Shifters

Roughly resembling sharks of planet Earth, each specimen is in fact a clonal colony composed of many physically connected, interdependent organisms. They are an extreme product of species interdependence and specialization to the point of them becoming organs of a greater whole. Individual organisms within the shifters are genetically identical and are connected by tissue and nerve endings.

These aliens of the deep are noted for their deep philosophical culture and advances in bio-engineering. The Shifters are also exceptional in that they were the only advanced civilization to enter the space age without conventional rocketry. Their space vessels, as is almost every ‘technology’ the Shifters have, were living bio-forms, artificially selected and genetically modified for the desired traits over the course of their billion-year-long civilization. 

The Shifters are a long-lived species.  With each ‘module’ having its own lifespan, the concept of death itself is different. Biologically, a shifter is near-immortal, but an individual is said to have ‘died’ when all the previous cognitive modules expired and were replaced with fresh ones. In turn, in terms of personality and character, the ‘new’ shifter would be drastically different.

At present, it is unknown if their home world of Kallol had survived the Deluge. However, compared to other space civilizations, the Shifters may have fared better, given how decentralized their “empire” was. Simply consuming one world would not have allowed the Deluge to gain knowledge and coordinates of all other worlds and installations in their empire.

Shifter Society

Dreams occupy a prominent role in Shifter society. Because each cognitive module could sleep at different times, shifters can experience dreams while technically awake. At any time, a Shifter sees two or more visions: one of the reality and the others of myriad sensations each sleeping module conjures up. Because of their ability to dissociate from reality, Shifters are known for their creativity, stoicism, and, at times, sheer savagery.

On Infinity Horizon, stripped of access to the bio-engineered ecosystems they had cultivated for eons, they have been reduced to a more primitive and secluded existence. Still highly intelligent and cunning, but incapable of sustaining a complex civilization of their own. The irony is that apart from some surviving A.I., they might be the only ones to fully remember the bygone age of interstellar civilizations.