room.  Aper was playing host to officials and liasions for the Arr'yoo, Ixion, and the Forged.  It was only natural that Wol'arr would attempt to canvass for support; indeed it was almost required.  The Arr'yoo were not yet advanced enough to be seriously considered for a council seat without sponsorship; even with sponsorship, it would be an uphill battle.  They had only recently begun terraforming efforts to colonize their system, to make use of the gravitational intra-system transport network they were fortunate enough to have, to overturn an economic system premised on scarcity by mining asteroids for resources.  They were generally considered too technologically undeveloped for sponsorship or mentoring; yet first contact had been made in an effort to stave off Nihil incursions.

  However, Wol'arr's entreaty was doomed to failure from the outset.  The Ixion were too busy as the literal workhorse of the Milieu to take on mentoring a pre-interstellar species or to take on more conflict.  The Forged were still coming to terms with their comparatively recent and sudden ascension into galactic civilization.  The Naucine were generally loathe to interfere at any level, and despite the friendship Aper shared with Wol'arr, the Naucine had been opposed to contact in the absence of any evidence of an impending Nihil experiment.

  "Moreover, they are the sovereign power of their world, by their own means.  Whatever else may be true, this we must respect, or else there is no cause to respect the authority of any species anywhere, let alone that of the Milieu."  This they all knew; it had been the final argument that sealed Xylanthan membership.  There was no justification in opposing the Nihil Cooperative if the Ascendant Milieu did the same, whatever their good intentions may be.

  "Forgive my outburst; it is a frustrating situation," Wol'arr growled.

  "Overdramatic lout."

  Wol'arr laughed heartily as he did every time.  Despite the circumstances, the Arr'yoo had a vivaciousness of spirit that naucine admired and appreciated.  He had also been a quick study at Seq, though predictable at times.  The game room was one of the perks of private life; besides having a private vessel at his disposal, he maintained spacious quarters at the Milieu Core, including a large anti-grav room for Seq, and no shortage of interesting players.

  Seq had surprisingly become a cultural export of the Naucine.  In its original incarnation, Seq was a board game, originally played on an ocean floor or convenient coral reef, and later on moulded sand and dirt.  Bits of bone, shell, teeth, scales, twigs, feathers, and so forth served as pieces, generally representing the creatures they came from.  The game play represented interactions between ecosystems and evolution as animals competed for territory, resources, and survival.  It was a game they did not play to win, but one in which both players strove to achieve elegance and beauty in their play.

  It was a runaway hit on the galactic stage.  Once crews aboard ships had picked up how to play, the game had spread like wildfire.  Among the CHO-main Varietas especially Seq enjoyed wild popularity, leading to public game spaces and portable technology for holographically rendering terrain and pieces.  And then slowly, the game changed.

  In CHO-main hands (paws, grippers, etc.) new pieces were introduced.  Rather than animals, they were various sentients, military and civilian units that interacted.  No longer did gameplay represent ecologies and evolution, but various racial civilizations and their interactions and development.

  The Naucine were honored beyond belief.  For their game of evolution to itself evolve into something greater through contact with others was a purity of form like unto art.  Seq saw renewed interest among the Naucine as new pieces, sets, and stages were available.  At its highest levels, Seq represented differing ideologies engaging in discourse and debate.

  The game space projected a variety of biomes - although his game space was capable of nanot construction, he had employed holographic representations out of respect for the Forged liasion - from verdant forests, complete with simulated wildlife, to unforgiving tundra.

  Aper bowed to his guests who were already seated.  "Welcome friends."  Joy, gratitude.  "I present to you, Wol'arr, representative of the Arr'yoo."  He gestured around the room, first to the quadruped centauroid, "Krellin, officer of the Ix embassy," then to the shiny, ambiguous CHO-main, "Teodore, junior ambassador of the Forged," and finally to another naucine, "Concentric Tangents, my... nephew I suppose."  Greetings were exchanged as the holographic displays to select pieces appeared before each player.  "Conc was hatched several generations after me from the same creche.  We have hopes that he will take up the position of ambassador one day," Aper explained conversationally.  His conversation with Wol'arr had given him inspiration for this round of Seq; his selection was entirely of an identical type.

