The Sralk is a slime based organism that is able to alter its genes in order to adapt to exterior threats. They grow around anything easily, such as trees, rocks and others. Some of the slimes haready have a set DNA code and will begin to form into that code as soon as possible, making the creatures. The rest of the slime, made of flesh, scaters about on the ground. In the center of the 'Pool', a mound would form into a large structure, resembling vines. This mound usualy forms around buildings and other large objects, slowly turning tree like, with vines pokingout to reach other structures or to defend the Core. From this point, the 'Slime' continues to spread around slowly and 'Infecting' surounding structures. They can for miles around before having to form another but smaller core.
The creatures formed usualy only have the 'Worker' Gene. These workers are in charge of gathering new Genes and DNA in order to create new creatures to defend the nest, scout the area for possible threat and anything else that was needed. Then came the defender class. This class was created bepending on the data the workers had brought, engineered to defend the nest at all cost. These can be workers that grew strong enough to assume the role or they can be engineered at the core by the fina class, which are the breeders. The breeders, often known as Queen, takes the Genes and DNA and mix them together, creating new speacies and testing them. those that did not make it would often find themself killed and recycled into food.
Researchers have found that the Sralk is much like a virus that has the ability to turn other living beings into a Sralk. The Sralk virus alters the living bodies to its needs, often improving the infected's own abilities. The virus is mostly a piece of slime that sticks to the being and slowly inters it body by either finding an open wound or replacing the cells in its emidiate area. In the case of open wounds, the slime will close and heal them, rarely leaving scars. The slime's cells then reproduce and absorb the DNA of surrounding cells, curing any disease and restoring lost limbs, ofter growing on fake limbs and assimilating them. During the assimilation process, the fake limbs are broken down slowly with an acidic substance that allows the slime to get insidethe limb and eventualy restore the fealing of a lost limb. The acid generated by the slime is able to break down most metals, rocks and of course flesh, torning the resulted into a liquid that the slime absorbs and pulls out DNA, Genes and other useful information. Since it can break into most metals, circuitry can be accessed and grown onto. The slime is then able to play with the circuitry, either by shorting it completly then letting the curent flow or shorting some part only. The slime is very reactive to electricity and, if planted on circuitry, will eventualy learn its paterns if, for example, someone were to start a car and drive around with it. This would allow the Sralk organisms to control machinery. The side effect of being infected are mostly positive as it can cure most if not all disease, heal fatal wounds, regrow lost limbs, improve abilities such as running and swiming by a large margin, often give new abilities such as breathing underwater or climbing walls like a spider, and even let someone change their body at will, to some extent or be able to understand, if not speak, all language known to the Sralk. The least favorable would be a slight to moderate increase in lust and/or assets for some, a constant buzzing sound belived to be the voice of the Sralk nest, which grows louder as the infect aproach a nest and hearing voices for others, showing mumbness of emotion, lost of some or completly the oposite and show too much emotions, and/or extra apendice grow from the body, often caused by a predetermined Gene to come in contact with a non Sralk being and merging.
The infected still have free will but will often use this free will to serve the Sralk nest, in most cases unknowingly. Some infected seem to have the ability to hide their infection to others, while its still unknown why, it is thought that it is a defencive ability used for camoflage. An infected will rarely hear the voice of the Sralk unless they meet the breeder, in chich case it is rare that they actualy do see the breeder. Some infected have been counted in the machines also. Vehicules that cave too close or landed into a nest often found themselves overtaken by the Sralk slime. These kind of infected are fully controlled by the Sralk nest.
The variety of creatures is wide and completly different from one nest to another but we have noticed some structures and creatures that seem present with most nest. These creatures are as followed.
Creatures
Larvae: The most simplistic creature of the nest. These creatures wander about aimlessly until they turn into a cocoon to become worker. They have no self defense and are useless to do anything but evolve. They are about the size of a fist and resemble a cross between a worm and a cockroach. It is unclear what produces the Larvae but thay are mostly found near the core of the nest.
Cocoon: What hatches from the cocoon depends on its environment. Depending on the size, it can be either a worker, a defender or a breeder, thought larvae will most likely hatch into a worker or small defender. Some Infected that stumbled onto a nest may also hatch from cocoons. It is belived that a cocoon is also used to heal fallen creatures or evolving them.
Sralk Bug: They are also known as Sralk Drone. These workers exist only to build, harvest and scout. They also carry food the the breeders and other creatures that are hungry. They have the most variety in look, evolving to the nest's needs individualy but often look like cockroachs the size of a human child's chest. The are relatively flat and boneless and move by wither slitering or walking. They are in constant evolution state with some being able to slip into small crevises while other handle digging or moving rocks and such, some of these bugs can also evolve the ability to fly.
Sralk Hunter: The hunter is the main defence creature and varies from the size of a wolf to that of a large truck. They too vary in in how they look from nest to nest but they often look similar to the one nest to them in form. It is belived that the Breeder kills the creatures that are failures. All of them seem to have Ramming in common. They do not attack unless the nest is threatened.
Breeding Queen: The Breeding Queen is the most massive creature of a nest, and the second most important. It is always found in the center of the nest laying eggs or resting. The Breeding Queens can talk to certain people by using telepathy and only a psionic being seems to be able to hear them. They are able to manipulate DNA meaning that they can acquire a certain DNA strand and reproduce it as part of its nest, often adapting it to the present environment. They resembles a very large wolf with a scale like pattern in its fur. On its back there is a large carapace resembling that of a cockroach in design. Other then this, they vary the same as the other creatures of the nest and often there is only one per nest, maybe two at most. We also encountered nest that sis nto have any signs of a Breeding Queen.
