I, Envada of the Sharvek, hereby give my permission for the Pinnacle Semi-Nonprofit Foundation to process my personal and biodata for the purposes described above. This is a great program, and I'm really happy I was contacted!

Sharvek are bipedal, semi-aquatic, and tailless. We reach an average of 150 centimeters, and are most visually notable for the fact that our scales have a biothaumic underglow. The color and patterns of our underglow are indicators of mood and health. Our scales themselves are a dark blue or green, depending on diet. We're omnivorous and technically warm-blooded, although our resting body temperature is lower than that of a human, to reduce energy loss in water. We don't have gills, but we can hold our breath for close to an hour. Our hands and feet also have retractable webbing that makes swimming quite easy. Sharvek can change biological sex at will, although it takes about three months and is pretty uncomfortable. Also, members of other species often can't tell because our genitals are retractable and we don't have much other sexual dimorphism going on (pro tip: look at the scale shape!). Sharvek life expectancy is 80 years on average, but it has been going up over time as we discover new medical techniques, so that may more be a fact of current Sharvek civilization than of our biology.

We are composed of a combination of matter, thaumic, and psychic energies. Babies are conceived through an entirely physical process, and begin generating mana once our caloric thaumosynthetic organ (a Grash) fully develops around week thirty. Our scales form a set of biologically developed runic auto-casting systems that enable our species-specific abilities. Waste energy is what causes our underglow.

The most important species-specific ability we have is our species-wide psychohistoric skill memory. When a Sharvek dies, if they were better at any skill than every other Sharvek, their mind is encoded into the species-wide skill memory and indexed under that skill. Living Sharveks can channel these ancestor-memories to grant increased capability at (and learning proficiency with) their skills. Ancestors don't have experiences while their skills are not being called on, but can communicate with and form relationships with anyone who channels them.

In practice, every Sharvek is the best at "being themselves", and so every Sharvek is saved in the skill memory somewhere. But most Sharvek dedicate their lives to mastering some specific skill in the hopes that they will be invoked more frequently.

Our species-wide skill-memory is anchored by the thaumic organs of all living Sharvek — it will last as long as even one Sharvek survives. The world is dangerous, though, and so I'm submitting this application in the hope that someone from sufficiently far away will choose to become one of us before the next war of the stones, which may very well do us in.

The skill-memory does have one additional side effect: Sharvek are simultaneously very resistant to unwanted body-jacking (attackers have to fight against the psychic weight of all of our ancestors) and very susceptible to consensual body-jacking. Psychics tend to find our bodies very easy to pilot, which can also make it possible to learn skills by immersion from psychic non-Sharvek.

With the exception of our species-wide skill-memory, Sharvek have the same base-rate of psychic and magical talent as humans do. When Sharvek do have magical talent, we tend to be particularly skilled at illusion spells. We almost never have a talent for cold or ice magic.

Mentally, Sharvek are highly communal, but we can fill that need by channeling ancestors, so it's not unusual for a Sharvek to live physically alone, or to take on extended journeys. Sharvek are generally conscientious and trustworthy, although we find it easy to become over-focused on something. We usually live in small clan groupings of 30-50 people, often as an enclave in another species' territory. Sharvek communities commonly work as artisans or as fishers, and it's not unusual to make friends outside the species.

Our natural habitat is coastal areas, especially deltas and swamps. But in practice, Sharvek can live pretty much anywhere humans can live, although deserts get pretty uncomfortable. We need water temperatures above -30°C, and below about 45°C. We can handle any air temperature as long as we can retreat into water about half the time. If in a completely dry area, we handle air temperatures of -50°C to 30°C. Our comfortable temperature range is smaller, about -10°C to 20°C.

We need pressures between about 0.8 atmospheres and 5.3 atmospheres; above that, something goes wrong with our lung's oxygen storage and we drown. That does mean that we can't handle the deep ocean — only coastal waters. Other needs include a diet that contains plenty of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, plus trace amounts of all elements up through iron. Unlike many other species, we don't need particular amino acids present in our diet: we can synthesize all needed biological molecules from scratch, although doing so makes us very hungry.

Having at least some background mana (0.4 thaum/m^3) is necessary for comfort but not survival. Putting a Sharvek in a sealed, mana-less environment will slowly increase the amount of available background mana due to waste energy from our underglow. We also do poorly if not given any access to natural light, although how well people cope without it varies in individuals.

History-wise, Sharvek were created during the initial population of the Expanse by the Master of Games. Our founder, Sharvek, named the species after themself for obvious reasons. We started settling in the Goryak river delta below the Mountains of Angled Shadow, an area which is still host to a large number of Sharvek. Our natural suitedness to adventure saw us rapidly spread out, and now there are Sharvek living independently in many, many places.

The Sharvek have never had a major internal disagreement ... quite possibly because everyone involved can channel Honored Ancestor Volk, who has been the ancestor of diplomacy for the past two thousand years. Sharvek have fought in various wars in support of their adopted polities, however, often becoming involved due to the aforesaid adventures.

