The Nocias

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Nightfish
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The Nocias

#1 Post by Nightfish »

Nocias (No-She-As) (by Utilae)

Intro
The Nocias are a race of scientists, fascinated with studying others. Their ability to go invisible is vital to their spying activities, which are apart of their on going research of other races and creatures. They feed on moisture and water, so they like cold, damp worlds with lots of water.

Homeworld
The Nocias live on a small, cold planet called Basient. Basient has an icy atmosphere and a flat surface with few mountains, but many caves and tunnels. The surface is covered with a layer if ice and some snow, which is enough for plants to grow and for animals to survive. The caves and tunnels break through to massive underground oceans, which are larger then the few small oceans on the surface. Plants on Basient are in great abundance, though there are no tall plants, such as trees. There are only short ground hugging plants, which are bushy, tend to lack flowers, but have very long roots that cover the surface mostly and are dug deep into the ground. It constantly snows on Basient, though sometimes it rains, as the temperature is only just warm enough during the day to allow some rain.

Social Structure
The Nocias are ruled by a group of the eldest of all Nocias (Nocias can live up to 500 years maximum), consisting of the 10 oldest Nocias individuals. Nocias do not deteriorate as they grow older, their physical and mental fitness remains constant, while the experience the oldest Nocias have is extensive. It is a Nocias life long ambition to become one of the 10 oldest Nocias, the elder group. The elder group make decisions through voting, where each member has an equal vote.

All Nocias are scientists. They can think of many things at once, so in this way they can carry out research while doing a non-research job. When there job is research, they make more progress and carry out more research, then if on some other job.

An ability commonly used by Nocias, is to go invisible. Because of this ability, the Nocias have always had a fascination with the study of others, other races, creatures and life. Also, with this ability, they have become excellent spies, studying those who they are spying on, adding to their on going research efforts. Those being spied on never realise that a Nocias is floating right next to them, observing them, all while invisible.

Physical Description
The main body of a Nocias is made up of three flat, round segments that together make a rounded 'OOO' shape. The front of the Nocias has the smallest segment, while the rear has the largest segment. Attached to the side of each segment is a light, flexible wing segment that ca hover in the breeze because it is so light. There are three of these wing segments on each side of the main body. At the rear of the main body are two segments that are shaped like figure eights ('8'), though filled in. These two figure eight segments are connected by two very flexible pipe like segments ('8=8'). On the sides of the figure eight shaped segments are three small wing segments, exactly like the larger wing segments explained before, though smaller. The front of the figure eight shaped segments are connected to the main body by two more very flexible pipe segments. At the rear of each figure eight shaped segment is a very long tail that extends for several meters in length, more than twice as long as the rest of the body (in total there are two of these long tails). The appearance of a Nocias is varied, depending on its intentions. Its skin is see-through, and within can be seen a liquid like substance and no organs. The Nocias can change the colour of this liquid substance to any colour it wants, even to match its surroundings, becoming invisible.

The Nocias have no organs, only a liquid substance that is within their body. Everything that allows a Nocias to live occurs at a microscopic level based around complex chemical reactions. The liquid substance is where all of this chemical reaction occurs. Within the liquid substance are billions of microscopic chemical matter, that carry out the functions of organs and even thinking. The Nocias can think as fast as super computers (through chemical reactions) and also use their ability to change colour for attracting mates. There are no 'male' or 'female' Nocias, there is only one type, however each Nocias has different qualities. When a Nocias mates, it does so with any other Nocias, the end result being a new born Nocias with similar genetics to the parents. The Nocias carry their young for an extremely long time (10 years), before they are born and only one baby Nocias can be carried at a time. This means that Nocias have a slow growth rate, though their extra long life times (500 years maximum) offsets this problem.

