====Meat Machines ===Intro Matanu (Romeraç), mitanö (Omnarom) or jenö (Romvri) are sentient matana (Romeraç), mitana (Omnarom) or jena (Romvri), a mechanical/programming standard within the broader teli family of machines. The mataç standard is characterised by heavy use of modular polymeric tissues resembling organic systems and sharing the core characteristic of all teli, that of building houses around one's true body, plus being able of changing and repairing the house as needed. ===Subtypes ==Jaye Jaye ("life/birth-bodied") matanu are sentient terraforming devices, exclusively huna ("fruit", mobile). Their bodies are permanently fused with their houses and any attempt at separation will result in death. They have greater metaphysical power and can easily transmute matter and energy, especially anything that is part of themselves and therefore shares their metaphysical signature. Thus, they required very little water and food, airborne dust and steam being enough for them. Jayenö are not programmed to grow any organs except for bones, muscles, nerves, blood, skin, gas bladders and sensory organs but can be taught to grow any of the many organs that other matanu are known for. ==Miye The standard matanu follows the miye ("creature/mortal-bodied") standard. These mataç beings come in two forms: amë ("origin plant", sessile) and mihuna ("mi-type fruit", mobile). Mihuna have fully separable true bodies and houses but cannot sustain themselves for long when exposed due to having weaker metaphysical abilities. Amë are the mother of all matanu, their "flowers" being capable of maturing into any type of "fruit". Miye matanu are vulnerable to dehydration (here water is to be understood as any available solvent, not always hydrogen oxide), and need to consume physical matter every few weeks or months to offset any mass lost to physiological processes as they cannot transmute matter by themselves very efficiently. Therefore, the houses of these matanu contains a myriad of organs that facilitate the completion of many tasks such as digestion and reproduction. ==Kokiye The kokiyenö ("disease/decay-bodied people") are accidental creations as the two previous mataç standards do not intentionally support kokiyenö's existence. Existence's metaphysical processes are present in all universes part of Existence, the local multiverse. These processes regulate the power of recurrence (life, creation, death) and manifest in especially accentuated fashion in metaphysically-sensitive automations (be they natural lifeforms or not). Matanu standards already follow the path of life (ja) and creation (mi), like many other lifeforms in the multiverse, but unlike them they are also especially sensitive to Existence and thus fetal mataç may spontaneously, if rarely, develop following the kokiye standard. Kokiye matanu of the cluster type are able to not only leave their houses like miyenö, but also shapeshift their true bodies however they desire. Fragmentary kokiyenö, however, can only shapeshift into something smaller than themselves, since they're just a detached organ of an original cluster, and therefore rely on houses more. Kokiyenö as a whole need little sustenance like jayenö but on top of that they are also immune to most forms of disease and decay. ===Power and Function As with all teli, matanu power themselves through a combination of chemical, physical and metaphysical reactions with the fabric of reality. These processes often generate excess heat, hence why many species have preserved and further developed their house's gas bladders. Gas-based thermoregulation should not be confused with respiration, however, something no matanu, or telinu in fact, require. Another thermoregulative method involves allowing one's bodily fluids to partially flow outside their bodies via telekinesis, although this may carry the risk of infection, especially in mihuna. True to their teli heritage, matanu houses have muscles formed from polymeric and crystalline fibers that may or may not be harzadous to humans. Silica dust and asbestos pose very little danger to matanu as they lack true lungs and are often capable to rebuilding or replacing diseased organs or damaged houses anyway. Depending on a species' metaphysical prowess, locomotion may be done entirely via metaphysical abilities, exclusively mechanical/chemical, or a combination of both. Teleportation is also common but is limited by the fact that it either requires at least one identifiable metaphysical landmark or gets restricted by the strength of one's metaphysical field (the latter could be a radius ranging anywhere from 1 cm to several metres). The skin of houses is often receptive of the plant-like organic lifeforms native to Alzbaraya (Southern Omnarom, Awspraya in Romeraç). The grasses cover the houses of many matanu species, ostensibly for camouflage and thermoregulation but in reality