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Tunmu
Apr 25, 2010 22:09:11 GMT
Post by Razonatair on Apr 25, 2010 22:09:11 GMT
TunmuA Tunmu Colony on a metal wafer [/i][/center] Tunmu are, at their most basic level, a highly organized Colony of cells. Tunmu cells are extremely adaptive, able to change their Role in the Colony within hours, as long as the prerequisite minerals or vitamins or whatever is available in storage. Cellular Roles include the basic tissues found in most, lesser-evolved lifeforms, and a plethora of other Roles that have been evolved by the Tunmu over time. However, the only Role not present is that of nervous tissue. Every Tunmu cell could be considered a neuron, in the sense that every Tunmu cell is in constant communication with other Tunmu cells. However, this contact is not electrical or biochemical in nature. Instead, Tunmu cells remain in contact through the usage of quantum mechanics that allow for an enormous number of connections to be made, even across the universe, at FTL speeds. Thus, the entirety of the Tunmu "species" could be considered one enormous super-organism that remains in constant communication with itself, everywhere, assuming that the individual Colonies are in accordance with one another, a principle that will be explained in a different post. Beyond the Cellular level, Tunmu Colonies organize themselves into more tangible physical beings that could be likened to the regular life of the universe, in that they can take on shapes such as humanoid or insectoid. The speed of total transformation is dependent on the number of cells of the resultant body, and the food(which can be practically anything) required to create and maintain the body in its growth. As both variables increase, length of growth increases. To grow an elephant, for instance, would take years, assuming the Tunmu Colony is unaided. Aids for a Tunmu Colony could be something like pooling a great amount of Tunmu cells in a large enough container. Instead of having to create the elephant from the feet up(literally), the Colony can now assemble the body in any way it wishes, far increasing the speed of growth. Of course, aids must be created by pre-existing Tunmu Colonies or other intelligent species, so a lone Colony will be forced to grow a body unaided. Index of AdditionsOrganizationHistoryHive PoliticsForms; Humanoid & ShipFighting The TunmuCommunicating With the TunmuTunmu Infection, Thralls, And LurkersSpace Warfare (Deleted, To Be Replaced) A Rogue "Homeworld"The Tunmu Nucleus, And AdaptionTunmu Transports (Deleted) The Drazu
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Tunmu
Apr 25, 2010 23:12:08 GMT
Post by Razonatair on Apr 25, 2010 23:12:08 GMT
Organization
Tunmu are divided into varying levels of description from macroscopic to microscopic by civilizations in order to bring order to the chaos of the Tunmu. This is the general organization, but feel free to use other terms;
Supreme Hive - The grouping of all Tunmu; Hive, Colony, and Cell. The existence of a Supreme Hive becomes more difficult to achieve with the expansion of the Tanmu, due to the competing influences within the Tunmu super-organism. If the Tunmu actually achieved inter-galactic expansion, a unified Supreme Hive would be extremely dangerous.
Galactic Hive - The grouping of all National Hives in a single galaxy. If the Tunmu exist only in a single galaxy, there is no Galactic Hive, only the Supreme Hive.
National Hive - A grouping of Sector Hives that could be likened to the various nations and countries of other species.
Sector Hive - A grouping of Solar Hives that are organized in a general sector of the galaxy.
Solar Hive - A grouping of Planetary Hives organized in a single Solar System.
Planetary Hive - A grouping of Local Hives on a Planetary Body. Tunmu have no definition for a Planet, other than it being an orbital body. To the Tunmu, an asteroid is as much a Planet as a Gas Giant is a Planet. However, a Planet can be small enough that the Planetary Hive is also the only Local Hive, thus there would be no Local Hive, only the Planetary.
Local Hive - A grouping of Bodily Colonies that could be likened to another lifeform's City or Town.
Bodily Colony - A grouping of Tunmu Cells that have taken on a form other than a sludge.
Cellular Colony - A grouping of Tunmu Cells without bodily organization.
Cell - A singular Tunmu Cell, separated from all others.
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DarthGrievi
Satellite Scribe
He's watching...
Posts: 61
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Tunmu
Apr 26, 2010 1:21:28 GMT
Post by DarthGrievi on Apr 26, 2010 1:21:28 GMT
Vaguely creepy and rather weird...
