#v44

Crawlers began as very simple organisms that bear some slight resemblance to Earth's bristle worms. They were purely aquatic and lived within ‘disks’ - enormous structures of colonial organisms very similar to coral. They provided the worms with shelter, and the worms defended their homes from invaders in return.

The early crawlers would go on to evolve alongside the disks as part of their symbiotic relationship. The disks required sunlight in order for the algae, which also lived inside them, to perform photosynthesis. Disks would often merge with others of their kind to form even bigger structures, and compete with each other for light. Eventually their height breached the ocean's surface, and large swaths of ‘land’ were formed from their wide area. The crawlers could walk on the flat canopies of the disks, developing an amphibious lifestyle as their fins became legs. At this stage, some populations migrated to the shorelines, evolving into a shore-dwelling subspecies. These varieties became more lean and agile to travel easier on land, dug burrows into sand instead of disks, and excavated caves. Their colouration also became duller in order to camouflage better.

Meanwhile, the remaining marine colonies grew exponentially with reefs spanning for hundreds of kilometres. This led to bigger competition and bigger predators; in response, the crawlers evolved to be more larger and smarter. They used their mouths to create tools to defend their homes and capture prey. When predators attacked the exposed surface of the disks, they would work together to fight them off, becoming more social and strategic.

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ALSO FEATURING

Selma is 28 years old and has had to undergo countless surgeries throughout her life. The unethical experimentation which her ancestors experienced has caused her to develop chronic pain, as well as heart and joint issues. Her unconventional bauplan is a primary factor.

She was born on Hanidias, into a care facility made specifically for GM individuals. An overwhelmingly high percentage of the residents were victims of Genizix. Selma's expected lifespan is 60-65 years, considered a rare and lucky case by her doctors. Most other Earth experiments had a maximum lifespan of 30.

She was raised by a post-human nurse who worked as a spacecraft intelligence for an emergency medical craft - this sparked her love of piloting. Selma was discharged from the facility at 19 years, although she has to return frequently for checkups.

She now works on Kilra at Elvoir's School of Space Exploration, teaching spaceflight classes. After finding Vreaz, she offered to pay for his tuition. In return, Vreaz helps her out in the workshop after school.