Species – Starfish Aliens

Sunday Spotlights: the Xipehuz

Starfish aliens have a long pedigree. Les Xipehuz, published in 1888, may be the earliest appearance of such beings, as well as one of the first examples of science fiction. In the story, Early Bronze Age tribes are attacked by mysterious beings, their origin and motives unknown.

Fig 1. the four types of Xipehuz. The cone bears a newly coined glyph, referring to the strange bipeds with which its kind is at war.

The Xipehuz (shapes in the original French) remain some of the strangest aliens in all fiction. They are of entirely geometric appearance, not resembling any known animal in the slightest. They invariably take one of the forms depicted above. Whatever its form, a Xipehuz always possesses a glowing light upon its body, from which they project lasers to burn and destroy all animals indiscriminately. They communicate by carving glyphs onto each other, which fade over time. As well as these glyphs, Xipehuz bear permanent markings around their lights. Through their communications, Xipehuz evidently possess distinct personalities, and also display human like behaviours, such as teaching their young.

Xipehuz reproduction is as odd as their appearance. Four times a year, on clear nights near the solstices and equinoxes, they gather into groups of three, as shown. They merge together to form vast ellipses, which separate into pieces at noon the following day.

These pieces turn into giant smoky forms, which gradually coalesce into new Xipehuz. Xipehuz are likely formed in multiples of three, with six being the plausible minimum. Curiously, they get smaller, and presumably denser, as they mature.

Initially, the Xipehuz restrict their activities to a single territory, ceasing to pursue their victims beyond its boundaries. Unfortunately, as their numbers grow, so does their territory, as well as the threat they pose to humanity.

Thirthai

At first glance, Thirthai have been noted to resemble an elephant’s head combined with a squid. The second description is somewhat more apt, since Thirthai are descended from aquatic lifeforms that resembled cephalopods. Their evolution into their new environment has been driven by their native sun leaving main sequence, and the resulting drying of the oceans. The first terrestrial ancestors of Thirthai appeared 14 MYA.

Many of the quirks of Thirthai anatomy can be explained by their rapid terrestrial adaptation. Their internal skeleton is rudimentary, consisting entirely of a cage-shaped structure that protects the vital organs, as well as ‘vertebral’ columns that support the legs. For millions of years prior to their sun’s expansion, Thirthai had been deep-sea organisms, hence their reliance on sonar rather than sight. A Thirtha’s ‘eyes’ are light-sensitive flaps, that can only distinguish between light and dark.

Thirtha have multiple adaptations to their drying homeworld. Their bodies are covered by a layer of dead skin up to an inch thick, protecting them from skin cancer. A Thirtha’s lungs rival a bird’s in complexity, and their orange blood is highly efficient at oxygen transfer. Due to the extreme heat of their native environment, Thirthai are cold-blooded, unlike most sapiens. They can drink water as saline as 50 000 ppm; indeed, water less saline than 19 000 ppm can cause sickness or even death from osmotic shock.

Behaviourally, Thirthai are almost nothing like the elephants they resemble, being solitary carnivores. The average Thirtha is most comfortable alone, perceiving most other beings with suspicion and distrust. They evolved a limited capacity for social cooperation around 18 000 years ago, in order to survive the drying of their homeworld. Outside of extraordinary circumstances, Thirthai still lead solitary lives today, with their position within the Commonwealth being a matter of perennial debate.

Aleptidates

Aleptidates are a race allied with humans in the Sapiens Commonwealth. There are only around forty macroscopic species on their home planet Aelsa, all of which are symbiotic to Aleptidates or each other. Indeed, the only harmful organisms on the planet are microscopic parasites. It is theorised that Aleptidates themselves have created this state of affairs, as it seems unlikely to have evolved naturally. However, they have yet to confirm or deny this theory.

First contact with Aleptidates occurred in 2405 CE (108 FY). Despite being allied with them, most Aleptidates are somewhat phobic towards other sapiens, including humans. It took around 200 years for this species to settle on Meliotopia, which is where human/Aleptidate relationships are strongest. Most Aleptidates still live on isolationist colony worlds, and xenophobic extremists also exist, such as the notorious Children of Shatrqil.

Fig 2. An Aleptidate in a feeding pod. Details subject to alteration.

Aleptidates are carbon-based, with strong biochemical similarities to humans. Theoretically, they could consume most terrestrial proteins, although some are rather toxic to them, and acetic acid is a strong intoxicant. More tragically, they occasionally fall prey to terrestrial pathogens, notably the Bluespot Virus in 327-332 FY.

Aleptidates do not usually possess feeding organs. Traditionally, they feed through a symbiosis with Aelsan trees, which grow feeding pods, as illustrated. Within these pods, they can absorb nutrients passively through their skin. In this state, Aleptidates’ metabolisms slow down considerably, so they need little oxygen. This is the closest they come to a state of sleep.

Baselines need to feed every 16 hrs, and will become extremely ill if they cannot do so. ‘Heterodox’ Aleptidates can grow digestive systems, but most of the species prefers to use pods whenever possible.

A most unusual characteristic of Aleptidate physiology is morphological flexibility. Many Aleptidates have developed the ability to grow mouths for oral communication, as they otherwise lack facial orifices, and their native languages are non-vocal. Such Heterodox individuals make up the majority of that portion of the species that regularly interacts with humans.

Sapiens Commonwealth

Welcome to my blog! I thought it would be prudent to begin with an introduction to the setting for (most of) my original creations.

The Sapiens Commonwealth is a multi-species coalition that exists about a thousand years into the future. Basically, my take on the standard sci-fi universe. In the present of the setting, Commonwealth territory covers much of Orion’s Arm and contains 9 species, besides humans.

Fig 1. 2 species, compared with a 6-foot human. The Aleptidate is probably too large; I intended it to be about 3 feet long.

Here are 2 of them. The lizard-looking one is an Aleptidate, and the weird elephant is a Thirtha (plural: Thirthai).

Aleptidates exist in a biosphere where most life cooperates, rather than competes. It is unknown, though dubious, whether this state of affairs originated naturally. The nature of the biosphere humans originated from causes Aleptidates to view them with mingled awe and fear. Originally, they lacked mouths, due to their alien methods of feeding and communication. However, they are capable of limited shapeshifting, and some individuals have grown mouths in order to talk to humans.

Thirthai are a carnivorous species that evolved on a world nearing the end of its habitable period. Though they evolved cooperative behaviour to cope with their drying homeworld, they remain solitary and mistrustful of others, regardless of species. Thirthai communicate through infrasound, and use translators to talk to other species.

The 2 species, along with humans, make up the Mutualist Alliance, so named for the allegedly symbiotic relationship between them.