Let me guess, they communicate via linked particle pairs? That raises the question of how they produce said pairs naturally.
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Tunmu
Apr 26, 2010 2:24:24 GMT
Post by Razonatair on Apr 26, 2010 2:24:24 GMT
History
(If you don't feel like reading this, pop down to the summary.)
The Tunmu genetic history traces back eons, practically to the first movements of life in the universe. Ancient life had to battle against odds that were greatly stacked against it, with everything from gamma rays to unstable stars lowering its chances of survival. Some ancient life managed to find niches to survive in, most of it often died off, and then there was the life that decided to rapidly adapt. The first ancient, highly adaptive life is the oldest ancestor of the Tunmu, created billions of years ago.
It existed in the protoplanetary disks of various stars, spreading within ice crystals to other disks. While offshoots of the Tunmu ancestor gave rise to other life, the Tunmu are traced directly back to a particular disk where the planetoids began to form a bit sooner than most. Within these planetoids, the vastly changing conditions continued to favor adaptability.
Eventually, the planetoids cooled and the Tunmu slowly migrated to the surface while creating more offshoots. These offshoots chose to become more static, some even evolving into plantlike organisms. The versatile Tunmu decided to consume these brothers while growing themselves. Soon, all other offshoots of the Tunmu had been eaten and replaced by the Tunmu themselves, who integrated the new DNA and learned how to photosynthesize as well.
As the only surviving species on their worlds, the Tunmu continued to evolve. They existed throughout their solar system, each evolving towards different paths, but generally towards the same ultimate goal as their star continued to remain unstable. After millions of years of growth, the Tunmu seemed to have obtained perfect adaptability on the cellular level. When there seemed to be no further progress to be made, a massive mutation in a few cells resulted in communication. Very quickly, the mutation spread, and the common "sludge" of present-day Colonies began to take hold.
This communication was the primarily concern of evolution as more years passed, going from biochemical to electrical, and exploring other avenues. Eventually though, the radical form of quantum communication was achieved, and the Tunmu began to communicate with more speed than ever before, though there wasn't much to "talk" about, other than the day's starlight.
It was a remarkably peaceful existence for millions of years, until the Tunmu on one world suddenly made contact with Tunmu on another world. The two exchanged information, and it seemed that these otherworlders had developed some novel ideas, instead of just remarking on how nice a day it was. Soon, both Tunmu were growing simplistic organs in the sludge, experimenting with various designs. With time, other Hives began to make contact, many of them living on asteroids and moons, and the rate of discovery skyrocketed.
After a hundred thousand years or so, the Tunmu had developed advanced bodies, to the point that they could begin experimenting with things like physics and chemistry. It wasn't long before they began to wonder how to reach each other. After a few thousand years of devoted research and trail and error, the Tunmu launched their first organic "spaceship" which managed to reach another world(it wasn't much more than a sphere with some armor).
This launch launched a golden age of communication and exploration, as the Tunmu explored the few worlds in their system that they weren't already present on. However, this exploration entailed further individualization, and the possibility of war as a result.
Some of the lesser, asteroid-bound Tunmu were envious of the immense resources of their planetary brothers, and began to talk about how to usurp them. Thus, the idea of War was born. A few hundred years of develop, and weapons were devised. Most of these weapons involved forcibly hurling asteroids at the planet-brothers, but there were constructed variations. The first use occurred in a devastating asteroid strike that the original body-builders never saw coming, an asteroid strike which nearly wiped all out all the Tunmu on the world. Great anger spread throughout the planet-brothers, who quickly developed and fired "invader" strains of Tunmu at their asteroid-brothers.
The rest of the war was incredibly bloody and seemed to last billions of years, with unimaginable casualties. The war kept the Tunmu from realizing what kind of real danger they were in, as the night sky began to slowly be filled with another galaxy. Before they knew it, the two galaxies had collided, and most of the Tunmu were incinerated in various stars, the only surviving Hive existing on a rogue world that was now drifting through the Great Darkness that separated the galaxies. Cut off from their usual supply of energy, and their enemies apparently vanquished, the Tunmu retreated into the depths of their world to live off the heat of the mantle.
