Inhuman: Everything You Wanted To Know About Myches

Inhuman: Everything You Wanted To Know About Myches

Race Name: Myche (Myches being plural, "Space Donkeys" being the slang)
Homeworld Name: Unknown
Religions: None

Myches are a repto-mammalian race which places them into the same evolutionary catagory as very primative Hekshanians. Their appearance does not betray it, however. They lay eggs in a nest and are able to regrow lost limbs but are covered in thick fur.

Mating for Myches is very nonchalant. Myches do not mate for life or for extended periods of time. Most usually, it is the female who begins the courtship by finding a suitable male, although sometimes the male seeks out the female. The two will then construct a nest using fur from eachother's chests. The nest is usually about two meters in diameter and usually made in small places such as air ducts, closets, shelves etc. Once the nest is constructed, the two will mate either over it or nearby it if space does not permit. Myche copulation is similar to reptiles and avians. Their genetalia are not readily apparent. While the male 'mounts' the female, there is no act of penetration. Like birds and reptiles it is very difficult to 'sex' Myches.

Because of their fleeting concept of sexual relationships as well as their lack of external sex differences, if homosexuality occurs in Myches, they do not seem to think enough of it to say. It is more likely all Myches are bisexual and sometimes the courtship does end abruptly or continue without interuption if the two members discover they are of the same sex. It usually depends on how badly either one is interested in having offspring.

After mating, the male will leave for a time. The female will remain with the nest until she lays the eggs, which can take up to a week. Up to three eggs are laid at a time. The female will then cover the eggs with chest fur she has pulled out and leave the nest herself. The male and female will both return periodically during this time to check on the nest and defend it for short spurts, but essentially the eggs are on their own. Because nothing is known of the Myche homeworld and they are considered a 'born civilized' race it is really unknown how preditors are fended off in primitive enviroments. Males are ready to reproduce again in about 8 hours, but females must wait two weeks after laying eggs before laying them again. Females do not menstraute and there are no 'breeding seasons' for Myches.

Eggs take up to 4 months to hatch, but because of the absent parenthood they may be broken or stolen in that time. Upon birth a young Myche has a pale white fur coat and no mane. The young learn to walk within a few hours and are able to wander within two days. Once the parents find the offspring have hatched, they do not return to the nest. Myche children rarely know their parents and rarely care. They are mostly on their own to fend for themselves. Their coats begin to show colour at about 4 weeks of age. It is common that in large cities young Myches are considered 'vermin' for their lack of linguistic skills, small size, high population and rat-like way of living. At 4 weeks, they begin to develop linguistic skills as well. The period of fur colouring very often seperates the 'men from the boys' for Myches. The average myche lifespan is 76 years. The best years to mate are between 16 and 34. After that, defects in the offspring are risked and before that the males are sterile.

In appearance it is hard to tell the reptilian side of Myches as they look very similar to a small equine or canine. They are a quadruped species and covered in a dense very bright fur and a large mane. The bright colouration of Myche fur seems to show no distinct pattern. Spots, stripes, bands, socks, streaks, rings, brindles, calicos and highlights are all found in Myche colourations. It is supposed that whatever world Myches originated from was very very 'loud' in terms of colour because Myche fur patterns can, and will be, any colour of the rainbow. More dimmly coloured Myches are very rare and sometimes considered less attractive by members of their own species. Myche body structure is very dense, mostly consisting of thick muscle. Their tails are heavy and used more as a weapon in confrontation than for balance. It is well known a lash from a myche tail could break a leg, if hit in the right place. Myches have no external sex characteristics. Males and females are exactly the same size and build, although Myches do grow larger with age.

With their large ears, Myches have a very keen sense of hearing. Their sight, however, is not very keen and so they rely on their other senses to get by. Myches are omnivores, probably evolved from scavengers, and their dental structure reflects this. Their teeth are more for ripping and tearing than for grinding or grasping.

The paw structure of Myches is very strange. A small pad exists on the tip of each digit, and Myches are actually capable of excreting a sticky substance over this pad. This enables them to not only climb very steep surfaces (probably the evolved purpose) but also to pick up and manipulate objects that their large paws would normally not allow. Making use of these sticky pads and their exceptional brains, Myches have become the leading inventors and mechanics in the universe.

Little is actually known about Myche history, as they have been a space-faring race for many centuries prior. Originally quite reclusive, Myches were the of first races to eventually reach out and greet another exterterrestrial species. This was not met with a positive reaction, however, as their language was difficult to understand and their appearance made them 'cute' and desirable as 'pets'. And so, for many years, Myches existed more as slaves than the intelligent race they were. During this time they lost the majority of their cultural history and religion but proved amazingly adaptable. When Myches finally managed to train their tongues around the Universal language, it went through spacefaring cultures like a shock. Since then, for the past 700 years, Myches have been a free race.

During their time in slavery, Myches did nothing but study. They knew even then that knowledge would be the key to their freedom, and so when they had finally learned to speak Uni they were well prepared to enter the Uni speaking job market. Myches seem to have an inexplicable talent for all things mechanical and so today are in constant employment for technological fields from ship repair to system administration. It was actually Myches which not only constructed the Jump Gates but also formulated the very theories of matter transmission the gates are based upon. There are, of course, those who resent this talent and so Myches sometimes find themselves at the brunt of racist commentary.

Perhaps as a part of their mechanical minds, Myches prefer not to be found out on the battlefield but rather in factories and back at base camp. Myches have never really 'picked a side' in conflicts, they tend to stay with whoever offers to fuel their desire to build and modify. Individual Myches have individual passions within this, and so while one Myche may love modifying old planes and so opt to work for a floundering bankrupt repair company, another may prefer medical technology advancement and work under the Rulerists.

If Myches had an original religion, it must not have contained any strict feelings on 'right' and 'wrong' behavior. Myches do not believe in an afterlife or an omnipotent God and simply cannot understand the concepts. They may swear by Gods, but this is more an adaptation of linguistics than a true statement of faith. Essentially, Myches exist to get through life and that is all. While not quite nihalistic- they have their passions- this attitude is difficult to explain to others, especially after a seemingly successful Myche may give up a wealthy life and become a hermit in the woods to play with pullies and string.

In their own language, Myches do not use pronouns except when refering to large groups. It is considered rude and arrogant that you would assume everyone knew who you were refering to with the use of words such as 'I' 'me' or 'my'. Likewise, it is considered unattractively subserviant to call others 'he/she' 'his/her' 'you/your' etc. Large groups are exempt from this as Myches believe a group is stronger than any individual. A subtle way of 'talking down' to a group in the Myche version of Uni is to replace a group pronoun with a word describing that group. This essentially means the group is no more intelligent or useful than a single person. In the Myche langauge, however, this does not fly as Myches catch on to it rather quickly. Myches will always use a name in place of a prounoun (Sartre is glad to see Ashido is awake) but usually retain the Uni grammatical structure as if a prounoun had been used. If a name is not known, Myches will use an occupation or a word best describing someone around themselves instead (ie: Patient, Medic, Pilot).

The Myche language itself is a series of low growls and hisses, as well as an the occassional high-pitched sound. Most people can not understand it and so Myches usually refrain from speaking it. It has no pronouncable name. Usually, though, Myches are known to be in good humor in both languages and do not mind being social or making friends. Sartre is a rarity amoung Myches for his beligerant attitude.