# On the Biology of Asli



## arturslv (May 12, 2010)

The young man rapidly typed away on the keyboard in front of him. He was in desperate need to get some files, but the stubborn system refused. The files were in a jumble. He'd been at this for hours. An icon flashed on the 3D screen in front of him. He clicked it with trembling fingers. The tiredness dissapeared instantly. He'd found what he was searching for. The document finished loading.

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Filesize:34.82 GH | Filename:Asli_Biology.hgd | Date created:3023.23.54 | Author: Georgy Karrenius
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Species name: Asli
First encountered:3002.56.28
Height: 1.74(average)
Gender: neither male or female(read Reproduction)
Lifespan: up to and past 1000 years

Behaviour

These aliens were the second extraterrestrials encountered by Traders, the first being the hostile Vasari. Vasari had also besieged Asli homeplanet, Hilaera. The psychology of Asli is hard to understand, but they are never hostile unless pushed too hard. This was proved by their militia, who always only injured the hostile Vasari soldiers in skirmishes. They also always prefer diplomatics over warfare, and this way they had brought their home planet under united rule. They seem to have a strange sense of collectivity, allowing to understand and share emotions on almost an innate level. This strange connection is yet to be understood. They will always help their kin, whatever the necessity, much like the whales do.

Anatomy

Although Asli and humans share some similar body aspects, there still are many things that even the best scientists fathom. The third lung, the glittering substance within their blood, their strange DNA splitting and mixing, to name a few. Their metabolism surpasses that of humans by four times, providing them with extraordinary healing capabilities. The rapid burning of calories also means that their musculature is tight and their bodies are slim, gifting them with amazingly graceful agility. Their bones consist mainly of calcium like ours, but instead of a bone marrow, the cores are filled with a gel-like substance. While it isn't known what this substance does, it may be responsible for the unnatural flexibility of their bones. Their hands have four flexible fingers, their feet are made up from three fingers. Within their blood is a strange glittering substance. While little is known of it, it is thought to be responsible of Asli glowing in darkness, even more so in moonlight. Their DNA is made up from six intertwined chains, making them resilient to aging. It is known that several Aslis have lived almost two thousand years, meaning that the eldest of their kind have been born long before the Golden Age of Traders.

Reproduction

The Asli don't have a specific gender, and as such, they are considered mono-genderous. While every Asli's body is feminine in appearance and posess what a human female would, the reproduction is drastically different. Asli don't have any males, and reproduce by gene-mixing of sorts. Asli can also reproduce with humans, but any human who has done so, refuses to tell what happened, only telling that nothing compares to it. The Asli have been kind enough to explain the way their reproduction works, without going into particular details. When both partners are comfortable enough with their surroundings, say, a bedroom, they must make a physical contact, like holding hands. The Asli partner then will align it's DNA pattern to match her partner's. The partner's genetic information will be copied in a way, providing the information like hair colour, eye colour, and the like. The Asli partner provides the rest of genetic code, and as such, the offspring is always an Asli, though it may posess some characteristics from the father, like the said hair colour. The human partners may experience strange side effects during the reproduction. When done, a small egg matures within the Asli. After roughly seven hours, it is ready to be taken to 'The Cradle', or Aleqor, as Asli call it. A massive cocoon of unknown organic substance, it nurtures and shelters the hundreds of their unborn children. It takes several months for the egg to fully grow. There are no other cocoons on their planet, meaning that if it is destroyed, their whole race is doomed to a slow extinction. 

Religion

The whole Asli race have a single religion. The main figure in it is Nell-Tiray, a being of unmatched power. The Asli describe it having six wings, dressed in long, flowing robes, a sword in its hand, a crown atop its head, and a fierce light shining from its eyes and claim that she was among them once, helping and guiding them. While most of the Trader theologists were sceptic, their disbelief was heavily rattled upon seeing the statue of Nell-Tiray, which was grown, not hewn from solid cliff. Their disbelief was completely vanquished upon seeing the engravings on Nexus, firmly entrenching the fact that Nell-Tiray was real once. Thousands of Traders have accepted this religion, because it helps to strengthen the Asli-Trader relationships. The main principle is 'help your friends and defend your friends, so they can return the favour.'

For the ending, I'd like to add that I also 'had it on' with one of the Asli, as my son would put it. The experience was... unforgettable, to say the least. Their kind still has so much surprises hidden.

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Alexi plugged his memory drive in the computer's combi-port and copied the file to it. This'll come handy for his university task.


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