There, they existed in smaller numbers than before, forced to remember all that they had done. Some spoke of the Great Darkness as their curse for destroying so many lives, but others assumed it was simply a side affect of insanity from the Darkness. A few braver Tunmu managed to grow a few simple telescopic eyes on the surface, supplied with food from various sources, and calculated that it would be billions of years before the world had reached another galaxy. And so, the Tunmu waited with great patience beneath the surface, quietly wishing for the day that the Great Darkness would let them go.
Eventually the Hive began to fight within itself in isolated incidents, forcing itself to purge the ones that had gone mad. Soon though, the insanity began to spread, and the Hive splintered into other Hives, sparking another war that was less dramatic than the Pre-Darkness War, but ended up forcing the Tunmu to their lowest population levels since they first began to grow. Eventually, this war against insanity finally ended when another expedition of telescopic eyes confirmed that the world had entered a new galaxy.
Exuberant, the second war immediately ended as the Tunmu set about regrowing their numbers just above the mantle, preparing to reemerge out into the galaxy.
Summary: The Tunmu are extremely ancient and come from another galaxy. However, most of their solar system was destroyed in the collision with another galaxy that flung their world out into the Great Darkness. Their world has just now entered this galaxy, and they amassing their forces, preparing to emerge.
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Tunmu
Apr 26, 2010 2:27:06 GMT
Post by Razonatair on Apr 26, 2010 2:27:06 GMT
Vaguely creepy and rather weird... Let me guess, they communicate via linked particle pairs? That raises the question of how they produce said pairs naturally. I think it's best I don't specifically explain it. It's one of those "well they just do" kind of things.
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yuu
Celestial Castellan
Posts: 182
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Tunmu
Apr 26, 2010 11:37:07 GMT
Post by yuu on Apr 26, 2010 11:37:07 GMT
They are the slime-mold version of the Macross Series' Vajra.
I like them.
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Tunmu
Apr 26, 2010 15:34:36 GMT
Post by Plank of Wood on Apr 26, 2010 15:34:36 GMT
Vaguely creepy and rather weird... Let me guess, they communicate via linked particle pairs? That raises the question of how they produce said pairs naturally. I think it's best I don't specifically explain it. It's one of those "well they just do" kind of things. Space magic and science. Works every time for me!
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UFO King
Satellite Scribe
We've but one Earth on which to live.
Posts: 38
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Tunmu
Apr 26, 2010 22:54:03 GMT
Post by UFO King on Apr 26, 2010 22:54:03 GMT
I hope they still notice how nice the days are. And a galactic collision has an extremely tiny chance of doing anything to the average solar system, so these poor guys must have been pretty unlucky.
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Tunmu
Apr 27, 2010 0:35:26 GMT
Post by Razonatair on Apr 27, 2010 0:35:26 GMT
Hive Politics
To an outsider, the Tunmu would appear as if they were a single, unified hivemind that was working towards the same goals. While this is generally true for any singular Hive, the Tunmu are not a unified hivemind despite what their biologies might indicate.
Individual Tunmu Colonies rarely split apart in disagreement, but there are instances where a Bodily Colony has literally disintegrated because of conflict between its Cells. The result is generally two or more Cellular Colonies, assuming the split was peaceful. If the disagreement was so extreme as to cause violence, the Bodily Colony would experience a kind of extreme bout of illness, after which peace would resume in the body.
This concept of agreement, separation, or assimilation is present on the next level of the organization as well; the Local Hive. At the Local Hive level, Bodily Colonies simply break apart, or attack each other. However, unlike Cellular Warfare, Bodily Warfare is an entirely different doctrine to the Tunmu. At the highest level, the various Bodily Colonies will attack each other, but the victors must then consume or destroy the Cellular Colonies that are the remnants of battle, through fire or using their own Cellular Colonies as weapons or any other method of total destruction.
Beyond the Local Hive, the same principles of combined Bodily-Cellular Warfare apply, though the numbers involved grow exponentially. Above the Local Hive, every consecutive Hive acts as Bodily Colony would; agreeing, separating, or assimilating.
These basic principles drive Hive Politics within the Tunmu. In general, if two groups disagree, they will first attempt to peacefully settle their issues. If the issues cannot be laid to rest, a number of things happen. If the groups are on roughly equal footing, they will simply separate. However, if one group is significantly larger than the other, it will threaten assimilation, and go through with its threat if the smaller group doesn't fall in line.
