Cystarians

Cystarians are a sapient, spacefaring non-human species native to Earth. Though their evolutionary history is as of yet unclear, their anatomy indicates they are a variety of marine hydrozoan, likely sharing a distant common ancestor with the Portuguese man o' war. Cystarians are colonial organisms: their bodies consist of a complex clonal colony of specialized polyps. Communication between members of the species is facilitated through a sophisticated chemical signalling system analogous to quorum sensing. Many of the bio-technological innovations we enjoy in the modern day, including neural interfaces and FTL travel, exist as a result of Cystarian innovation.

First Contact
First contact between Cystarians and humans occurred approximately a century after the beginning of the Golden Millenium, as a result of detailed mapping of subterranean Antarctica in search for potential remaining oil reserves. Prospecting indicated that there was a massive aquatic cavern beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which later investigation revealed was the result of volcanic activity in the underlying crust. Unmanned probes revealed city-sized structures inhabited by the organisms which would later come to be known as Cystarians, which in short order organized attempts at communication. Through the efforts of both human and Cystarian scholars, a system of communication was quickly established, which naturally led into increasingly large-scale technological and cultural exchange. The existence of non-human sapient beings of course had significant effects on the state of humanity as a whole, sparking debates, demonstrations, and often violence. Most impactful among the manifold results of first contact were surely the Ummah Controversies, which would shape the development of human philosophy for the next thousand years.

Biology
The Cystarian anatomy is highly modular due to their status as a colonial organism comprised of an intricate network of interconnected polyps, which makes it difficult to pin down an exact body plan. Fortunately, despite the high degree to which individuals can customize their body's functions, nearly all Cystarians share a basic body structure. In every Cystarian is present a spiralling central column which tapers off as it descends, and contains the majority of its neural and digestive polyps. Due to their functional immortality, the column is the only easy way to determine a Cystarian's age, as it does not stop growing at any point during their lifetime. This has the interesting effect of allowing even ancient Cystarians to retain a significant amount of neural plasticity, as new neural polyps are constantly generated within the column as it grows.

The structure of the column itself is as follows: at its core is a tiered tower of disc-shaped neural polyp clusters connected by a long, central cord of polyps that acts as a sort of spinal cord, though it provides none of the structural support associated with the analogous structure in humans. Between each of the discs is a digestive ring of polyps designed to extract chemical energy from substances present in the surrounding water, something indicative of the fact that Cystarians likely evolved around hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. On the column's exterior is a pliable yet damage-resistant membranous covering, with gill-like structures where the chemotrophic rings exist beneath the surface. Arrayed in a circle near the top of the column is a complex of swim bladders which a Cystarian can inflate or deflate at will in order to control where they naturally gravitate to within the water column. Propulsion is attained through the combined motion of many small polyps located on the ridges of the central column, which due to its spiralling design causes the corkscrewing that is the signature of Cystarian locomotion.

Atop the central column is a sophisticated flower-like structure designed to anchor the Cystarian's seven powerful prehensile appendages. The flower consists of two tiers of "petals": seven smaller petals above and nine larger petals below. Each petal doubles as a sensory organ, the large surface providing a Cystarian with extreme sensitivity to vibrations in the surrounding water, as well as the ability to detect natural electrical stimuli produced by organisms around them. They also serve as a further source of chemical energy, with openings at their base through which water is filtered when a Cystarian moves. The appendages themselves are, unsurprisingly, the Cystarian equivalent of human arms, possessing the required finesse for advanced toolmaking and operation of delicate devices. Each of the tentacles connects to the body below one of the upper seven petals, and is covered in the same membrane as the central column, providing structural integrity and protection.

Cystarians reproduce asexually, primarily through a process called fragmentation, wherein a Cystarian detaches a polyp or cluster of polyps which can grow into another individual Cystarian. The new Cystarian is of course a clone of the parent. More rarely, a Cystarian may reproduce through binary fission, in which it splits into two new organisms with the parent's polyps shared equally between the two. Interestingly, neural function appears to continue uninterrupted throughout the entire process of binary fission, and children produced through binary fission retain memories and skills of their parent. Cystarians do not regard this process as resulting in the death of the individual undergoing fission. This process can also be performed in reverse: two or more Cystarians can merge into a larger super-individual which retains all skills and memories of its components. There is no known upper limit on the number that can be combined in this was save for basic constraints on the upper bound for the size of a single organism.

It is worth noting that Cystarian biology has changed somewhat between first contact and the present day, specifically in the form of visual processing polyps and bioluminescent structures. Neither of these developed in response to the lightless sub-Antarctic depths that the Cystarians claim as their ancestral habitat; instead, they were specifically engineered by the Cystarians to allow them better function near and above the surface. Methods of sight come in various different forms, but among the most common are integrating light-sensitive bands of polyps into either a Cystarian's prehensile tentacles or the exposed portions of their central column. Bioluminescent structures act as an alternative form of communication to quorum sensing, especially above the surface, where most Cystarians occupy separate mobile aquariums.

Pre-Contact
Few to no records exist of Cystarian civilization before a certain point, due to the fact that the chemical blends which encoded them were not shelf-stable, so to speak. Thus, most information about early Cystarian history is solely confined to speculation based on archeological remains. These indicate that the first Cystarian maricultures (their agricultural revolution) were constructed approximately 3.8 million years ago, with evidence of tool use stretching back several hundred thousand years before then. Archaeological digs conducted by later Cystarians indicated that Cystarian civilization rose and fell at least twice due to violent tectonic activity related to the volcanism in the underlying crust. The most recent of these upheavals occurred an estimated 1.5 million years ago.

