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Post by terrance on Mar 10, 2016 2:35:44 GMT
As Rules Moderator Madmorgan asked me to come up with a more extensive write up on Martians (especially their senses) than is found in the hardback rulebook on page 10. He liked what I came up with and suggested I post it for the rest of you to see. So here goes.
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Post by terrance on Mar 10, 2016 2:45:37 GMT
All Quiet Mars differences from real world Mars
Since I am a firm believer that an organism must fit into the physical environment it is found in, I started by making some assumptions about how AQ Mars is different from RW Mars.
AQ Mars is nearly the same as real time Mars. On AQ Mars, the air pressure is slightly higher with more oxygen; similar to conditions at the summit of Mt. Everest. The real-time Martian atmosphere is about 95% carbon dioxide and about 0.2% oxygen and its surface pressure is about 1% that of Earth. Carbon dioxide levels greater than 3% are poisonous, at least to terrestrial based animal life, and oxygen levels of less than 1% are far too low to support life in the human sense. Therefore I am assuming an atmospheric composition of no more than 2% carbon dioxide and about 3% oxygen (still far too little to support humans) and an air pressure about 1/3 of Earth at sea level.
This atmosphere makes daytime on Mars temperate but very cold at night. This differs from RW Mars in that there is a steep temperature gradient from the surface upward. It can be fairly warm (above freezing) at the surface and far below freezing just a few feet above the surface. The thicker atmosphere of AQ Mars eliminates this steep gradient.
The Martian day is about 40 minutes longer than the earth day and the amount of illumination at the surface is not greatly reduced from earth. This is the same for AQ and RW Mars.
These assumptions provide the basis for the Martian physiology I outline below.
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Post by terrance on Mar 10, 2016 3:00:50 GMT
Martian Physiology
Physical description An individual worker/warrior Martian is a roughly ovoid, multi-limbed organism with each limb dividing into three manipulating “digits” at the end of the limb. These limbs are multi-functional, providing for locomotion, manipulation of objects, and some sense organs. The skin is very tough and covers the internal organs and structure consisting of a brain, musculature, a few blood vessels, and spongy tissue that functions as both oxygenator and nutrient processor. The brain is the largest “organ” in the Martian body accounting for nearly four-fifths of the body’s weight. There is no heart, digestive system, lung, or reproductive system as understood by human biology.
There are, in fact, three types of Martians, although the worker/warriors are the only type usually seen outside the hive. In addition there is a drone whose purpose is to inseminate a matron. The drone differs from the worker/warrior in having an organ that produces gametes that can be used to fertilize a matron. The purpose is not sexual reproduction for this hive but to exchange genetic material with adjacent hives. Finally there is one matron in the hive. The matron differs by having a reproductive system that allows her to bud eggs. The term “budding” is used because the eggs laid by a matron are not eggs in the sense understood from an earth perspective but are more like buds formed by a yeast cell. Consequently, the members of a Martian hive are clones. To provide for genetic variation, adjacent hives send a drone that mates with the matron. The donated genetic material is incorporated into the new egg buds. In addition, the matron can control the budding process to produce new drones and matrons instead of only worker/warriors.
Vision The Martian eye is round and lidless. It also lacks muscles to move it so it gives the appearance of maintaining a fixed death-like stare. The entire visual field is projected in the brain with equal clarity. The Martian can then select the portion of vision it wishes to concentrate attention on.
Martian daylight is only slightly less intense than that found on earth. Consequently Martians can see well in daylight although they are slightly nearsighted. In addition, because they evolved in an underground setting, the Martian eye sees slightly into the infrared, allowing limited vision in tunnels. Their near vision when outside of tunnels is very sharp making early Martians excellent hunters of prey. However, like most modern beings, their hunting skills have become less important as they have changed to farming or herding prey animals. Martians have limited color vision. Their ability to see color depends on how much the object fills the visual field. The more the field is filled by the object the better the color is seen. Thus the sky covers most of the visual field and looks blue. A field of grass looks green, but a red ball some way off looks grey. This is not very different from the way we believe cats and dogs see color.
Smell (sense of) The Martian has two sets of sense organs that allow for the detection of smells. The first is found on the ends of their limbs allowing a sense of smell by touch. This is most useful to the Martian when moving in tunnels as they can follow scent trails, identify other individuals, and determine location by the scent that comes from touching the tunnel walls or Martians they come in contact with. This ability also functions out of doors and was once used extensively as a means to track prey. A second, less developed, olfactory system is found near the top of the body. It detects air-born smells and is primarily evolved as a defensive means to detect enemies that might be nearby.
Touch The ends of the limbs are also very sensitive to touch sensations including temperature and texture. The ‘digits’ are very flexible and easily manipulate the smallest devices.
Hearing Martian hearing is limited because the thin Martian atmosphere does not carry sound well. Consequently hearing is not a major sense the Martian depends on. The much denser atmosphere of earth makes for a much noisier environment. So much so that Martians who are not inside a closed vehicle or in tunnels often find it necessary to wear hearing protection.