Summarized pros and cons list:

Pros:

- Access to our species-wide skill-network: by now, there is an ancestor from whom you can learn almost any skill.

- Your spirit preserved in the network when you die.

- Stab-resistant scales.

- Good lung capacity and swimming.

- Opposable thumbs.

- Good survivability and adaptability.

- Built-in reading light!

Cons:

- I'm told we have really bad singing voices; I think they sound fine.

- Short life expectancy (we're working on it!)

- Vulnerability to flashbangs

- Really hard to be stealthy in the dark

- Can't really not wear your heart on your sleeve, at least to people who know underglow colors

I think lots of people should become Sharvek; we're pretty great! But I think it would be especially good for anyone who wants an un-breakable sense of community and the ability to go on adventures and make new discoveries without the fear of your self and your wisdom being lost. Also anyone who has unique skills or languages that they especially want to preserve, or anyone who just really enjoys swimming and doesn't want to have to come up for air.

A message to anyone becoming one of us: We're so happy to have you! If you need help getting all the changes in your situation sorted out, channel Gremlif, Honored Ancestor of efficient and insightful prioritization.

Your name, and your agreement to process and distribute your personal data and biodata.

Submitting collectively:

Khraga Zongrung (Sunforge) Aldriki, of Grunga of Khahzkhaeng Naizagaznai (Hold Unforgotten)

Lugas Harhirn (Firehorn) Grozaz, of the Nameless of Khahzkhaeng Mingoli (Hold Watchtower)

Barada Alabgrund (Swifthammer) Tolduranna, of Gazula of Khahzkhaeng Zulbaraz (Hold Oathsteel)

Margrima Reimdibna (Numbertwiddler) Abokri, of Rukha of Khahzkhaeng Drazhun (Hold Blacksun)

We agree to allow such data to be processed, and to be distributed on the condition given below of the standard of oath-maintenance required of anyone who might come into contact with currently-existing Durazi.

The name of your species. (If you are a one-person species or are unaware of your origins, please specify so.)

Durazi (The Folk of Stone)

Physical description of your species, in form (how do you look?) and constituency (what you are made of?).

Without armor or cybernetics Durazi range from roughly one and one-quarter meters to one and five-twelfths tall, and seven-twelfths to eight-twelfths meters wide at the shoulders. From front to back there is a fairly tight range of zero point forty-two to zero point sixty (per-gross) meters. Typical mass ranges from ten and one-half to sixteen and one-quarter throngagrams.* We are composed of primarily silicon and oxygen with significant hydrogen, fluorine, phosphorus, sulfur, and chlorine, with many other trace elements. In short, we are composed of rock, very heavy, broad and squat compared to carbon-based humanoids.

Despite the significantly different biological composition, our basic body plan and features are very similar. Our facial expressions move much more slowly and discretely, and we have found it convenient to mount faceplates which translate these into more responsive, more demonstrative facial expressions when conducting diplomacy with the Naibanti. The silicate fountain that forms below our faces as we age has been analogized in form and location to human beards.

We move slowly but suddenly and precisely in other respects as well. In warfare, which if you are fortunate is considerably less common in your world, this makes us good marksmen but poor duelists. The force of our arms is quite large, which is helpful in both war and peace, and can be controlled very precisely, which is useful primarily in peace.

Mental and social description of your species. You may use the multiversal-standard-human psyche as a reference point.

Durazi are extremely strict in describing the future with appropriate confidence, and to make a promise about the state of the future is specifically marked and socially inviolate. Penalties for breaking an oath are voluntary but universal, consisting of ritual mental modification and exile, to progressively lose identity and memory other than that required to expunge your shame in fighting the many voidborne predators and enemies of the Zonal Ankor until your death. It is extremely important that anyone taking on Duraza form also maintain this standard and if violations occur within reach of our existing society they are currently projected, with the highest confidence short of oaths, to be responded to with a campaign of extermination against all non-born Durazi within contact.

We maintain very high standards for ourselves in our expectations of craftsmanship, loyalty, and consistency. Progress is steady and extensive, but not swift, nor should it be; better to be very confident in a new development before using it as a base for further development. Loyalty to your guild and the masters who trained you and worked alongside you is the most solemn of oaths, and reverence for skill and craft long predates it. Each of the guilds but the Nameless reveres a specific ancestor who invented the earliest and greatest techniques of the discipline, and most guildsworn of the Nameless believe so do they, that the Nameless Master is forgotten but did have a name.

We do not appear significantly more patient than other species relative to our natural lifespans, but humans find us excessively patient and we find them impatient.

Magical description of your species, if applicable.