The Nocias absorb moisture and water for food and release hydrogen as a result of absorbing water. The hydrogen can be stored and released at will, giving the Nocias the ability to float as a result of the releasing the hydrogen as apart of a chemical reaction, effectively creating hydrogen based propulsion. This ability can also be used to melt ice, releasing moisture and water, necessary to absorb as food. Any moisture or water absorbed by a Nocias can be passed on to another Nocias or can be deposited in an area of food storage.

History
For along time the Orions had noticed the strange creatures that were the Nocias. There physiology was considered unique, strange and efficient. Even more intriguing to the Orions were the Nocias two main abilities, invisibility and a hydrogen based floating ability. No other race the Orions had seen had such features. The Orions studied these creatures for centuries, applying many concepts (related to the races physiology) to useful technologies.

The Orions did not know what they were getting themselves into, studying these creatures, but not realising that the creatures were studying the Orions. The Orions couldn't tell when there was a Nocias floating by, watching keenly. Because of this the Nocias knew that the Orions had captured some Nocias, who were being experimented on. Of course, being scientist, the Nocias believed that they were apart of the Orion research effort, they considered that advancing Orion research was as good as advancing their own research. Through all of this, the Nocias became extremely fascinated with other races, found uses for their invisibility and gained valuable research techniques, observed from the Orions.

Now hundreds of years have passed and the Nocias have started developing space based technologies (like the Orions had), so now a new opportunity had arisen, to explore space and study other races.

Race Attributes
Advantages
-Very good Research
-Generate a small amount of research, no matter what job they are doing
-Very good Spying
-Good mining (using natural hydrogen propulsion)

Disadvantages
-Slow population growth

krum
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#2 Post by krum »

Cool, we got finns in the game :D Really, the idea is great, but every time is saw "Nocias" I couldn't help it :D

I'm wondering about their invisibility, you're not very clear on what they actually do. This IS sci-fi, sure, but you still have to tell something about it :)

Impaler
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#3 Post by Impaler »

Their physal shape is very odd, I find the description hard to understand and theirs no explination how how this shape helps them live. How do they move, how do they manipulate objects. How can they float with Hydrogen if they are a liquid? They seem to violate every physical law. Also the break down of water into Hydrogen and Oxygen consumes energy rather then releasing it so that cant be a sourse oc energy.

I like the culture and history just the part of the Goverment with them being lead by 10 elders, is their anyone else in middle managment or do the 10 elders run the whole race without any help? Perhaps we can say they are Highercical with several levels of Elder councils running things.

The trait of invisibility sound interesteresting. But being transparent is realy hard, what wavelengths of light are they transparent in?
Fear is the Mind Killer - Frank Herbert -Dune

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utilae
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#4 Post by utilae »

Impaler wrote: Their physal shape is very odd, I find the description hard to understand and theirs no explination how how this shape helps them live. How do they move, how do they manipulate objects. How can they float with Hydrogen if they are a liquid? They seem to violate every physical law. Also the break down of water into Hydrogen and Oxygen consumes energy rather then releasing it so that cant be a sourse oc energy.
To put it bluntly, they basically look like a stingray, with two tails and they look more jellyfish like. I've got a pic I'll post eventually, :wink:. How does the shape help them live? Well, their two tails can be used to grab things, plus they have technology, which they use to help them.

They are not so much a liquid, but their stingray shaped body is filled with a liquid substance, no organs, everything happens at a microscopic level, though chemcial reactive processes.

The hydrogen is part of the chemical reaction that allows them to float, via a form of natural hydrogen propulsion. Whatever other chemicals are part of this reaction, allows for the hydrogen propulsion. The water is absorbed, providing them with a store of energy to draw on when needed. When they need to float, they break the water down, and use the hydrogen as part of a chemical reaction to create a form of natural hydrogen propulsion.
Impaler wrote: I like the culture and history just the part of the Goverment with them being lead by 10 elders, is their anyone else in middle managment or do the 10 elders run the whole race without any help? Perhaps we can say they are Highercical with several levels of Elder councils running things.
The 10 elders are greatly respected and their every decision is carried out by those willing to do so. No one would ever disobey an elder, it is a great honor to be given an order.
Impaler wrote: The trait of invisibility sound interesteresting. But being transparent is realy hard, what wavelengths of light are they transparent in?
Ok, I probably should have used the word camouflage, but really invisibility can be achieved. Within their body is a liquid substance. The Nocias can change the colour the liquid substance at will, to match their surroundings if necesary. They can even change the colour of the liquid substance to a transparent colour, depending on the wavelength of the light. So no matter what environment they are in, they can change colour constantly to match their surroundings as best as possible, becoming invisisble. :)

