Difference between revisions of "Achmer"

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−	TO EDIT	+	{{Species
		+	|image=Natives_achmer_undersea.jpg
		+	|imagewidth=300px
		+	|title="Sea Monsters"
		+	|name=Achmer
		+	|pronunciation=AHK-mer
		+	|homeworld=Planet O}}Achmer are an aquatic species considered to be one of the four primary Native species in [[Nova Refuge (galaxy)|Nova Refuge]], originating from [[Planet O]] in the [[Callisto System]]. They are often considered to be the strangest of the most well-known Natives, at least in the eyes of [[Humans|Humanity]].
		+	==History==
		+	Much like the [[Sarran]], Humans know little to nothing of the history of the Achmer as a species. It is clear from their highly advanced technology ranging from mechsuits making them capable of walking and "speaking" on land to great starships filled with water suitable for an Achmer crew that they have an extremely intelligent and space-faring civilization. At some point, they clearly formed an alliance with the Sarran in the [[Council of Harmony]], perhaps to aid in protecting themselves against the conquest of the [[Mahlok]].
		+	==Society==
		+	Very different from the societies of Humanity, Achmer place little to no emphasis on individuality or even individual lives, and there is little to no biological variation among their species, with so much as different skin colors being relatively rare. In fact, it is almost impossible to tell individuals apart from visual appearance alone: something the Achmer embrace. Individuals are not individuals: they are part of a group, which Humans refer to as a "school" due to associating Achmer with fish. An Achmer's name generally translates to their place in society and the name of their house, with translations including names such as "Head Biologist of House Grol" rather than anything individualized. Houses make decisions as a group, not as individuals. Achmer waste little or no time on emotion, having coldly logical and curious minds that wish only to expand the greater knowledge of their people. Achmer care nothing for creative pursuits, and their culture as a whole has no form of art for enjoyment or care for symbology, only effective architecture and technology.
		+	===Religion===
		+	Achmer have no known religion. All Achmer now use the Sarran language to communicate with surface-dwellers, since their own language cannot be understood out of the water. They respect the Sarran religion only out of the desire to learn about it and discover whether or not there may be some truth behind it. The only thing the Achmer can be said to worship is knowledge and scientific advancement.
		+	==Biology==
		+	Achmer are entirely aquatic as a species. They have large, bulbous, and bony heads, their skulls covered by a carapace shield that protects their oversized brains. Their faces consist of three eyes above a circle of six short mouth-tentacles that are used to take in food, centered around a three-part beak lined with sharp teeth for tearing and grinding. However, their bodies are relatively weak, being little more than a snake-like tail ending in a fin and an eel-like torso with eight tentacles: six relatively short and two long "arms." The "arm" tentacles are so called because they split on the ends into three smaller "fingers." Achmer have no nostrils, breathing with gills along their sides, beneath their arms. Most Achmer are dull-colored, being largely blue-grey but occasionally drab shades of green, purple, or red. Biologically speaking, the natural lifespan of an Achmer is short, around 40-60 TSCs, though their advanced technology and medicine have increased this to approximately the average lifespan of a [[Human]]. Achmer sometimes "speak" to one another using bioluminescence over different parts of their skin, but it is a difficult language for other species to learn. As Achmer are entirely water-bound and must use technology to interact with, and communicate with, any other species, they are quite distant from all other peoples.
−	[[File:Natives_achmer_undersea.jpg|thumb|An Achmer in his native habitat.|right|310px]]	+	===Sex and Reproduction===
−	The '''Achmer''' (AHK-mer) are an aquatic species of sapient [[Natives]] originating from [[Planet O]] in the [[Callisto System|Callisto system]].	+	Achmer are sexless, with individuals taking up masculine or feminine voice modulators depending upon what kind of impression they wish to make upon other species. Humans often find it extremely strange to learn that all Achmer have children, as they reproduce asexually, laying small eggs at certain stages in life. These eggs later form into polyps, splitting into a small group of squid-looking creatures: Achmer larvae, referred to as [[Chogi]]. The Chogi are sheltered and protected by their parent until they develop into adult Achmer, and the cycle begins again. Sometimes the Achmer may keep their own numbers in check by discarding underdeveloped Chogi or destroying polyps before they hatch. They see no morla dilemma in doing so at any stage of life and even regularly practice social artifical selection (what Humans might call "eugenics") to maximize intellectual development.
−	== Physical Appearance ==	+	===Technological Adaptation===
