I figure I'll talk about the most recent idea on my mind that I just finished writing about. This is an alien creature known to the galaxy at large as a [u]Chimera[/u] [u]Biology[/u] [spoiler]Chimera biology is an extremely unique topic. Their species hails from a zone close to the center of the galaxy known as "The Warped Regions." The warped regions are pockets of loosely, stable spaces and star systems close to the center of the galaxy that have survived the inhospitibale zone of black holes and never ending cannibilistic stars and their explosions. Any species that has ever come out of a world that has survived in those pockets are examples of hyper adaptability. Chimeras hail from one of these pockets and they are the only known species in existence to be able to biologically alter their entire atomic structure at will after coming into contact with any known form of matter. As such, having no locked form, Chimeras are incredibly versatile, and when not in their natural form, nearly invulnerable to conventional rules. But they aren't foolproof. Chimeras have several glaring flaws in their biology. The first being, their bodies are subject to what's known as quantum uncertaintity. Due to their unique abilities, Chimeras have a chance of randomly shifting their form at any time, into anything, unwanted. As a Chimera ages, these random fluctuations happen more often and in increasingly smaller increments of time until they die. The second, and only loose flaw in their biology, is that there are no half forms. When a Chimera shifts into a substance, or replicates a species it has touched, it's entire body has to shift. That means that any ailments or defects an alien has, the Chimera gains them as well. If a Chimera wanted to shift into a metal state, then their entire body would have to shift. Chimera biology is adaptable in that they alter their atomic structure slightly when taking the form of something normally unwieldly. If a Chimera were to take the form of marble, it's body would gain weight and mass, and it would be much slower than normal, but the Chimera would still have all forms of movement available to it, albeit encumbered. [/spoiler] [u]Species Traits and Customs[/u] [spoiler]Chimeras are a very xenophobic species. Their homeworld has remained a well kept secret, and their medical records closed shut to the outside galaxy. The only thing the galaxy knows about Chimeras, is that they are prone to quantum uncertaintity, they are form locked when shapeshifting, retaining their form alone. Chimeras by nature are a peaceful species with themselves. They live in close knit clans, called houses. Fighting and war has never been a problem for the species, because with the ability to change into any atomic structure they please, Chimera technology has evolved around this. Their technology is a universal design, easy to pick up, easy to use, and simplistic in nature, but it's flexability to be swapped and changed to adapt to a situation is unparraleled. Chimera technology is strictly kept to their homeworld, and for the most part, Chimeras are a rare sight in the galaxy because of their abilities to blend in, and that they are reclusive to their homeworld. Chimeras in the past believed in old gods responsible for their natural abilities and believe that their biological ability is both a blessing a curse, and it should be guarded and used responsibly, and with incredible care around other species. Chimeras have a rule never to show their true, native form to any outside species, with the exception that the member of said species is an extremely trusted, or trustworthy individual.[/spoiler] [u]Appearance[/u] [spoiler]Chimeras have an interesting biology in that it is broken down into four parts, or four sexes in their society. Males, Females, Hermaphrodites, and None. Chimeras are born into a neutral state of sex. They have no defining features and appear completely androgynous in their early life before they take on later traits that define their orientation. This androgynous form is the basic framework of all Chimeras. Chimeras appear skinny, frail even, in a basic, humanoid frame. Their skin is often halfways transparent, being pale and their frail skinny looking nature shows off hints of their bone structure and nerves through their half transparent skin. They have long legs, with multi jointed appendages and large clawed feet, with one toe in particular sporting a curved talon. A long tail gives them balance and generally gives them a snake like appearance coupled with their heads, boasting slightly elongated necks and simple, snake like heads, flat or vaugely triangular. Their arms are elongated slightly, longer than average for their shorter body height, and once more, boast sharpened claws on strong fingers. And lastly, one pair of eyes, taking on hues of red completes their androgynous form alongside a long jaw structure with needle like teeth, with an inner circle of flatter, plant based teeth. The feminine form builds on the basic framework but is designed to attract. Vaguely bioluminescent insides create a dim blue glow seen through their skin, the androgynous body is shaped and rounded out, and long, spine like yet flexible appendages with bio-luminescent orbs grow from their spine, neck, tail, and elbows, and completing the form is a secondary set of eyes giving them two pairs which now change to blue hues to match their insides, and are adept at reading body language. The Male form accentuates mass and muslces, built to protect and take damage. It develops the same spine like appendages as the female but rather for show they are razor sharp. A smaller secondary set of arms is grown along with the same eye structure as the female, giving males the advantage of being adept with vision and coordination and dangerous in close quarters. The hermaphroditic form is an all rounder form, encompassing the traits of both sexes, and is mainly used for the survival of the species. With the addition of culture over time and mingling with the various other species of the galaxy, this form has proven to be adaptable concerning interspecies relations.[/spoiler] [u]Life and Death[/u] [spoiler]Chimeras have a painfully short lifespan of roughly 15 years, before their bodies begin to break down atomically and their active state of quantum uncertainty begins to affect them in increasing bouts, until they die, breaking down to nothing but dust upon death. Due to their state of quantum flux, it would be impossible for the species to raise their young like a mammilian based species. As a result, the breeding period for Chimeras is at an early stage in their life when their forms are most stable and not yet subject to random, forced changes. A chimera only undertakes a partner that they absolutely trust because it is one of the only stages in their life where they must remain in their natural form until they give birth. Their short lifespan gives them large batches of four to six eggs, which hatch quickly, and then later on are nursed outside and cared for until they begin to mature into adults. Chimeras have a secret that they keep hidden from the galaxy at large in their medical history, and that is a cannibilistic biology because they are not hyper adaptable, they're hyper survivalists. Chimeras can't avoid death like every other living thing, but they can cheat it, temporarily. When a Chimera dies, a very small portion of their nervous system remains in the ash. When anything organic finds this remnant, which burns out after a few hours, the nervous system forcefully highjacks the organic compound and begins converting it into the Chimera. This is kept hidden away from the galaxy because the nervous system of the Chimera doesn't completely highjack and overwrite the organic that comes into physical contact with it. The two organic entities merge nervous systems together. As such, death, for a Chimera, is a ritual, and shared only with a loved one, who in their culture, as a sign of affection and their bond, essentilly saves their loved one by submitting to being overwritten and fused together in minds. After a bonding, this new Chimera will often live it's life alone and never take another mate, since the two are now inseperable in a unified form. This is why Chimeras have a high birth rate, because roughly every 15 years, two Chimeras become one. The galaxy at large was responsible for the name Chimera, using it as a slang term for the species because of their frightening cannibilistic tendancies on death to merge with any organic lifeform that comes into contact with a dead Chimera's remnents. The actual name of the species remains unknown and kept in secret.[/spoiler]