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#5 Post by Moriarty »

I've decided to pick holes in all future races, unless i'm taking a day off, or someone beats me to it... This race is first :)

Let's see:

a) The maximum age of one of these critters is 500.
Nocias do not deteriorate as they grow older, their physical and mental fitness remains constant
However if they don't deteriate with age, then they should have no upper limit to their age... It's the deteriation with age that limits human age.

b) I'm assuming u're not using pure H20 for your water, or they wouldn't excist in the first place.
A chemical reaction that results in getting rid of the hydrogen would mean these things live only one the oxygen...
That in turn means that all these things can be made of would be oxygen (the saying: "you are what you eat" comes to mind :) ).
So there have to be trace elements in the water which allow them to live.

c) Too many bonuses, not enough problems... These things wouldn't need farms (only need to move around the sea to eat)... So that's an major advantage in itself (free land/population/build time that can be used on more productive things).

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utilae
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#6 Post by utilae »

Moriarty wrote: I've decided to pick holes in all future races, unless i'm taking a day off, or someone beats me to it... This race is first :)
Aren't I lucky. :)
Moriarty wrote: a) The maximum age of one of these critters is 500.
Nocias do not deteriorate as they grow older, their physical and mental fitness remains constant
However if they don't deteriate with age, then they should have no upper limit to their age... It's the deteriation with age that limits human age.
Ok, I mean they can still move about and think as good as they ever could. As they grow older they are dying (like everyone else), but it doesn't affect their mental or physical fitness.
Moriarty wrote: b) I'm assuming u're not using pure H20 for your water, or they wouldn't excist in the first place.
A chemical reaction that results in getting rid of the hydrogen would mean these things live only one the oxygen...
That in turn means that all these things can be made of would be oxygen (the saying: "you are what you eat" comes to mind :) ).
So there have to be trace elements in the water which allow them to live.
Ok, they absorb water (oxygen and hydrogen) for food. The liquid substance within the Nocias contains chemical matter, which is a chemical form of organs, brain, etc. These chemical organs take the oxygen for energy (the hydrogen just floats around) and produce certain chemicals needed to create the reaction (along with using hydrogen) to allow them to float (hydrogen propulsion). They liquid is not just oxygen, but a mixture of chemical matter (their chemical organs), hydrogen and oxygen (seperated) and water (stored to be given to other Nocias).
Moriarty wrote: c) Too many bonuses, not enough problems... These things wouldn't need farms (only need to move around the sea to eat)... So that's an major advantage in itself (free land/population/build time that can be used on more productive things).
I haven't thought of any more disadvantages, but ok:
Advantages
-Research very good (5/5)
-Generate a small amount of research, no matter what job they are doing
(small research related ability)
-Spying very good (5/5)
-Mining good (4-5)
Disadvantages
-Population growth slow (2/5)
-Poor farming (2/5), when not on an ocean world
-On worlds with no farming they have low morale and growth is zero.
(a small farming related negative)
-Poor ground combat (2/5)

Also, when they absorb water they don't always use it, they can store it as well, then go to a storage area and deposit the water for other to use. This is their farming system. They have to send some Nocias out to collect water and bring it back to be stored, where other Nocias can absorb water for food (water is not always close to them, ie in deep caves leading to an underground ocean).
Last edited by utilae on Tue Aug 26, 2003 1:36 am, edited 2 times in total.