−	Achmer have large, bulbous bony heads covered by a carapace or shield that protects their oversized brains, the largest of any species in the [[Nova Refuge (galaxy)|Refuge]]. Their faces consist of three eyes above a circle of six short mouth-tentacles that are used to take in food. Inside of these tentacles is a three-part beak lined with sharp teeth for tearing and grinding.	+	[[File:Achmer_suits.jpg|thumb|Left to right: A naked Achmer in the sea, an Achmer technician in a civilian landsuit, and an Achmer soldier in a full battle exosuit.|right|310px]]
		+	As underwater creatures, Achmer were forced to use technology to adapt themselves to life on land. They cannot breathe air nor speak, and they are incapable of moving on land, much like a fish. However, Achmer have developed advanced mechanized suits to wear on land. These suits are locked onto an Achmer's body and filled with water so the Achmer can breathe, while other devices ensure the water remains well-oxygenated. Since ordinary Achmer speech can only be heard underwater and using the Achmer's own specialized ears, the Achmer equip their suits with vocalizers, voice modulators that translate their speech into something understandable by air-breathers. Most Achmer mech-suits are equipped to allow for their tails to extend outside the suit and to allow them to continue using their various tentacles.
−	=== Bodies ===
−	Despite their fearsome-looking heads, their bodies are relatively weak. Designed for travel under the water, their body is little more than a long, snake-like tail with a fin running along the end. Sprouting from this eel-like torso are eight tentacles; six relatively short ones and two particularly long "arms." These "arm" tentacles are so called because they split on the ends into three smaller tentacles that act as fingers for the Achmer. The Achmer have no nostrils and breathe with gills along their sides, just beneath the arms. Most Achmer are dull-colored, with murky, watery eyes. Most are blue-grey in hue but a few in dull greenish, purplish, and reddish shades have been seen. There is also a variety of Achmer that lives much deeper in the oceans of their homeworld, with pallid, translucent skin and a glowing third eye attached to a "lure" or stalk. They are larger, stronger, and more savage, with less well-developed minds.
−
−	== Biology ==
−	The natural Achmer lifespan is actually quite short: around 40-60 TSCs. However, with their advanced technology and medicine, the Achmer usually live around the same average lifespan as a [[Human]]. Some Achmer have been rumored to have psychic abilities, and a few have been observed to emit electricity from their skin, though neither of these abilities have been studied to any great extent by Humans. Achmer are known, however, to create shifting patterns of bioluminescence over different parts of their skin. This ability is sometimes used to communicate nonverbally if another creature's written language is known, but the Achmer do not have access to a device that will allow them to speak it. Understanding Achmer light-speak is not easy for other races, however, nor is it easy for the Achmer to understand the nonverbal communication systems (sign languages) used by terrestrial species. This is part of the reason that the Achmer are usually distanced from the rest of galactic civilization.
−
−	== Culture ==
−	=== Reproduction ===
−	The Achmer are all sexless, though individuals are typically referred to as "him" in polite conversation. Because of this, Humans often find it awkward when they first learn that all Achmer have children. They reproduce asexually, by laying small eggs at certain stages in life which later form into polyps and then split into a group of small squid-looking creatures. These are the Achmer larvae, which they call Chogi. The Chogi are sheltered and protected by their parent until they develop into adult Achmer, and the cycle begins again. Sometimes the Achmer keep their own numbers in check by discarding underdeveloped Chogi. They see no moral dilemma in this and regularly practice social artificial selection (what Humans might call "eugenics") to maximize the intellectual development of their species. Many Achmer view Human breeding practices as species degradation or even species suicide, while Humans view many Achmer practices as cold and unethical. This highlights the essential difference in the thought process of the two species: Achmer are the most "coldly" logical of all the inhabitants of the Refuge.
−
−	=== Commonality ===
−	There is far less variety among the Achmer than any other Native species. In fact, it is almost impossible to tell individuals apart from visual appearance alone. Though it may seem strange to us, the Achmer do not mind this because their society places very little emphasis on the individual. Individuals are all considered part of a group, which Humans often refer to as a "School" due to their association of the Achmer with fish. Each Achmer individual's name is simply his place in society combined with the name of his school. For example, a typical Achmer name like "Sil-ma Grol" translates to "Head Biologist of House Grol." The name "Sil-ma" simply means "head biologist."
−
