User:Erik Tiber

Primary problems for Skrell:

General technological development I was just thinking that off of the top of my head amphibians tend to be somewhat more vulnerable to parasites and disease

[01:19] Tenfoldshields Maybe like...I...know basically shit about amphibian biology/prehistoric development. But amphibians tend to be sorta sensitive to environmental stuff/pollutants/that kind of thing yeah? So it's maybe feasible that initially they could only live in the swamps/bogs yeah? And stuff like saltwater/arid environments righteously fucked 'em up. Fire could have been

[01:19] Erik_Tiber They also spawn like frogs. and breed like frogs.

[01:19] Tenfoldshields a tool to help them expand maybe? Clearing out forests and brush and roots to make crude eco engineering easier?

Tenfoldshields 's sorta envisioning a like...pushing back the borders of the swamp piecemeal type deal. Maybe digging canals through clear cut/burned forests after the fire ripped through. That kinda thing.

5] Tenfoldshields Hrm...might have been sorta super dangerous work? I mean if you have a big population crammed into a tinier spot. You can prolly afford to put a few shifts of dudes handling the thing that's going to painfully dry you out maybe? Mean like the alternative's staying/stagnating/getting into a turf war over a pond.

[01:26] I00thlurker that implies a predator [01:26] I00thlurker or predators [01:26] I00thlurker fire could also have been useful for scaring them off and clearing away their potential habitats [01:26] I00thlurker a weapon

[01:31] Erik_Tiber Alright they need a source of protein and energy for their brains, and I don't know where they can get that. [01:31] I00thlurker insects, perhaps? [01:31] Tenfoldshields beans are a pretty good source of that aren't they? [01:32] I00thlurker they are frogs after all [01:32] Tenfoldshields (are they?) [01:32] I00thlurker beans and nuts would also work [01:32] Erik_Tiber Insects yeah, okay. [01:32] Erik_Tiber And beans and nuts. [01:32] Tenfoldshields Could make up an equivalent crop like a swamp flower or whatever that's crucial 3] I00thlurker could be erik that a common kind of staplefood is a cake made by grinding all of the above into a flour-like meal

Fire could have been useful for scaring off predators

Or if not a predator, it could be a sort of 'fuck you for biting me, mosquitos'.

Poisonous skin is made to provide partial protection against the parasites which often plague amphibian populations

