Primordial Evolution Game/Hastun
The tribe of Hastun:
The tribe of Hastun is a southern tentouz tribe that just arrived at the edge of the jungle after being through a long starve. They are smaller than their northern cousins due to this. They have know arrived to a bountiful but dangerous world that they are decided to tame and make theirs. But before trying to understand their story, it is rather important to know their biology.
Biology of the tentouz:
This part is a bit harsh with the technobabble, but as a bio student I couldn't resist to the challenge to make the chemistry work.
Behind the mouth, the food goes in a first stomach full of digestive acid produced by a liver/pancreas-like organ. The organic matter melts and the nutriments are directed to the lymphoïc system (it's not blood, it's a hemolymphoïc fluid that does not carry oxygen). The chime of all the unwanted matter then goes to a second stomach full of a methanogen archaebacteria flora (like cows but way tougher). This stomach is equipped with a valve that opens to spread the gas into the balloon. The atmosphere being rich in oxygen, the methane gives a good buoyancy in the air. Tentouz can float 100km a day, and are able to do so safely at high altitudes.
At the bottom of the "balloon", all around the gas intake sprout, is a layer of neural cells. These cells are able to synthesize thousands of different neuro-transmitter. These organic molecules goes back and forth into the gas chamber where they then exist in two different form, normal and the oxidised one with an additional acid function (R and RCOO-). The reverse methanisation (1) and the CO2 reduction (2) presented bellow are metabolised by the epithelial cells that cover the surface of the chambers (mostly on top).
(1) 2H2O + CH4 -> 4H2 +CO2 (incomplete reaction) | This reaction is constantly working in order to regulate the amount of gas and propulse the tentouz. The high amount of CH4 pushes it in the good way.
(2) NT (Neurotransmitter) + CO2 -> NT-COO- | The way of reducing a CO2 by adding an acidic function to a molecule is a pretty basic biologic reaction.
This oxidation liberates H2 molecules which are known to burst in flames in contact with oxygen. that's why the balloons burst if pierced.
When the methylated form comes back to the brain cells, it is interpreted as an information.
The brain works by interpreting the variation of partial pressure of each neurotransmitter. All around the chambers are disposed small neural glands linked to the lymphoïc system. This allows to "save" some neurotransmitter in liquid phase when their partial pressure becomes high in the chamber. This is basically their memory. These glands are also able to deliver into the chamber foreign molecules that were taken in the stomach or synthesised by the organism or "saved" earlier. These can be coloured molecules, bioluminescent molecules, toxins, neurotransmitters, etc. This allows them to adapt their colour in order to communicate, confuse preys...
This system can also deliver into the back limbs to create the deadly bane-bubbles. The back sprouts only deliver H2 and surplus that bursts in contact with oxygen and then propulses the creature.
(3) 2H2 + O2 -> 2H2O + explosive liberation of heat. | Rather powerful in a O2 rich atmosphere.
Their air holes act directly as an interface to extract the oxygen needed for the cell metabolism and have the sense of scent. The oxygen is carried in a secondary system of actual blood vessels. This system does not ever enter in contact with the gas chambers.
They have also a basic nervous system to control their limbs and the various valves scattered between the gas chambers and stomachs. The back tentacle are carved by an extension of their stomach richly vascularized with hemolymph vessels and covered by mucus producing cells. That allows them to create acidic poisonous and flammable bane mucus.
The neuro-transmitter and their receptors on the brain cells are randomly synthesised by random gene splitting (that's the immunoglobuline synthesis way) Then, like the antibodies, these receptor can randomly be sensible to some foreign molecule. This causes to grant tentouz with gradual immunity to poisons in contact with them allowing them to half-sentiently deal with it in their organism and use it. This molecule can temporally become a new "thought component". In fact sentience of the tentouz depends on their ability to absorb various foreign organic molecules in order to complexize their minds. A starving tentouz will become pale and get back to animal stage until it can feed properly again to wake up its mind and have back access to its dormant memory. The aging of the tentouz is very slow, allowing them to last many years even in the dormancy stage.
