Isorexic

The Isorexic are native to the spinward mid-rim, carving out their own small bubble of stability between the rib and the outerwall where their hives extend their reach across planets and between stars. Though a minor power, their reach is unchallenged across a surprisingly large swathe of space, and they use this and their position in proximity to the rib to broker a position as traders and travellers who ride the spacelanes between the Domain and the Saragoitus.

But, to begin at the beginning:

### **Castes, Queens and Intermediaries**

The Isorexic are a species of pseudo-insects, largely sheathed in chitin though pale-green flesh does peek through the cracks in their armour. This armour is supported by both hydrostatic and solid skeletons, and as such only begins to form after a decade or two of growth - until this process begins Isorexic children are raised within their hives, schooled in an eclectic range of subjects and tested for any inherent aptitudes. By age six, these aptitudes see them funnelled into numerous silos, where they enter more specialised learning programmes as well as undergoing physical and hormonal conditioning for their upcoming metamorphosis/puberty.

Between physical and mental stimulus, food intakes, hormones and any number of other factors, Isorexian met/pub can have a wide range of outcomes, ranging from emotionally stunted juggernaughts to shrewd and spindly workers. Under the direction of an experienced queen these changes occur with relative uniformity in their designated castes, molding them to their tasks like they were born to it. Less experienced queens can produce more disparate and ineffectual results, and can even leave their subjects with some level of disability as a result - although simple biological variation means that even a well-practiced queen will have some subjects who simply don’t take to their caste. These casteless Isorexians are labelled intermediaries - although this is a blanket term from outsiders and each hive will have its own term - and they are the glue of any hive, allowing castes to interface in the service of the greater goals of the community. Intermediaries usually apprentice in groups of three to twelve under a more experienced intermediary until they’re ready to coordinate tasks of their own, at which point they will take on their own intermediaries to help them and to learn.

Intermediaries also form the pool from which prospective queens are selected. A queen-to-be undergoes a second controlled met/pub, carefully calibrated hormone intakes tuning them to the grand pheromonal state of a specific caste of Isorexic. Each queen manages their own caste, controlling them through personal subordinates, carefully calculated pheromone mixtures released from their swollen abdomens and control over the daily life and assignments of individual caste members, coming together in a council with other Queens to determine the overall objectives of the hive and coordinate action towards those objectives.

The way these councils are mediated varies between hives, most notably in the treatment of the queen mother, or breeding queen. These are hormonally-induced fusions of dozens (or even hundreds) of Intermediaries which stretch the length of the hive and lay eggs, accept genetic samples from regular Isorexics and act to sense the general mood of the hive and any specific pheromonal conflicts which are brewing. In some hives, these queens act as first-among-equals, in others merely advisors, while in others still they are worshipped as a deity.

It is also worth noting that, where numerous queens work closely together, they are often assigned a personal intermediary to ensure they interface well - a queen often absorbs much of the mindset and personality of her caste, especially later on in life. These intermediaries often greatly influence the final decision if the creation of a new caste is proposed, or the merging or discontinuation of a caste, and are often considered prime candidates for new queens.

As an overview of the hive as a whole, what we have discussed thus far is sufficient. However, it remains worthwhile to understand the mechanisms by which a caste operates in a little more detail. Therefore:

### **Into A Caste**

It should be noted before we go deeper into this segment that castes aren’t entirely standardised. Newly-established hives will often use similar caste structures to their parent hive, but the necessity of each hive’s particular situation forces adaptation to the proportions, structure and biological conditioning of each caste, or even the creation of new castes in response to new challenges.

That said, there are a number of similarities consistent across most hives. Most hives maintain an internal hierarchy within their castes, with semi-informal connections stretching down from the queen of each caste to the lowest workers, as well as lateral and diagonal connections between Isorexic who have met either during the course of their work, external social lives or during their initial aptitude testing and met/pub.

These castes also often have significant internal friction. While it would be disingenuous to characterise any queen councils as *harmonious*, as a result of using pheromones to help control the castes the attention of a queen is in great demand among their caste. This effect can be managed if a queen has the time and focus, but even at the best of times the jostle for upwards mobility can be brutal and queens under significant pressures - or queens without the experience to understand how to allocate their time - can see a significant degree of brain drain on projects which aren’t considered “central”.

Those who do attain the favour of their queen often undergo a second met/pub of their own to become second-rate queens of their own - certainly lacking the sheer pheromonal *presence* of a true queen, but easily enough that most queens keep the external power of their subordinates in check. On rare occasions casted Isorexic can become queens in their own right, though Intermediaries largely do their best to keep this rare for obvious reasons.