[01:33] Erik_Tiber How would they spread out and such? Into other climates, and all that. [01:33] I00thlurker clothing presumably [01:34] Pale_Wolf That and ludicrous toughness are how we do it, at least. [01:34] Erik_Tiber I know for humans diet can vary wildly. Like native Greenlanders eat almost all meat, wheras some other groups don't eat all that much. [01:34] Tenfoldshields They'd probably still cluster pretty heavily around rivers/lakes/bogs [01:34] Tenfoldshields I mean amphibians are pretty sensitive like it was said [01:34] Erik_Tiber I refer to stuff like "eating and gettign sufficient protein", but we have beans and nuts everywhere. [01:34] I00thlurker could be that the ridiculously cold climates see little to no penetration [01:35] I00thlurker until certain technologies are introduced [01:35] Erik_Tiber I'm thinking tropical climes see massive populations in comparison to elsewhere. [01:35] Tenfoldshields Could be why terraforming/ecoengineering is so big with them later on [01:35] I00thlurker yeah [01:35] Erik_Tiber Yes [01:35] Tenfoldshields recalls seeing something about that in the wiki entry [01:35] I00thlurker and perhaps an even more extreme population pattern mirroring our own [01:36] I00thlurker where population is densest along coasts [01:36] I00thlurker and thinner the further you go into the hinterland [01:37] Tenfoldshields Also some political tensions maybe? I mean if you're really super narrow in the spaces you can live if you find any planet that suits you you're gonna jump on it. Same with any planet that could be reasonably terraformed. [01:37] Erik_Tiber Yeah. But how do amphibians deal with salt water? [01:37] Tenfoldshields I mean spawnings cool and all when like 90% of you are going to get nommed by space!heron or whatever. But when medical tech improves/they're not dealing with predators. It could lead to some pretty crazy dense populations. [01:38] Tenfoldshields Hrm, dunno. [01:38] |<-- Threat_Null|2 has left irc.systemnet.info (Ping timeout: 125 seconds) [01:38] I00thlurker could be that industrial pollution caused pretty rapid decline in population growth [01:38] I00thlurker despite the best efforts to control it [01:39] Tenfoldshields Oooh yeah [01:39] Erik_Tiber And living near the coasts even moreso than humans means that climate change would impact them worse. [01:40] Tenfoldshields Both of those would drive colonization pretty hard though wouldn't it? I mean assuming they get access to greener tech at some point. Means they can start over on new worlds without the environmental baggage. And the pop of those worlds expands pretty crazily? [01:40] I00thlurker at least they're not as completely fucked by tsunamis and flooding as hoomans are [01:40] Erik_Tiber Holes in the ozone layer would hurt them massively. [01:40] Erik_Tiber Well not completely no. though I'd imagine that it'd hurt their croplands. [01:40] I00thlurker could be that the accumulated damage from pollution was basically permanent [01:40] Falchion I00thlurker: What about the shit in the water? [01:40] Falchion Algae bloom or what have you? [01:40] I00thlurker in terms of impact on birth rate [01:40] I00thlurker egads [01:41] Falchion Oh, right. [01:41] Falchion is only dropping occasionally to give terrible ideas [01:41] I00thlurker very few eggs reach viability [01:41] Erik_Tiber Hmmm, that could be a thing, yeah. [01:42] Erik_Tiber Which would slow down industrialization, possibly? [01:42] Tenfoldshields probably yeah [01:42] I00thlurker possibly yeah [01:42] Tenfoldshields I mean if the toxins are slowly strangling your population [01:42] Erik_Tiber Possibly delaying it. That, and the massive populations mean that they have a /lot/ of manpower to throw around. [01:42] Erik_Tiber Er, frogpower. [01:42] Tenfoldshields Could have a set up with a sorta planet that can't really support modern infrastructure on account of the centuries of industrial development/is toxic/not a great place to live, major push to colonies [01:43] I00thlurker early centuries may have featured a lot of culturally ritualized egg canibalism or destruction [01:43] Tenfoldshields could fuel a sorta expansionist attitude maybe? [01:43] I00thlurker which the more modern frogs largely consider barbaric [01:43] Erik_Tiber They're pretty peaceful