Kakranukh

The Kakranukh are one of the stranger races in the Zambarau Concord. Their homeworld, Oomar, is a gas giant closely orbiting a red dwarf star, and temperatures and pressures vary over a very broad range depending on the atmospheric strata. The atmosphere of Oomar is about 85% hydrogen and 14% helium with only miniscule traces of any other elements, apparently making it a very unlikely site for the emergence of life, never mind an interplanetary civilization.

It is thought that electrical storms on Oomar are what provided the catalyst for the first life there. This first life was tiny microbes floating in the atmosphere. Due to an almost complete lack of carbon in the atmosphere of Oomar life on the planet is silicon based; organic molecules are built up around chains of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms (as chains of silicon atoms are unstable), instead of proteins silicones are used as the base for life. Today there are trillions of different species of creature in millions of different ecosystems across the huge planet. Interestingly, there are no analogues of 'plant' and 'animal' on Oomar but the creatures seem to combine the characteristics of both. Most creatures are extremely fragile, made up of hard, fiberglass like threads that support the rest of the body, which is made up of lots of extremely thin (less than 100 microns) inflexible 'panels' that come in a variety of shapes, sizes and bright colours. All of the working parts of the body are embedded within these extremely thin panels, while the inside of the body is just a pocket of gas (most creatures are over 99% air), which allows them to float in the atmosphere of the high-gravity gas giant.

The Kakranukh themselves are long stingray-shaped creatures that move their bodies in a wave pattern for propulsion. The 'corners' on the left and right of this stingray-shape are extended and tubular and the panels on the tips can be rearranged in a variety of shapes for tool use. The Karanukh are quite large to provide enough surface area for their neurons, on the order of 10-15 metres long and weighing 12 kilograms, though this is small in comparison with other creatures on Oomar. Kakranukh offspring grow from microscopic spores released by the parent. Because of the thin, fragile structure of their bodies the Kakranukh are highly sensitive to ultraviolet light and ultrasound.

The Karanukh have a very long history spanning many millions of years (in which time they haven't even left the solar system). Upon contact with the Zambarau the Karanukh had a growing civilization made up of thousands of floating cities across the planet. Due to the scarcity of all elements but hydrogen and helium in the atmosphere almost all Kakranukh technology is made from dead creatures of one form or another (as life on the planet grows by processing heavier elements out of the atmosphere). At first these creatures were hunted, later bred in captivity, later industrial processes were used to extract minerals from the atmosphere directly. Today most building materials are imported to Oomar.