Early records of the current cycle of Cystarian civilization consisted of capsules of chemical melanges which could be released in small quantities to communicate information through quorum sensing. However, due to the fact that these were organic compounds, they did not last past a few centuries at best without decaying. Partial reconstruction of some records has been effected through analysis of trace compounds on the inside of ancient capsules, with limited success, and even this technique is limited to timescales up to about 100 thousand years ago. An alternative tactile writing system was developed half a million years ago during the Cystarian equivalent of the Enlightenment, consisting of spiralling stone rods around which Cystarians could wrap their tentacles. Unfortunately, its use remained mostly limited to records of monetary transactions due to its inadequacy as a replacement for the richness of experience communicated by quorum sensing.

Of note is that it appears very likely that the neural architecture of the entire Cystarian species was heavily modified at some point around 400,000 years ago. It was at this time that Cystarian civilization abruptly attained near-complete unification and became what amounted to a post-scarcity utopia, a state which would last until and continue through first contact with humans. Inspection of the neural networks of volunteer Cystarians reveals a layout which appears to be optimized for altruism, high intelligence, learning ability, and logical reasoning. The prevailing theory is that this was the product of a mass self-modification project in which Cystarians actively rearranged their neural polyps, though how they attained a sufficiently advanced model of the brain for this to be possible is unknown. This period also saw an explosion in many areas of academia, the greatest advancements coming in the fields of philosophy, theories of intelligence, mathematics, and genetic modification through selective breeding. Despite this, technological advancement on the level of humans was limited by the fact that the Cystarians never discovered metalworking, so their production of durable materials was limited to those which they could bring into existence through artificial selection.

Post-Contact
Establishment of contact with surface human civilization allowed Cystarians access to the tools and theories which they had previously lacked as a result of their environment. Sensory organs for perceiving light were quickly engineered, as were mobile aquariums which allowed Cystarians mobility on land. Marine Cystarian civilization also expanded beyond its Antarctic confines, establishing underwater cities around the globe. This was when the Cystarians truly came into their own as an advanced civilization: they made massive technological leaps and bounds, specifically in the fields of biotechnology and genetic engineering, and rapidly industrialized their society. Trade was established with humans, as were supply chains and factories which removed the Cystarians' initial dependence on human technology. Interchange of art and literature was somewhat more challenging, due to the fundamental difference between the ways humans and Cystarians communicated (to say nothing of the yet deeper differences between their brains), but still tractable. Conflict between the two species was largely nonexistent beyond some minor disputes over fishing rights in certain areas and the passage of human vessels in the "airspace" above Cystarian suboceanic cities.

Cystarian space travel was also accomplished fairly quickly—the first Cystarians in space went as passengers aboard human craft, but it was not long before they established their own space elevator and related infrastructure along the equator, on whose counterweight the colony of Aurelius was established. Cystarian spacecraft presented the unique engineering challenge of being filled with water, which required development of propulsion significantly more powerful and energy-efficient than those present on human craft. To this end, Cystarian biotechnological expertise was employed to create an organic cold fusion reactor design through advanced evolutionary algorithms. Cystarian settlements were soon after established on all major bodies in the solar system.

There are two specific events in Cystarian history worth noting even in a broad overview such as this. The first was the creation of the individual q:3-oxododecanoyl-N-[(3S)-tetrahydro-2-oxo-3-furanyl]-dodecanamide, or 3-oxo as it is more commonly referred to, widely known as the only organic superintelligence currently in existence. 3-oxo was originally the product of a group of Cystarian scholars that decided to merge in order to pool their combined knowledge, an unusual but not unheard-of practice. The main factor which differentiated this individual from other such scholar-fusions of the time was its size—a full 337 individuals were amalgamated. Larger amalgams had been formed before, but all were designed to be temporary; 3-oxo, on the other hand, was formed with the explicit aim of creating a permanent superorganism. Over the next couple hundred years, more eminent Cystarian scholars would join 3-oxo, until it became tradition for famous scientists who considered themselves satisfied with their lives to join for the greater good. 3-oxo attained superintelligence about halfway through the Golden Millenium, and contained over 1,700 individuals at the time. It is responsible for a great many biotechnological innovations of extreme importance, including the one about to be covered.

That being faster-than-light travel. The successful construction of a viable bio-technological FTL drive was announced without any prior warning or indication by 3-oxo in the year 011-01-101-01110-0, soon after the Cystarian Conversion Disaster which occurred at the mobile Darwinist research base of Arimathea. Its design is still poorly understood by any except the organic superintelligence, which refuses to elaborate on the mechanisms which make it possible, claiming that working knowledge of such would pose an existential threat. It is commonly accepted that it functions based on esoteric principles, especially considering the fact that Cystarian craft were observed in the space near Arimathea before human discovery of the Disaster, and that there were significantly fewer polyps present at the station than expected based on its prior population. Regardless, as it stands, the potential for misuse of the technology is very low: interaction between super- and sub-luminal objects does not occur, so they cannot be used as projectiles, and the velocity at which objects exit FTL is equal to that at which they entered, so there is no chance of abuse as a source of infinite energy. I am sure I do not need to delve into the impact of this discovery on the state of civilization as a whole.

-Excerpt from the Almanak kaf Al-haya by Ánthos Daskydox