Shepbra are a provolve
of a splice of several species of Terran geckos. Their genes come from
Tokays, New Caledonian crested geckos, synthetic genes and
miscellaneous other lifeforms. The splice was created in 112 A.T. as a
pet. The splice was provolved in 573 a.t during the Interplanetary
age in Solsys,
most probably by the Earth-based megacorp Biotopia.
Shepbras can stand erect on their hind legs. Their top bipedal running
speed is about 51 kilometres per hour at one standard Terragen gravity.
Top
quadrupedal running speed at one gravity is about 62 kilometres per
hour. They can sprint up
vertical surfaces at 3 metres per second (nearly 11 kilometres per
hour).
Average adult height is 95 centimetres. Length of the prehensile tail
is
around 100 centimetres. The tail ends in a pad whose underside is setae
coated
lamella scales. They have large eyes with vertical pupils. Being
ectothermic they have infra-red vision without the need for chemical
reaction cooling of the eyes or technological implants. Their daytime
vision is ten or more times as acute as that of a baseline
human . They can see all the colors of the visible spectrum
and a little of the bottom of ultra-violet. Eye color is
bright yellow with small black dots, light to deep brown or a reddish
color. Sense of hearing is around five times as sensitive as a
baseline humans. Sense of smell is around 10-15 times
as sensitive as that of a baseline human. Skin color is variable due to
their
chromatophores. Scales are small so their skin is soft to the
touch.
Shepbras can be found most often in Dyson
Trees, on humid forested worlds
and artificial structures that have such environments and in zero-gee
environments. This clade is well-established in bioist
empires such as the Zoeific
Biopolity and among the Pan-Sophontists.
A few of the off-shoots of shepbras are the furry, endothermic
ottoerots who can live in cold climates and the abras who have webbed
hands and feet and who live in swamps and other aquatic environments.
Philosophies,
ideologies and religions
75% materialist, 5% Deist, 11% liberal Mother Woodist, 2%
fundamentalist Mother Woodist and 7% other.
Shepbra are famous for their gengineered 5km high Mother
Wood trees, living art, all
manner of hand crafted fine art and goods, acrobatics( shepbra circus
acts, dance etc.) and the Mother Wood trees that have been elaborately
carved with designs. The "baseline" shepbras are ectothermic so they
can't live in cold climates without wearing heat suits and devices that
warm and add humidity to the air they are to breath. So when they want
to go to a cold clime they have themselves changed to have fur,
feathers or other insulation, an endothermic biology and being able to
handle dry conditions.
Most Shepbra are not phobic of non-living technology, but if
they can live in a Mother Wood tree, Dyson Tree etc. over living in an
overly "unnatural" setting they will pick the biological setting. This
is the "baseline" shepbra norm. There are individuals who chose to have
their aesthetic sense changed so they find less organic localities
attractive.
They have many languages, the most common being Standard Shepbrese.