  "If you have any discretion in the matter Conc," Krellin's bass rumbled, "I suggest joining the explorer's corps.  More interesting sights, fewer repeated complaints."  They all chuckled.

  Teodore's ambiguous frame pulsed amorphously as he moved his arm, making his decisions quickly and decisively.  "Sometimes the complaints are interesting in their own right though," he offered.

  Aper glanced at his nephew with one of his lateral eyes.  Conc had gestured his good natured amusement, but seemed deeply engaged in making his selections, considering units from numerous and varied sets.  "However I may best serve the people," had been his demurred reply as he finished his selection.

Introducing: The Naucine

The Naucine

Aquatic Nautilus (Terrestrial Precursor) | Monoclonal, Epigenetic

Ascendent Milieu

"The Golden ratio" (sea weeds)

The Naucine are a primarily aquatic species, resembling a nautilus mounted on a four legged trunk - they have two clusters of three strong, prehensile tentacles extending laterally from the upper spiral shell.  In each cluster, one tentacle ends in an armored claw, reminiscent of a lobster.  The other two end in a trifurcated manipulator.  The central trunk extends downwards from the spiral groove, slightly off center, and bears a single eye in each of the orthogonal directions; a short, tough leg extends from the lower end of the trunk in each of the diagonal directions.  The mouth lies at the bottom of the trunk, protected by a masticating beak.  Fossil records are sparse - naucine internal structure is a combination of chitin and cartilege, generally leaving only hardened shells after death, if anything.

As with most forms of life, ancestral naucine began life as a purely aquatic life form - they most likely lacked legs and moved by a combination of expelling gas or water and flagellation of their tentacles.  Their evolution as a species was progressing, slowly, towards a terrestrial species when it terminated at the hybrid stage permanently.  Thus, naucine have short legs suitable for balance, strength, and slow movement but not more dextrous activity due to a lack of joints or segmentation.  They are capable of breathing in water as well as atmosphere.

The cessation of Naucine evolution is due to their most unique trait: The Naucine genome is both highly regulated and highly conserved - it is highly resistant to change and capable of self repair and error checking.  Modern naucine are immune to viruses, bacteria, toxins, and generally any sort of inernalized environmental hazard.  They heal quickly and are possibly age-immortal.  In fact, the DNA-equvalent triple helix compound is so resistant to change, naucine are essentially monoclonal - every individual's DNA is identical, differing only in epigenetic modification governing expression, rate, and post transcription processing.  It is estimated that there are no more than five different sequences in the entire naucine gene pool, all single point substitutions, and no more than two of which are not a redundant change in coding.

Evolution in this species occurred very slowly and always under highly selective pressure (if it occurred at all; there is some scholarly debate, due to a general lack of evidence and the enormous span of time involved).  The discovery of tools and metal working effectively supplanted any further possible evolution as individuals began to form the rudiments of a civilization around specialization and protection from predators.

Naucine are highly intelligent; ancestral naucine used readily available ore veins and underwater thermal vents to shape metal tools and armor against predators - Metal rods, spears, blades, and what appear to be shields and bowl-like armor or helmets.  On land, without the anti-gravity bouyancy of water, the Naucine were forced to refine their forging technicques, developing alloys, thinner and lighter products, and more complex, moving parts.  By working together, naucine society bloomed with communal creches, protected sanctuaries, and readily accessible resources.  Working together, they were able to build lasting sanctuaries and survive both on land and in water.

Modern naucine are skilled craftsmen and artisans.  In art and all else the Naucine strive for creativity, innovation, efficiency, and perfection.  It is the story of their species and like unto a religion for them.  They are avid intellectuals, be it science, philosophy, or art, and capable warriors and strategists when the need arises.  In the Milieu, the Naucine are among the more liberal species, and enjoy exploring and observing new species.  They strong proponents of non-interference and prefer to be contacted than to make first contact.  They have colonized several systems surrounding their homeworld.  Naucine craft are typically ringed, geometric structures, multiply butressed internally, making them quite resilient.  They are generally filled with a thick, neutral gas suitable to naucine physiology and movement.  The hull is partially biological and secretes are harden chitin substance to quickly seal breaches.

Naucine names generally follow mathematical equations that describe geometric structures or graph curves that they consider beautiful or elegant.