Ushkayin Physiology, Society and Technology

Hello again. This will be the last post of the Ushkayin. I am currently working on some short stories and laying down the final outline for a bigger story (possible novel) plus I am going to be helping Omally and Xzebo with the storyline of a comic that they are doing, so my time is being used up elsewhere, but I wanted to give some more details on the Ushkayin before I set them free to whatever fate the future holds for them.

*Ushkayin Physiology*
Head: Long and narrow. There are three ridges on top of the cranium that change color and size to show emotion. They have three sets of eyes. Two sets are large and oblong. They see in infrared and ultraviolet. These sets are membranes that have the ability to fold shut, but usually stay open. The third set, which sees in visible light, resembles that of most other species. They are twice the size of the average adult human and have no iris or sclera (whites.) The cornea covers the entire front half of the eyes and the eyelids function much as our iris' do.

The mouth and nose have both been replaced by the respirator. They have no hair or fur anywhere, although most males have facial markings that does resemble a "five o'clock shadow."

Neck: This is very short and thick, with the same circumference as the bottom of the head. This makes it look like the head has been placed directly on the shoulders.

Between Head and Torso: The sensory and primary brains work in tandem. The spinal cord is twice as thick from where the two brains attach to the spinal column. This allows for better processing between the brains. The sensory brain, which sits below the ridges in the head, takes care of vision, olfactory and other senses as well as basic involuntary motor function. It is the size and shape of an average human hand laid out flat with all fingers close together. The primary brain, which sits in the torso and is surrounded by cartilage, takes care of the rest. It is the size of two average human fists. There have been cases where non-functioning sections of one of the brains have been taken over by the other. Ushkayins have no brain stem.

Torso: The torso is somewhat thin, but elongated to make room for the primary brain amongst the other organs. They have only one lung, but it has eight different compartments to prevent a total lung collapse. The heart has four chambers. The stomach is a gastric mill (gizzard) that is a narrow tube with several pieces of cartilage lining the inside. This takes care of all digestion and nutrient absorption since the Ushkayin do not have teeth or saliva and never had. The single intestine takes care of water absorption and passes waste from the body.

Arms: The arms have a shoulder joint, elbow joint and wrist joint. Hands have three bones in the palm, but the fingers function like tentacles and have no bones. An Ushkayin grip is surprisingly powerful.

Legs: There are hip, knee and ankle joints, but the feet have only two small bones in it. The Ushkayin also have no toes.

Skin Color: There are three main skin colors for the Ushkayin: Brown, Orange and Gray. Each group has varying degrees of shades amongst them.

Eye Color: The two sets of membrane eyes are usually the same color and are a very dark hue. The visible light eyes are always black as there is no iris for pigmentation.

Ridge Color: The base color for the ridges are always a light neutral color, but the colors change drastically with mood. This makes deceiving nearly impossible in Ushkayin culture.

Maturity: Ushkayin reach maturity between the age of 13 to 15 years. Females can give birth from 15 to 20 years and then become incapable of bearing children after. Females have 2 or 3 children in a pregnancy, with a small percentage having 4. Almost unheard of is a single child pregnancy, but it is has happened.

Respirator: The picture provided earlier (Ushkayin headshot) has a standard respirator, but they can vary from region or with technology. The tube on the bottom is the olfactory sensor (the nose). The tube on the side is the respiratory filter. The port (flap) on the other side is the nutrient consumption port. The four black squares are exhaust ports.

*Ushkayin Society*
Ushkayin communities vary in size from small villages with a few hundred people to vast metropoli with millions. With lying considered to be a major criminal offense (only murder is considered worse) politicians are elected for their honesty and religious background. Regional Senators, which vary according to a regions population, act as mediators to all disputes in their region. Each community has a mayor and various specialists as needed for the community. The Ushkayin have no real military force, but instead each community has a volunteer militia in which every male above the age of 15 can join or be drafted to if needs be. The militias are rarely used. Policing is handled by community governments and only when needed.

Each region elects one of their Senators as a speaker. Their are 15 speakers with one elected as the Majority Mediator. If disputes are not settled by the regional senator then it goes to the speakers and then on to the Majority Mediator. Also, if voting is deadlocked between the speakers, the Majority Mediator casts the deciding vote.

Religion is a huge part of Ushkayin culture and has survived even with their move to Ushun. They believe in a single deity that placed them on Mardka at the beginning of time. They describe this deity as having tan skin, fur on the top of his head and only two eyes.

*Ushkayin Technology*
Medical Tech: Due to the pandemic that affected the Ushkayin, medical technology has grown by leaps and bounds in the three hundred years they have been on Ushun. They have discovered cellular regeneration therapies, target cancer cures and stable cloning technologies just to name a few.

Military Tech: Uh... no. Not really, no. The Ushkayin are a very peaceful race. For as long as records show they have had one government ruling all Ushkayin (and Mardkayin) and one religion. This means that military tech has not advanced much past ballistic and melee weapons.

Other Tech: Ushkayin still use ground vehicles and winged aircraft, having not invented hover abilities. They have produced hyperdrive, but do not have artificial gravity. Instead ships use centrifugal force to mimic gravity.

Ok, that's about all I have time to put down. Good luck to everyone that has or will post a species. I like everyone's so far and imagine that I will like all of them.

Bot out.