The Ship

"The Species"

The Guests

Chíkshu are an ocean-dwelling, artiopodoid species, generally inhabiting the sea floor around their planet Attodah’s many small volcanic islands, reefs and archipelagos. They are the largest of about fourteen types native to their world. Individuals typically measure about 2 meters in length and mass 80-90kg. They are born (live) a solid, metallic green, and develop thin-film refraction colors as they molt. Individuals typically measure about 2 meters in length and mass 80-90kg.

Bodies are made of 13 segments, with the middle eleven being nearly identical except in size. They move in the water either by undulating the entire body, or moving just the flanges on the outer lateral edges of their body segments and using them like fins. Chíkshu do not have legs. They do have palps on the underside of the head segment, for grabbing food. There are large, ragged-looking antennae which are bioluminescent, so that they can show off their colors and patterns (which are unique to each individual); they are also used to attract prey. They can regrow these if parts are lost. The caudal segment has two large “horns” which are used for digging burrows, and digging up other things’ burrows.

Unlike Terran artiopods which molt by breaking and emerging from an old shell, Chíkshu break up the old shell into tiny plates, which then stick to the new shell and spread out as the new shell forms, and are incorporated into it, generating the "thin film" effect. No two Chíkshu are alike in color or pattern, nor do colors and patterns remain stable as they grow.

Chíkshu have literally hundreds of sexes (much like Terran slime molds), all of which are indistinguishable by morphology. Breeding takes place once a year and young, which are a uniform dull green in color, are produced in great profusion. They receive no direct or intentional parental care. They often cling to the backs of adults, who largely ignore them, and feed themselves by grabbing up scraps left by their rather messy adult hosts. Chíkshu young usually do not survive past the age of a few months, being subject to predation. Adults look upon this situation as “the way things are” and are not generally bothered by it.

Chíkshu have two pairs of compound eyes, and can "inflate" the larger set either as a way of seeing detail or as a threat display to other Chíkshu.

The species is very old, and extremely long-lived (about 300 Terran years is typical although they can live much longer.)

Chíkshu live in what can only loosely be called “clans” based mainly on kinship; a large Elder, the Elder’s offspring, and whatever other relations who have not dispersed, or been eaten by predators. They tolerate kin, and, apart from the breeding season when all clans can briefly mix, and “Wording” gatherings where Chíkshu show off their vocabularies (see below), are intolerant, though usually not overtly aggressive, of others. Generally a clan lays claim to an island and the ocean surrounding it, so long as their food supply holds out there. While they will make half-hearted attempts to protect this territory, if they can’t annoy the newcomers into just leaving, the clan will just move elsewhere. (NB: “fighting” between Chíkshu usually means biting at one another’s antennae, which is why the antennae of most Chíkshu look so ragged. They may sometimes poke with the horns on their distal ends, but mostly they just argue.) Some clans follow ocean currents in a regular circuit around the planet, some do not.

There is reason to conjecture that at some time in the past, Chíkshu were far more numerous, and far more cooperative, than they are today. They sometimes tell stories of how awful it was in the Old Times when crowding was apparently a problem. Some islands have been found to have coral-like fortifications around them, as if bits of the stuff had been removed and carried to their current location. This would require cooperation on a scale that Chíkshu would not even consider at the present time. If asked about these things, Chíkshu will usually just reply that they were put there by “some idiot.”

Chíkshu communicate with each other, when they absolutely must, using clicking noises made by snapping their segments together. Having a huge vocabulary is a sign of great status among them, and many of them go to enormous trouble to make up new “words,” which they proudly display during occasional “wording” gatherings. This has begotten the habit of “word stealing” which nobody would do but everybody does. Lately (to a Chíkshu the last millennium is “lately”) some Chíkshu have been trying to incorporate coded “This Self Named [name] made up this word” messages into their new words, which is probably the origin of Chip’s fascination with cryptology. Adult Chíkshu warn young not to talk too much lest they damage their carapaces and lose their colors and thus become “unknowable.” This is usually in the vein of human parents telling children not to keep making “that face” in case their face “stays like that forever.” For the most part, Chíkshu produce so many offspring that they don’t really care all that much what happens to any particular one of them.

Chíkshu do not have a technological culture of their own. Many species have built outposts on the islands of Fshnahi and some Chíkshu like to hang around these and learn what they can. Chíkshu do not use tools other than empty shells (to cache food), but some are fascinated by the tool use of visiting species. Some of them are willing to tag along with other space-going species, often just to pick up new words.

Chíkshu are widespread but rare, even on their homeworld, as their food is scarce and predator pressure very heavy. Consequently, although not aggressive, they just don’t really like each other as a matter of principle. It is generally agreed by those who study the species that it is dying out, apparently of apathy.

Some visiting species, being appalled by the lack of parental care of young, have begun forming their own colonies of hand-reared Chíkshu young. (Yes, the Elders were consulted. They didn’t care, so long as these “new Chíkshu” weren’t thereafter dumped into the oceans to compete with them.) While the New Kids do tend to bicker a lot, both between themselves and with anyone else they happen upon, they do learn to work together in small groups. The Yontarrim (not Federation members, and staunchly so) established a school/university for them which operates to this day, and which occasionally gives some of these groups “grants” to go study stuff on other worlds. It was one of these groups who started the research on Beta Kerrotyn upon which Ebbet, Chang and Lacincia happened.

Chip is from a “first group” of New Chíkshu “graduates.” Sahn (Chíkshu are like slime molds, they have so many “sexes” it’s not worth bothering which is which) joined Starfleet just to get away from all the bickering and lead a “quiet, sedate, satisfying life.”