Sa'arm
(Copied straight from .XML 'backup' file, needs formatting and corrections. ZM User (talk) 20:15, 22 April 2024 (PDT))
Sa'arm - Page in work!
This page is for canon and discussion on the Sa'arm's appearance, physiology, reproduction, etc. For information on how they behave, go to Sa'arm Behavior. Details of their ships can be found at Sa'arm Ships.
(Types of Knowledge - This page is a mishmash of several types of knowledge about the Swarm Cycle's universe. Some 'facts' are only known by the authors and not the characters. Other 'facts' are known by the characters but not the authors. Still other 'facts' turn out to not be true but the characters don't know that. We as writers have to keep this straight. -ZM)
Sa'arm Physiology
"Sa'arm" is the name given to the race that is invading the spiral arm that is home to the Confederacy. (Sa'arm was simply a word that meant 'Dangerous Creatures' in the business language of the Confederacy. It is believed that the prefix Sa' means danger, or dangerous.
Sa'arm 'units' are around two meters (roughly seven feet) tall. They are tripeds with three arms and three eyes. They are tri-laterally symetrical with a defined front facing. Physically, they resemble armored lizards in that they are cold-blooded and fully armored, but it is not an exoskeleton. Thinking Horndog's Mercury Incident established them as having greenish-white blood.
Their internal armor is sufficient to repel common human projectile weapons. While rigorous experimentation is not possible to the non-Confederacy humans on Earth until the landing in Africa, early Confederacy forces on Tulak are able to run enough tests on live Sa'arm to establish that the 5.56 NATO round with 1700 foot pounds will not penetrate their armor at any range. The 7.62 NATO with 2400 foot pounds will penetrate out to 200 meters or so if it strikes within 10 or 15 degrees of perpendicular. As this meant that any shot not hitting the head or center of mass does effectively no damage, the Confederacy abandoned firearms for infantry, instead developing various energy weapons as well as larger firearms for vehicles.
The Sa'arm orient with one leg forward and two to the sides and rear, making them extremely stable against impacts from in front. Each arm is above a leg, with the front arm shorter and lighter for delicate work. The two side/back arms are longer and more massive, such that they can hold an object across their front with their two larger arms and hands and work comfortably with the third.
They have bullet -- or mushroom -- shaped heads with three eyes, two oriented more or less forward and one -- not as well developed -- for watching behind. The third eye seems to be only capable of detecting movement. Thus, a person standing perfectly still can watch a Sa'arm unit as long as it is not facing them. Once it turns, the unit will probably spot the watcher. The Swarm are tunnellers, so they probably see and discern well in low light and shadowy situations. One wonders what strobes and flashbangs would do to their eyesight.
The communications link between the 'units' makes them somewhat like an individual cell in a much larger organism, but with a collective consciousness that is aware of the existence of each cell.
Artist's rendition of initial description
The above artist's rendition has several errors. The Sa'arm is more upright and the head is more cylindrical. It has been described as mushroom-like.
It has been proposed that each arm ends in two opposing pairs of fingers. For the forward arm, all four fingers are individually controllable and can be used for fine work (turning a screwdriver, pushing a button or trigger, etc). For the two back arms, the fingers are stronger and not as dextrous; they are generally used together. (The big reason for this proposal is to give them "Base 12" numbering)
It is assumed that, if they are natural, they developed on a Hell world where the armor and the 360 degree vision was absolutely required -- and where the constant roar of various energies made the development of a sound detection sense a liability. It is also commonly believed that the Sa'arm are a manufactured life form.
Sa'arm Reproduction
(Note to authors: As of this writing (2/20/2016), the below "Reproduction" section has been passed around on the authors' email list, argued over, modified repeatedly, and at last gotten at least grudging acceptance. Even TH has blessed it. However, there are not yet any stories that talk about this so we can't call it 'canon' yet. We don't know how it really works in the stories. -ZM)
- All Sa'arm (that we've captured bodies to examine, that is) are genetically identical. Ergo, the mechanism they use for mutation control is remarkably resistant to damage.
Either they were designed for this, or they came from someplace with a very high radiation flux that required this for stability. How could they have evolved into what they are today, without being able to mutate? Another point for the "designed as miners, now independent" theory.
- An adult unit can lay one egg at a time, when 'activated' by an internal signal controlled by the gestalt. It can carry three eggs at once, and a new egg is automatically started as soon as one is dropped. (Revised 2020/2021 -ZM)
- The egg as laid is roughly 6" or 15cm long and "hatches" in about 120 Earth days. Humans who see one often think 'ostrich egg'.
- Rather than the contained swarmling destroying and discarding the shell, the shell softens and develops eleven holes and two rings. The upper three holes become eyelids, one solitary hole becomes the mouth, and the middle three and lower three allow the proto-arms and proto-legs respectively to extrude. The two rings become the upper and lower annular breathing valves with intake at top, output at bottom. The last hole, on the bottom centered between the legs, is a cloaca used to excrete both solid wastes throughout the life cycle and, when the unit is mature, eggs.
How the 'shell' knows when to harden and thus prevent further growth is unknown. Or maybe there's a mechanism that shuts off growth first, which then triggers shell hardening. Either way, this process implies that the swarmlings do NOT have that bony armor yet, and thus will be a lot easier to kill. A single small bomb in a nursery should kill all except the adult 'nursemaids'. From this it follows that the Sa'arm will protect their eggs and their nurseries.
