In our last post we finished talking about designing an intelligent race for your world and how you can go about it If you want to read it go here Edit Post “Intelligent races for your world pt:2” ‹ artelianscreaturesandconcepts.com — WordPress. In this post I will finally introduce one of the five special races for my world. This race is an insectoid race of humanoids called Florents. Keep in mind this post will just introduce you to Florents, future posts will explore their biology, society and other aspects of their life.
Synthetic Biology
Florents, like the other four races were designed by a cosmic being long ago. This intelligent design gives them certain advantages that ordinary lifeforms don’t have. Although they’re classified as insects, they’re anatomy is unlike any insect that lives on Earth. Florents have an internal skeleton made of super strong chitin as well as an exoskeleton also make of chitin. This gives the race extremely high durability. They possess a humanoid body plan of two arms and legs, although the proportions are a bit different to humans. They possess a relatively small and thin torso with long muscular legs and relatively thin arms.
Inside things get even weirder. Most of the organs that can be found in humans can also be found in Florents, however most of them are fused. Instead of stomach, large and small intestine, there’s one organ. They also don’t possess a bladder and other waste disposal organs because they don’t excrete waste products.
Diet
Before discussing what, they eat I should mention that this race doesn’t need to eat to survive like normal lifeforms. Because of their synthetic biology this race is powered internally by special organs that produce cosmic energy. This cosmic energy is what powers them and also gives them their powers. All life on the dream ring uses cosmic energy to survive leading to some bizarre and exotic adaptations. While they don’t eat to survive like humans, this doesn’t mean that Florents don’t enjoy food. They possess a very refined sense of taste and smell.
Florents love to eat sweet foods, possibly due to their insect physiology. Florent food is quite sweet by human standards is known for their bright and exotic flavors and colors. Usually, every member in the colony eats together, exchanging stories and sharing each other’s company. Of course, eating high amounts of sugar isn’t a problem for these beings as their synthetic nature prevents them from getting diseases like diabetes or high cholesterol. Florents also don’t gain extra weight and get fat like humans, another reason they enjoy eating food so much.
Senses
Florents possess all of the main sense that humans possess although significantly better. Unlike Earth insects they possess camera lens style eyes, which give them excellent binocular vison. They also possess more types of photoreceptor cone cells, giving them a wider range of color vision than humans. The average human can detect two to three million colors. Florent eyes can detect more than a thousand time that number. They can also see other wavelengths of light such as infrared and ultraviolet.
Florent’s possess specialized olfactory organs that are similar to insect antennae and give them a highly developed smell. Florents can actually smell so well that they can smell things such as certain diseases, hormones and even fear. This sense of smell allows them to perceive the world in ways unknown to a human. In fact, Florents have a second language that they communicate with-pheromones. These pheromones are secreted by specialized organs and allow easy and complex con verbal communication among members of the colony.
Bioluminescence
Like all animals and plants on Paradox, Florents are bioluminescent. This bioluminescence takes the form of small colored dots which can dim and flicker depending on emotion and energy levels. The color of the dots usually corresponds to the color of the body part it’s on and Florents come in a lot of different colors. No two individuals have the exact same pattern of dots. Enabling them to be used as an identification like a human fingerprint.
Florents don’t just have external bioluminescence they also have internal bioluminescence as well. The blood and even organ groups all glow naturally, and this can be seen if they are dissected or suffer a severe injury.
Lifespan
One of the main things about the five main races is the fact that they can theoretically live forever. Once individuals are fully grown, their bodies stop aging. The cosmic energy produced by their body constantly renews and rebuilds their bodies constantly preventing them from aging. This of course doesn’t mean that they are immortal, but they can’t die from most things like humans. Starvation, asphyxiation, disease, burning and even extreme pressure can’t kill them. Of course, they can still die if a strong enough predator attacks them or if advanced enough weapons are used.
This ability to live for obscenely long periods of time has allowed individuals to oversee the rise and fall of entire civilizations on other planets. Some individuals have even outlived planets and stars. Most individuals spend their long lives with loved ones, forging extremely strong bonds or even practicing and learning different skills. This makes members of the five races not only highly intelligent but also extremely talented. Of course, if you can live forever, you need a powerful unfailing memory. The original moon guardian designed the brain and neurons in such a way as to never wear out or fail due to age. This means two individuals who knew each other and then never saw each other for a few thousand years meet again in the future, they will still remember each other.
Cosmic energy manipulation
Like all five of the created races, Florents have the ability to manipulate excess cosmic energy. This manifests in their latent ability to grow and manipulate flora. This can be the size, color, structure and even the genetics of flora and can allow individuals to regrow vats swathes of forests or jungles. Mastering of this ability can take hundreds or even thousands of years and individuals practice together, as their powers grow over time.
The most powerful member of the colony is of course the gigantic queen. The queen has the sole job of reproducing and growing the colonies numbers. The queen knows every member in her colony and takes care that their needs are met. Stories even tell of queens traveling hundreds of thousands of miles just to find a lost individual.
Different Races
While it won’t be explored in depth in this post, future posts will talk about the different races of Florents. These races evolved as the first Florents diverged and settled in different parts of Paradoxes different environments.