The tentouz have a very low mechanical power in their limbs. They can't lift great weights nor strike with strength. However, its four opposed tentacle digits are very dexterous. The tentouz have the poorest audition. Their internal ear is almost entirely used for its balance keeping role.
Tentouz have a long lifespan (around 200 years if unharmed) and are unaffected by a lot of poisonous substances. They are hermaphroditic and reproduce by giving birth to a single larvae which have a long growth and needs a lot of nutrients. The tentouz reproduce very slowly.
tl;dr: They fly with methane coming from micro-organisms of their stomach. Brain works with a pool of gas where all the neurotransmitter go. It can adapt with what they eat. They have colour shifting they use to communicate. They push themselves with a gas that burns in oxygen. They can throw bubbles of acidic poisonous mucus. If they starve they become pale and insentient.
History of Hastun:
Prologue:The first tale:
The first tale of the Hastun: "The land that shall bear our lives, shall be ours until the end of times"
The colour shades that may mean this has not been worn for a long time on the hides of the pale remnants of the Hastun. But the words have not been forgotten, still inscribed deeply in the dormant memories since the beginning of the great starve. The prophet of these words may still be living in the pack, as pale and as the others, no longer differentiable from its pairs. They have been guided instinctively by this obsessive idea to seek for a more bounteous land. Wandering and roaming unnoticed on the desert sky for decades, they have forgotten the way to be themselves. But in a day, a green horizon appears, dawn of a new era. The Hastun catches a prey, feeds on it and awakes. Then he knows that he must stay awakened for ever. A few hours past, and the entire tribe is back on its minds. Their hides turns blue again, and then moving shades start to scatter around in tidal colour waves. The skin on their foreheads pulses and a sketch starts to design itself. The words appear again: "The land that shall bear our lives, shall be ours until the end of times" they become the sigil of the Hastun. All wear it, but then an other word, made of darker shades is formed. The word of their forgotten past, their lost origins. This word becomes sense of obliviousness and sacrilege. Forgetting is forbidden.
Part I: Tame the sky and the lands:
[> for a post and # for the result.]
>The remains who reached the jungle are composed of 30 adults and 5 larvae. They now need to gather more food to feed themselves properly. 20 individuals stay around their landing point and tries to build deposits the higher they can. They tend to use clubs with stones as lever to move heavier stuff. Act by pairs to transport things. Gather cutting edge objects. A second group goes to south to hunt. They fly higher than the canopy, counting on their powerful eyes to spot herds and big animals on the ground, circle them, and then go down to shoot them with acid mucus bubbles. They try to aim the head to kill quick and avoid spoiling meat, hides and scales.
#Early attempts at figuring out the workings of more complex skills result in suffering. A tribal member is crushed under a rock as it rolls over atop him. thankfully a squish and somewhat robust biology saves the tentouz as gas is rapidly vented preventing rupture. This member will be out of commission and need medical care/ feeding as it recovers. The tribe catches an abundance of suls. they do not taste good, and are a sticky mess, but will fill their bellies tonight.
>The hunters come back successful and are welcomed by frenetic tentacle waving and vivid colours. The meal has for result to reinforce the vigour and elevate slightly the general intellect of the tribesmen. The remains of food are stocked in the deposits weakly built. Some try to look for useful parts on the suls but it's a lost cause. They spend a few days on their stocks while at least 5 hastun keep awake to foresee any threat (night-time is not a problem for their superior vision). Some tribemen spend some time on the wood collected to see how they could work it. They first try to use cutting objects but their strength lacks to work it as they would. They then find out that they can shape it slowly but precisely by pouring acid concentrated mucus on it. They try to build tools that they attach with strings of llras.
#An accident at the workshop happened! A Tentouz poured too much acidic mucus onto the wood, and it burned a hole through the workshop. Some wooden tools were also liquified in the process.
>The workers only managed to save a bunch of knives from the accident that can merely be used to harvest some more llras or cut the sul meat. They now need to hunt again while some others continue their experiments on wood.