−	Emphasis in Achmer society is placed on the House (sometimes called the School or the Family), and the House makes its decisions as a group. All civil wars between the Achmer take place between major Houses. These wars, however, are seldom, and most of the time there is peace between all Achmer as they continue to spread their influence throughout the galaxy, wherever they can possibly go. The Achmer have powerful brains and keen scientific methods of thought. Their usual reaction to any new lifeform, technology, or anomaly encountered is not fear or hostility, but merely curiosity: a desire to study it and learn more. Indeed, curiosity often seems to be the only thing like an emotion that exists in an Achmer's logical mind.
−
−	=== Religion and Art ===
−	Thus the Achmer have no known religion and very little art. When the great alliance of Achmer schools joined the [[Harmony|High Council of Harmony]], they accepted the [[Sarran]] flag as their symbol with no changes made to it, because they simply cared nothing about symbology or artwork. All Achmer now use the Sarran language as their standard for conferring with surface-dwellers, since their own language cannot be understood out of the water. They respect the Sarran religion only out of the desire to learn about it and discover whether or not there may be some truth behind it. The only thing the Achmer can be said to worship is nature. They wish to learn all about the natural world around them and how to use it. They never kill or cause damage to an environment or ecosystem when they can avoid it, but they also seldom make an attempt to save a life or a species. Let nature take its course; that is the Achmer way.
−
−	=== Overview ===
−	In short, the Achmer can be seen as peaceful, thoughtful observers. They are students, not conquerors, of the world around them. This is not to say they are incapable of hostility, however. When an offense is made against a major House, the Achmer will let nothing get in the way of reconciliation, be it peaceful or otherwise. Since they tend to think more on the level of large social groups rather than individuals, they tend to hold an entire group responsible for the actions of any of its members. Certainly no believers of forgive-and-forget, the Achmer say that all debts must be repaid, one way or another, whether in a week or in a decade, or even in a century. This sort of ruthlessness has ennabled them to get a firm grasp on the galactic economy, as seen in their space station in the Hub system, which is literally the hub of galactic trade.
−
−	== Technology ==
−	[[File:Achmer_suits.jpg|thumb|Left to right: A naked Achmer in the sea, an Achmer technician in a civilian landsuit, and an Achmer soldier in a full battle exosuit. Note the shape of the legs, based on the Slashrim, which were some of the first terrestrials encountered by the Achmer|right|310px]]
−	=== Land- and Exo-Suits ===
−	As underwater creatures, Achmer are not adapted to life on land. When out of the water, they cannot breathe and have difficulty moving and speaking. For this reason, the Achmer have developed advanced mechanized suits that they wear during their land-based excursions. These suits are locked onto the Achmer's body and filled with water so that the individual can breathe, while an attached device ensures that the water is kept well-oxygenated. To aid in communication with land-based lifeforms, the suit also includes a vocalizer that translates their speech into something understandable by surface-dwellers. Normal Achmer speech can only be heard correctly underwater, and even then a Human would not be able to hear most of it with his own natural ears, and would certainly have a hard time understanding any of it, as the change between many "words" is extremely subtle. Finally, the mechanical suits also have a pair of strong, human-shaped legs to help in locomotion. The Achmer's tail still sprouts from the back of the machine, as do his head and arms, and sometimes some of his tentacles. Most Achmer weaponry is designed for underwater battle, but they have developed highly advanced exosuits for use by terrestrial infantry.
−
−	=== Vehicles ===
−	Also, strange as it may seem, all Achmer vehicles are filled with water. This makes them extremely heavy, so hover vehicles are seldom used. Land vehicles typically either employ wheels or tentacle-like legs/arms, which the Achmer are very adept and creating, giving many of their vehicles - especially the walkers - an almost biological appearance. The Achmer also have no love of bright sunlight, so many of their vehicles lack windows or canopies, instead relying entirely on computers and sensors to observe the outside world. Achmer aerospace craft (which tend to be rounded, even saucer-shaped) have extremely small, tightly-compacted cockpits to ensure that the weight of the water inside does not keep the vehicle from flying. Often there is no room for the pilot to move about at all, except to control the ship. Most larger Achmer starships are constructed entirely in space, never leaving or entering a planet's atmosphere. The water for the interior is brought up to the vehicle from the planet as it is built. The amazing display of evaporating water that results after the destruction of an Achmer craft in space is said to be truly a sight to behold. After a battle, the Achmer, never wasteful, usually return to recover the water cloud and take it back to their planet.
−	[[Category:Species]]
	[[Category:Natives]]		[[Category:Natives]]
−	[[Category:Achmer]]

