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Description
Native to a water covered "Super Earth ON the fringes of Human settled space. The Boliod are space faring semi aquatic race common o dozens of worlds where liquid water exists, The boloid race holds the current record of being the most visually and Unappealing race contacted by humans. Resembling large lumps of wet, flesh, sprouting tentacled and appendages at random as they are needed.Most human nicknames for the boloids are unflattering to say the least.

Composed of multiple irregular roughly spheroid, hollow, bony structures, Boloids are a fusion of multiple individuals fused into one mass. When operating as individuals they are barely considered sentient, with only basic instincts and rudimentary problem solving abilities. However when fused into a complex node of individuals the Boloids become highly intelligent, and capable of complex, problem solving, and can carry out multiple tasks at once by dedicating groups of linked brains to a task while others concentrate on another.

It is believed that Boloids evolved from primitive colony creatures into their current form over millions of years in the deep oceans of their homeworld. They evolved ot survive great pressures, extreme cold, and a totally dark environment. they have only recently..in biological terms evolved eyesight as specialized patches of skin on certain small nodes have grown into a complex structure of compound eyes that allow them to perceive light, heat, and movement.

They are warm blooded, omnivores that feed on small fish, aquatic plants, and plankton using both a system of filters, and toxic sting armed tentacles. They have no mouth or similar structure, feeding on larger prey by tearing it to pieces, then extruding it's stomach to engulf and digest prey outside the main body. They can subsist on plankton feeding for long periods if they remain largely inactive, however extended periods of activity require them to ingest more substantial amounts of food. Intelligence, physical agility, and growth are are largely subject to the availability of food. Making them quite lethargic and substantially less intelligent when not feeding regularly
.
Normally Boloids pass through several stages, Larvae, Free Swimmer, and finally progressing to Node. Then as an adult merging into a Union or network.

As a larvae Boloids resemble terrestrial jelly fish. Soft, transparent and extremely fragile and are seldom found outside of the voids and interior spaces of the large fre floating plant masses that cover portions of their colonies. Larvae have little intelligence and have no place or function in Boloid society In more primitive times many thousands of Larvae would never survive long enough to mature into free swimmers. The sheer number of larvae and the random, emotionally unimportant nature of Boloid reproduction do not engender any emotional attachment to larvae.

Free swimmers are immature, not having developed a hard carapace or more advanced appendages they serve as messengers, scouts and menial laborers in Boloid culture. Usually a union or node will have several dozen free swimmer drones who accompany it and follow it’s instructions until they mature into nodes and are capable of serving in more complex and important ways.

One of the most common purposes of a free swimmer is to protect the Union, or node in this task they will aggressively sting a perceived threat with suicidal fervor. using the powerful venom which has both Neuro-toxic, and hemotoxic properties to drive off a predator, or rival. Free Swimmer venom is twice as potent as adult venom which has only a neurotoxic affect. A sting from one swimmer can leave a bloody welt, that bleeds freely, and becomes necrotic, or infected rapidly.

Unions form as multiple free swimmers fuse and form a bony case to protect the internal mass, with openings for specialized tendrils, sensory organs and feeding sacs. At this point the Boloid achieves actual sentience and begins to acquire more complex skills, and can form very complex concepts within their interlinked nervous system. Unions can range from dozens to hundreds of individuals, adding free swimmers to the mass at random times. Due to the addition of multiple smaller Nodes the appearance of a boloid quickly becomes highly irregular and no two boloids will be exactly the same.

At some point in their life Boloids begin to merge into a network which rapidly becomes fixed in place. often forming great reefs in areas rich in food, and protected from frequent storms, or seismic events. In such areas tens of thousands of Boloids will congregate interlinking and building up the reef with the remains of their casings as they age and die. These networks seem to be unable to function as individuals after a certain point their individual consciousness merging so completely that the network becomes on massive creature. This network is so complex, and alien to most humans that any form of communication between the two people is impossible.

Note
Attempts to make psionic contact have resulted in the telepath being seriously injured by the overload resulting from trying to communicate with such an alien mind. Only extremely skilled, or powerful telepaths, can survive even the most basic mental contact with an ancient Boloid. In addition Extremely large networks seem to be able to communicate across interstellar distances with other networks and generate a telekinetic force that can damage starships that attempt to harm the network.

Movement
While free swimmers are very agile underwater, and can propel themselves rapdly by using jets of water, they are incapable of moving on dry land and never leave the water. Unless by accident they become beached, at which point they rapidly expire from dehydration or are eaten by predators.

Adult Boloids are not powerful swimmers avoiding strong currents, and often drifting more than swimming. If they need to move against the current they use their tentacles to grasp objects and pull their mass along through the water. if no other surface is available they can drive the bony tips of their tentacles into the ocean bed for traction.