Our ancestors act as a collective consciousness which can give us advice, though this is not controllable by most Durazi. This Gromthi-Lidazit provides guidance in mastering crafts both traditional and new, and protection against the many hostile psychic phenomena that are present in our universe. Visiting our universe without protection at least this strong is highly disrecommended; you will(-extrapolation-from-data) go insane and be used as a puppet by hostile entities in under three centuries. Whether this collective consciousness will function in a universe in which you are the first and only Duraza is unknown and believed impossible for us to test.

It is possible to use this gift actively in the forging of devices, but this is highly controversial and forbidden among the core society of Durazi since Master Thrungza's War banished those who used it. They are more reliable than any other race's psychic abilities, but poorly understood even by the masters of the art and unreliable by our conventional standards.

The description of drawbacks and advantages, abilities and flaws of your species. You may use the multiversal-standard-human capabilities as a reference point. Please include the average lifespan and the mode of reproduction.

Durazi do not die of old age. Our eldest living ancestor is chronologically one and one-quarter throngayears.* Our bodies are as immortal as the stone, and easily reparable as well as improvable with cybernetics. Our minds are not, and absent an augmenting cybernetic, the years calcify the mentation, which begins to kick in around four gross years (this is usually referred to as a 'generation'). We know how to avoid this, but it must be maintained with a reflexor, which induces periodic long-term hibernation to consolidate memories without calcification; with the aid of a reflexor, the same living ancestor is subjectively somewhat less than half a throngayear*, about sixteen generations.

Without a reflexor, complete loss of mental flexibility occurs around eight gross years; such a person is known as 'Durazara', 'Once-Person', and can perform only actions they had learned and performed in life, and only in precisely identical circumstances. Durazari crafters exist in some holds, and can continue to reproduce the same chips, weapons, or materials they mastered in life, but if one necessary tool is moved a twelfth of a meter to the left, they will stop short and be unable to continue when they first require it. Their maximum age is essentially infinite, but it is not generally considered a fate better than death except in its continued utility to your fellows of your Hold and Guild.

Durazi memory is extremely good, and indeed our chief hazard of age is it becoming too good (see above). We interface well with prosthetic computing devices to enhance our working memory and other mental capacities, to the point that we have never bothered with independent thinking machines of even the simplest kind. Gromthi-Lidazit and memory serve to make creation and scientific investigation popular and swift relative to other species. If the whispers function, you are likely to reinvent a diverse array of our existing technologies before reaching your personal generation and its age of living death, almost certainly including the reflexor.

If you cannot work out how to reproduce without us informing you after assuming our form, it is right and proper that you remain unable to do so. In the interest of being cooperative with the spirit of the question, we will disclose that no Duraza has ever been conceived in a hold less than a century old, that safe conception requires sustained attention and effort over at least a year, and that development to a youngling who can navigate the hold independently takes at least a dozen years.

The natural habitat of your species, and its necessary components.

As far back as our memory stretches we have lived on rocky worlds and asteroids near the galactic core, thoroughly terraformed including tunnels networks. Worlds with a dense atmosphere are avoided, as the worlds without it have more ready access to extremes of heat and cold usable for energy and creating unusual manufacturing conditions, and typically also easier to launch installations into orbit. Historically we occupied worlds suitable for carbon life but these are not very defensible, particularly against the Grobi, and the techniques for them are not widely taught or remembered. Gravity is not necessary for life or health, and ten G creates no health issues.

The needs of your species that are necessary for comfortable survival.

We do not require atmosphere and have an extremely large range of comfortable temperatures - 100 to 700 Kelvin are perfectly livable, though not always truly comfortable without armor. Enclosed spaces, preferably tunnels, are more comfortable, and gravity of at least one-twelfth G in nonindustrial spaces is created if possible. The highest gravity of any Hold at its founding was three G, though as it was mined out of its ore over the centuries it has since dropped to only two G.

A brief history of your species, if known to you.

Records before the invention of the reflexor long-term memory flexibility augment (two throngayears* before present) are poor, but ancestral memory and sagas tell that we were once resident in another galaxy and were brought to this one, some time twelve throngayears ago or more, and we began to terraform and fortify the core worlds. At this time we settled many carbon-life-bearing worlds and made Hold Worlds of them, as well as the asteroid-like worlds now common. Travel was harrowing but reliable, by means now forgotten.

After several dozen generations we had developed advanced computing and interstellar spaceflight, but remained only partly in contact with each other. This was when we made contact with the Elgi, initially friendly but soon attacked by their stellar empire. This resulted in tactical victories, driving them away, but left us without our travel methods, destroyed or unusable. We were entirely disconnected from each other and vulnerable, therefore, when the Grobi, fungus-animal lichen humanoids who live entirely for war and destruction, found us - we suspect, though we were never able to prove before the Elgi Empire was destroyed by an even greater evil, that they directed them to us on purpose.

When the Grobi made their way into our tunnels, our civilians were slaughtered. Our guns could hold them at bay, but we did not yet have the culture of going always armed, always with a shield and axe and pistol near to hand, even at home. Even when we beat them back, on the carbon-rich atmosphere worlds they sprouted in the soil and were nearly impossible to eradicate. None of those Holds survived; handfuls of slow light-hugger ships carrying hibernating refugees are the only memories that escaped.