by the time of modern day in-game. [01:43] I00thlurker as they cart the embryos into freezers [01:43] Erik_Tiber But in the past a major expansionist push could be a thing, leading to STL colonies in other systems. [01:44] Tenfoldshields and hey like you said [01:44] Tenfoldshields if they've got the population/bunch of embryos on ice [01:44] Tenfoldshields they can afford to throw loads of majestic frogpower at problems [01:44] Tenfoldshields mean industrialization would majorly hurt that yeah [01:44] Tenfoldshields but it might be more like a ticking clock kinda scenario? [01:45] Erik_Tiber Well industrialization lowers birthrates massively. Which means less frogpower. [01:45] Erik_Tiber Which means they have greater need for machines. [01:45] Tenfoldshields oh true [01:45] Tenfoldshields hrm [01:45] Erik_Tiber Hard until they get it, at which point [01:45] I00thlurker well the drop in birth rate is kind of specific to the way hoomans make babbies [01:45] Tenfoldshields ...maybe set aside like...nature preserve areas as like birthing creches? [01:46] I00thlurker i.e. it's specifically controllable to a degree [01:46] Erik_Tiber 100th Lurker: I mean they have massive increase in infant mortality when they industrialize [01:46] Tenfoldshields Focus their efforts on making a small area livable and capable of nurturing eggs/young rather than fixing the planet [01:46] Erik_Tiber due to industrial waste [01:46] Tenfoldshields to keep their population up [01:46] Erik_Tiber Yeah [01:46] I00thlurker Oh right [01:46] I00thlurker yeah [01:46] Erik_Tiber I meant decrease in population growth rather, and in the most disturbing way possible. [01:46] I00thlurker well the response of different frog nations [01:47] I00thlurker could have all been entirely different [01:47] I00thlurker to the "problem", if they even recognized one [01:47] Tenfoldshields lot of fighting over the non wasted areas maybe? [01:47] Tenfoldshields I mean just 'cause they're peaceful now [01:47] I00thlurker we sure as hell didn't give a shit about all the poors dieing horribly during industrialization [01:47] Erik_Tiber I was getting "Mote in God's Eye" vibes from them a bit [01:47] Tenfoldshields doesn't mean there weren't majestically colored frog generals slicing shit up at some point in the past [01:47] Erik_Tiber Yeah definitely. [01:48] Erik_Tiber In the past anything goes ,stuff could have changed massively. [01:48] Tenfoldshields a mostly peaceful/chill species with a /dark/ past could be cool to explore [01:48] Tenfoldshields what with their homeworld being kinda messed up [01:48] Erik_Tiber I was also thinking about things like, say, radiation and how they respond to it. I'd imagine they'd have trouble with that. [01:49] Erik_Tiber In space they'd need more shielding. And with nuclear tech, they'd probably discover radiation more quickly. [01:49] Erik_Tiber Maybe? [01:49] Tenfoldshields Well I mean like [01:49] Erik_Tiber But utilizing it might be delayed, possibly by treaty. [01:49] Tenfoldshields they'd probably figure something was up if they're that sensitive to it [01:50] Erik_Tiber Yeah, that's what I meant. [01:50] I00thlurker could be that given they're amphibians, cryogenics was more feasible for them [01:50] I00thlurker so they sleeped through the problems [01:50] Erik_Tiber Thus sleeper ships and some early STL colonization [01:50] Tenfoldshields bring oodles of frozen frogspawn with you [01:50] Tenfoldshields neat little start up kit [01:51] Erik_Tiber Yes [01:51] Falchion [INTERSTELLAR INTENSIFIES] [01:51] Erik_Tiber [01:51] |<-- SwordoBackup has left irc.systemnet.info (Ping timeout: 122 seconds) [01:52] Tenfoldshields could also be a sorta cool political set up where like [01:52] Tenfoldshields the homeworld doesn't have a ton of power [01:52] Tenfoldshields besides being the focus of a lot of ecoengineering/terraforming projects aimed at unfucking it [01:52] Erik_Tiber That's the same as humans, Earth got bombarded by RKKV's in a civil war. [01:52] |<-- Raumgespenst has left irc.systemnet.info (Connection reset by peer) [01:52] Tenfoldshields while the three/four major successful colonies have the real power [01:52] Tenfoldshields *first major successful [01:52] Tenfoldshields Hey something to bond over! [01:52] Erik_Tiber Yes.

