what's the boxkites' native environment like and how do they move around in it?
Boxkites evolved in the littoral zone of a cold ocean. They are capable of slow, inefficient swimming by undulating their limbs to push water out from beneath them. Most of the time, they are idle or crawling with their limbs splayed to the ground, usually overlapping with other individuals. To move, they flex the muscles underneath the limbs and their fatty stores at the end, which can function as gross motor digits. A budding boxkite can use its unseparated bud, which looks like a smaller version of its body, as a temporary fine manipulator. Separated buds are new boxkites.
Boxkites are energy efficient to the max, filter feeding through the bristles of their arms when not actively feeding. Socialization is drawn out and almost imperceptible to other sophonts, as languages are touch-based and occur between piled boxkites, with one individual communicating with up to four recipients at onceβone with each arm. Boxkites can accurately relay information as they receive it, making audience reach an unconscious procedure.
A group of boxkites can choose to form a company, a new intelligence emerged from the rapid communication, cooperation, and shared intellect of each part. The computation power of a company increases with size. The upper bound to company size is set by information decay after hundreds of relays, and the slowness of a message spanning across more than 100 individuals brings.
