Exepsycho Sapiens

A female example of the species

### Distinctions

Thick Prehensile Tails, Multiple sets of Canine Teeth, Monotreme-like reproduction.

## Other Info

### FTL Travel...

N/A

Exepsycho sapiens are native to an off-the-record solar system a small but undisclosed number of light years away from the New Sol System. They had been and still are in a stone age level of development for a very long time. Using primitive spears and knives to hunt the native wildlife of the dense jungle coated moon they call home.

## Basic Information

The exai are native to a star system with a blue-white star, a jungle moon in the inner habitable zone with a similar climate to Venus after its terraformation. Based on their stature and skeletal structure, they are believed to be more closely related to the authiik than any other species.

They were discovered by humanity when their moon was surveyed as a possible colonization target. These plans were canceled as the native life was discovered. Several dozen willing volunteers were taken back to a research station in orbit of Ares, seemingly showing little to no adverse effects of "stellar culture shock", and taking well to the human way of life of the late 2500s.

By listening to words humans used to describe familiar objects, the dozens of specimens figured out the basic structures of both the Anglic and Neo-Japanese languages in mere days, and had a large enough vocabulary to communicate in a matter of weeks. Their scientific name stemmed from this trait. "Exe", a suffix taken from several latin words meaning copy, model or pattern, and "psycho", from psychology, meaning mental characteristics.

Further study of their actions in the wild showed that they have a very unique way of adapting to situations. They are taught to hunt at a young age by being made to watch the way others do things, and can pick up new techniques and ideas extremely quickly. This also applies to quickly acquiring new knowledge and behaviors from unfamiliar sources, such as humanity.

While this is an advantage in some ways, it has its drawbacks. An over reliance on tradition and learning from others has led to a culture of not striving to improve, perpetually stuck in technological dead ends unless they chance upon a strategy that works well enough to be sustainable. It is believed that the last time they innovated was the invention of the atlatl some 47000 years ago, developed to gain additional leverage when throwing spears and used to turn the tables and begin hunting species that once preyed upon them.

After seeing humans for the first time, they began to create more complex wooden structures and clothing, and are currently attempting to build reliable ranged weapons beyond their existing atlatl.

A number of close relatives of the species exhibit this memorization trait, though this is the only population to demonstrate sapience, language abilities, and the formation of civilizations on a level comparable to that of neolithic humans.

This discovery of extreme adaptability and fast absorption of new knowledge combined with their relatively low development level made them an easy target for rogue groups, such as pirates and smugglers who needed deckhands who could be trained quickly and taught not to speak about their line of work. And slave traders, who preyed upon them due to exotic features many seedier elements of society find attractive.

It did not take long for the government of the New Sol system to enact a blockade on the planet and set up defense stations around the moon in order to prevent interference in their development, but the damage was done. Many exai specifically began seeking out humans in an attempt to get off of their homeworld, leading to the population of nearly a hundred thousand documented exai emigrants living on human ships and stations throughout the spinward side of the Orion Confederation, and potentially up to five times that many living in human space undocumented.

While they do not exhibit culture shock, reverting to a previous way of life can cause a sort of reverse culture shock where they withdraw into solitude and a depressive state due to the vast disparity between what they know and what their home culture knows, or attempt to leave again.

## Anatomy

Exepsycho sapiens are most similar to the authiik in their morphology as their dental structure and skeletons are quite similar aside from a small handful of changes such as their long, prehensile tails.

### Internal Anatomy

#### Skeletal Structure

In keeping with their humanoid body plan, they are built around a spine and rib cage, with four limbs each with an upper and lower segment ending in appendages with four digits, and a head with a single-piece jawbone. In addition, they feature thick and muscular tails with a large number of vertebrae that are used to grab things and hang from the massive trees native to their home world. Unlike the authiik they resemble, their bones are not remarkably chitinous or flexible, instead relying on more common rigid calcium-based bones.

#### Nervous System

While similar in form to the authiik "two-brains-one-mind" nervous system, it does not have the same capabilities. There is a bundle of nerve cells in the enlarged sacrum and lower lumbar vertebrae that is analogous to the authiik pelvic-brain that exists only to accelerate signals sent to and from the lower body and to take reflexive actions. It does not store secondary copies of memories or take control of the body in the event that the head-brain is damaged.

The source of their remarkable learning capabilities comes to two known factors. First, that they are capable of remarkable levels of empathy, and second, the link between short term and long term memory is far greater. This allows new information to be deeply analyzed and remembered with far greater detail, and makes learning by example much more easy than it would be for a human or any other known analogous species.

