Could plasma really be a basis for life? The only form of life known on Earth is chemistry-based. Indeed, this is what we generally think of as the most plausible form of alien life. “Energy”-based lifeforms abound in some sci-fi, often as amorphous glowing blobs that somehow yet can take on a human face. But plasma might actually be able host complex interactions that could allow it to be a basis for life. This is all still very theoretical – and of course we don’t know of any examples in nature. Plasma is essentially a very hot gas that begins to act in a unique way; the electrons of each atom will strip away and the naked nuclei will float in a cloud of electrons. This gives plasma some unique properties, such as being strongly affected by magnetic fields (which is how the super-high temperature plasma in a fusion reactor are controlled!). Due to this, plasma can form into spheres in a double-layer, superficially similar to the lipid coverings of living cells. They can also trap within themselves other components that may allow them to function like a lifeform! In some circumstances, these plasma bubbles can grow, replicate, and seemingly communicate with each other. Combined with other recent discoveries of ways in which inorganic compounds might be able to form DNA-like structures that can contain information, the plausibility of plasma life gets . . . well, perhaps not plausible, but at least not impossible! For some further reading, check these articles out! https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4174-plasma-blobs-hint-at-new-form-of-life/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12466-could-alien-life-exist-in-the-form-of-dna-shaped-dust/ https://physicsworld.com/a/helices-swirl-in-space-dust-simulations/
Episode 2 will begin this coming Monday, but to round out this week here’s information on the species of Lieutenant Pirra, the Dessei!
A typical example of a Dessei female. Dessei males are not significantly different, aside from having larger crests of feathers up their face and over their heads.
The Dessei, commonly called Moth-Owls, are a species of sapient aliens from the Enope system.
They are distinctive-looking beings, with large eyes, feathery hair crests, gracile bodies, and magnificent wing-drapes. Generally slightly shorter than a human, their thin limbs and body often make them appear frail, but their bones and muscles are surprisingly durable. On average, they are as strong as a human – and like humans, cybernetic enhancements can make even a particularly weak-looking Dessei actually possess shocking strength beyond the natural norm.
They possess small false mouths on their face through which they sing their whistling language – their true mouth is concealed at the fold of their neck, and Dessei eat by tilting their heads back and swallowing food in large gulps. Much of their skin is covered by fine, pale feathers that are structurally more akin to hairs, which gives them a very smooth appearance. The color of these feathers can range from slightly bluish to off-white. The longer feathers on their head can be far more colorful, from green to red and occasionally even speckled, mottled shades of brown and tan.
Their hands are delicate, as is much of their frame, but they lack nails, instead having a slight keratinization of their fingers towards the tips. These are often filed back, as they will naturally form claws, which are both unnecessarily threatening in a modern setting and can make fine manipulations difficult.
Moth-Owls have vestigial wings with sheets of thick plumage that hang down. These can move and wrap around their body akin to a cloak for warmth and display, or can tuck back behind the body to be out of the way. They take much pride in their wing cloaks (or drapes), which are vestiges of their flying ancestors. The bright coloration of their heavy sheets of feathers have significant social and cultural significance. The wing bones extend through their torsos into the front of their bodies, creating two triangular protrusions covered in cushioning fat that can be superficially compared to mammalian breasts, though they serve no comparable function and appear on both males and females of the species.
Dessei also possess delicate antenna on their foreheads, though often these are laid back against their feathers and are hard to notice. While very sensitive to smell, they largely serve to detect the pheromones of their own species and have little utility otherwise. Other species may know a Dessei for years and never see their antenna until other Dessei are around. In general, their sense of smell is somewhat worse than a human’s.
A close-up of a Dessei’s face.
Dessei have a reputation among humans for being serene and aloof. This is likely due to a relative lack of facial musculature (and thus less expressive faces) and cultural standards that are more reserved than humans – most of the time. Many of their more subtle communications are informed by movements of their feathery crests, which are more prominent on males than females. Notably, despite their antenna being sensitive to pheromones, they do not use extensive chemical communication, leaving evolutionary theorists to posit that they are largely leftovers of evolution.
Especially among their own kind, however, Dessei are prone to bursts of intensely emotional displays in many forms, from affection to rage. Violence, often between rival groups of families, is still known on their homeworld, though these political games are highly ritualized and outsiders (which, in practical purposes means all non-Dessei) are considered untouchable. Only on very rough frontier worlds will Dessei involved other species in their intense political contests, and even then only if the outsider chooses to involve themselves in the activities in the first place.
Their aggressiveness in these circumstances is intense but often highly calculated, giving them a reputation for producing many keen military minds as well as cunning politicians.
Having evolved from flying ancestors that ate fish-like prey, their native environment were steep cliffs left after heavy volcanism altered the face of their world. Due to this ancestory, Dessei retain a brain that is very well suited to thinking in three-dimensional spaces.
