Dotsk

The Dotsk (Araira Araira veritus) are a species species native to Eithlinn. A great deal of the population is centered on the Tuirne gas giant which Eithlinn orbits. The vast majority of Dotsk are a part of Dotskgard, a single unified nation whose history spans over three thousand years.

A phylum-spanning adaptation of the Dotsk is a body plan called "Kolonae." This body plan represents many zooids, smaller genetically-diverse organisms. Zooids work together to create an exoskeleton and larger organs that they cannot emulate (such as the nervous system and lungs). The Kolonae body plan is common in Noirae life forms. Dotsk have a four-legged body with one prehensile pseudopod under their large head. Dotsk have two large eyes with several secondary eyes arranged around the head. Behind the head is an abdomen where the legs are attached.

Anatomy

The Dotsk have only a handful of distinct internal organs, with all other bodily functions handled by the genetically diverse zooids contained within them. Organs include the nervous system, exoskeleton, central stomach, and fermentation chambers. A decentralized system handles blood circulation.

Zooids

A Dotsk's zooids are technically independent organisms, with separate life cycles and metabolisms from the whole. The zooids are mostly located within the abdomen, and are responsible for the final stages of digestion, reflexes, muscle movement, bodily repair, reproduction, the circulation of blood, and maintenance of homeostasis.

Zooids are not genetically identical, but each one can fulfill any assigned role. For instance, some are mostly muscle, and others specialize in hormone production. They range in size from 3 millimeters across to over 100 mm. Each zooid has a distinct nervous and digestive system. They are also capable of independent movement and self-replication. As a Dotsk matures, the zooids become less mobile.

Brain

A Dotsk's brain is an independent organ. Zooids assemble it before hatching. Several zooids will initiate apoptosis, killing most of their cells while leaving neural stem cells in their place. Using these nutrients, the brain begins growing, shielded from the other zooids to prevent them from using up its resources. This development will pause after a Dotsk hatches for several years. At this time the body focuses on development to bring the Dotsk to nearly full maturity physically (albeit small in size).

The Dotsk will begin metamorphosis at about four years of age. While the physical body will not change much externally, the nervous system undergoes extreme changes over three months. After metamorphosis, a Dotsk becomes much more intelligent. With total control over the body, the brain will continue growing for another ten years before reaching full development.

The nervous system of the Dotsk is very complex. Working something like an analog computer, long and short pulses across the nerves convey different information. Each zooid receives signals from the brain while also signaling each other directly. As a Dotsk matures, the brain seizes control over all movement.

Other Organs

Millions of zooids maintain the tough exoskeleton. The tough iron-oxide-based exoskeleton has a grey and red hue. It offers significant protection as well as structure. Beneath the tough exoskeleton is a network of muscular zooids, and beneath those lies the stomach. The stomach is one contiguous organ not divided into zooids and has no central nervous structure. The stomach has numerous chambers to ferment vegetation; however, the bulk of the stomach processes meat and soft plants.

The web-producing glands are also true organs located above the mouth. This gland can produce about five milliliters of webbing per day, about one meter of material. While the webbing was originally for spinning prey-catching webs, when the Dotsk were much smaller, they gradually became repurposed as a tool. As sophisticated tool use came to the Dotsk, natural selection favored rope-like webs used to create tools and shelter. While the Dotsk no longer use web due to advances in material science, they place great importance on the quality and time put into one's web-based creations.

A Dotsk's eyes are each composed of one specialized zooid, technically making it an independent organ. The two primary and four secondary eyes allow for a wide field of view. The large central eyes operate like a telescope, with the eye itself lengthening or shortening to focus light. The secondary eyes have no such feature, instead reflecting light from a large area into a central receptor bed where it is collected. These eyes can warp the "dish" that gathers light art to change focus. Both sets of eyes are remarkably like telescopes in this way, owing to the ancient heritage of the noirae species as space-based organisms. In space, telescope-like vision would prove highly advantageous over other forms of eyesight.

Psychology

Despite being an interstellar species that has possessed space travel for millennia, over 95.97% of Dotsk still live in their homeworld's star system. This general refusal to leave their home is due to psychological reasons as much as it is due to cultural ones. A communal species, the Dotsk have no concept of "in-groups" or "out-groups" among their kind. This tendency created an open society where there is little distinction between strangers and loved ones.

A peculiar trait is the Dotsk's tendency to self-segregate based on sex. Females and males, while living in the same cities and space habitats, will divide territory roughly equally between themselves. Once every orbit of their moon, these borders will suddenly disappear; the communities will behave as though they never existed. For the next Eithlinn orbit, they will cohabit, mate, and share resources. After this nearly month-long period, they will return to their segregated state.

Spirituality

A controversial aspect of the Dotsk is that of their minds, or lack thereof. A soul is something every intelligent being possesses and, with what Dotsk subjects have been studied, it seems there is a profound lack of souls amongst the vast majority (95%). Those few who have been studied that do possess souls have behavior markedly different from others, thus leading to the name "Araira Araira sapiens." Dotsk society is highly stratified between these two groups.

According to the Contagion Hypothesis, the species who evolve the ability to host a mind must first "contract" one from the environment. As an increasing number become ensouled, the biological advantage typically means these groups out-compete their animal-like brethren. As newly-born individuals grow up in an environment around the ensouled, they are much more likely to be ensouled themselves until the brains evolve to facilitate and depend on the soul. This process typically takes over one million years.

The Dotsk on the other hand, seemingly defy this hypothesis. A ruling class of the ensouled, most of which have contracted their souls from the environment rather than from one another, control Dotskgard. Young Dotsk born into the ruling class are kept separate from adults, with the intent of exposing them to environmentally-contracted souls. That is to say, the vast majority of Dotsk were once spirits who ended up entrapped.

A. A. veritus live comparatively simple lives to A. A. sapiens. They are quite intelligent and are capable of feats of memory, communication, and society-building that match those of A. A. sapiens. The main difference is the complete lack of story-telling ability. Even simple narratives lie beyond their grasp, whether they are political, fictional, or even narratives about the self. They do not seem to have an ego, beyond that of any other animal. When asked about themselves, they give an objective account of who they are. When asked about others, they don't have much to say. When asked about their nation or position in society, they do not have an answer. Those words, while recognized and even carrying meaning to them, are simply not of their concern.

In the past, A. A. veritus have been used to capture spirits. The ancient Belshazzar system relied on this property to do so. It required millions of A. A. veritus working under the supervision of a small number of sapiens to construct.

Life Cycle

Male and female Dotsk do not have gametes. Instead, they have clusters of cells sourced from their zooids. This composite cluster, a Gamoid, is stored in the reproductive organs until mating. Since producing Gamoids is a highly time-consuming process, requiring donor cells from across the body, Dotsk can only properly mate approximately once per 20 cycles (with other occasions existing for social reasons).

Upon mating, the Gamoids will coalesce within the female before a random assortment of the cells will rapidly harden and migrate to the surface of the new structure. This produces a durable egg containing the genetic material of every zooid in both parents. Each of the present cells will mature into a zooid as they compete for resources within the egg. After four months of this tumultuous competition, it releases certain hormones causing ejection from the female.

After another four months, the egg will hatch, from which the larva will emerge. Lacking intelligence, the larva needs to be shepherded by those around them. The more mature larvae historically helped with hunting small animals as their lack of inhibition made taking down prey easier. After nearly 100 cycles, the larva will wrap itself in a cocoon and begin the process of maturity described above. The metamorphosis is almost entirely spent on the brain, with minimal changes for other parts of the body. For a brief period after emergence, the Dotsk will build up strength lost to muscle atrophy and then finally mature.