Intro to Skrell goes here.

Primary points.

(What they are called, early evolutionary history, relatives) (Rise of modern skrell, initial settlement) (Eventual settlement of rest of Jargon IV) (Settlement of space) (Environmental impact) (Evolutionary advantages of Skrell: Well developed areas of the brain and what they do. Tool use. Differences from other sapients: Amphibians, vulnerability to disease and parasites. Use of slime to deter predators and guard against parasites. Status as R strategists in comparison to humans, large number of offspring. Status as herbivores, use beans, swamp flowers, and insects for protein (Use of fire to clear land, use of clothing. Nature of tool use.)

(Construction of language) (Complex social structures, human society)

Humans began to practice sedentary agriculture about 12,000 years ago, domesticating plants and animals, thus allowing for the growth of civilization. Humans subsequently established various forms of government, religion, and culture around the world, unifying people within a region and leading to the development of states and empires. The rapid advancement of scientific and medical understanding in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the development of fuel-driven technologies and improved health, causing the human population to rise exponentially. By 2012 the global human population was estimated to be around 7 billion.[10][11]

Etymology and definition

Talk about why we call them Skrell.

Skrell is a transliteration of the Skrell Prime word for their species. Due to the Skrell Prime being the language spoken by the scientific team which made first contact, yadda yadda.

History

Evolution

Evolved on Jargon 4 in a swamp. First anatomically modern skrell appear 400,000 years ago, first behaviorally modern Skrell appear 100,000 years ago. The

The genus Homo diverged from other hominins in Africa, after the human clade split from the chimpanzee lineage of the hominids (great ape) branch of the primates. Modern humans, defined as the species Homo sapiens or specifically to the single extant subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens, proceeded to colonize all the continents and larger islands, arriving in Eurasia 125,000–60,000 years ago,[16][17] Australia around 40,000 years ago, the Americas around 15,000 years ago, and remote islands such as Hawaii, Easter Island, Madagascar, and New Zealand between the years 300 and 1280.[18][19]

The Skrell are descended from a clade of pseudo-amphibians. Modern Skrell proceeded to colonize all major landmasses of Querrbalak, moving from (Skrell Origin) to (Skrell largest) 200,000 years ago, (Skrell smaller) 100,000 years ago, (Skrell remote) about 20,000 years ago, and various remote and northern items between (X) and (y) AD.

The closest living relative to the Skrell is the Frogmonkey, which shares 97% of their genome.

Transition to civilization

The Skrell transition to civilization occurred approximately X-thousand years ago (Year XYZ in Skrell Prime calendar). (dates are when that happened for humans) Milestones in civilization- Beginnings of horticulture Beginnings of permanent settlements Beginnings of agriculture- 8,000 BC Beginnings of state societies- 3,500 BC Emission of radio waves- 19XX AD Space flight- 195X AD

Large-scale interstellar colonization

Habitat and population

Main points: Coastal species, lives primarily in swampland. Alteration of environment. Ancient, and modern: terraforming

Ancient- Clearing land with fire, in order to expand swampland. Modern- Cleaning pollution from industrialization. Development of closed systems in space. Problems with radiation. Modern- terraforming various planets, terraforming Jargon 4.

Biology

Anatomy and Physiology

Skrell are warm-blooded amphibian-like organisms. On land, they are primarily bipedal. They have a humanoid body shape, with two legs, two arms, and a head. They have a pair of large eyes which grant them binocular vision, similar to humans.

Skrell produce a thin film of toxic slime over their skin, as a defense against parasites and pests and also to deter predators.

Slime on skin- for use in deterring predators, and as a defense against parasites and pests (IE mosquitoes).

Status as amphibians makes it easier for them to utilize cryonics.

Skrell also in danger of drying out, this makes it difficult for them to settle far inland.

Life cycle

Life cycle similar to frogs. Female lays eggs, male fertilizes eggs. Tadpoles hatch from eggs. Tadpoles become adolescents (some restrictions) which then become adults.

Give life-spans, chances of infant mortality, status as R strategists early lin life before adopting K strategist policies.

Diet

Traditional Skrell diets- "swamp flower", beans, nuts, and insects for protein. A cake of these foods mashed together and baked is a popular food item.

Major limiting factor for Skrell has historically been finding sufficient protein with an herbivorous diet. This limited expansion into the colder regions of the planet for a long time.

Humans are omnivorous, capable of consuming a wide variety of plant and animal material.[103][104] Varying with available food sources in regions of habitation, and also varying with cultural and religious norms, human groups have adopted a range of diets, from purely vegetarian to primarily carnivorous. In some cases, dietary restrictions in humans can lead to deficiency diseases; however, stable human groups have adapted to many dietary patterns through both genetic specialization and cultural conventions to use nutritionally balanced food sources.[105] The human diet is prominently reflected in human culture, and has led to the development of food science.