#The hunters only manage to catch some more suls, and just about half of what they caught last time. The woodcarvers, however, had managed to learn from their mistake, and found out the exact acidity used to make wood temporarily pliable. The reshaped wood is then warmed on top of fire to strengthen it. Woodworking learned!
>The woodworker managed to combine various functions in one single tool easy to carry around. It can be used as lever, hook or carry things or liquids inside. They now try to weave ropes with dry llras strings.
#The first attempt at rope weaving is not so good. The ropes snap frequently, and can sometimes whip back with dangerous speeds. The same individual who got crushed was just recovering when a rope lashed an eye. ouch.
>The tribe spends a few days on its food stock. The hunters are more and more appreciated by their pairs and now benefit of knives to pre-cut their preys before to have less to carry. The trees are too small and week here for the ambitions of the builders. And the animals have a too poor meat around here. Once they waited for their wounded to heal they started moving down further south and settle where they can before starting again for the next day. The hunters lead while the workers carry their tools, taking the minimum.
#The first day of travel results in combat with other flying creatures, strange long limbed things that grasp and strangle, and pull at you. they were dispatched with some effort by the hunters. Now the tribe has more meat, but a few bruises to go along with it. The region is rich in strange fungi that may be useful.
>Hunters: These new preys (I guess it's nightsky wlouz) have been first tasted by the hunters and the great amount of colourful molecules were integrated in their hides. These new colours proved to be useful for hunting as they help to hide in the jungle. They cut the skin apart for themselves to keep the more of these colours. They now seek for bigger prey, richer in meat. Craftsmen: The interest of the workers have been attracted by a real high green top mushroom trees to build shelters and deposits on its top.
#Hunters with this new camo are much better then previous, but continue to find easy prey in the form of the various wlouz species, while not filling are very abundant. The craftsmen manage to make use of the mushroom trees and set up simple shelters, while digging into the surface to make little pits for their spare food, etc.
>Some workers that weren't busy woodworking or building started to experience some cooking. Not really for the food, as the fresh meat was already in taste of everyone (best quality molecules) but just to experience new things that they boiling mind was suggesting them. They try to mix up liquefied meat or wood powder with their mucus at low acidity in various ways in order to obtain a goo-ish substance. Some try to explore a bit around to find new interesting things. There are now several specialists among the workers: Builders, woodworkers, gatherers. The hunters having to deal with melee fighting against wlouz, they asked longer and sharper blades to the woodworkers. Some front line hunters wear two blades. New hunt session. Two class of hunters: observers and scouts.
#Gelatin is made, it is wiggly, and lasts a while. The scouts retreat as the dark shadow of a sky beast appears overhead, and with it, soon the wesper swarms. The blades made were sharp, but too thin and broke quickly. The hunt continues and now some fat animals that seem to congregate around the base of the mushroom trees are easy enough prey, though a few more heavily armored ones attack the hunters to little effect.
>The stewing workers try many things with the new goo: change doses, burn it, eat it, dry it, pour it on their skin, add soil to it... (I guess it's more latexy if I have more vegetables due to dextrin/agarose-like molecules. A protein rich one would be more cement-like). These new threatening wizards often hurt the fragile skin of hunters who would need armour. They consulted the woodworkers who couldn't build something light and suitable but were inspired by these armoured creatures. Builders are also interested by the new goo and try to ask the cooks about it. The hastun start to spot that they have issues communicating. Having different tasks, they favour different food and their organisms assimilate differently each foreign molecules. This has result to have individuals thinking in different ways. The hunters are bellicose and start having to superstitious beliefs while the workers are pragmatic and curious. Some tensions creates. The hunters valour death in battle and boldness against bigger threats while the workers see each death as lost memory and sacrilege.
#They find the 'pudding' to be tasty, and if boiled using a bit more mucus they can make a kind of glue. The builders can definitely use this, maybe to glue leaves together?
>The builders use this to reinforce the structure and the hut and try to make it waterproof. The builders try to make rope out of freolla leaves. The toolworkers changed their design for melee weapons. The hunters ask for a way of keeping more acid a time to pour it at once at the armoured creatures. The toolworkers crafted a kind of spoon/basket with the inside covered of glue to resist longer to the acid.
