Ginnix

Ginnix (hard G) are a Class III telepathic composite life form. They are native to the jungle planet Ginnixia.

Biology
Like lichens on Cradle, the race known as Ginnix are actually the product of a complex symbiotic relationship between the ginnix - α, β, and γ.

Physiology
The ginnix- α resemble long-thing worms and are capable of growing up to a foot and a half in length. As their bodies are made up of almost 90% neural tissue, they lack any kind of digestive tract and have only a very rudimentary circulatory system. They mostly reside within the host's cranial cavity and are only without a host during the short transition between their adolescent and adult phase.

Ginnix- β are small avian creatures somewhat resembling Cradian tickbirds, although with colorful plumage, like most Ginnixian wildlife, and larger skulls. They are hosts to adolescent ginnix- α.

Ginnix- γ are large and loosely similar to some Cradian primates, most notably the mandrill. They are physically powerful with long, wirey arms. Their coats are mainly green, but their striped faces are colorful and varied, including blues, reds, yellows, whites and blacks. They are hosts to adult ginnix- α and play a prominent role in Ginnix reproduction. They have tall crests of fur on their heads that range from nappy and wispy to tough spikes. When a ginnix- α takes up permanent residence within the host Ginnix- γ, the host body begins growing a white vertical stripe along the front of the crest.

Life Cycle
Ginnix reproduce sexually though ginnix- α are sexless. Infant ginnix- α are born inside the body of a maternal ginnix- γ host and are sent into the bloodstream. From there, infants exit the bloodstream by way of a variant of the Common Ginnixian Tick. The infant hijacks the tick's brain and sends a telepathic signal out to adolescent Ginnix ready to make transition to adulthood. The infant ginnix- α acts like a telepathic homing beacon, guiding the adolescent α, and subsequently the α's β host, to the tick. The adolescent compels its host to ingest the tick and quickly vacates the cranial cavity to make room for the infant, who then takes over the host and enters its adolescent stage. From this arrangement, the ginnix- α are granted nutrition and a safe place to develop while the ginnix- β receive increased neurological ability as well as food and protection from adult Ginnix.

A ginnix - α entering adulthood leaves its old ginnix - β through its droppings, deposited in the food source of young, uninhabited ginnix- γ. As ginnix- α have no digestive ability of their own, i t is during this time that ginnix- α are most likely to perish. Hostless ginnix- α can only live a short time outside of a host body, but those with a good sense of timing are ingested by a ginnix- γ. While ginnix- β may host many adolescent ginnix- α during their lives and may actually live and reproduce independently, the relationship between ginnix- α and γ is life-long, as the γ organism requires the ginnix- α's genetic code to reproduce. It is the α - γ stage that is most often associated with the Ginnix, and it is with this stage that other races tend to interact. The adult stage of the Ginnix lives for approximately 90 years.

Culture
In spoken language, Adult ginnix- α γ are referred to simply as Ginnix, while α β adolescents are called Little Ones and a young ginnix- γ without an α partner is referred to as a Vacancy.

Family and community are central to Ginnix ideology, as well as time, serendipity, and the interconnectivity of living things. As individual offspring are hard to track, lineage means little to them. Adolescent Ginnix are free to observe the adults as they work their craft, and the adults are obliged to teach as they work. The community works as a whole to raise Little Ones into respectable Ginnix, who are patient and adaptable, and the Vacancies into strong vessels for their future ginnix- α partners.

Little Ones are encouraged to explore their surroundings, as long as they stay within thought-range of at least one adult Ginnix. The Little Ones' primary concern, after their own safety, is to learn. It is reasoned that the reason the young Ginnix are given the bodies of birds is to experience the world. In the days before the Ginnix became their planet's dominant life form, Little Ones served as scouts for foraging parties on the ground, alerting the adults telepathically of potential dangers. In the present, the Ginnix are much safer, so the Little Ones are free to spend their time how they'd like, as long as they put aside time to learn. While resting, it is not uncommon for Little Ones to take up residence in the crests of Ginnix or Vacancies.

Vacancies are very docile creatures and are officially classified as having a Class VI intelligence. This is because the entire Vacancy population has been under the guidance of the ginnix- α organisms for thousands of millenia. Baby Vacancies are nurtured by their parents in a similar fashion to other mammalian races, but parent Ginnix are not particularly attached emotionally. However, Vacancies are highly regarded and respected as vessels of the mind and soul. Ginnix will be fiercely protective of Vacancies, who have little means of self-preservation on their own.

While the bodies of Ginnix are largely under control, in certain circumstances primal instincts win over, such as during times of extreme duress or during the host organisms' mating seasons, or randomly to a lesser extent, like a tick.

Ginnix have no vocal language of their own, preferring to convey ideas directly through their telepathy, though adult Ginnix are capable of vocalizations approximating the speech of other races. A written language does exist, though it is used for little more than mechanical description and instruction.

Interactions with other Races
It is somewhat difficult for Ginnix to communicate with non-telepathic races using their telepathy. In spite of this, Ginnix have a knack for learning spoken languages. It is not uncommon for Ginnix abroad to learn up to four languages at a time. Ginnix' true names are completely unique abstract thoughts, so when dealing with other races, they will choose a name that others may refer to them without confusion. Usually the names are arbitrary, with the defining factor being whether the Ginnix likes the way it sounds or is spoken. When speaking, Ginnix will refer to themselves in the plural and augment their speech with their telepathy in order to compensate for their shortcomings.

It is of note that Ginnix do not often convey emotion with their faces as other races do, which sometimes leads to misunderstandings. Well-travelled Ginnix, of which there are very few, are aware of this and will attempt to remedy this, often to the point of vast overcompensation, or instead may mismatch the appropriate expressions of eyes and mouth. In addition, due to their telepathic nature, many Ginnix have little grasp of the idea of privacy. This has the tendency to cause problems when coupled with the fact that Ginnix do not usually wear clothes in warmer climates.

Due to impact of their life cycle on their culture, Ginnix very seldom travel alone, instead electing to travel in pods, the most basic Ginnix family unit, made up of 10-20 adults and probably dozens of adolescents. In the event a Ginnix does ever travel alone, it is an adult whose host has not yet reached sexual maturity.

Materials and Technology
Since Ginnixia is a tropical planet, the vast majority of their materials are derived from the plant life. Their arboreal dwellings are constructed from a type of resin that, when refined, becomes stronger than steel while still staying very light and flexible. It is this resin that remains Ginnixia's primary export to great prosperity, though the places where the material can be used is severely limited by the humidity of the air. If the atmosphere is too arid, the material will crumble. The majority of other Ginnix tools are crafted from variations of the polymer which range from rock hard to very pliable. Off-world, Ginnix prefer dwellings that mimic their native buildings: round modules with an abundance of branch-like structures for comfortable and expedient locomotion.

While the first Ginnix spacecraft were crafted from a combination of resin polymer and metal, modern-day Ginnix prefer to import materials for spacecraft manufacture or employ foreign manufacturers to build a ship by their specifications. The materials from which old Ginnix craft were constructed were poorly suited for space, and disasters happened often. It was one of these disasters that led to the discovery of the Ginnix by other races.