Three dozen generations passed before the modern techniques of traveling the stars safely - a protective field that holds out the madness of the non-space that allows swift travel - were developed, in four places within a century thanks to the whispers. We reunited slowly, with short trips establishing a network of communications relays that could convey information quickly and allow for navigation at longer range. The Zonal Ankor was constructed.

After about seven dozen more generations, the reflexor was invented, allowing for life beyond two generations, other than the Drengi's sacred tools that removed the recent memory to preserve the older. The modern age began, with ever-growing age and accumulated expertise among the masters and ever-better invention and innovation. Travel became easier, knowledge spread more easily, and the importance of Clan and birth Hold dropped and Guild and Hold of residence increased. The Golden Age lasted another three dozen generations.

It ended with Master Crafter Thrungza, a genius and innovator, who invented Dumgrungnaz - 'Warp-Forging.' It is described above, but suffice to say it does the impossible and anchors it to a concrete physical thing, that works without active maintenance and does not, as far as anyone ever saw, invite the horrors of the Warp. But the Thrungzi were confident it was completely safe, and the rest were not, and so we had our first and hopefully only civil war. They were driven away, to distant stars we do not know, though we know they live as information periodically arrives in the Zonal network mapping new distant locations.

We have made contact with humans, for a generation or two a dozen generations later and then again in a more sustained way two dozen generations after that. The caution about innovation that emerged after Thrungza fled has perhaps begun to recede. But we are worried that another civil war may begin soon and leave few survivors, hence putting this data out into the universes despite misgivings around the trust that it may damage.

What kind of a person would you recommend to change their species to yours, and why? You may optionally address a two sentence message to anyone who might choose the form of your species.

Consent is granted on the condition any individuals who might come into contact with existing Durazi society are bound to or otherwise strictly uphold Durazi expectations of inviolate oaths. We have not determined whether this will come about automatically from a physical transformation when not raised from childhood with Durazi mental structures and the Gromthi-Lidazit (ancestor whispers).

One who is willing and able to uphold this, has reverence for memory and craftsmanship, and wishes to see the far future even if it means spending ever greater portions of it asleep and waiting, may gain much from becoming a Duraza in flesh.

Further information about our species from a human perspective exists in this file.

Your personal opinion on the programme, and your personal feedback.

It would be preferable if conditions could be specified upfront, and rejected before the full application is filled.

We strongly disrecommend sustaining contact with our universe if not protected very thoroughly against psychic and 'magical' phenomena. We presume you are already protected, or this attempt would likely have produced gibbering madness as with most other local species, but you may not have noticed that it an advanced and persistent threat that may capture you over years even if you are protected over minutes.

*One throngagram is 12^4 grams, one throngayear 12^4 years. These numbers are roughly two hundred twenty to three hundred eighty kilograms, twenty-five thousand years, ten thousand years, and forty-three thousand years. They use a base-12 number system, their standard metric equivalent uses 12^4 as the prefix ("throngi" = 12^4 = "army-count", throngathrongi = 12^8, 'dwe' = 3 and 'throdwengathrongi' = (12^4)^3, etc.), and they express numbers in pairs of grosses, like if we pronounced 1234,5678 as 'twelve hundred and thirty-four ten-thousands, fifty-six hundred and seventy-eight' but by 144s and 20736s instead of 100s and 10000s.

Heeeeeey cuties I think this is an excellent opportunity for more foxen to fox foxily in other universes.

I'll handle the details and give a couple dozen volunteers a little bit of a boost in foxmagic <3 ... say, five points worth? First come first serve.

Great~

- Your name, and your agreement to process and distribute your personal data and biodata.

[A list of names, signatures, and pawprints, 26 long].

- The name of your species. (If you are a one-person species or are unaware of your origins, please specify so.)

Tirran Kitsunes, created by the goddess Tamamo (me).

- Physical description of your species, in form (how do you look?) and constituency (what you are made of?).

Kitsunes have two forms: A humanoid body with animal-like ears and a tail resembling the standard human elsewise, and a quadrupedal body covered in fur resembling the standard terran fox. Kitsune bodies are composed largely of dream-type magic that closely mimics standard-human-biology in many respects. The dream-magic makeup helps get around pesky things like needing to process waste, injuries, needing to eat (you still can tho! it's fun!). Kitsunes express semi-randomized additional magical traits, which are varied and summarized in addendum W(for Whiskers). Some of these traits require additional capacity in the metastable-kitsune-spellform while others add additional leeway. Selection of these traits is generated using [complicated godconcept] based on soul-psyche-personality-pattern. See appendix C for a full list of traits and their relative spellform-capacity and selection-priority and appendix F(ox) for full technical details!

- Mental and social description of your species. You may use the multiversal-standard-human psyche as a reference point.