Most Boloids remain in the water for most of their lives, although a large number have evolved an innate ability to generate large amounts of hydrogen and fill large gas bags that allow them to float slowly in the air when they wish to. they control their buoyancy by releasing gas, or producing more gas to maintain their hieght above the ground using their tentacles to move themselves long solid surfaces. This trait is shared by other species on their home planet leading to masses of interconnected bladders filling the skies at certain times of the year. At times thousands of Boloids will gather and form a floating mass of individuals moving with the floating gardens feeding on the plant life and insects as they drift over the almost unbroken seas of their world.

For much of their history the Boloid had little use for machines or tools. Their many tentacles and ability to multitask allowed them to exist as free swimming masses without permanent structures or more than the most basic tools and devices. Once introduced to mechanical devices the Boloid quickly adapted technology to suit their needs. Incorporating many devices directly onto their shells or into their bodies. Forcing them to adapt and alter their largely nomadic lifestyle to construct factories, mines and storehouses to feed their growing dependence on mechanical and electronic aids.

A modern Boloid union is now a mesh of mechanical and organic components that more closely resembles a cybernetic life form than an organic creature. As a result many species have never encountered a non enhanced Boloid. Most can not tell where the Union ends and its collection for devices, and add-ons begins.The use of cybernetics and prosthetic has allowed Boloids to compensate for their physical weakness, and dependence on constant acccess to water allowing them to manage to create a network of far flung colonies away from their homeworld.

Boloid culture is rapidly changing and varied their constant merging and separating into varied unions means that personalities and power structures change so rapidly that few races can truly understand their society, or even the individual unions they deal with on a regular basis. The addition of a younger less experienced node or an older more seasoned node can radically alter a Unions personality and behavior, although they might keep the same basic outlook their reactions to events may alter significantly in a very short period of time/ This tend to cause unexpected shifts in relations with other individuals or species. as a result Boloids are not closely allied with any species for more than a few decades as it's culture, outlook, and policies rapidly mutate.

They have become a premier trading power in some regions using their ability to rapidly solve complex problems from multiple angles with a degree of cunning, and creativity, that is somewhat intimidating to most human traders. This mental agility has also led to a large number of Boloid branching into engineering, and theoretical sciences, starship construction,and weapons design. This rapid progress or technologies ha advanced to a point that many Terran, and TAU Imperium officials are beginning to see the Boloids as potential rivals. A rival with the ability to rapidly adapt mentally, and physically, to any particular challenge. with the ability to reproduce at rates that far outstrips humans. this particular set of traits is largely responsible for their rapid growth in technical capability, and influence in regions near their colonies.

Perhaps the most telling comment on the subject comes from the valkiir. "" Be nice to them..they'll be running the galaxy in a few generations"

Description
Native to a water covered "Super Earth ON the fringes of Human settled space. The Boliod are space faring semi aquatic race common o dozens of worlds where liquid water exists, The boloid race holds the current record of being the most visually and Unappealing race contacted by humans. Resembling large lumps of wet, flesh, sprouting tentacled and appendages at random as they are needed.Most human nicknames for the boloids are unflattering to say the least.

Composed of multiple irregular roughly spheroid, hollow, bony structures, Boloids are a fusion of multiple individuals fused into one mass. When operating as individuals they are barely considered sentient, with only basic instincts and rudimentary problem solving abilities. However when fused into a complex node of individuals the Boloids become highly intelligent, and capable of complex, problem solving, and can carry out multiple tasks at once by dedicating groups of linked brains to a task while others concentrate on another.

It is believed that Boloids evolved from primitive colony creatures into their current form over millions of years in the deep oceans of their homeworld. They evolved ot survive great pressures, extreme cold, and a totally dark environment. they have only recently..in biological terms evolved eyesight as specialized patches of skin on certain small nodes have grown into a complex structure of compound eyes that allow them to perceive light, heat, and movement.

They are warm blooded, omnivores that feed on small fish, aquatic plants, and plankton using both a system of filters, and toxic sting armed tentacles. They have no mouth or similar structure, feeding on larger prey by tearing it to pieces, then extruding it's stomach to engulf and digest prey outside the main body. They can subsist on plankton feeding for long periods if they remain largely inactive, however extended periods of activity require them to ingest more substantial amounts of food. Intelligence, physical agility, and growth are are largely subject to the availability of food. Making them quite lethargic and substantially less intelligent when not feeding regularly
.
Normally Boloids pass through several stages, Larvae, Free Swimmer, and finally progressing to Node. Then as an adult merging into a Union or network.

As a larvae Boloids resemble terrestrial jelly fish. Soft, transparent and extremely fragile and are seldom found outside of the voids and interior spaces of the large fre floating plant masses that cover portions of their colonies. Larvae have little intelligence and have no place or function in Boloid society In more primitive times many thousands of Larvae would never survive long enough to mature into free swimmers. The sheer number of larvae and the random, emotionally unimportant nature of Boloid reproduction do not engender any emotional attachment to larvae.

Free swimmers are immature, not having developed a hard carapace or more advanced appendages they serve as messengers, scouts and menial laborers in Boloid culture. Usually a union or node will have several dozen free swimmer drones who accompany it and follow it’s instructions until they mature into nodes and are capable of serving in more complex and important ways.

