Mor’Otesi and the Crystalsapien species
Mor’Otesi is a large, rocky world bombarded by ultraviolet radiation emitted by its star. It is an extremely cold planet, with oceans of liquid methane, and sillicone-based life.
Phytocrystals, the Otesian equivalent of plants grow long, translucent crystals, which absorb energy from the ultraviolet radiation, and convert it into chemical potential energy. Otesian “herbivores” either have sharp, crystalline teeth to bite off these crystals, or secrete acids to weaken the crystals and make them easier for consumption. Some also dig under the ground to get at the nutrient-rich tubers. Carnivores use similar strategies to eat their prey after hunting it. All life on Mor’Otesi incorporates sillicone crystals in some way, and many have their own ways of absorbing and releasing energy.
The dominant lifeform on Mor’Otesi are the Crystalsapien. These are intelligent, humanoid beings, who are extremely technologically advanced. Millions of years ago, their ancestors, the Lithosapien, nearly drove themselves to extinction through nuclear war and climate change. The few dozen survivors used biotechnology to rejuvenate their environment and to modify their own bodies, giving rise to the Crystalsapien.
Crystalsapien vary greatly, but they all have the same genetic code, and a variety of crystals throughout their body that allow them to absorb and release energy in almost any form. For instance, they can absorb sound energy and release it as electrical energy, or vice-versa. They can absorb kinetic energy and release it again in the same form, and they can do something similar with light - but they can also release energy that they absorbed from heat or electricity in the form of light, and release energy absorbed from light in the form of electricity. These are just a few of the different types of energy transfers they’re capable of.
The Crystalsapien, having stabilised Mor’Otesi’s environment, agreed to leave their homeworld undisturbed, and instead spread out into space, colonising their entire start system. As their technology grew more advanced, they discovered faster-than-light travel, and started spreading out into the galaxy, seeding other sillicone-based worlds with the potential for life. Each of these worlds has its own Crystalsapien Guardian, or group of Guardians, who protected the world as life evolved on it, including sapient life (based on a version of the Crystalsapien genetic template). The people of these worlds often see their Guardians as godlike beings.
There are 342 known worlds seeded with life by the Crystalsapien, of which 94 have already developed sapient life. The most famous example is of course Petropia, but another, often-overlooked one, is the red dwarf star Pyros. Pyros already had rich deposits of taedenite ore, a compound of taedenium, oxygen, and sillicone, which is able to form complex molecules at the high temperatures found on Pyros - this taedenite ore is what allowed the Crystalsapien to seed this star with the potential for life. Other sapient races created by the Crystalsapien include the Taeden of Taedenis (the most taedenite-rich planet in the Milky Way), the Esmaraudians of the Beryllaster system, and the Lithiites of Ignolithos