Webbling Biology

Astraiunctum metamorph, commonly referred to as Webblings, are polymorphic species who exist within a metasocial society, meaning that that they conform to a biological caste system within their own species much like ants, or termites on Earth, but all individuals share a collective consciousness.

Life Cycle
Webblings have four main stages within their life cycle; Consciousness Formation, egg, pupa, and adult.

Webblings typically begin life as a primal psychic essence within the Hive Mind and through a process called Consciousness Formation, they develop sapience. Once they become aware, their mind is instinctually drawn into a dormant egg.

All eggs are produced by the Webbling Queen via a process called Weaving, a complex ability which involves the psychic manipulation of molecules to form a desired object, in this instance a Webbling egg. The Queen typically ensures that the number of eggs stored within the Webb Star is equal to the active population, and an additional surplus of 20% of said population to cope with any potential new Webblings being created via Consciousness Formation.

Webbling eggs have two layers which protect the contents of the egg, the inner layer is made of a hardy, mineral dense material to protect the egg’s contents, whereas the outer layer is made of a densely packed form of silk, which is connected loosely to the inner layer. This silk is laced with a non-fatal paralytic agent, which triggers once eaten, or when inhaled after the threads are broken.

After a Webbling egg has been created, Royal Webblings will transport the egg from the Queen’s Chamber to one of the many Egg Chambers found within the Webb Star. These eggs will remain dormant until a Webbling consciousness is drawn into them, after which they will activate. Once an egg does become active, they begin to give off a subtle level of psychic pressure and heat which can be detected by Royal Webblings, who then will transport the activated eggs to a Nursing Pod within one of the many Pod Chambers.

Upon being sealed within a Nursing Pod the egg quickly develops into a pupa. Early stages of pupation presents as a generalized body forming, this body eventually develops into one of the more specialised forms found within the species. Only once the Webbling’s body has developed into an adult do they emerge from the Nursing Pod, typically this process takes 7 days to complete but some Webblings emerge a few days earlier, or later.

On average an adult Webbling body can last up to 70 years, however their body can be completely rejuvenated by a Recuperation Pod; or if a Webbling happens to expire, and their consciousness is still within in the Hive Mind, they may restart their physical life cycle by being drawn into a dormant egg.

Non-reincarnated Webblings will always follow the natural ‘hatch template’, meaning they fall under the Worker role, and their natural body state will be within the Fuzz Ball category. However, during their life they are able to change both their current role, and natural body state, which will persist if they ever need to reincarnate.

Conversion
It is possible for certain non-Webbling individuals to be psychically compatible with the Hive Mind. If a Webbling encounters individuals with said compatibility, they will be observed and protected covertly by a Spy Webbling until a sizable number of other Webblings in the Hive Mind agree that they would be accepted if they joined. After being assessed as socially compatible, their assigned Spy Webbling will explain the situation to the observed individual, and offer them the chance to be converted.

It is vital to ensure the individual understands both the process, which is long and relatively painful, and what Webbling society is like; and as such the individual is also given the offer to live in the Webb Star until they come to a decision. The individuals living in the Webb Star are paired with a Webbling, who will take care of them until a decision is made.

Those who decline the offer to be converted are left alone and/or returned home, where as those who accept are taken immediately to a Conversion Pod within a Pod Chamber. These pods connect the individual to the Hive Mind by breaking their body down to their nervous system and reconfigure it to match Webbling biology, after which the pod constructs them a new Webbling body.

Abilities
As a species Webblings have both universal and role specific abilities to make them as effective possible in their day to day lives, but not overstrain their body. For details on role specific abilities please see Webbling Roles.

Shapeshifting
Webblings are able to change their anatomy at will to mimic the morphology of any species they have previously observed, a more complex form of this ability, called deep shifting, requires a Webbling to have the Morph Sequence of a species, in order to mimic both the anatomy and physiology of a said species.

Maintaining a shifted form requires a baseline level of effort and cannot be maintained indefinitely; eventually a shifted Webbling will need to revert to their natural state, else they risk harming their body. While the duration for how long a Webbling can remain shifted varies, typically a Webbling can last between 24 hours to 7 days in a shifted form. The main exception to this being Spy Webblings who are specialised to maintain shifted forms and may remain in one form for years, if they are suitably nourished.

While a Webbling has deep shifted into a form, they function identically to a member of that species, it is also possible for a Webbling to partially deep shift to be able to replicate a specific ability from a Morph Sequence they have access to, while in their Webbling form, this form of shifting is referred to as shallow shifting.

Similarly, Webblings are universally able to mimic different forms of basic materials to create temporary clothing over their shifted form, however these clothes must be attached to the Webbling’s main body in some way in order to maintain their shape and properties, else they will break down rapidly. This form of shifting is referred to as veil shifting, and typically it is only used if the Webbling cannot wear externally created clothing as this form of shifting increases the effort needed to maintain any shifted forms.

Surface Adhesion
Webblings are able to stick to almost any physical surface, even while shifted, due to a large amount of specialised nanoscopic hairs on their body. In order to stop sticking to a surface a Webbling can consciously retract said hairs.

Regeneration
Provided they are able to consume biomass to maintain it, a Webbling can regenerate any part of their body over time. Depending on the severity, the time can range from an hour to heal a small cut, to a week to regenerate a new leg.

The process of regeneration itself causes discomfort, and in more severe cases large amounts of pain, as the nerves are frequently fired around the affected area as it regenerates.

Psychic Link
Webblings are linked to the Hive Mind which gives them a number of useful abilities, such as allowing them to communicate telepathically regardless of distance, reincarnate into a new body if they should ever expire, or allow their body to run on auto pilot while they rest their mind.

Psychic Barbs
Any entity, or individual foreign to the Hive Mind attempting to invade the mental space of a Webbling will be met with a strong psychic defence, this defines triggers intense pain in said invader, as well as block any further attempts of psychic probing, similar to an immune response. This response is immediately amplified, as all other Webblings are able to contribute to the defences, additionally other Webblings will be then immune to being psychically affected by that same entity this process is referred to as swarm immunity.

Other Webblings in the Hive Mind may contribute their psychic barbs to a Webbling being psychically invaded to intensify the pain against the invader.

Universal Translator
Webblings are able to bypass a majority of language barriers by their innate ability to sense the intentions of other organic beings, additionally, any particular languages learnt by the Hive Mind can be accessed by any Webbling at any time.

Volatile Blood
The blood found within Webblings is extremely acidic and is capable of dissolving materials it comes into contact with.

Trivia

 * Typically, Webblings do not recall their own early interactions during their consciousness formation.
 * Very rarely multiple Webbling consciousnesses can be drawn into the same dormant egg, however an egg can only sustain and develop up to three Webblings.