Understanding the simple principles of Hive Politics is the difference between invasion or friendship when it comes to other civilizations. It is imperative that other civilizations not extend any sort of politeness to a Tunmu, for being polite is easily interpreted as weakness. If this weakness seems great, a Tunmu Hive/Colony might make a show of dramatic force, as if a male were competing with the alpha male of a pack. If the "Force Test" is applied, it is recommended for a civilization's/fleet's/ambassador's health to immediately appear as dangerous as possible, in order to garner respect from the Tunmu. Failure to do so can result in violent, often carnivorous, "misunderstandings".
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Tunmu
Apr 27, 2010 23:04:17 GMT
Post by Razonatair on Apr 27, 2010 23:04:17 GMT
Form; Humanoid Unassisted Medium: Land, Sea Natural Armor: Light to Nonexistent Natural Weapons: Few to None
The humanoid form is widely regarded among the Tunmu as one of the most cost-efficient forms, in that it can require less material to grow than most forms, but still offer great versatility while also being low-maintenance. For most civilian Bodily Colonies, the humanoid is the form of choice. In contrast with the regular human form, Tunmu humanoids have only three large fingers, and a nearly solid foot that is broken into two sections to allow for sprinting. Some Tunmu choose to leave out senses like hearing, smelling, and tasting, for they have no need of these. A few humanoid Tunmu have, instead of a head, two stalk-like eyes.
Form; [insert land/air/sea/space] Ship Unassisted Medium: Land/Air/Sea/Space Natural Armor: Varies Natural Weapons: Varies
The ship form is the classification of all Tunmu "vehicles," be they all-terrain or confined to a single medium. It is also merely an abstract form that has many, many subdivisions. A Tunmu "vehicle" is anything which does not specifically walk, or has the capability to carry other Colonies. For instance, a transport walker is considered a "vehicle," while an assault walker would be considered a normal Colony. The Ship Form is the most diverse of the forms.
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Clarke
Celestial Castellan
Posts: 116
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Tunmu
Apr 27, 2010 23:58:00 GMT
Post by Clarke on Apr 27, 2010 23:58:00 GMT
How do you consider humanoid the most efficient shape?
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Tunmu
Apr 28, 2010 0:07:33 GMT
Post by Razonatair on Apr 28, 2010 0:07:33 GMT
It is the most versatile, generalist form. We, as humans, can damn near do anything we please because we have the limbs and configuration to do it, even if it means we can't outrun a cheetah or lift twenty times our weight. All of this while not requiring an enormous amount of food/energy. Then you throw in the Tunmu lack of a nervous system, combined with the general use of many forms of energy intake from photosynthesis to chemosynthesis(is that the right word?) to even direct consumption of other creatures(which method used based on which one would the best for the current circumstances), and it makes the form more efficient.
It is, essentially, the most bare-bones thing that had such versatility while not being an enormous energy drain. Perfect for civilian duties. Military Tunmu, however, take different forms depending on their tactical role, and humanoid is nearly unheard of among the fighters.
edit- Oh, I forgot to specify the differences from the normal human form... *goes off to edit post*
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Clarke
Celestial Castellan
Posts: 116
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Tunmu
Apr 28, 2010 0:22:47 GMT
Post by Clarke on Apr 28, 2010 0:22:47 GMT
There's far more efficient forms than a humanoid one.
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Tunmu
Apr 28, 2010 0:33:10 GMT
Post by Razonatair on Apr 28, 2010 0:33:10 GMT
Not that I can think of, that offer the same level of versatility, manipulation, and generalization. It's a cost-vs-reward kind of thing, and the Tunmu can't shift forms quickly.
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Clarke
Celestial Castellan
Posts: 116
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Tunmu
Apr 28, 2010 0:38:29 GMT
Post by Clarke on Apr 28, 2010 0:38:29 GMT
Yes there are. Remember that just because we take on a human form and that we're human doesn't necessarily, or at all, mean its not the most efficient form. There are literally thousands of minor quirks that show that we're just fishes struggling to survive on land in the easiest way as possible, such as hiccups and one testicle being looped adding unnecessary length.
The most efficient form would depend on the environment they live in and their lifestyle. An efficient body form for a city-dweller might be a squat, roughly spherical form with four legs protruding at roughly equal intervals from the edges, and manipulator organs near the bottom of the organism. Nutrients might be provided in a similar way to Well's martians.
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