- The swarmling becomes a single-purpose eating machine for almost two years while it grows. As it grows, the old 'eggshell' stretches, then hardens to become the bony 'armor' capable of deflecting many injuries.
- Approximately 2 years after hatching, the unit reaches full growth, stops eating to grow, and is available for any task needed by the gestalt. Before then, the unit is of available to the gestalt but is not fully grown or capable.
- The unit is ready to produce its own eggs soon after full growth, so that's (~2-1/2 years) the generation period.
None of this is stuff that the Confederacy knows, although by Year 14 we are getting clues. We won't really _know_ until we capture Marie Celeste several years later and start doing real research. On the other hand, the _authors_ need to know this, if they are writing stories that involve the Sa'arm reproductive cycle, as in stories about the Battle for Earth or some proposed stories about raids on Sa'arm-held planets.
Discussion
(The following paragraphs are considered non-canon)
I have some ideas on Sa'arm communications and evolution. A gravitronic communication mechinism allows for the envisioned neural network, with the net being centered in the hive ship or a significat planet side congregation. Each unit is by itself non-sentient, only as a group can they achieve intelligence.
This can be discovered through such means as a malfunctioning gravity accelerated torpedo or by catching a hive ship near a binary neutron star system, where the rapidily changing gravitational field renders the entire hive unable to function and thus easy to capture as a whole.
I do not see such a race as having evolved naturally, instead they were a bio-weapon introduced into the apparent home world in order to destroy another race. Unfortunately as with so many things they proved to be more than their creators could control.
Let me know what you think of these ideas. -deGaffer
The following was copied from an email from TH: The idea that the Sa’arm is a manufactured race was always out there. I haven’t locked that one down, one way or the other – it’s a ‘never to be resolved’ situation. A full-up Sa’arm gestalt IS self-aware – but it takes size to get there. Individual units are NOT self-aware. Small elements caught out alone (even a few dozen, removed from the main gestalt) would be primarily occupied with basic survival for quite some time – and might not make it. A gestalt that ‘grew up’ that way would have large gaps in its knowledge base. It would not be a normal occurrence.
Also, as I have indicated at some point, gestalts are ‘self-centered.’ Solipsism is the basic philosophy employed. Thus, if a gestalt that grew from a tiny initial seed (very few units) in isolation came across another gestalt (we’re assuming that this is the full gestalt, not just scouts, which the other gestalt would absorb on contact) a conflict could result. In any case, the self-interest of each individual gestalt is paramount in its thinking – any cooperation would be in the face of a serious threat (i.e., us.) The cooperative effort to attack and subdue the Earth comes under the heading of ‘rooting out an annoying infestation’ – much like destroying a hornet’s nest in order to get rid of the things. And, ultimately, one gestalt will own Earth. They can only cooperate at a distance, using individual courier units. Two gestalts in close proximity are instantly at war with one another for unit resources when their fields of influence overlap – which can paralyze them both and the majority of the units in the overlapping areas of influence. Therefore, while they might be able to direct coordinated attacks using resources from multiple gestalts, such coordination is difficult and won’t be entered into lightly.
Large ships and small fleets will have collections of units aboard sufficient to operate independently, but perhaps not as efficiently as a human crew. Coordination would be difficult between units of relatively equal size, as any little shift in numbers could cause a unit – or a vessel or a fleet – to instantly shift allegiances. Courier communication assumes that the transmitter and the receiver are full gestalts that are self-aware and that a direct link between gestalts is not possible. Two task forces operating too close to one another would cause an active link to be generated between them and control would be homogenized to one gestalt – probably the one with the larger number of units in place. Inter-gestalt coordination would therefore be on to order of “You take the left flank and I’ll take the right and we stop here – BEFORE we meet in the middle.” And there would be considerable negotiation (read argument) over who GOT the middle. The double-cross would CERTAINLY be an option...
Let’s assume for a moment that two or three gestalts are in charge of the invasion of Earth. (Frankly, three is too many.) We have to assume that the ‘child gestalts’ in the Hive ships are by some agreement carefully proportioned and that they cannot control all of Earth upon arrival – they are not large enough to generate a control field that would encompass the entire planet on arrival. Each parent gestalt will be operating under the assumption that their ‘child’ will eventually assume ascendancy and control all of Earth. Each parent would PROBABLY have loaded the dice in some manner.
While this plays out, there will be certain cross-territory locations where the total gestalt coordination that would be normal in most instances will NOT be available on Earth, i.e, if we launch strikes from one gestalt’s area of influence into another’s and then retreat to the original location, we will gain from their lack of instantaneous control. The attacked gestalt would have to communicate this via courier – and some distance (and therefore time) would have to be involved, lest the gestalts come into conflict.
Hmmmm… Bet there is a story or two there.
(ZM 3/8/2015 - Isn't the above invalidated by the decided 250,000 mile range of their link? Such duality could not happen on a single planet. However, if there were two habitable planets in a single system....)
(Someday this will be a navigation template. It will provide a bar across the bottom of each article with useful navigation links. Until then, this is just a placeholder to get rid of all the red "broken link" indicators. -ZM User (talk) 10:00, 3 May 2024 (PDT))