#reinforced structures tend to come unglued after repeated exposure to the rain, but glue kept dry holds tight. perhaps a more specific mix is needed? The builders create ropes of such quality that it brings pain to the eyes to even look upon them. perhaps not that much, but they are pretty damn good, and very strong/ useful. The prior issue of the ropes braking is no longer an issue. Tool worker's create danger and mighty looking weapons, sadly they are fragile and worthless, hunters boldly charged dangerous prey only to be left with their tentacles to defend themselves after the weapons broke promptly. A few died. The spoon is a bit too thin and acid prematurely breaks out the bottom. The Armored animals are injured but retreat to the inside of the mushroom trees and angrily hide.
Part 2: A different social pact.
[> for a post and # for the result.]
>When the hunters come back with dead ones the workers' skins flush with disapprobation. One takes the dead corpse still containing a bit of methane. After a subtle and quick referendum amongst the workers, the one holding the corpse sticks his event and rips the sack to breathe the more gas possible without having it burning. The warriors are outraged and express a white symbol filled of sense about respecting the dead, and honouring the warrior.
#Nearly 100% of the remaining gas is incorporated into the individual, as well as the associated memories etc...possibly the personality may even overlay over the existing personality, slowly manifesting itself stronger and stronger. such is the way of this world.
>After twitching a bit because of the burnings suffered during the transfer, the craftsman enters in a kind of trance. He start shivering as the gas exchanges accelerate. A storm of colours explode on his skin. Maybe some of the molecules are still a bit poisonous to him. Then he stops, floating immobile in the air. After a few seconds of this catatonic state he awakens and start stabilising itself. His minds boils of contradictions between concepts, enters in various moods. He is now able to gauge the misunderstanding between the two castes and tries to consider each side apart. The empiricism of the workers over the superstitions of the hunters. The ingeniousness over the ingenuity. He is not his old self anymore, neither he is this dead hunter. He is both and none of them, a new hastun. He has novel concepts out of the ideas of both castes: For him, death must be respected but at the same time, losing the memory of one is unbearable. The boldness of the hunters is necessary but not be paid by so much deaths. He starts thinking about strategic ways to spare soldiers while using them the better possible. After a a bit of discussion with the individuals of the two groups, he tries to manage to conciliate them, explain them how they actually really need each other. Eventually, some are still skeptical about all this. He decides to illustrates his point by organising a new mission requiring every kind of hastun. The builders carry panels of wood they hold by packs with their new ropes wrapped around to hold it well. The stewards distribute their better nutritive goo to the hunters. The woodworkers wrap rope coated in glue around the holds ans weak points of the weapons to reinforce them. The soldiers receive new directives. They are separated in regiments of 3 to 5. Shooters, equipped with throwing spoons with some woodworkers that have a more vegetable-specific acid. Melee fighters are fed with the most colourful pieces of meat as they would serve as baits. Here's how they proceed: -Observers approach silently around the chimney with the range fighters to place them well. -Melee fighters try to taunt the armoured creatures the longer possible as the builders approach with wood panels to block the entries. -Range hunters then shoot at them using barrage shots to hold them in pack, sparing a couple of them. -Melee fighters try to capture the ones surviving.
#The hunt goes mostly well. The team is organised, and the shooters remain hidden throughout the duration. Flawed weapons are now functional, if imperfect. The wood panels hold out for the duration of the hunt. The melee fighting is very good and backed up by shooters who actually hit their own allies instead of the prey. The death of one hunter results in an explosion that hurts several others, even puncturing one's gas sack. In the end though, they go home with so much meat there is fear of it rotting.
