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Description
One of the more dominant and widespread intelligent taxa of hydrocarbon life, irins are not an uncommon sight even among higher-temperature species. A longstanding feature of the interstellar community, they made contact with the rest of the Bubble fairly early on. Not only this, but they were colonising space long beforehand, with their spacefaring history stretching back far enough that their various colony worlds have diverged into a wide range of cultures.

Like many "older" species, their original homeworld is of comparatively little significance. Certain colonies have played an important role in bringing the parallel cultures of low-temperature methane worlds out of the Age of Myth. Important enough that many think of them as "the arvons of methane life", in comparison to the influence the arvon species has had during the same period.

But it was these colonies' contribution following the failure of machines that marked the Awakening that was arguably the most important. Mainly in that water and ammonia life were just as dependant on these contributions - in the past, and in the present to a lesser extent, organisms that use liquid methane and/or ethane as a solvent were at best looked on dismissively, and had little influence socially and politically outside of their own societies. These occurrences gave them some leverage, mitigating the imbalance of power to an extent.

Biology

As methane life, irins use liquid methane as a solvent, living on icy planets and (more often) moons below the substance's boiling point. They breathe hydrogen, a common constituent of the atmospheres of such worlds, which is used to release energy by breaking down large hydrocarbons into smaller molecules, especially those with a high number of double and triple bonds.

In contrast to many other forms of hydrocarbon life - which, slow-moving and sluggish even when intelligent, tend to be radially symmetrical - irins have bilateral symmetry. Six long, spindly legs support their bodies in the low gravity of many methane worlds, and another front pair of limbs have been adapted for holding and manipulating objects.

They are covered in an exoskeleton, serving both a protective function and providing structural support, with an especially thick shell. This shell constantly grows as an irin gets bigger, with new rings forming at the bottom of the last. Only partial retraction into the shell is possible - some related, non-sapient species from their biosphere are able to enter their shells fully, but the capacity seems to have been lost in irins.

Two eyes on soft, boneless stalks provide them with vision - these eyes differ from the more common single-lens eyes and compound eyes, with a small-scale structure more similar to optical fibre. This ensures the light they receive is direction dependant, allowing them to resolve images. As their original homeworld had no considerable layer of tholin haze common on many other hydrocarbon worlds, and it is in a system with a k-type star, their vision is attuned to the visible spectrum (barring blue) rather than the infrared that might overwise be expected. The eyes, relatively fragile, are able to retract fully into the shell. A mouth is present on their underside, with a somewhat beak-like pair of small pedipalps between another longer pair. These are derived from legs, and the inner two are suited mainly for cutting down plant matter and other sedentary organisms, while the outer two gather food. Also on their underside is a pair of breathing holes, able to produce a wide range of tone used in their various languages.

One aspect of their biology is of particular note. During times when food is scarce or temperatures are inhospitable (not uncommon given methane's low liquid range) many species in the irin biosphere are able to voluntarily die, leaving a small piece of themselves behind to grow into a new individual once conditions are better. Irins are among those species capable of doing so. This could be seen as a kind of asexual reproduction, only the tissue left behind includes part of the brain, and memories are retained. In fact, memories and cognitive faculties are kept surprisingly intact given how little of the brain survives, suggesting selective pressures contributed to their maintenance. So, naturally, an irin's concept of identity extends across this process of dying and rebirth.

Rebirth is induced deliberately by irins, and plays an important role in most cultures. Usually, after enough time, it is seen as natural to replace a worn-down body this way. This has the end result of irins living an incredibly long length of time, and lifespans already tend to be long for slow, low-temperature life, which contributed to their importance during post-Awakening recovery. It has also historically been very useful when colonising space, with many early colonists voluntarily dying and only sending their "seeds" into space. The process is imperfect, however, and eventually it's no longer possible to continue the cycle, but this does take a very long time.

Description
One of the more dominant and widespread intelligent taxa of hydrocarbon life, irins are not an uncommon sight even among higher-temperature species. A longstanding feature of the interstellar community, they made contact with the rest of the Bubble fairly early on. Not only this, but they were colonising space long beforehand, with their spacefaring history stretching back far enough that their various colony worlds have diverged into a wide range of cultures.

Like many "older" species, their original homeworld is of comparatively little significance. Certain colonies have played an important role in bringing the parallel cultures of low-temperature methane worlds out of the Age of Myth. Important enough that many think of them as "the arvons of methane life", in comparison to the influence the arvon species has had during the same period.

But it was these colonies' contribution following the failure of machines that marked the Awakening that was arguably the most important. Mainly in that water and ammonia life were just as dependant on these contributions - in the past, and in the present to a lesser extent, organisms that use liquid methane and/or ethane as a solvent were at best looked on dismissively, and had little influence socially and politically outside of their own societies. These occurrences gave them some leverage, mitigating the imbalance of power to an extent.

Biology

As methane life, irins use liquid methane as a solvent, living on icy planets and (more often) moons below the substance's boiling point. They breathe hydrogen, a common constituent of the atmospheres of such worlds, which is used to release energy by breaking down large hydrocarbons into smaller molecules, especially those with a high number of double and triple bonds.

In contrast to many other forms of hydrocarbon life - which, slow-moving and sluggish even when intelligent, tend to be radially symmetrical - irins have bilateral symmetry. Six long, spindly legs support their bodies in the low gravity of many methane worlds, and another front pair of limbs have been adapted for holding and manipulating objects.

They are covered in an exoskeleton, serving both a protective function and providing structural support, with an especially thick shell. This shell constantly grows as an irin gets bigger, with new rings forming at the bottom of the last. Only partial retraction into the shell is possible - some related, non-sapient species from their biosphere are able to enter their shells fully, but the capacity seems to have been lost in irins.

Two eyes on soft, boneless stalks provide them with vision - these eyes differ from the more common single-lens eyes and compound eyes, with a small-scale structure more similar to optical fibre. This ensures the light they receive is direction dependant, allowing them to resolve images. As their original homeworld had no considerable layer of tholin haze common on many other hydrocarbon worlds, and it is in a system with a k-type star, their vision is attuned to the visible spectrum (barring blue) rather than the infrared that might overwise be expected. The eyes, relatively fragile, are able to retract fully into the shell. A mouth is present on their underside, with a somewhat beak-like pair of small pedipalps between another longer pair. These are derived from legs, and the inner two are suited mainly for cutting down plant matter and other sedentary organisms, while the outer two gather food. Also on their underside is a pair of breathing holes, able to produce a wide range of tone used in their various languages.

One aspect of their biology is of particular note. During times when food is scarce or temperatures are inhospitable (not uncommon given methane's low liquid range) many species in the irin biosphere are able to voluntarily die, leaving a small piece of themselves behind to grow into a new individual once conditions are better. Irins are among those species capable of doing so. This could be seen as a kind of asexual reproduction, only the tissue left behind includes part of the brain, and memories are retained. In fact, memories and cognitive faculties are kept surprisingly intact given how little of the brain survives, suggesting selective pressures contributed to their maintenance. So, naturally, an irin's concept of identity extends across this process of dying and rebirth.

Rebirth is induced deliberately by irins, and plays an important role in most cultures. Usually, after enough time, it is seen as natural to replace a worn-down body this way. This has the end result of irins living an incredibly long length of time, and lifespans already tend to be long for slow, low-temperature life, which contributed to their importance during post-Awakening recovery. It has also historically been very useful when colonising space, with many early colonists voluntarily dying and only sending their "seeds" into space. The process is imperfect, however, and eventually it's no longer possible to continue the cycle, but this does take a very long time.