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| * '''Skal''': Similar to Terran scorpions, except the last pair of legs are long and strong, adapted for leaping. Most Dachlyd regard them as a nuisance—except when a skal stings an unlucky person in the eye or mouth. | | * '''Skal''': Similar to Terran scorpions, except the last pair of legs are long and strong, adapted for leaping. Most Dachlyd regard them as a nuisance—except when a skal stings an unlucky person in the eye or mouth. |
| ==Science==
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| There is a growing trend in Dachlyd industry supporting biotechnology. The developments which receive the most interest and acclaim specifically deal with lifespan-terminated engineered organisms, sometimes referred to as "lifespanned engineered organisms" or by the acronym "LEOs". Many advances have been made in designing organisms with specific functions to replace architectural or mechanical constructs.
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| The theory behind replacing traditional, crafted buildings and goods is simple: Most living organisms require simple chemical compounds to grow and regenerate. Traditional technology relies on many refined elements and compounds, and sometimes dangerous (toxic, volatile, etc.) substances as well. Therefore a LEO is cheaper and safer than its inorganic counterpart. Also, inorganic technology is static, where a LEO will grow to fill its designated niche and adapt as it is used to be more efficient. The developments in lifespan-terminated engineered organisms, while suffering some setbacks, have become a large portion of Dachlyd industry and continue to progress through diligent research.
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| Currently, the Dachlyd have not engineered any biological vessels capable of spaceflight. Some advancement has been made in supplementing or replacing space station systems with bio-engineered creatures.
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| Precautions: In order to prevent uncontrolled populations of engineered life, Dachlyd scientists have created organisms which require synthesized food. As a further precaution, LEOs have no reproductive systems. This lack of dangerous organs also saves on the cost of creating and supporting an engineered organism. An additional precaution is that LEOs are "lifespan-terminated" meaning that they live a set length of time, whether hours, days, months, or years depends upon their function and their artificial genes. Having a set lifespan reduces instances of mutation and also ensures demand for new replacement organisms. Finally, there is "The Gap". "The Gap" is a political and ethical boundary which governs the creation of biological entities: Rules limit development to lower animal life, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/autotroph autotrophs] and plants being outright banned; further any creature displaying sentient behavior to the extent of self-awareness must be euthanized and further development of such organisms halted. By requiring a diet which does not naturally occur, lacking natural reproduction, dying after a determined lifespan, and not being capable of producing its own energy nor being conscious, a LEO presents only a marginal risk to naturally occurring lifeforms.
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| Rumors: Among elite scientists and certain philosophers, there are whisperings that any biologically engineered organism capable of surviving the vacuum and raw radiations present in spaceflight would need to be at least somewhat sentient to be capable of governing its complex functions.
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| {{Atlasfooter}} | | {{Atlasfooter}} |
| [[Category:Planets]] | | [[Category:Planets]] |
| [[Category:Homeworlds]] | | [[Category:Homeworlds]] |
| [[Category:Class M planets]] | | [[Category:Class M planets]] |