On Tirra most kitsunes typically pick one route of 'integrate with other species in a cosmopolitan society, spending most of their time in humanoid form' or 'spend most of their time in quadrupedal form, not necessarily participating in society and spending time in and around nature'. Psychologically speaking compared to standard humans, kitsunes (on average) have significantly higher sexual desire, lower desire to wear clothing, higher focus on being perceived as beautiful/cool/talented/etc, more positive feedback from service to others, more tendency to lie, a sense of humor predisposed to enjoy minor pranks, higher likelihood to feel a female internal gender identity, higher volition and impulsiveness, lower patience, higher desire for physical intimacy (I.E. hugs/hairbrushing/cuddling), lower anxiety over long-term concerns, wanderlust, higher forgiveness.

There is a significant mental component to a new magical sense which provides positive stimulus for activities which generate magical charge and provides some feedback on the nature of ambient magical energies (some types of magic that share some properties with problematic magical phenomena on Tirra will 'smell bad').

- Magical description of your species, if applicable.

Heavily rooted in 'dream magic', including near universal ability to access the Spirit Layer of reality, which is necessary to activate some kitsune magic abilities. The Spirit Layer is in layman's terms made of conceptual echoes of significant thoughts, emotions, physical phenomena (especially life and especially sentient societies). It is, in metaphorical terms, made of stories- Not in the sense that you'll find yourself acting out a plot if you go there, but in the sense that the story of a place in the material becomes what that place is like in the Spirit/Dream Layer. Magically speaking, see appendix Z.

- The description of drawbacks and advantages, abilities and flaws of your species. You may use the multiversal-standard-human capabilities as a reference point. Please include the average lifespan and the mode of reproduction.

Kitsunes do not senesce, but can die via injury. In the Tirran magical environment, Kitsunes who die will eventually (~10 to ~200 years) reform in the Dream Layer of reality, from where they can return to the material layer if desired. Appendix D(ream) contains detailed specifications on the necessary environmental variables for this auto-reincarnation to function! But basically, it should work most places that aren't specifically soul-eaty or extremely antimagic.

Kitsunes are always female, are incapable of reproduction, and propagate via beings being transformed into kitsunes.

The greatest flaw of kitsunes is that they require constant upkeep of magical power, which can be gathered in various ways (most easily, by absorbing semen). Without magical power, they are unable to activate their magical abilities and revert to four-legged form, which generates a slight positive magic balance over time.

The greatest advantage is that foxes are cute and amazing and pretty, and so are foxgirls, and you can get lots of different magic goodies I built into the whole structure over time, you even tend to get personality appropriate ones more than others. Things like illusion magic, brain boosts, sexual prowess, physical might, additional senses, pocket dimensions, and more!!

Kitsunes also make the ickybad parts of having a physical body less intrusive, without going all the way to giving up squishy biofunctions entirely! Since they're made of conceptual dreammagic (mostly), injuries can mostly be shrugged off, disease and nutrition is mostly a non-factor, sleep deprivation and muscle fatigue hit less hard and recover faster, and so on. I tried really hard to make moment-to-moment existence as a kitsune viscerally pleasant. I'm particularly proud of the work I did to make muscles that are just real enough to feel warm and real when working, without being real enough to accumulate aches and pains. I did a lot of work on the sensorium and sensory processing bits, trying to make everything more fun and/or less bad! Particularly optimized for snuggling and other intimacy with other people.

- The natural habitat of your species, and its necessary components.

Standard Earthlike biosphere, with some exceptions/variations. Temperate to subarctic forest is ideal. Or standard-human-compatible artificial environments.

- The needs of your species that are necessary for comfortable survival.

Many Kitsunes do not thrive without a non-kitsune society to integrate or interact with. People to play with, lewd, or play pranks on is necessary enrichment! Many kitsunes also do not thrive without access to significant undeveloped wilderness to visit and explore. Standard-human needs for comfort generally also apply.

- A brief history of your species, if known to you.

A long time ago, I was a human. I became more and more powerful. I loved foxes and turned myself into one! I started turning other people into foxgirls and working on the design of the kitsune-metastable-configuration. I had some adventures and kept getting stronger. Then I made friends with some other gods and we fought a big war. We won and I turned into a goddess during the whole mess, but it sucked and lots of stuff blew up. Then we spent thousands of years on cleanup and I kept making more kitsunes a few at a time when I could afford the expenditure and found a good candidate. The end.

- What kind of a person would you recommend to change their species to yours, and why? You may optionally address a two sentence message to anyone who might choose the form of your species.

Being a kitsune is for people who want to be carefree, fox-like, and happy. For someone who wants to be attractively feminine and lewd. For someone who wants to be an illusionist, dancer, or performer. For someone who wants to play pranks and maybe be a little bit childlike. For someone who wants to be a little bit free of worrying about social values. For someone who thinks having a tail would be neat and having it brushed would be pleasant. For someone who doesn't enjoy the bad parts of the physical experience of having a body; Kitsunes obviate most of the bad parts. You can even ignore the sexy stuff if you really want to. Being foxlike is a terminal value for me and I find it difficult to imagine what it's like to not have that at a terminal value!

