Havroids

Havroids: Name based off:

"A virus (HAV) is transmitted through ingestion of contaminated food and water or through direct contact with an infectious person." - genetic memory is passed via the consumption of creature fluids - research is needed to see if humans could also unlock these memory pockets or they're physically incompatible.

Their ancestors come from our equivalent Mantids, but because of sudden influx of oxygen into the atmosphere, they're able to reach larger sizes (but this could only happen if there was a possibility of terrestrial evolution able to sustain more green growth - which, yay! It can). My thinking is this: with the initial survival rate being mostly aquatic or creatures that could fly fast and far from impending doom after eruption, there's a chance larger and hardier mantids could evolve.

They would need to be able to adjust to living in high heat and high pressure environments at times as the world around them is in flux. They develop specialized scales that act as both oxygen filters and as gas traps so they're not as susceptible to drowning. Since mantids grow via molts, it is possible they developed specialized molt layers. You have the youngest layer protecting the liquid internals, the middle preparing to mature, and the outer would be extremely hard (yes, much like crabs). Yet, unlike crabs, they would not have the post molt vulnerability due to the second layer already being prepped (contact with outside environment creates chemical reaction to immediately harden?).

Once land stabilized and they reached a level of sapience they could start to develop tribes, they would eventually lose some wing strength, however, they could still be used to make larger jumps, but not hover or take direct flight bc issues of mass (this is negotiable though if we can figure out how to balance it out). The development of finer tuned abdominal appendages would be needed to maneuver affectively and also keep their scyther main appendages. An interesting concept I'm playing with is genetic memory via the consumption of parental carcass.

Each clutch would be born and those who survive to a certain molt are then chosen to carry on the genetic lines. A ceremony takes place in which parents are consumed by the young ritualistically and then gain the abilities and skills of their predecessors. Debating whether they can also gain all memories, but then we border closer to fantasy (but hey, the fiction in sci-fi has to come from somewhere). Because each Havroid tribe understands that killing other adults will end certain unbroken strands of ability, skill, and knowledge - violence would be considered taboo. On the other side of that, mating is the only outlet in which it can be released. Let's say females can ingest genetic memory long enough to produce clutches and then pass accumulated knowledge when ritual time comes around. However, there would eventually be a pushback on this as newer clutches feel that violence is unnecessary and both parents could remain alive until time to pass on memory. It'd be interesting to see how humans interact with them and whether they could convince the Havroid to instead use written records (there is little need for written records when genetic memory passes things down and Orators have nigh perfect retelling).

Religion is based on the concept of The Originator, also known as The Devourer. Since the beginning of genetic memory being activated by consumption would be on the edge of sapience, it is fuzzy who exactly it was or how the rest came to be, but there's a close enough idea of it that has grown in religious importance. The story goes that The Originator saw the sky light up and destroy the green paradise they lived in. Left with nothing to eat to survive, The Devourer's mother gave herself to them to be consumed so they might live. Upon consumption, The Originator found it knew things its mother never told or showed them, and from that knowledge, they were able to find a way to another green part of the world. Along the way, they met with other sentient species in the world (yet to be determined) and told them what they needed to do in order to gain ultimate knowledge. Other species were understandably put off by the idea of eating their kin, but so be it. The Devourer ate parts of the others (an implication that Mantids could gain genetic memory off other species as well but in the modern age it has not been done again thus far - perhaps would change with human contact?) and gained their knowledge as well. It then went on to find a mate, the clutch it spawned consumed it, and those individuals are what grew and evolved into the tribes that exist today.

Clutches are a delicate matter. There is some theory that only the direct descendents of a line can unlock their progenitors' memory, but there are also whispers that rouges can gain memory pre-clutch. So, there is a possibility that memory gathering can only happen until a clutch is spawned, at which point the body prepares itself for consumption. If you deliberately chose not to clutch, you'd be able to gather more and more knowledge. The offset to that (and likely the reason it rarely would happen) is that never having a clutch means everything you gathered would eventually be lost and pointless. Death can come at any moment and will certainly come with age. However, the most devastating thing to happen to a Havroid is have their clutch destroyed or taken. Their mate has already likely been consumed, so even with a new clutch with a different partner, that mate's genetic memory is lost forever.

As insects, they would not necessarily develop a true voicebox and it could be this which hinders first contact from the start. They might appear primitive as their culture would seem less technologically advanced - which is both true and not. While tribal systems would still be in play because of the uncertainty in stability of landscapes, with genetic memory, they can make scientific advancements that help make moves efficient, create tech that protects clutches, still generate innovations to help their own lives.

Economy: Knowledge is king - the ability to trade skills (especially if lost before clutches can hatch) are paramount. A respected token is giving knowledge without asking for anything in return. Novelty is also highly valued so inventors and researchers are highly respected.

For example, they could have tech that can break down and create a new structure at the press of a button - something they can easily pack up and carry to the next site. There would be no need for knobs though since their appendages would do better with press lever tech, and as things advance further, motion detection. So, they might not need or care for refrigeration or books, they have motion sensors that can find live food or tablets with maps that update based off tremor action/prediction. Flight tech exists, but more so to enhance their own flight vs things like planes.