Squiddyfish

Squiddyfish (Vzs-t [Real local name unprintable], plural: Squiddyfish, Squiddyfishes, formally Polyelika) are a cephelopod/jellyfish-like creature that exhibits a strong affiliation with electromagnetism.

Etymology[]

Squiddyfish (Squiddy, meaning "like a squid" + fish) is a colloquial name for Polyelika that came about as a byproduct of their resemblance to a jellyfish (-fish). Where the "squiddy" part came from is currently unknown. The formal name for Squiddyfish, Polyelika, comes from the Latin Poly (meaning "many"), and the Greek έλικες (élikes, meaning "tendrils").

History[]

Evolution[]

to be filled

Habitat and Population[]

Squiddyfish live in many environments on their home planet Khreva. They inhabit most of the land as well as much of the water territory on their planet and are considered the top predator.

Biology[]

Anatomy[]

Squiddyfish have a dome-shaped head comprised of a gelatinous membrane surrounding a complex neural network, and a swath of tendrils of varying lengths that hang underneath. They have two eyes and six auxiliary eyes.

Eyes[]

Squiddyfish eyes sit slanted on the head and have one large central pupil surrounded by 14 smaller auxiliary pupils. Their Sclera is colored the same as their multiple irises which are a shifting haze of differing colors (the irises of the Squiddyfish have been known to change in respect to the current mentality of the Squiddyfish in question), and is practically impossible to differentiate from the irises.

Squiddyfish eyes can see the entirety of the electromagnetic spectrum, and thanks to the auxiliary eyes, can see vibrations. The auxiliary eyes cannot see any of the visible part of the spectrum, but are used for improving depth perception and as noise filters.

Squiddyfish can shut every pupil, and eye, independently.

Tendrils[]

Squiddyfish have several million tendrils that descend from their bodies. Each tendril is a matrix of super-conducting filaments and is thinner than a human hair. They are practically unbreakable, and conduct in temperatures far greater than "room temperature". Each tendril can be moved independently from one another by applying an electric current.

Brain[]

Squiddyfish do not have a brain in the same way that Cradle creatures do, but instead their brain is a network of super-redundant cells that occupy most of their head. The larger a Squiddyfish, the more information it can hold, or conversely, the more redundant copies of the information can be held.

Cell Structure[]

Squiddyfish have a very unique cell structure; every one of their cells can do a multitude of things, and in addition each cell is pluripotent. Squiddyfish cells can do the following things:

Change color when supplied with a current
Generate an enormous electrical output
Store a very large amount of potential energy
Bioluminesce

Life Cycle[]

Squiddyfish are born by asexual division, usually after two or more "parents" share genetic material so as to produce a strong child. An infant Squiddyfish, or polyp, is about the size of a golf ball (larger or smaller depending on the parent), and comes into the world with any knowledge the parent decided to instill through genetic pre-programming. Squiddyfish will live until they are either killed, die of starvation, or commit suicide. Old Squiddyfish have been known to commit suicide in two ways, the first is to consume inordinate amounts of food in order to grow to the size of a house, at which point they kill their sentience and live on as defense turrets for the planet. The other way they have been known to commit suicide is to overcharge their cells, which after several minutes results in the Squiddyfish popping not much unlike a wet balloon.

Diet[]

Squiddyfish can, and will, eat almost anything. They eat by collecting food and holding it bundled inside a wrap of tendrils where it can slowly dissolve the food through electrolysis. Although Squiddyfish 'can' eat anything, they tend not to as they have very sensitive pallets.

Locomotion[]

Squiddyfish generally locomote by floating above the ground and pushing themselves along using electromagnetic propulsion.

Society and Culture[]

Sexuality and Love[]

Although Squiddyfish reproduce via asexual duplication, they are actually technically hermaphroditic and will mate so as to better mix their gene pool. Squiddyfish are capable of love as well as all other documented emotions, and make full use of them. Squiddyfish are as diverse as humans in the sense that some will mate for life, while others are more polyamorous in nature.

Society, Government, and Politics[]

Squiddyfish, like the humans of Cradle, have many and diverse governmental systems in different areas of their planet.

Trade and Economics[]

Squiddyfish have an entirely electronic system of currency which is regulated via a peer-to-peer network of Elders (Squiddyfish who have killed their sentience) that serves as a planet-wide ethernet. This system is backed by trade.

War[]

Squiddyfish war like any other race in the universe, it is an unpleasant and disastrous affair wherein many are killed and areas are torn to shreds.

Material Culture and Technology[]

Squiddyfish have used tools far less than humans or other races because of their inherent telekinetic abilities (through electromagnetic tunneling), and multitude of dexterous appendages. Despite this they did eventually start to build larger machines to do things such as process food and furnishings. They were late to officially join the space age, though there have been accounts of especially industrious Squiddyfish utilizing their strong electromagnetism and lack of need for air to explore space. They usually met their end quickly through starvation.

Language[]

There exist many different languages on Khreva, most of which are unusable by creatures that depend on lungs and a mouth to form sounds.

Numerals[]

Due to the large flexibility afforded by their multitude of tendrils, the main languages used by Squiddyfish have their number systems in base 720 with a binary sub-base (which came about by Squiddyfish twisting their tendrils into double helices).

Spirituality and Religion[]

Squiddyfish range from atheistic to highly devoted spiritualist. There is a large diversity of religions on their home planet, some of which have been adopted from other species after their introduction to the space age. The current most-practiced religion is the worship of The Great Balance.

Art, Music, and Literature[]

Squiddyfish art is very diverse and rich. They make full use of everything they can sense (which is most things) to play out symphonies and draw paintings of vivid scenery. Literature is available, but considerably different from traditional books. Much of the information accessible by Squiddyfish is ether stored on the ethernet, or encoded into the arrangement of electrons in every day objects; or in specially designed, extremely dense, "data solids".