---

Revision as of 02:06, 23 April 2023

Achmer are an aquatic species considered to be one of the four primary Native species in Nova Refuge, originating from Planet O in the Callisto System. They are often considered to be the strangest of the most well-known Natives, at least in the eyes of Humanity.

History

Much like the Sarran, Humans know little to nothing of the history of the Achmer as a species. It is clear from their highly advanced technology ranging from mechsuits making them capable of walking and "speaking" on land to great starships filled with water suitable for an Achmer crew that they have an extremely intelligent and space-faring civilization. At some point, they clearly formed an alliance with the Sarran in the Council of Harmony, perhaps to aid in protecting themselves against the conquest of the Mahlok.

Society

Very different from the societies of Humanity, Achmer place little to no emphasis on individuality or even individual lives, and there is little to no biological variation among their species, with so much as different skin colors being relatively rare. In fact, it is almost impossible to tell individuals apart from visual appearance alone: something the Achmer embrace. Individuals are not individuals: they are part of a group, which Humans refer to as a "school" due to associating Achmer with fish. An Achmer's name generally translates to their place in society and the name of their house, with translations including names such as "Head Biologist of House Grol" rather than anything individualized. Houses make decisions as a group, not as individuals. Achmer waste little or no time on emotion, having coldly logical and curious minds that wish only to expand the greater knowledge of their people. Achmer care nothing for creative pursuits, and their culture as a whole has no form of art for enjoyment or care for symbology, only effective architecture and technology.

Religion

Achmer have no known religion. All Achmer now use the Sarran language to communicate with surface-dwellers, since their own language cannot be understood out of the water. They respect the Sarran religion only out of the desire to learn about it and discover whether or not there may be some truth behind it. The only thing the Achmer can be said to worship is knowledge and scientific advancement.

Biology

Achmer are entirely aquatic as a species. They have large, bulbous, and bony heads, their skulls covered by a carapace shield that protects their oversized brains. Their faces consist of three eyes above a circle of six short mouth-tentacles that are used to take in food, centered around a three-part beak lined with sharp teeth for tearing and grinding. However, their bodies are relatively weak, being little more than a snake-like tail ending in a fin and an eel-like torso with eight tentacles: six relatively short and two long "arms." The "arm" tentacles are so called because they split on the ends into three smaller "fingers." Achmer have no nostrils, breathing with gills along their sides, beneath their arms. Most Achmer are dull-colored, being largely blue-grey but occasionally drab shades of green, purple, or red. Biologically speaking, the natural lifespan of an Achmer is short, around 40-60 TSCs, though their advanced technology and medicine have increased this to approximately the average lifespan of a Human. Achmer sometimes "speak" to one another using bioluminescence over different parts of their skin, but it is a difficult language for other species to learn. As Achmer are entirely water-bound and must use technology to interact with, and communicate with, any other species, they are quite distant from all other peoples.

Sex and Reproduction

Achmer are sexless, with individuals taking up masculine or feminine voice modulators depending upon what kind of impression they wish to make upon other species. Humans often find it extremely strange to learn that all Achmer have children, as they reproduce asexually, laying small eggs at certain stages in life. These eggs later form into polyps, splitting into a small group of squid-looking creatures: Achmer larvae, referred to as Chogi. The Chogi are sheltered and protected by their parent until they develop into adult Achmer, and the cycle begins again. Sometimes the Achmer may keep their own numbers in check by discarding underdeveloped Chogi or destroying polyps before they hatch. They see no morla dilemma in doing so at any stage of life and even regularly practice social artifical selection (what Humans might call "eugenics") to maximize intellectual development.

Technological Adaptation

As underwater creatures, Achmer were forced to use technology to adapt themselves to life on land. They cannot breathe air nor speak, and they are incapable of moving on land, much like a fish. However, Achmer have developed advanced mechanized suits to wear on land. These suits are locked onto an Achmer's body and filled with water so the Achmer can breathe, while other devices ensure the water remains well-oxygenated. Since ordinary Achmer speech can only be heard underwater and using the Achmer's own specialized ears, the Achmer equip their suits with vocalizers, voice modulators that translate their speech into something understandable by air-breathers. Most Achmer mech-suits are equipped to allow for their tails to extend outside the suit and to allow them to continue using their various tentacles.