One of the most common purposes of a free swimmer is to protect the Union, or node in this task they will aggressively sting a perceived threat with suicidal fervor. using the powerful venom which has both Neuro-toxic, and hemotoxic properties to drive off a predator, or rival. Free Swimmer venom is twice as potent as adult venom which has only a neurotoxic affect. A sting from one swimmer can leave a bloody welt, that bleeds freely, and becomes necrotic, or infected rapidly.

Unions form as multiple free swimmers fuse and form a bony case to protect the internal mass, with openings for specialized tendrils, sensory organs and feeding sacs. At this point the Boloid achieves actual sentience and begins to acquire more complex skills, and can form very complex concepts within their interlinked nervous system. Unions can range from dozens to hundreds of individuals, adding free swimmers to the mass at random times. Due to the addition of multiple smaller Nodes the appearance of a boloid quickly becomes highly irregular and no two boloids will be exactly the same.

At some point in their life Boloids begin to merge into a network which rapidly becomes fixed in place. often forming great reefs in areas rich in food, and protected from frequent storms, or seismic events. In such areas tens of thousands of Boloids will congregate interlinking and building up the reef with the remains of their casings as they age and die. These networks seem to be unable to function as individuals after a certain point their individual consciousness merging so completely that the network becomes on massive creature. This network is so complex, and alien to most humans that any form of communication between the two people is impossible.

Note
Attempts to make psionic contact have resulted in the telepath being seriously injured by the overload resulting from trying to communicate with such an alien mind. Only extremely skilled, or powerful telepaths, can survive even the most basic mental contact with an ancient Boloid. In addition Extremely large networks seem to be able to communicate across interstellar distances with other networks and generate a telekinetic force that can damage starships that attempt to harm the network.

Movement
While free swimmers are very agile underwater, and can propel themselves rapdly by using jets of water, they are incapable of moving on dry land and never leave the water. Unless by accident they become beached, at which point they rapidly expire from dehydration or are eaten by predators.

Adult Boloids are not powerful swimmers avoiding strong currents, and often drifting more than swimming. If they need to move against the current they use their tentacles to grasp objects and pull their mass along through the water. if no other surface is available they can drive the bony tips of their tentacles into the ocean bed for traction.

Most Boloids remain in the water for most of their lives, although a large number have evolved an innate ability to generate large amounts of hydrogen and fill large gas bags that allow them to float slowly in the air when they wish to. they control their buoyancy by releasing gas, or producing more gas to maintain their hieght above the ground using their tentacles to move themselves long solid surfaces. This trait is shared by other species on their home planet leading to masses of interconnected bladders filling the skies at certain times of the year. At times thousands of Boloids will gather and form a floating mass of individuals moving with the floating gardens feeding on the plant life and insects as they drift over the almost unbroken seas of their world.

For much of their history the Boloid had little use for machines or tools. Their many tentacles and ability to multitask allowed them to exist as free swimming masses without permanent structures or more than the most basic tools and devices. Once introduced to mechanical devices the Boloid quickly adapted technology to suit their needs. Incorporating many devices directly onto their shells or into their bodies. Forcing them to adapt and alter their largely nomadic lifestyle to construct factories, mines and storehouses to feed their growing dependence on mechanical and electronic aids.

A modern Boloid union is now a mesh of mechanical and organic components that more closely resembles a cybernetic life form than an organic creature. As a result many species have never encountered a non enhanced Boloid. Most can not tell where the Union ends and its collection for devices, and add-ons begins.The use of cybernetics and prosthetic has allowed Boloids to compensate for their physical weakness, and dependence on constant acccess to water allowing them to manage to create a network of far flung colonies away from their homeworld.

Boloid culture is rapidly changing and varied their constant merging and separating into varied unions means that personalities and power structures change so rapidly that few races can truly understand their society, or even the individual unions they deal with on a regular basis. The addition of a younger less experienced node or an older more seasoned node can radically alter a Unions personality and behavior, although they might keep the same basic outlook their reactions to events may alter significantly in a very short period of time/ This tend to cause unexpected shifts in relations with other individuals or species. as a result Boloids are not closely allied with any species for more than a few decades as it's culture, outlook, and policies rapidly mutate.

They have become a premier trading power in some regions using their ability to rapidly solve complex problems from multiple angles with a degree of cunning, and creativity, that is somewhat intimidating to most human traders. This mental agility has also led to a large number of Boloid branching into engineering, and theoretical sciences, starship construction,and weapons design. This rapid progress or technologies ha advanced to a point that many Terran, and TAU Imperium officials are beginning to see the Boloids as potential rivals. A rival with the ability to rapidly adapt mentally, and physically, to any particular challenge. with the ability to reproduce at rates that far outstrips humans. this particular set of traits is largely responsible for their rapid growth in technical capability, and influence in regions near their colonies.

Perhaps the most telling comment on the subject comes from the valkiir. "" Be nice to them..they'll be running the galaxy in a few generations"