(Modern Skrell diet)

Prior to the invention of agriculture on [homeworld] approximately 15,000 years ago, the skrell primarily subsisted by foraging and scavenging. In most cases, the majority of their caloric intake was from foraged fruit, nuts, roots, and other plant-like and fungus-like organisms, both on land and in the water. These foods were complemented with scavenged eggs, insect larvae, insects, and small aquatic organisms, which acted as their primary source of protein. The discovery of fire and cooking is linked to an increase in the prevalence of insects within the skrell diet, as cooking was able to reduce the danger of parasites. The primarily vegetarian nature of the skrell diet initially prevented them from settling in colder climates. The skrell first developed agriculture around 15,000 years ago, leading to a significant change in the skrell diet. Agriculture led to increased populations and the development of cities, increasing the spread of infectious diseases. The types of food and their methods of preparation have varied significantly with time, location, and culture.

In general, humans can survive for two to eight weeks without food, depending on stored body fat. Survival without water is usually limited to three or four days. About 36 million humans die every year from causes directly or indirectly related to hunger.[111] Childhood malnutrition is also common and contributes to the global burden of disease.[112] However global food distribution is not even, and obesity among some human populations has increased rapidly, leading to health complications and increased mortality in some developed, and a few developing countries. Worldwide over one billion people are obese,[113] while in the United States 35% of people are obese, leading to this being described as an "obesity epidemic".[114] Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than are expended, so excessive weight gain is usually caused by a combination of an energy-dense high fat diet and insufficient exercise.[113]

Psychology

Note that the below categories are based on the 'human' wikipedia page, this stuff is subject to change, and it almost certainly will be changed up.

Culture

Talk about Skrell concept of culture and all that.

Language

Talk about similarities and differences with human language here. IE media,

There are approximately X thousand Skrellian languages currently in use, not counting pigdins with human languages.

The most commonly used languages are Skrell Prime, Skrell Alpha, Skrell Beta, and Skrell Delta.

Gender roles

Possibility- low sexual dimorphism? Similarity outside of breeding? Gender may be an alien concept?

Alternative- Gender determined primary caretakers of children. Specialization- gender A takes care of children and home crafting while gender B gathers?

Possibility- look at gender roles of chimpanzees?

Possibility- brainstorming session?

Kinship

Kinship is in a group. 'family unit' is size of entire group, communal families.

Skrell society is organized into a series of exogenous clan-groups. Prevention of in-breeding.

Significant problem: How do they

Cannibalism/sacrifice of excess eggs was practiced in the past. Possible situations: Limited carrying capacity. This is now viewed as barbaric.

Modern day, eggs are frozen for storage.

All human societies organize, recognize and classify types of social relationships based on relations between parents and children (consanguinity), and relations through marriage (affinity). These kinds of relations are generally called kinship relations. In most societies kinship places mutual responsibilities and expectations of solidarity on the individuals that are so related, and those who recognize each other as kinsmen come to form networks through which other social institutions can be regulated. Among the many functions of kinship is the ability to form descent groups, groups of people sharing a common line of descent, which can function as political units such as clans. Another function is the way in which kinship unites families through marriage, forming kinship alliances between groups of wife-takers and wife-givers. Such alliances also often have important political and economical ramifications, and may result in the formation of political organization above the community level. Kinship relations often includes regulations for whom an individual should or shouldn't marry. All societies have rules of incest taboo, according to which marriage between certain kinds of kin relations are prohibited – such rules vary widely between cultures. Some societies also have rules of preferential marriage with certain kin relations, frequently with either cross or parallel cousins. Rules and norms for marriage and social behavior among kinsfolk is often reflected in the systems of kinship terminology in the various languages of the world. In many societies kinship relations can also be formed through forms of co-habitation, adoption, fostering, or companionship, which also tends to create relations of enduring solidarity (nurture kinship).

Material culture and technology

Advancement in various medical fields. This is due to the need to adapt to the pollution of their homeworld. This lead to biological 3D printing, AKA flash cloning, current in-game cloning method.

They showed less advancement in the areas of material science.