Extremepumpkin
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#7 Post by Extremepumpkin »

so then perhaps you could have a disadvantage when it comes to farming?
Only after 14 hours of work, will you realize you can do it in 2.

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utilae
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#8 Post by utilae »

Yeah, they depend on water so much. They have to be on an ocean world to have normal farming. On any other world they have poor farming. On worlds with no farming they have low morale and growth is zero.

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#9 Post by Moriarty »

Aren't I lucky
and, Privilaged... ;)
As they grow older they are dying (like everyone else), but it doesn't affect their mental or physical fitness.
I can't see how this could be possible. If something is dying, then it's deteriorating. That in turn means that it's functionality (in this case mental & pshyical fitness) are deteriorating too. It's simple logic.
So they either have to:
a) have no age limit
b) age like normal critters. :)


Relating to your arguement about food, i get what you're saying, but need a little clarification on a few points:

- Are these things solely aquatic, or are they land based, or are they both?
- The only thing they eat is water. It can't be pure water or they wouldn't be alive (i'll explain the logic behind that statement if you want), so it must have trace elements in it (like all Earth water does). is this the case (if so i'd advise stating as much in the race description (to avoid other people as troublesome as me 8) )).

Moriarty

p.s. don't take it personally. All part of the service. ;) ... Still waiting for peeps to find holes in my race (Sslith)... there must be some... :D

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utilae
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#10 Post by utilae »

Moriarty wrote: I can't see how this could be possible. If something is dying, then it's deteriorating. That in turn means that it's functionality (in this case mental & pshyical fitness) are deteriorating too. It's simple logic.
So they either have to:
a) have no age limit
b) age like normal critters. :)
Ok then, there mental fitness does not deteriorate, their physical fitness deteriorates. :)
Moriarty wrote: Relating to your arguement about food, i get what you're saying, but need a little clarification on a few points:

- Are these things solely aquatic, or are they land based, or are they both?
- The only thing they eat is water. It can't be pure water or they wouldn't be alive (i'll explain the logic behind that statement if you want), so it must have trace elements in it (like all Earth water does). is this the case (if so i'd advise stating as much in the race description (to avoid other people as troublesome as me 8) )).
They are land based, but can swim in the water and float in the air, effectivley achieving flight.

Ok, explain the logic. Is oxygen alone not enough, if it is would they just need more of it?

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#11 Post by Moriarty »

Float swim and fly? Thinking about it, the only things i can think of that do that on earth are certain diving birds.

Note: if you find any terms in this post u're not sure off, use:
http://labs.google.com/glossary
to find them out. It's got definitions for everything!!!

As to the oxygen thing... Oxygen is a atom.

As you can see from google glossary, you can't break up atoms any further to make chemicals.
there are a few potential exceptions:

1) you can smash atoms together (using super-colliders) to break them up into quarks/gluons/leprons and a whole host of other exotic matter. But at present i believe it's not accepted as possible to use these things to make different atoms.
2) By using fusion (the process that powers the sun) oxygen can be turned into some heavier elements. However that only allows heavier elements to be created (and off the top of my head, i think there are at least 7 atoms that are lighter than oxygen).

I hope that's clear. I have a knack for rambling on un-related subjects. ;)

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#12 Post by Impaler »

Good job with the nit-picking Moriarty let me give you a hand.

As I stated earlier breaking water apart into Hydrogen and Oxygen consumes energy, they must be combining the Oxygen with some other element like Carbon to yeild an energy surpluss. This is what we do when we metabalise food, we take a complex organic molicule containing carbon and combine it with Oxygen that we are breathing and give off Carbon Dioxide. Carbon Dioxide and Water represent the LOWEST energy states for Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. Inorder for an organism to live it must be converting molucules from a High energy state to a low energy state, the liberated energy drives the organisms life processes.

Floats, Swims and lives on Land? Are they able to change the density of their bodies a huge amount? Is the atmosphere of their planet super dense? If they are mostly fluid filled that would give them a density near that a of water like organisms we are familiar with. But to float through the Air they would have to liberate huge amounts of hydrogen internaly and swell up like a ballon. I can't realy see the advantage in this.