Serpent Queen: It is unclear if these creatures are the same as the Breeding Queen as they fill the same function, thought the Serpent seems to be able to carry the nest with it due to its size. It has a large head resembling that of an european dragon, its body bears massive spikes on its back that forms two rows and a pointed tail, like a snake. It is able to spit acid from its mouth, which seems to act like the virus acid mentioned earlier in the log. They do not attack for no reason but when they do, expect a brutal attack. The acid they spit will not harm anything unless they are threatned, and even then it harms only their target. Anywere else it lands turns into the slime that is at the base of the nest.
Humanoids: [They are mostly found in populated areas.]
Sralk Child: Some of the Sralk Drones can also evolve to humanoid beings in child form, while not being 100% acurate, some have been seen with the proper anatomy. It is still unclear if these repruductive organs are functional as we have not yet decided to do these test on them. The Sralk childs are as varied as their worker counterpart and seem to be more concidered the Scout class. They look to be in the ages of 10-15 human years. They will often have an assigned Drone which will take care of them. The assigned Drone will gather food and such for the Sralk Child. Apart from learning all they can, they spend their time healing wounded creatures.
Young Queen: These are evolved from the Sralk Childs, females to be precise as they hold all the reproductive organs of a female. They look to be older then the Sralk Childs, belived to be around the ages of 15-18 human years. Their form varies, often taken that of the Sralk child they evolved from with a few grown details, such as bigger wings or spikes, as their body grows slightly bigger. They are unable to produce creatures but will often assist the larger Queen in its breeding or will play with the Sralk Drone to make them evolve faster. It is not rare to find them playing with a group of Sralk childs or Drones. Their drones will be, more often then not, Healer or Scout class.
Young King: The male version of the Young Queen, they hold the reproductive organs of the male. These creatures are stronger then the Young Queens and will often be found defending them. Since they hold no organs that would allow to breed creatures, they are classed as leaders for the Hunters and will most likely be found training them. A Young King's Drone is, more often then not, capable of defending itself against minor threat.
Great Queen: These are the more Adult version of the Young Queen. The Great Queens are the most "Fertile" in the mean that they will be able to act as the Breeding Queen and populate the nest. They keep most features of the Young Queen they evolved from, some even grow in maturity. They either lay eggs/coccoons or become pregnant, sometimes done at will.
Great King: These are the more Adult version of the Young King. This evolved Young King keeps its features whit the added maturity in some. They will usualy chose a Great Queen or be chosen by one and will defend said Great Queen when needed. They train in order to be able to stop the bigger threats and defend the nest. Often, the Great Queen and Great King will move out of the nest to form another one elsewere, some even going to live in non Sralk area to try and act like the humanoids they encounter. This behavior proves that the Sralk are more then what they seem.
Structures:
The Sralk Slime: This is the most basic Sralk. The Sralk slime will land on a planet with a meteor crash and is, at its very base, an organic acid that slowly eats the meteor away. In this state, it only has a few basic instinct such as grow, survive and adapt. It is fairly liquid inside the meteor but slowly becomes more consistant with the surrounding atmosphere. It will grow onto the meteor as pillar, slowly formon the core, or heart, of the nest. It is able to infect all organic and pierce nearly all metals. In doing so, is absorbs the liquid generated by its acids. Gemstones are known to resist this acid, as are the metals manufactured from these gemstones. It will also absorb any poison found this way, which will affect it greatly. It grows by eating the liquid its acid produce. Any living organism that is too small or too weak are turned into this food, others become infected. Those that take this slime into research take great risk if they do so forcibly. Labs have been known to become infected in a matter of hours. The infected scientist were slowly eaten by the slime. It is not painful, you just feel your body shrinking slowly. Those assimilated forcibly this way simply became food.
The Sralk Vine: These are the primare defence of the Sralk Root. They often have thorn anr/or other defencive abilities, such as leaking a burning acid, releasing spores with various effects. Then can also entangle and choke threats and will not hesitate on what ever part they take hold of in the process. The vines can also be used to life and move objects around the nest. The Sralk Vines are very mobile and are able to grow into a lone defencive structure around the main nest.
The Sralk Root: This the core, or Heart, of the nest. This large structure of flesh is often found inside meteor crators, forming a large biomass covered with Sralk Vines. It has an opening to allow creatures to enter it. The entrance is a simple slit with stretchable walls, the corridor goes for two stpes lenght ans opens up to a large glowing cavernous area. The color of the glow varies. Inside, there are various alcoves that either serve to hold food, cocoons or be used as resting area for the creatures. If it infected a lab for example, the remains of the lab would be seen if the Sralk Root still had a use for it. On the outside, the Root would often have a carapace covering it.
These creatures are common to Theban 2
Hound: One of the more basic creatures of the nest, There are several different types of hounds, but the basic appears as a Mastiff, the patterns of the fur are as unique as a snowflake.
Specialist Hounds: Some hounds are specially bred for certain situations, for example, there is a hound that can increase its size at will, however, this weakens it greatly, great for those "whats in there" traps. There is the armored hound (Think alpha skag for you borderlands players) self explanatory, heavier armor, hits harder. Then there is the nastiest of them all, The blitzer, Small, agile and quick, often times they attack in packs and leave before anyone notices.
Great Hound: A larger version of the Hounds bred by the Theban 2 Queen. The first two she created served as a test and are now in possession of a Drakio she took care of. The Great Hounds are the nest adapted version of the hounds and are more powerful and resourceful.
Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:59 pm