Telepathy The major means of communication among Martians is telepathy. Every clone of a hive is capable of telepathic communication with every other clone of that hive. However the range is limited. This range defines one of the basic Martian distance measurements; the Kah (about 15 miles by human measurement). Martians of one hive also have somewhat limited telepathy with other hives with which they share genetic material. This allows for negotiation and diplomacy between hives. The less genetic material hives have in common, the more limited this communication becomes. At some point the limitation becomes so great that the other hive is automatically perceived as an enemy and war may result. These wars can proceed to extinction of one hive unless a third hive that shares genetic material with both, and thus can communicate with both, is able to broker a peace, usually by negotiating the exchange of drones between the warring hives.
Speech Since communication among Martians is done through telepathy, Martians have only limited ability to make sounds. Most sounds made by Martians are squeeks, whistles, or screams. The purpose of these sounds is primarily a warning or attempt to scare off prey animals or Martians from other hives, for both of which telepathic communication is not possible. Whistles and squeeks are also used to herd and control food animals, which are also incapable of telepathy.
Respiration and Metabolism The oxygen level on Mars is so low that under normal circumstances it would not allow for strenuous physical activity. To overcome this the Martian body is filled with a spongy tissue that functions as an oxygen reservoir and as a nutrient processing organ. The oxygen reservoir (oxygenator) stores oxygen from the atmosphere and releases it to the Martian tissues as needed. Even with this oxygen storage capability it is possible for a Martian involved in prolonged strenuous activity (running from an enemy, hand to hand fighting, for example) to exhaust the stored oxygen. If this happens, the Martian is forced to enter a period of quiescence to allow the oxygenator to recharge itself. Of course, this is a very dangerous time for a Martian for he will be all but defenseless against an enemy or prey animal.
The oxygenator also plays an important role for Martians on earth. The much higher concentration of oxygen in the earth atmosphere would be poisonous to Martians if it were able to pass directly into the Martian equivalent of a blood stream, as happens in the lungs of earth animals. Because the oxygenator is unaffected when fully charged and because it releases oxygen only as the Martian tissues demand it, it protects the Martian from the poisonous effects of high oxygen levels in the atmosphere.
The same tissues also function as a nutrient reservoir and distributor. The liquid nutrients ingested by the Martian are absorbed by this spongy tissue where the final breakdown of the food into energy and other elements needed to sustain life occurs.
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Post by terrance on Mar 10, 2016 3:12:13 GMT
Martian Society As has been described in the section on Martian Physiology, Martian societies consist of many worker/warriors, a few drones, and one matron. The telepathic abilities of Martians means that the entire hive is under the direct control of the matron. To a great extent, the hive is the matron. All other hive members exist solely to do the will of and protect the matron. Worker/warriors and drones have no sense of individuality and no sense of a need for self preservation. In war this makes a hive a formidable force because the warriors have no hesitation in fighting to the death when the matron orders them to. Consequently there is no morale to break for the martians as they will fight and die until the matron orders them to cease.
Martians live in underground communities similar to the redoubts constructed on earth. The members of the hive are clones of the matron allowing them to be telepathically connected and thus identified as hive members. Neighboring hives that do not have a treaty in the form of shared genetic material are seen as enemies and contact between these hives can result in serious fighting. These wars can proceed to extinction of one hive unless a third hive that shares genetic material with both, and thus can communicate with both, is able to broker a peace, usually by negotiating the exchange of drones between the warring hives.
The primary food source for Martians is from prey animals. For food a prey animal is reduced to a broth that is drunk by the Martians. In ancient times hunting skills were important to capture prey animals to be used for food. In modern times herds of prey are kept and tended by worker Martians, making hunting skills less important in providing food. These prey animals are bipedal, quasi ape-like creatures that have few defenses and no telepathic abilities. The similarity of Martian prey animals to humans leads to the Martian view that earth provides a rich feeding ground. Admittedly the human prey are very clever. Much more clever than Martian prey animals. In addition they are prone to violently resist being harvested, giving rise to the name often given them; the prey that stings.
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Post by terrance on Mar 10, 2016 3:14:50 GMT
Machine Communication Because telepathic communication is limited to one Kah, Martians have developed machine methods of communication for longer distances. This same system is used to remotely control machines such as drones or lobototons. This system is based on FM digital transmissions. (Note: in real time Edwin Howard Armstrong received a patent for Frequency Modulation in 1933. So FM signals would be completely undetectable by humans in the AQ period.)
Because humans are unable to detect these signals they hypothesize that the Martians communicate via telepathy. Ironically they are half right.
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Post by terrance on Mar 10, 2016 3:16:51 GMT
Human Research on Martians Page 10 of the hardback rulebook has a much less detailed description of the martians. Consider this to be a synopsis of what human scientists have learned about martian physiology and society. In short, not much.
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Post by terrance on Mar 10, 2016 20:17:14 GMT
I added a section on speech to the Martian Physiology entry.
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Post by Quendil on Mar 10, 2016 20:24:30 GMT
Excellent work
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Post by terrance on Mar 10, 2016 20:28:03 GMT
I added more about Martian food sources and the implication for humans to the Martian Society section.
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