Bionts
generic term for any sophont of a biological
nature, whether natural, gengineered, or bio / sy-borg augmented
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Biontsgeneric term for any sophont of a biological
nature, whether natural, gengineered, or bio / sy-borg augmented
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Bionts - Data Panel
Definition: Category consisting of all organic sophonts A Few Alternative Terms: Biologicals, B-lifes, Organics, Fleshies, Naturals Toposophic: usually Basic Sophonce, but there are also some transapient bionts Clades: a vast assemblage of superiors, tweaks, bioborgs, nearbaselines and baselines, provolves, splices, rianths, bionoids, neogens, sapient bioships, and sapient aliens Origin: Terragen and Xenosophont evolution from presophont biota. The oldest unambiguous records of intelligent life date back approximately 3 billion years. Distribution (Terragen Sphere): found in all the The Sephirotics, the Deeper Covenant, the Shadow Federation and among several xenosophont empires, as well as in most regions outside the civilizations. Only restricted and enslaved presence in the ahuman civilizations. Distribution (Beyond the Terragen Sphere): The wide existence of bionts outside the terragen sphere is apparent from MEEC and HEEC signals, from wide-ranging civilizations like the Meistersingers, and extragalactic transmissions such as the Triangulum Transmission Estimated Population: about 200 trillion in the Sephirotics alone, many more beyond. Legal Status: All bionts are in theory allowed full sentient rights throughout the civilized galaxy. In practice this differs, especially for beings who are owned by transapients or above that do not conform to the standards of the Civilized Galaxy. Bionts have little or no rights in the ahuman Panvirtual and Diamond Network civilizations, or in other ahuman polities. Environmental Requirements: Requires conditions according to phenotype; most can function best in Earth-standard environment, although many exotic species and clades require a totally different environment. A few highly augmented biont clades are vacuum capable Physiology: Organic (although frequently with minor augments and non-biological modifications and enhancements (medical hylonano, localnet interface, etc) Psychology: Biont behaviour, affect, and ratiocination derives from a substrate of presophont darwinian survival stratagems that is almost impossible to eradicate without complete transcension. This gives bionts of whatever origin a certain irrational nature that some ai and artificials find unsettling. Chronometric: almost always slow; generally in the range of baseline time and information processing |
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Even allowing for the rarity of natural garden worlds bearing eukaryotic-complexity equivalent lifeforms, the diversity of biologicals even in the terragen bubble alone is vast. And while fully sophont biologicals are just a small proportion of these, Terragen and Xenogen Minds have often been eager to explore the diversity of organic forms that sophonce can occupy, often provolving subsophont lifeforms, or creating entirely new species of sophonts from scratch. Because of this, there are now literally billions of different species of biological sophonts within the sphere of known space. These are generally classified according to a convenient fuzzy-logic arrangement of types, some of the more common of which are shown below. But despite the tendency (especially among FAS curators and Negentropic encyclopaedists) to categorise things in specific well-defined taxa and databases, there are no sharp dividing lines between the various biont categories: |
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Baselines and Nearbaselines:
Includes all terragen bionts of morphotypes similar to that of the original H. sapiens genotype and phenotype. (There are also equivalents in manyxeno civilizations.) |
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Tweaks:
Bionts (often originally baseline/nearbaseline genotype) that have been radically modified from their original condition, usually for specific tasks or abilities, or to survive in exotic environments. May be humanoid or non-humanoid in form. Overlap with herom (heteromorph), occasional overlap with su and neogen. (There are also equivalents in many xeno civilizations.) |
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Heroms:
Heteromorphs - humans (or by analogy other baseline species that have radically modified emselves descended from such modified ancestors, so as to completely unlike the original morphotype and phenotype. The modification may be for aesthetic, cultural, ideological, religio-philosophical, or other reasons. Overlaps with tweak and neogen (and to a much lesser extent rianth). |
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Su:
Baseline/nearbaselines that have been radically enhanced or augmented, especially as regards intellectual, creative, physical, and/or social abilities. Occasional overlap with tweak. Mentally augmented superiors have a sophonce intermediate between baseline and posthuman |
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Provolves:
Pre- or subsophont lifeforms that has been raised to human baseline equivalent intelligence or above. May be based on a template from any terragen, xenobiont, or neogen species. Occasional overlap with splices, rianths, and neogens. |
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Splices:
A biont incorporating a combination of hu and animal geno-/phenotype, a hybrid hu-animal. Usually an animal which was "anthropised" to a greater or lesser extent. Very diverse assemblage, but often at least partially humanoid. Sometimes fuzzy distinction with rianths and (less often) provolves. |
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Rianths:
Like a splice but the inverse, a human which has "theriomorphised" to a greater or lesser extent. Sometimes fuzzy distinction with splices and (less often) provolves. |
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Xenosplices:
Generic term for terragen-xeno hybrids. A very wide range of morphotypes and physiologies. |
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Neogens:
This category includes any bionts gengineered from scratch, or one that evolved from such. Occasional overlap with tweak. May be humanoid or non-humanoid morphotype. The term is also applied to subsophont lifeforms of this sort. |
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Bioborgs:
Bioborgs are bionts that have been augmented with biotech, bionano, and neogenic biological components only (unlike cyborgs and syborgs) and which can in some cases reproduce like normal bionts. A very diverse assemblage, only some of which are in any way humanoid. |
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Syborgs:
Like bioborgs or cyborgs, but based on synano rather than bionano or dry tech. A very diverse category, in which organic and inorganic merge in such a way that no boundaries are apparent. |