- Your personal opinion on the programme, and your personal feedback.

I like it because I get to spread the love of foxes and foxgirls!! Appendixing the completed metastable-kitsune-spellform in appendix F(ox).

The file on Shavrek recieves medium-high priority from the get-go, and quickly gets bounced around for more detailed review.

Obviously, a lot of the Pinnacle Foundation sponsors love it - the Eternal Preservation Fund, the Entropy Minimization Paradigm, the Priesthood of Elua, Jenny Everywhere Fund, and more - though the Immortality Initiative and others like it arent quite as enthused as one might suspect, because conserved Shavrek ancestor spirits probably are not quite alive. But they are fairly enthused nontheless, especially with how this form of continued existence will appeal to those silly people aesthetically opposed to immortality. Generally, the Pinnacle Foundation really wants this to work out.

It passes the preliminary safety review quickly. The skill-network is, potentially, a geuinely dangerous weapon, but not so dangerous as to raise specific concerns. It is also an extreme potential vulnerability, which somewhat bumps it down in priority.

The interaction of the skill-network with extreme distances and multiversal travel is not obvious from the letter and will have to be clarified in individual testing - would it fracture over planets and worlds, and if so, how would the fragments react if they are brought into contact with each other? Not fracturing seems preferable according to Shavrek values, but - it is a dangerous multiverse out there, and in that case, if any Shavrek on some farwary world gets attacked by something creative, all other Shavrek, including the volounteers and their source civilization, can come to harm or be utilized as resources, including over the extremely long term. The Decentralized Funding Network for Decentralization wouldnt sponsor the Shavrek then, and the possibility is rather concerning for the Council of Safety. The ideal situation would probably be a forking of the skill network, such that splinters retain all previous information but do not automatically communicate between each other.

The psychology of the species have not been described in particular detail in the questionnaire. It will need clarification. But the preliminary estimations look REALLY GOOD. The Mental Health Interuniversal is concerned about it, but it is concerned about everything, and its concern about this species stands out as rather low.

Shavrek recieve 7/10 preliminary scoring on aesthetics, 7/10 on quality of life, 7/10 on productive potential, 8/10 on psychological makeup and 5/10 on personal safety. Amphibians are COOL, and swimming is great, no? Changing sex at will is a fairly desriable perk. Never being alone and not needing to look anything external up to solve a task sounds great - but, objectively speaking, you are still inconvenienced by a bunch of things. The skill network, everything aside, is an extreme capability boost in the exactly right direction.

They will contact the volounteers to discuss these and other points. Theyll archive and offer the species as an option almost regardless of anything - unless they suddenly turn out nonsentient or made of evil or something, which seems unlikely - but further clarifications will influence the degree to which Shavrek transformation is recommended.

[The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition: This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, that others might use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.]

A transcript of follow up interviews with Envada the Shavrek:

Our psychology? Sure, I guess I can go into more detail, but I'm not really sure what to say. Let me see ...

So humans are your reference point, right? We're honestly pretty similar to humans overall, I think. The main difference is probably our experience of boredom; Shavrek can get into a kind of focused flow state where it's hard to switch tasks that I think is less common in humans. We can also be a bit perfectionist? I'm honestly not sure if that's a 'brain wiring' thing or a cultural thing, but I know a few Shavrek who really struggle to think of their projects as 'done' until they're completely perfect.

What else ....

Oh! We tend to make friends pretty easily. Quick to form attachments, good empathy, that sort of thing. Our faces aren't quite as mobile as a humans, but I think the underglow makes up for that in terms of expressiveness. We're still perfectly fine with reading human facial expressions.

Our family groupings are pretty similar to humans — three or four generations living together, about three to four children per couple, children staggered in age by a few years so they mostly grow up playing with cousins. Sometimes you'll get older Shavrek deciding to go off and live in a cave, meditating and perfecting their art. My grandmother is like that, and I know my parent tries to channel her every night before bed to see if she's still hanging in there, because she's getting pretty frail. She's an amazing shogi player, though — I really think she has a good shot at becoming the new honored ancestor of shogi.

What was— oh, right, psychology!

Yeah, I don't really think there's much else to say. We're generally a pretty happy and social bunch. There are mental illnesses that happen, depression and so on, but Tervani, Honored Ancestor of talk therapy, is pretty good at his job. Obviously that doesn't help much with physical or chemical problems, but we've got diagnosticians for those.

I'm not sure that really counts as a difference from humans, though. We've just got a built-in support network.

Sure, we can move on to the next question. What do I think should happen if something attacks the skill network? Ancestors!

I ... 