>Besides the few death, this is the greatest achievements ever made by the tribe. The point of the orderer of this is definitely proved and the grief is absorbed. This one hastun's authority is now assumed by all and he is tacitly considered as their ruler. The anarchic development they've been through was not enough anymore to keep them together. He orders a hunter and a worker of each profession to spare the gas of the deads and name them to oversee the work of its group. The bodies are carried while the ones surviving are left to run away. The stewards precociously dissects the animals, trying to separate the leather and the bony plates from the meat. If knives can't cut through they use acid. They search for ways to conserve the meat, eventually bathing into acidic mucus or cooking it into nutritive jelly which is mostly fed to the larvae. If succeed, the tribe would be safe from need for a few months. The craftsmen try to work on the leather seeking for waterproof condition and the plates for protection. As the defenders are away, some scouts go explore the chimney, intrigued by what could be inside and what causes glitches with light on the top (good eyes). For the few next months, great attention is given to the larvae to fill the empty places in the ranks. The prosperity encourage mating.
#Using acid to cut the flesh was a bad idea. Much of the meat was spoiled and the shell thinned if they were using acid. The leather that were salvaged, though, were treated in less acidic mucus, and prove to be good leather. The few plates that were salvaged were worked good, the craftsmen have definitely learned from their acidic mistake. The cooks, however, did not, and they spoiled some more food trying the same acid mucus approach. Not much has been gleaned from the chimneys, because the scouts got bored real quick. As far as child care and mating goes, it goes on like usual.
>The workers managed to build basic light armour for the hunters. The part on the back protects the unique dead vision angle and is actually also worn by the workers too to attach ropes to it or carry tools. The scouts report having seen a bunch of creatures inside that were only meat. No need for more right now. As they started exploring to the top, they had difficulties raising in the air and their fire sprouts went mad. Afraid they preferred to leave. Fast forward, months past and the issues of food conservation start to be felt. The stewards saved the most possible in form of meat pudding. This poor meal was not a really good mind fuel at all. The balance between the groups started to tremble again. The hunters being the ones who kept the tribe alive used to keep for themselves the most interesting parts. Eventually, the ruler ended this partially to give better chances to the inventors. Nevertheless, the tribe was wanting more territories. They sent scouts further to the center of the jungle to find more of these trees to build huts.
>The new pot used by the tentouz had effect to stun them as the molecules rapidly take of the few neurosynaptic connections of their brain. But when they are absorbed by the lymphoïc fluid and integrated to immunologic neuroreceptors the huge variety of components give them a burst of awareness and creativity. At these times, the workers invent a language to name things. Drawing a symbol for a component and waving the colours in different ways in the background to describe a process. The toolworkers in cooperation with the cooks try to make pipes coated with a glue resistant to acid.
#The pipes resist the acid after the glue has been baked to an enamel like state, however, the process leaves them somewhat brittle and they cannot be banged around.
>These rigid tubes are now used by elite shooters to contain a special batch of particularly concentrated acid cooked by the stewards that they pick to add to their balls. A cook sometimes follow them to refill it up. They start to hunt again seeking for the biggest and oddest creatures. The sense of challenge push the hunters to surpass themselves.
#The new batch of acid is so caustic it will erode stone, revealing and leaving behind shiny flakes of an unknown substance (metallic residue that is not eaten away by the acid as the mineral is broken down) Despite their goal of finding a dangerous and worthy prey, they find a particularly large mud grub....it dies pretty horribly though.
>When the giant beast is killed, a swarm of bouncing insects (the mushroom pincer wezars) come to scavenge it. The hunters have to keep defending their prey against it, using acid while they try to cut parts of it and bring it back and forth to the hut. The hut itself is too small to stock all the meat they managed to get in and a lot is still rotting on the field of battle. The workers are convinced to inspect the body. They try to take everything that could be of interest: guts, skin... They study the plants growing on its back and gather some of it. The craftsmen try to use the skin and guts as cloth by letting it dry on the sun after cleaning it. The cooks try to conserve the meat with a weaker recipe of acid mucus and turn a part of it in nourishing goo in case they don't manage to conserve it. The craftsmen were fascinated by the little shining nuggets. They gather them in little bags of leather. They like to look at all the reflects of each nugget, each one being unique. They also find some nuggets that are not so shiny but take them anyway. The cooks are asked to cook more of this acid to find more.