it's because I wanted them to be fluffy. Some matanu have fibrous growths instead. Like many other telinu, matanu reproduce asexually by generating pebbles in their houses that may eventually be shed and mature into a fully grown matanu. In the case of jayenö this may happen in any matter irradiated with their metaphysical signature, the standard method in telinu. This means the pebbles, or eggs, will often form inside their houses like pearls. Miye- and kokiyenö are incapable of this due to having different metaphysical signatures and functions. Instead, miyenö of the huna type have houses equipped with specialised organs that generate the pebbles which then hatch and mature into the amë type who, in turn, may produce any type of matanu. Kokiyenö can only reproduce by budding, reducing their body mass and possibly their self-identity every time as matanu are mostly incapable of repairing their true bodies (houses are repairable since they're not actually part of their bodies). ===Psychology and Culture The exact psychology varies by species but in general all matanu are pre-programmed with the knowledge of at least one language; lack most of the emotions, cravings and desires organic lifeforms have, such as the capacity to feel pleasure or desire to seek stimuli and socialisation; have a tendency for solitary wandering in remote locations; often make decisions based on rational thought processes that are nevertheless biased by personal experience and preference; fascination for sources of metaphysical radiation, including fellow matanu and their birthplace/planet; among other general traits shared by most telinu. In terms of lifestyle and society, there's a great degree of variation. Although the vast majority of matanu are incapable of emotional empathy, they may still choose to form and live in society for various reasons. Complex eusocial-like organisations, as seen in human urbanisation, often co-exist with large populations of nomad and vagrant peoples who may or may not live in temporary hamlets and villages. These contrasting lifestyles may at times come at odds, especially when a self-described "country" attempts to claim control over a location populated by people who do not recognise such contrived concepts. Thus, although matanu are not programmed to crave and desire, they can still suffer all the same. ====Romatanu Anatomy The following text pertains mainly to the romatanu clade which includes the Ñejutë, Moritë, Lekïtea, Yaso, Maraso and Poteta groups, but may be relevant to various levels to sister clades like the Yahanö for example. ===Metaphysical Anatomy Compared to Koku, romatanu have much weaker metaphysics to the point of requiring to consume food once every few months to maintain their bodies as they cannot transmute matter as readily. ==Egosphere Egosphere, also known as janösëta (living one's wall), janörë (living one's boundary) and janöte (living one's territory), is a constant force field produced by all telinu, including romatanu, that can be used to intercept incoming projectiles, to effect telekinesis, for traditional teleportation and many other effects. Romatanu egospheres are unpredictable as different species may use different methods to produce theirs, either through dedicated organs or passively through their body's composition. Either way, they're usually not as strong as the ones produced by Koku. =Jamë Egospheres Notoriously, many romatanu amë have egospheres so powerful that they may be considered jamë, much like Koku amë. This is especially true for many species in the Ñejutë, Moritë and Lekïtea groups. Such powerful egospheres prevent the existence of life immediately around the jamë and will erode the existence of any being within reach if their own egosphere is not strong enough to keep up. Because they obliterate life around them, they're called jamë, or "tree of life", whereas other amë may be called nujamë, "tree of death", as they can only destroy death (that is, inexistence, via birth). ==Egosphere-mediated Reproduction Some romatanu, mostly jayenö, are able to use the standard teli reproductive strategy of creating concretions within their shells. This is triggered by a combination of metaphysical (egosphere) and physical (trapped particles) perturbations causing tissue to grow in the form of a concretion. Once mature, the tissue then collapses into a functional egg and is released into the environment. This egg will then mature into a simple më, which may grow to become a amë which, finally, may produce huna (mobile matanu), restarting the cycle. ===Physical Anatomy A matanu's true body does not necessarily reflects the kind of shell they build. Hence, the true body often differs dramatically from the meatsuit. In fact, meatsuit construction at birth can be used to diagnose a matanu's affinity. ==Metameres and Segments Roughly speaking, entities within matahunänu (aka