i um... yeah. i made this?
the 4 barrels are analogous to biological sensory organs except the head barrel has 3 sub-sensors (2 eyes and a mouth)
theyre basically like 3D scanners, constantly scanning the space around them so they can not only “see” whats in front of them but “feel” it as well,
kinda like if the sensory data a bat got from echolocation felt like the human sense of touch... volumetric touch
pain (the notification a body receives when it is being damaged, physically or emotionally) doesnt feel to Kopo like an increase in negative sensation, like it does for us... rather, Kopo is ALWAYS optimally blissful & euphoric while Not in pain, and feeling pain simply reDUCES that happiness more & more over time the worse the damage gets/the longer it takes Kopo to heal itself...
Kopo isn’t distracted mentally-inwards by this intense blissful feeling, though... it feels it the vast majority of the time so it has acclimated to it and is able to think clearly, longterm, abstractly & empathetically despite basically being at the peak of an orgasm most of its existence.
in this way, pain has the exact same survival-function to Kopo as it does for us (an intense motivation to escape, prevent, and heal its own damage) but Kopo never has to suffer or feel “hurt” or any other negative pain sensation
Kopo has no inherent motivation to go anywhere or do anything other than sustain its own future, but as a sentient lifeform with the capacity for empathy and longterm planning it is at least capable of being curious/concerned about the environment around it and the lifeforms inhabiting that environment, and may take actions, even self-sacrificial ones, to interact with it.... but usually doesn't for obvious reasons.
(sidenote: getting real for a moment, if i had to guess....... this is probably why Fermi's Paradox is a thing.... lifeforms/species of alien life on other planets have no reason to develop "civilization" or "language" or "insulin" or "videogames" if hunting & gathering is currently the optimal way to maintain bliss. if i had to guess why we don't see alien civilizations clouding the night sky, it's because we D.N.A.-based information-replicating lifeforms on earth are one of the only lifeforms in the universe that feels pain as a negative qualia, rather than as a semi-neutral notification of bodily damage. lucky us, huh? LOL)
all Kopo's sensors scan the 3D space around them with a range and data-resolution proportional to their size, extending perhaps 50 meters outwards in every direction, going thru most kinds of matter, but rapidly reducing in resolution as the range extends outwards, as if Kopo is within a gradual "fog-of-war" at all times. the three sub-sensors embedded in Kopo's headbarrel are essentially just cylindrical indentations really, not really separate organs/devices of their own but because these indentations are shaped the way they are, they propel the sensory-range of Kopo's headbarrel forward an additional 25 meters, directly fanning outwards from their holes, as if they were a satellite dish of sorts.
but Kopo has perceived that non-Koponian lifeforms, especially those originating from the Sun solar system and a few other places in the universe react negatively to direct-eyehole-stimulation, so Kopo usually avoids stimulating its eyeholes when in their presence in the same way it might stimulate its mouthhole or groinbarrel or headbarrel out of respect for our cultural differences.
the surface of Kopo's skin is not actually sensitive inof itself... however... Kopo's body possesses prioproceptive mechanoneurons much more powerful than any earth lifeforms, which are used almost entirely to sync the movement, pose and interactions of its entire body with the volumetric wall-penetrating 3D sensory data gathered by its sensory barrels. in this way, not only does Kopo have a full awareness of the pressure and touch of anything against its skin and body up to a very high resolution all-the-way-thru its body, but its coordination and reflexes as well as athletic ability is so far above what should be possible based on its strength & fitness (by human standards) as to seem superhuman. this superhuman athletic prowess is mainly achieved thru the extreme efficiency in movements that come so automatically/autonomically and naturally to it... Koponians find other lifeforms very entertaining and humorous in their absurd & fumbling selfdestructive movements and gestures, and will only ever grow impatient of them if they or the ones they love are directly or indirectly damaged by these inefficiencies... and even then, it isn't exactly "painful" to wait for an inefficient lifeform to stop messing around and save them from certain death, it's just..... not euphoric!
