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Description

Calypsians are a species of vaguely theropodal sophonts native to the moon Calypso in the Proxima Centauri system, and were the first extraterrestrial intelligence to be contacted by humanity during a crewed mission to their homeworld in the late 22nd century CE. At three meters tall, they tower over most other sophonts, and their biochemical basis is radically different from any other sophont species in known space: Calypsians breathe hydrogen (exhaling methane) and have biochemical structures based on both carbon and silicon that allow them to thrive in the conventionally uninhabitable environment of their frigid homeworld.

Like the rest of their biosphere, Calypsian sensory processing is largely based on hyper-fine sonic ranging supplemented by moderate infrared “vision”; useful for organisms living in the dim glow of a red dwarf sun. Their primary sense is biosonar, facilitated by a complex hydrostatic organ not unlike those of Earth's dolphins. Calypsians use different sonic frequencies for different purposes: lower ultrasound frequencies (20-40 kHz) are used to communicate linguistically, while higher frequencies (40-80 kHz) are used for echolocation. These adaptations, as well as their overall physiology, were shaped by their ancestry as pack-hunting predators.

Shortly after first contact between humans and Calypsians, the two species formed an agreement of interstellar cohabitance called the Proxima Accords, which grant the Calypsians exclusive first claim to any Calypso-like worlds discovered. However, Calypsians are considerably less technologically advanced than other spacefaring civilizations, and their range is further limited by the fact that planetary environments which mirror their homeworld are relatively rare in the local interstellar group.

All of these factors have led Calypsian civilization to opt against becoming a full member of the United Spacefaring Sophonts Coalition, as their environmental comfort ranges are so far from overlapping those of other USSC members that attempting integration would be pointless. They are content to remain USSC allies instead.

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getting into stuff from the actual backlog now; I felt the time was right. now we're getting into one of my main focuses/longtime interests: speculative biology! while the Calypsians have been canon to Astra Planeta since its major metamorphosis in 2017, it took me a good long while to concoct a design for them that I was truly happy with. I miiiiiiight end up redesigning them eventually, but I'm pretty happy with how they look at present. also, I'll be happy to answer any questions about their biology, biochemistry, and/or ecology in the comments; I just didn't wanna over-pack the description.

Initial version completed 11/09/2020, latest tweak 20/06/2020.

Description

Calypsians are a species of vaguely theropodal sophonts native to the moon Calypso in the Proxima Centauri system, and were the first extraterrestrial intelligence to be contacted by humanity during a crewed mission to their homeworld in the late 22nd century CE. At three meters tall, they tower over most other sophonts, and their biochemical basis is radically different from any other sophont species in known space: Calypsians breathe hydrogen (exhaling methane) and have biochemical structures based on both carbon and silicon that allow them to thrive in the conventionally uninhabitable environment of their frigid homeworld.

Like the rest of their biosphere, Calypsian sensory processing is largely based on hyper-fine sonic ranging supplemented by moderate infrared “vision”; useful for organisms living in the dim glow of a red dwarf sun. Their primary sense is biosonar, facilitated by a complex hydrostatic organ not unlike those of Earth's dolphins. Calypsians use different sonic frequencies for different purposes: lower ultrasound frequencies (20-40 kHz) are used to communicate linguistically, while higher frequencies (40-80 kHz) are used for echolocation. These adaptations, as well as their overall physiology, were shaped by their ancestry as pack-hunting predators.

Shortly after first contact between humans and Calypsians, the two species formed an agreement of interstellar cohabitance called the Proxima Accords, which grant the Calypsians exclusive first claim to any Calypso-like worlds discovered. However, Calypsians are considerably less technologically advanced than other spacefaring civilizations, and their range is further limited by the fact that planetary environments which mirror their homeworld are relatively rare in the local interstellar group.

All of these factors have led Calypsian civilization to opt against becoming a full member of the United Spacefaring Sophonts Coalition, as their environmental comfort ranges are so far from overlapping those of other USSC members that attempting integration would be pointless. They are content to remain USSC allies instead.

———

getting into stuff from the actual backlog now; I felt the time was right. now we're getting into one of my main focuses/longtime interests: speculative biology! while the Calypsians have been canon to Astra Planeta since its major metamorphosis in 2017, it took me a good long while to concoct a design for them that I was truly happy with. I miiiiiiight end up redesigning them eventually, but I'm pretty happy with how they look at present. also, I'll be happy to answer any questions about their biology, biochemistry, and/or ecology in the comments; I just didn't wanna over-pack the description.

Initial version completed 11/09/2020, latest tweak 20/06/2020.