The species supplemented their piscoid diet with fruit in the forests that grew on the plateaus above the cliffs.
Being six-limbed, the species used their “arms” primarily for climbing back up the cliffs after capturing large prey, that was usually swallowed whole.
A reconstruction of a progenitor species of the Dessei, sometimes called a Cliff Moth.
Over ages, however, changes in their environment caused these proto-Dessei to develop in new ways. The cliffs eroded, and a drier environment caused the soft fruit they could once consume whole to develop tougher outer layers. In addition, new competition in the oceans reduced the numbers of their former prey, which began to evolve towards larger, tougher forms.
Their ancestors began using primitive tools, first to break open tough fruit in the new forests. Their heads enlarged to allow them to swallow ever-larger prey as well, and this up-scaling began to take precedence over their ability to fly – a very unusual move, as flight is, evolutionarily speaking, usually a very winning strategy. It may have been spurred on by a lack of apex predators in their environment to threaten them*. The larger heads were accompanied as well by larger brains that let them figure out more ways to exploit their environment for calories.
*this lack of apex predators is believed to be the result of the volcanism of earlier eras causing a mass-extinction event.
As tool use developed further, the early Dessei began to scavenge the bodies of common whale-like animals that washed ashore, butchering them with primitive hand axes. Over time, they became active hunters of the species, and began to raise crops intentionally, with settled civilizations being founded not long after.
While the road towards sapience seems to have come about very quickly (on a geological scale), Dessei history from then until space flight was rather long. Their world’s many archipelagos and overall lack of massive, contiguous land masses are believed to have played a factor in this, as it slowed the development of large-scale economic advances.
These did come in time, however, and vast empires with a tendency to split into many factions arose, with all of the horrors and drama of such upheavals as humankind is aware. Their societal structure has varied over time, but by the later stages of their development tended towards a focus on related houses, each possessing first feudal, then capital, power. While these both have given way to more advanced economies, vestiges of this system remain, and “Houses” have become something more like political factions within the larger society, and their conflicts become less focused on war and more on intrigue and maneuvering. However, a focus on meeting the needs of all Dessei has served to severely mute this in-fighting, and there is little disagreement on most key issues, such as collective ownership of the means of production. Instead, it is largely focused on gathering prestige within society by serving it. It still, can, however, become violent.
Modern Dessei are technology advanced, with thousands of colony systems, and are considered one of the most prominent member species of the Sapient Union. Their fleets form a substantial percent of the defensive forces of the Union as a whole, and during wars with various enemies their ships have been on the front lines at every major battle. This has led to a robust martial sub-culture, and while members of this group can be somewhat aloof to their allies, only the most detested fringe put forth any ideas of Dessei supremacy or even suggest isolationism.
Culturally, acting, plays, and other forms of involved entertainment are very popular among their people. They have loose standards of ownership for personal property than humans, and often swap objects with little regard or use things that belong to others – with the exception of certain heirlooms and cultural paraphenalia. Someone who calls this out is viewed as being extremely stingy and selfish, though (especially with outsiders) they will return said item if asked (and silently judge the person if they did it rudely).
Their languages consist of whistle-like sounds, often described as song-like, with some sounds outside of the human hearing range – making it impossible for humans to speak the language. This does allow them to learn Hev languages, however, which are likewise high in pitch.
Their system’s star, Enope, is a type-G Main Sequence Star, approximately 0.9x the mass of our sun. It is older than our sun, at six billion years old, and will likely live to the age of thirteen billion. Ten planets orbit Enope, though only Enope 3 (the Dessei homeworld, the proper name of which is outside of the human vocal range) is considered naturally habitable by humanoid life.
Enope 3 is lush with life, being slightly warmer on average (though still colder than it was only a few million years before, due to natural cycles). The planet is smaller than Earth at only 0.92x the radius and 0.81x the mass, with a 20-hour day. Gravity, however, is still 95% of Earth’s, and so Dessei have little difficulty adjusting to Earth gravity. With a correct balance of nitrogen and oxygen, they are also capable of breathing an Earth-like atmosphere.
Their genetic structure is superficially similar to humanity’s, being carbon-based and using a helical structure, but they utilize very different specific chemicals. This absolutely means that there can be no interspecies reproduction – though this is true of all life from different worlds, without exception. It also means that humans and Dessei cannot subsist on each others’ food; at best it will doing nothing for the other, and at worst can cause serious health issues. Their flavor palettes also are quite dissimilar to ours.
Dessei outnumber humans by a large margin, having far more colonies, and are roughly on par with the Sepht, one of the other major species in the SU, who will be expanded upon another time!
Other Terrestrial 
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