Microbes and Grafts

**Split this into multiple articles.**

## Preparing an organism for interstellar travel with other species: Microbes

Various microbial injections have been standard procedure for any space traveler since the early years of The Galactic Proletariat. Though most species conduct several hundred benign infestations in the birth and delivery of their offspring, three of them are considered utterly vital for any being wishing to function interplanetarily: Lingos, Trackers, and Chems.

### Lingos

Binocurid Axon-Beta Ekros Leaches, colloquially called Lingos, are microscopic vacuum plankton found in great numbers around Progenitor technology. They cannot survive in open air- capable of functioning only in aquatic or vacuum environments. Inexplicably, these organisms possess the ability to act as biological translators, allowing the infected individual comprehension of most languages in the known Galaxy. Before the Psionic Renascence, these creatures were complete anomalies, their functions remaining secret to GP biologists. When psionics research conducted with the aid of psykers became widespread, it was quickly discovered that Lingos have two small lengths of psionically active nerve tissue running along the sides of their bodies. These tiny masses of psionic tissue serve only to conduct ultra simple verbal telepathy- rendering otherwise incomprehensible speech into the host organism's native language, unless of course the speaker's exposition is somehow utterly free of inflection, tone, and purpose (as with a machine). For this reason, the children of most races are still taught to speak Vanon. Lingo infection has no side affects, other than an increased craving for iron, and thus can be safely conducted at birth.

### Trackers

Trackers are widely considered the most important Microbe for multi species populations, engineered by The Galactic Proletariat while worlds were still race-isolated for the safety of Vanon regulators. They are large conglomerated cells that contain a myriad of living endosymbiont bacteria, each with a different purpose. Children are infected with trackers after puberty, because the microbe's aggressive establishment can damage the biology of infants and young children. After infection, Trackers swarm their host's blood network, establishing small cystic colonies where they congregate. Once established, tracker colonies essentially become a parasitic immune system, their many bacterial components able to destroy bacterial, fungal, viral, or cancerous tissue. Tracker colonies subsist by consuming roughly .8% of their host's incoming nutrients. If the host organism is somehow sterilized, either through intense temperature damage or radiation poisoning, Tracker re-infection is a simple, easy, and safe task for any adult organism.

### Chems

Chems are a type of colonial fungus. They normally live on plants, but since their widespread integration in the grafting industry, they have been farmed synthetically on nutrient mixes, and they have been engineered to draw nutrients from the bodies of animal hosts. Chems are biological mimics- they can shift the protein identifiers on their cells to mach that of whatever organism they are feeding on, disabling its immune response. In grafting, Chem tissue is used as a type of glue, holding grafted limbs and tissues together, while chemically identifying them as one organism. This stops the graftee's body from rejecting the grafted tissue. After the grafting is complete, the Chem is sprayed with an enzyme depleter that irreparably damages the Chem colony's surface cells, preventing it from growing any further. Chems consume roughly .2% of their host's incoming nutrients, but this can quickly stack on an individual with many grafts.

## Grafts

Grafts are used in medicine, combat, cosmetics, and for utility. They are cross-organism transplants of tissues or structures. Many grafts are considered standard issue for frequent space travelers, such as the engineered Aster Gland (a small enzyme tweaker that stabilizes muscle tissues and the digestive system in zero gravity). Many jobs have prerequisite utility grafts; the employees of Tri-Corp must posses an organ for metabolic regulation so that they may work longer hours without needing rest or food. Consumable grafts are used widely in combat. Small enzyme or stimulate glands with enough power to pump their contents directly into their host's vital systems can deliver powerful doses of organic drugs, massively increasing sensory, mental, or physical acuity. Most often, grafts are used in medicine, to replace or repair organs, re-affix limbs and facilitate cybernetics. The graft industry has much to fear from certain Grotanian life forms, who possess inborn abilities to connect and synchronize alien tissues. For this reason, Graft manufacturers such as the Coreshar pay billions of credits to Groton's world government every year to prevent the Grotanians from commercializing their biological abilities.