I mean, the network should definitely survive as much as possible. I think your 'forking' idea is ... probably the best bet for that, even though sundering the network would still be a grievous injury to our people.

How long-range is it? That's an interesting question.

We've spread out a lot, but I'm pretty sure all Shavrek still live within a light-minute of me, or so, which is part of why I'm so worried about another war of the stones. So we know it stretches at least that far. But it also persists through shifting to demiplanes, time manipulation fields, and so on. Hold on a second.

Okay, so Progenitor Shavrek says that when they were making the deal for our design with the Master of Games, they spent a good number of contingency points on securing the network. It should operate across planes and universes within a local multiverse just fine. It might or might not be blocked by the greater distance between some universes, though. If it is sundered like that for some reason, both copies keep full records of all the ancestors, and they automatically sync up when they come back in contact.

The Progenitor didn't really think about attacks being directed through the network, though. That sounds ... really bad. You folks seem pretty powerful; is that something we could pay you to fix, or ...?

Right, no, I understand this is all just preliminary. Maybe I can write a letter that you can pass on to your boss or something.

Yes, you can contact me again if you've got further questions. It's really not a bother.

Right, thank you. It was nice to meet you too. Tap the recording crystal here? Ok—

Durazi are... a proper nightmare. Among other things, a nightmare of diplomacy. If they are capable of violating oaths, and react in the described way to violated oaths, then - if this is to be done, this has to be done very discreetly, and entirely in a way that involves bypassing any conflict on behalf of existing Durazi governments and clans. Pinnacle doesnt want to start any wars of extermination, least of all against its clients, and this situation cleary risks it. 

The straightforward path here is going to be for the volounteers to modify themselves (and therefore the subsequent transformees) to be fundamentally incapable of either oathbreaking or oathmaking. It might have to be oathmaking if oathbreaking in the relevant sense is possible by mistake.

A more curcuitous route would need the Pinnacle do some cloak and dagger nonsense such as meddling with the essence of the species entrusted to them for preservation (for the purpose of instilling mental restraints!) or such as an aeons-long campaign of separation and/or eternal coverup of the misdeeds of the converts from the source civilization. And in any such case it would involve the volounteers to renounce citizenship and obligations to their governments and civilization.

Is there anything in here particularly worth jumping moral hoops? What do you think, guys? Multiversal Expo Committee? Eternal Preservation Fund? Apetto Cybernetics?

Yeah. Nothing in particular. Friendlier silicate races exist out there in the multiverse. The ancestror thing seems very much nerfed compared to some other options, and is not an unalloyed good either. The mental makeup seems generally fraught, and the immortality model is sort of a disaster. There are bound to be other techy species, too. There wouldnt generally be any question of if a species is worth it to preserve and offer, as a strong default presumption is that yes it obviously is, but ″uphold our norms or we will exterminate you and all of yours″ is putting a damper on that.

So Pinnacle will send the reply to Khraga Zongrung and friends, that the only realistic option here is the modification of individuals to be sampled into shapes fundamentally biologically incapable of breaking oaths - or, if breaking of oaths is possible without volition, into being fundamentally incapable of making oaths - because Pinnacle Foundation is not inclined to instigate an extermination war against its own clients, or heavily restrict travel, or act as thought police, or tamper with the samples entrusted to them.

The reply will also talk about the conditions and the ways they might still change, in more detail than UselessCommon is inclined to write about boring legalese. Basically, the multiverse is large and its hard to comprehensively account for things in advance.

Also, the universe as a whole is incredibly concerning, though Pinnacle Semi-Nonprofit Foundation have already directed the attention of interuniversal aid and charity orgs to them, we well as of some open source information gathering projects, significantly before that particular message. They are all of them equipped to withstand psychic onslaught. Pinnacle will mention that in the reply, along with the information that the referral preceeded the Durazi answer, and that they are protected enough against psychic influence, though they appreciate the warning.

I am Speaker Silverwing of the Mimaera, and I hereby submit my species to the catalog in the hope of preservation of our people and the hope that Mimaera of many kinds may come to exist in the future. 

Species Description:

Mimaera are like humans, consisting of flesh and bone primarily, but with feathered wings on their backs that allow them to fly. We are hypothesized by some to be a very weak angel offshoot, but breed true and aren’t noticeably more good or evil than humans.

We have an expected lifespan of around ~100 years, and the oldest living Mimaera is around 120.

Our wings are usually deep brown or grey in color, sometimes can be dull blue or purple, and very rarely may throw iridescent feathers like that of a magpie.

Skin tones are generally within norms for the sentient species we live near; in wholly-Mimaera communities they correspond almost exactly with wing colors.

Any given Mimaera may have up to three pairs of wings. One pair is most common, with two pairs being uncommon and three pairs being very rare.

Most Mimaera have a mana organ in the chest near the heart that converts ATP to mana; this organ also allows us to sip on ambient mana. Some few Mimaera hatch without this organ, which is generally considered a disabling condition. Mana organ transplants from the recently dead are known in the modern day, but more controversial than more directly lifesaving surgeries.