#### Circulation

The exai circulatory system is similar to that of the authiik, with a four chambered primary heart and auxiliary three-chambered heart on the right side of their chest that serves to bring hemoglobin-based blood, which gives their flesh a pink hue, to and from their pair of compartmentalized lungs to each other part of the body and back again. Their four kidneys filter unwanted substances from the blood and deposit it into the urinary bladder, while the blood plasma and healthy blood cells are returned to the heart by way of the lymphatic system.

#### Reproductive Anatomy

The exai have a reproductive, urinary, and fecal excretion anatomy similar to that of Earth monotremes.

In females, the urinary bladder and uteri are connected to a urogenital sinus and they and the rectum are voided through a common cloaca. Males are similar, with a common opening for defecation and urination that also contains the penis, used solely for the insemination of females. Males also exhibit a vestigial baculum once used to more easily maintain an erection for long periods of time, as exai copulation may take up to an hour and a half. The small bone pays little role in the process in the modern day.

## Life Cycle

### Reproductive Cycle

A female will ovulate once every 1.62 months on average, with each uterus receiving an ovum once every 3.24 months in a rough alternating pattern. A particular subject, a female in late adolescence who has asked to remain anonymous, has a cycle with alternating periods of 23 and 61 days between each ovulation.

#### Ovulation

At the beginning of this cycle, her left uterus has received an ovum from its corresponding ovary. The uterus responds to the presence of an ovum by producing the facilities that will be needed to create shells, yolk, and albumen. During the 9 to 13 day period it remains healthy, she will experience increased libido, heightened senses and core body temperature, and a dull soreness of the breast tissue, cloaca, and fingertips. Subconsciously, she will be releasing pheromones that increase the libido of nearby males as well.

If the ovum is not fertilized during this period, the ovum and facilities that produce the egg will be shed by the body over the next 5 or 6 days. New symptoms include increased soreness, mood swings, and something akin to spotting, where blood will appear in the urine and feces. While the ovum may be fertilized during the shedding period, pregnancies that result from these damaged uterine linings are more likely to fail. This results in a 14 to 19 day period where the subject may be impregnated.

After her uterus has damaged the old ovum and its own lining to the point that it cannot be fertilized, she will remain infertile for 3 to 10 days while the waste material, including the shed material from the uterine wall and small amounts of albumen, yolk, and inner shell membranes are voided along with urine and feces, after which the process repeats with her right uterus for another 14 to 19 days.

An ovum enters uterus triggering a lining buildup. Small amounts of yolk, albumen, and the beginnings of a shell form while waiting for spermatozoa to fertilize it. If it goes unfertilized, the uterus stops supporting the life of the ovum and sheds both the unfertilized ovum and its egg production facilities, voiding the uterus over a number of days along with normal urination and defecation. Following a right-side ovulation the infertility gap will be longer, this time lasting 40 to 48 days.

Shedding this lining and losing the work put into creating these facilities is more energy-efficient than maintaining them year-round as they require a large and constant supply of blood to remain functional. This energy is better spent on the body's other metabolic processes if not pregnant.

Other specimens have shown more symmetrical cycles. The distribution of cycle ratios is half-normal, with the vast majority of individuals having a roughly 60-40 or lower ratio between left and right side ovulation, each taking roughly 45 days, while individuals like the anonymous subject, with an 80-20 ratio or greater, are quite rare. While an individual who ovulates with on both her left and right side simultaneously is theoretically possible, it has not been demonstrated in nature. It is believed that a separate pair of eggs in the womb would damage one another and come out broken, or wound the mother in potentially fatal ways. Twins born from the same, unusually oblong egg have been observed.

#### Pregnancy

An ovum will remain within the uterus for 2 to 3 weeks or until fertilized, at which point the uterus will begin producing the egg's soft inner shells and internal structures to protect and feed the fetus. It continues to grow for an average of 5.3 months within the uterus before gaining its rigid outer shell and lowering into the urogenital sinus, causing the process of labor to begin. During a labor, the abdominal muscles contract in a way that forces the egg downwards and out of the cloaca, which is located in the posterior perineum.

Around this time, the egg enclosing the fetus has grown to an average diameter of 13 cm and length of 22 cm. The fetus may take up roughly 30% of the egg's volume during this early stage of development.

#### Incubation and Hatching

After being laid, an egg must be kept warm for approximately 5 months, at which time the infant inside has become large enough and strong enough to tear the shell from their egg. They will bond to the first female who breastfeeds them. It is currently unknown whether bottle-feeding or alternating feeders would achieve the same results. All mothers who have given birth and hatched eggs in laboratory settings have refused the experiment.