#The large creature is cut up into chunks and hauled away, the conservation acid is too weak and does nothing so for now the tribe simply gorges on the meat as much as possible. It is theirs and should not be wasted. Fruit is edible with less hard cellulose then normal plant matter, some tentouz get bad diarrhea from it, but others are fine with it.
>'Diarrhea' - The phenomenon is way different from what we could imagine. When the liver-like organ swells and aches from what shouldn't have been through it, the amount of acid produced in the stomach grows dangerously. The pressure due to carbonic gas accumulating hurts the tentouz. A part of it is directed to the pouches and, mixed to the methane, weights the creature, slows the conversion, and put the mind in dormancy. The ill creature swells, laying on the ground. Happily, the tentouz organism is really robust and quick to reestablish, so they rarely die from this, despite how spectacular it may look. The place lacks. The larvae are now practically at adult state. The food and objects gathered practically fills the hut. Now that the tribe is revived, scouts are sent again. This time they head straight to south.
#The scouts progress is slowed as the bumble through a wezar swarm. Numerous stinging cuts and punctures dot their bodies, but they carry on.
Part 3: Ambitions
[> for a post and # for the result.]
>They now search new green mushroom trees to build huts at the maximum distance of 10km from the first one or with each other.
#They find a grove of it just a few kms out of their main settlement. These could be made into a secondary small village if need be.
>This grove is composed of a methane chimney surrounded by common yashed trees. The ground is a a watery mire and a waste for everything that lives underneath. This would be a good spot as a colony of animals seems to live underneath. They wrap ropes around the chimney and tend them between the trees to suspend bags of mudgrub leather in which they can stock many things. The whole is protected by a big cloth of leather fixed to the rope. While working around the chimney, a worker suddenly fell off the tower. He didn't realize that the amount of oxygen was too low (the tentouz have a poor respiratory system). When he realized that he was feeling bad, it was too late. He didn't manage to elevate himself or to burst his sprouts. This new camp is at around 25km from the hut which is quickly covered by a tentouz flight. They now use to wrap themselves in a leather cloth to protect themselves from wezars stings. This camp has become the new center of experiment of the builders who built freely their workshop around the trunks. They don't need so much a food stock as they just need to take a creature from the hive when the hunt is not enough.
#The new outpost quickly built, and soon begins to mirror the methodology of the first. The tribe can grow.
>Fast forward. The yougs are now fully grown and the new larvae grow well. The life is good for the hastun, but their boiling minds needs more stimulation. They start to get interested by these tiny nuggets they managed to take out of the stone. They search for stones to dissolves and see whet they can get from it.
#The youngling's acid is too weak to erode the stone, they will need help.
>The cooks prepare for them their best corrosive acid.
#Better acid is better!
>The young adults were busy lasting rocks, gathering various nuggets of mineral. After fooling around with that for a bit, the elder craftsmen started to show interest to their treasures. It was perfectly resistant to the acid (btw this is still hydrochloric acid so it only dissolves sedimentary rocks, not the metamorphic kind). They also had some interest to the stone itself that were now shapable as wood and didn't burn.
#the Hastun has managed to find tin and bronze in small quantities. But these scant few they managed to mold into crude shapes by using primitive casts. The first Hastun miniature has been cast (if you look at a certain angle, that is).
>They used to put the metal at their sprouts to make it melt but it was not really practical as they couldn't work it directly. They make small pipes out of leather with glue only on the joint so it remains flexible to drag the gas from their sprouts. Using a bit of their primary copper and tin shapes. They try to forge more complex things using carved stones as molds. They can't really beat the metal like a human blacksmith.
#The blacksmiths are not perfect, but begin to show understanding of their own limitations. Metal is heated to near liquid and shaped by sand casting. This results in inferior tools but they are functional.
>Meanwhile, the stewards were becoming interested in the gas that has caused the falling of the two builders. They tend a dry membrane of mudgrub guts to capture some of it. Then they do some experiments on it: Breathe it, swallow it (like swallowing air for a burp but it goes to the gas chamber), set it fire (while being far from the tower).
Idiomic language of Hastun:
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Our tribe, the first tale.
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Forgetfulness, sacrilegious, anathema.