Using ambient mana we can heal, fly, and create light. Mimaera without a mana organ can’t use any of our magical powers, which includes flight.

Some Mimaera have refined their ability to create light to a degree strong enough they can create freestanding illusions. 

Flying is usually about as strenuous as walking in mana-rich environments, but in areas with low or nil ambient mana is much more of a workout and may tax our metabolism.

Our healing powers are most effective on direct trauma, and are weaker against disease and poison. They can be developed with practice and draw on the ambient mana, or in low mana areas, our metabolism.

Among our other physical traits, we possess hollow bones, which break easily on bad landings or falls. Most Mimaera know how to set a bone for magical healing from experience.

Our feet are prehensile and clawed; we are fully able to walk on and also seize prey with our feet, which have some truly impressive adaptations. Historically, we have a fish-heavy diet.

Mentally, we are much like humans, but with a few small differences. We are able to process visual and auditory information much faster, but have dyscalculia and aphantasia compared to a human standard.

We have sharp reflexes, but the basic reflex when startled is to take off flying, even indoors. This is regrettably known to cause accidental injuries.

We also have a natural facility for imitating other species, particularly their languages, voices and music. This is hypothesized to be a trace of a dormant strain of brood parasitism somewhere in the species’ history.

We reproduce through magic, mostly are distinctly androgynous, and only occasionally have genitalia. Whether we express genitalia is related to hormonal and magical balances in puberty and only individuals that strongly desire to be gendered develop the parts. This is only one of many species traits that our young may mimic in the presence of other species living together with us.

Mimaera that have not been around other species in puberty such that they develop genitalia in general have no sex drive, but do have an intimacy and brooding drive. Brooding takes place when feathers of multiple Mimaera are bound together into a charm and given a push with healing-magic. This produces a small egg about the size of a golf-ball that over a month or two’s brooding eventually reaches the size of a human toddler and hatches. We start out with the capacities of a human four-year-old and typical members can fly and walk from birth. Children are more likely to inherit traits from Mimaera whose feathers were in their feather-charm.

Mimaera with secondary sexual caracteristics may experience sex drives like the species their sexual organs imitate, but produce no gametes and cannot interbreed with other species. Some Mimaera have been able to produce variants of the featherbinding ritual that work with their intended even if they are of a different species, but it seems highly specific to the individual and not at all a guaranteed thing.

The intimacy drive of the Mimaera generally deals with the preening of the wings with the hands, which is a delicate process and usually performed by those we are romantically involved with. This process is pleasurable for most Mimaera, though usually not in a sexual way. However, some Mimaera with sex drives report that the inner curve of the wing where it joins the back is erogenous.

We have no nudity taboo, in general, since there are no organs to be ashamed of in the majority of cases and our feathers are quite warm. Gending members of the species and others who go among other cultures or species tend to go against this norm and wear clothes.

Our natural habitats are temperate and alpine woodlands on earthlike worlds, particularly freshwater lakes and coastal areas in same. We are able to stand more cold than humans are and suffer more in intense heat. In tundra-like environments we may adopt clothing more commonly, and can sustainedly survive temperatures as low as -40 centigrade with planning. Areas sustainedly above 25 degrees centigrade tend to cause heatstroke in Mimaera.

We prefer to take shelter in the shade and in artificially cooled environments in summer, and do not generally survive well in tropical environments. Our comfortable temperature is generally around 4 degrees cooler than humans prefer. 

We are adapted well for high-altitude environments and need less oxygen in the air to breathe than humans. We cannot survive sustainedly where there is no oxygen.

To summarize our strengths and weaknesses:

Positives:

+ Flight

+ Wings

+ Healing Magic

+ Light Magic

+ Fast language learning

+ Voice and musical mimicry

+ Good at interacting with other species

+ Only reproduce deliberately 

+ Possible to have children with more than two parents 

+ If you have a sex drive, sensitive inner wing region

+ Preening

+ Great brain for experiencing new things with

+ Adapted to cooler environments

Negatives: 

- Brittle Bones 

- Startle reflex 

- Small chance of lack of mana organ 

- Senescence 

- Casting and flight are exhausting in low mana areas 

- Bad at math 

- Bad at vividly imagining things 

- Vulnerable to heatstroke on hot days 

- Need to breathe oxygen 

- Not guaranteed to be able to have children with other species

Depends on individual: 

+/- Lack of sex drive in most individuals

+/- Lack of secondary sex characteristics

+/- 100 year lifespan

+/- Clothes not expected 

Our species is a member of the Origin Trade Consortium and until its recent contact was quite similar to an Information Age Earth. Since then we have become known as talented doctors and performing artists. The details of our deep history are largely unknown due to a relative lack of interest in archaeology, but this is changing in recent years and further evidence of our history may be unearthed.

Thank you for preserving our species through your program, and thank you for your time.