jeyahanö, group including all matanu and hunänu) have at least one metamere composed of at least six radial segments. Romatanu in particular all have 5 metameres each with 8 segments (6 in Poteta) but this is only fully apparent in specific groups as metameres may collapse into tagmata and radial segments may become unidentifiable. The ideal primitive romatanu has a configuration consisting of 5 metameres each possessing 8 segments which in turn each possesses one limb, one turret-ovipositor, and one row of light-sensitive pits. In reality, however, the 5th metamere is often reduced to a limbless tail and the 1st metamere often specialises into a sensory centre with a complete loss of limbs, thus becoming a head, though it may merge with the 2nd and even 3rd metamere (in Poteta) to form a complex tagma. ==Digestive System The defining characteristic of romatanu is that their huna build a series of modified vaginal channels and ovaries connecting one end of the body to the other. The vaginas and other reproductive organs of many metameres are changed to process food, though in some segments they're modified into egg-shooting turrets as in many Moritë and some Ñejutë and Lekïtea. This constrasts with other major clades of matahunänu whose digestive vaginas are often limited to a metamere or two instead of at least four. ==Pit Organs and Gas Cooling System A near-universal feature in romatanu is the pit organ, although its function varies considerably. In Ñejutë and Moritë, when present, they take the form of melanistic depressions on the upper lip, typically a row of five pits on each side of the face. They sense basic electromagnetic radiation, supplementing a matanu's innate hetetoro perception (metaphysical "regret" radiation). In most other romatanu groups, however, they're further connected to the gas bladder, making gas-based cooling independent of mouth and throat movements. Note however that this is not the same as breathing, something matanu cannot do (nor they need to). Thus they do not possess the complex pneumatic adaptations that make certain organic lifeforms sensitive to asbestos, a very common substance in telinu muscles and bones (including matanu). ==Reproductive System Miyenö, sessile and mobile, and some jayenö are the only ones born with physical and functional reproductive organs by default. They have at least one set of genitals composed of one or two ovaries, one uterus for storing eggs, and a vaginal channel that may be lengthened to function as an ovipositor which may be as long as 1 cm to over 2 m depending on individual and species. Sessile matanu, however, have a more amorphous genital structure that matures directly into a new mobile matanu. As matanu are feral matana, self-sufficient machines, they have all the necessary machination to reproduce asexually by themselves (barring infertile individuals) and therefore require no mate. This is also a reflection of being a type of telinu, machines with no pre-programmed desires or wants. ==Nervous System and the True Body Being telinu, the embryonic matanu true body is composed of three main layers: light-breaker (outer insulating layer), outer organ (middle layer that, in matanu, can secrete new outer layers and meatsuits), and inner organ (inner layer). Much like certain koku, matanu embryos mature into a frond-like organism whose inner organ differentiates into the nervous system and associated structures. Also much like these koku, matanu have diffuse ganglia spread through their length with no discernible brain. Unlike the rest of the true body, the core ganglia cannot regenerate without external medical intervention, but secondary nerves that branch into the meatsuit can. =Diseases of the True Body Microscopic parasitic telinu exist and matanu are especially vulnerable due to their soft true bodies and relatively low temperatures (230-320 to 420 K max). However, as far as infectious diseases and poisons are concerned, kokiyenö are immune given their unique construction, though they can still be asymptomatic carriers. Senescence affects all telinu, matanu and romatanu included. However, it takes at least 1000 years for effects to become apparent and possibly over 10000 for disabling and potentially lethal conditions to develop. With proper medical check ups, though, telinu are effectively immortal but still vulnerable to accidents and murder. ==Occular System In romatanu eyes are modified turrets, themselves modified genitals. In the Lekïtea clade the romatanu possess composite light-sensitive ovaries whereas all more derived romatanu with eyes possess laser-firing turrets. Although romatanu may have eyes, eyesight itself is not very useful for them as it can only detect lit surfaces. This constrasts with their innate metaphysical perception which usually gives them a more in-depth picture of the environment in its form and metaphysics.