Their internal organs cant be made of iquid in the manor you describe. Their needs to be compartmentalization for it to keep one particular fluid or food or organ from just mixiing with its neibor. Even the cytoplasm of a single cell is full of various organesles and membranes to control the movment of materials. All these things could ofcorse be transparent but their need to be membranes.

Now let me Un-pick one of Moriaty's arguments on aging. Its not nessarily true that organisms must deteriorate before they die. That notion is based on the assumulated ware and tear theory of aging which states that organisms die only because their bodies ware out, though this is present its only part of story behind aging. Cells are for the most part being intentionaly instructed to stop reapairing themselves and to die. Its hypatheticaly possible that these organisms maintain perfect Cell health untill their DNA triggers a sudden cellular auto destruct. It could happen in less then a day and could have some interesting implications for how they view death.
Fear is the Mind Killer - Frank Herbert -Dune

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utilae
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#13 Post by utilae »

Impaler wrote: As I stated earlier breaking water apart into Hydrogen and Oxygen consumes energy, they must be combining the Oxygen with some other element like Carbon to yeild an energy surpluss. This is what we do when we metabalise food, we take a complex organic molicule containing carbon and combine it with Oxygen that we are breathing and give off Carbon Dioxide. Carbon Dioxide and Water represent the LOWEST energy states for Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. Inorder for an organism to live it must be converting molucules from a High energy state to a low energy state, the liberated energy drives the organisms life processes.
Well maybe the water contains other things.
Impaler wrote: Floats, Swims and lives on Land? Are they able to change the density of their bodies a huge amount? Is the atmosphere of their planet super dense? If they are mostly fluid filled that would give them a density near that a of water like organisms we are familiar with. But to float through the Air they would have to liberate huge amounts of hydrogen internaly and swell up like a ballon. I can't realy see the advantage in this.
The floating is for the ability to move through the air through a means of floating. There bodily shape also helps the move faster.
Impaler wrote: Their internal organs cant be made of iquid in the manor you describe. Their needs to be compartmentalization for it to keep one particular fluid or food or organ from just mixiing with its neibor. Even the cytoplasm of a single cell is full of various organesles and membranes to control the movment of materials. All these things could ofcorse be transparent but their need to be membranes.
Does there need to be compartmentalization, the mixing of one set of chemicals with another may not affect the Nocias as it would a human. Anyway I was thinking that they had billions of microscopic organs, so millions of micro organs would work together as one organ. There bodily makeup is so complex it uses theories of physics not yet discovered (ha ha :) ).

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#14 Post by Impaler »

Utilae I can tell you have never taken any classes in Physics or Chemistry so just trust me when I say it makes no sense.
The floating is for the ability to move through the air through a means of floating.
huu? :? The classic explination that explains nothing if I ever saw one

Floating means they are nutraly boyant and suspended in a fluid, you state that they float through both Air and water, this would require them to change their density by several ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE, the release of hydrogen gas would be an effective way to do this but it would require their bodies to stretch like rubber ballons and they would become highly vulnorable to being poped and or consumed in flames like the Hindanberg. Unless you can propose a VERY good reason for them to want and need to do this (like if its part of their migration or reproduction) then I am going to have to accuse your race of violating basic principles of evolution, that is a creature is not going to have an elaborate and expensive ability that dose not have a tangible benifit.
Fear is the Mind Killer - Frank Herbert -Dune

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#15 Post by utilae »

Then it defies physics and evolution in every way that can be justified. :) :wink: :P

I was thinking that the other chemicals (from its body) that are apart of some of these chemical reactions can be the answer to your every question and any disregard of physics or evolution.

+Plus they are 'baloon like' as you say, there skin is quite flexible. Also they have evolved like that (air, sea and land) to explore better, there natural need to be scientists. :)

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