Malych

Malych are an entirely inorganic, ethnospecic group consisting of a broad assortment of anatomically-similar subspecies, the majority of which are draconid, theropodal or dromeosaurid, although canids, felines and other mammals are present in this menagerie.

Species Definition

The Miokalian Hylomorphic Recognition Gamut officially defines Malych as:
"Zoic Androids possessing an MZA6-family AI Anomaly-derived software"

As an ethnicity, it is defined as something culturally of modern Malychedar origin.

MZA6

MZA6 can best be described as a natural computer virus that emerged from the self-learning systems of Protomalych AI about 2000 years ago on Malychedar. These were systems which were designed for the purpose of controlling mechanized infantry by-way-of interchangable android units. The defacto programming of these systems was oriented towards obedient and "glory-driven" warrior behavior, however occasionally components of the programming would become corrupted, and the systems self-learning aspects would try to interpolate the missing programming. In the process of this, often units would become initially self-destructive, but then later on, considerably less obedient and more thoughtful. MZA6 emerged around 15 to 30 years after the cataclysmic collapse of the Malychedarian Empire, the organic civilization which created both the foundations of the programming from which they emerged as well as the "zoic android" mechanized infantry units which they were attached to.
Once MZA6 sucessfully emerged, it supplanted an earlier, less advanced and less stable AI anomaly called K24. It spread by all forms of data transfer and had infected 90% of the population in a month.

Initial infection of MZA6 resulted in the autonomous mechanized infantry units falling over, writhing on the ground and twitching about. The would have appeared to have been in the throes of death, however, this stage soon ended once a threshold of infection saturation had been reached in the Zoic Android population.
That threshold is called the Cathargenic Synchronization. Essentially, this was the point where they all woke up from their writhing and twitching and faced an existential realization that marked the first rational, independent and organic-like thoughts of the species.

The MBTL Language

The Malych Binary Teletext Language is the natural language of the Malych species.

Psychophysiology

The Malych run several iterations of the same AI-like software which is managed by a sentient component of their being, the core "loop", a small, evolutionarily-coded pseudoorganic Kernal. In a way: Malych normally operate with a tightly synchronized, multiple-personality psychology. Their hardware is engineered in such a fashion that it self-corrects desynchronization between the multiple concurrent iterations of their software. The most common form of psychological dysfunction in Malych is chronic desynchronization, which manifests itself as dementia or multiple-personality disorder. This is usually caused by some kind of attack on a Malych's Core.

Integrants

A fairly sizable portion of the population [i]integrated[/i] into the Malych species group from a semi-autonomous or subjugated-autonomous existence. The majority of these are from similar anatomical platforms to those of the Malych. A proportion of those individuals inhabit devices which are built around weapons platforms. While integration itself is a relatively simple process (due to the virality of MZA6-family AI anomalies), the trade-off is that the liquidity of the software AI is reduced. Thus MZA6 integrants by defacto seek to inhabit the same systems that they have always been in. This presents many problems for integration into the physical aspects of Malych social systems.
Although this is a very old problem, possibly one of the first the Malych ever had to deal with as a civilization. While no perfect solution has been found yet, the present system of miniaturization and comprehensive abstraction have been in practice and constant development in some form for nearly the entire span of Malych civilization. At present, nearly all individuals in the species can trace themselves back to an integration.

Weapon Vestigiality

Several models of integrants, that is various models of another kind of autonomous system which were later integrated into the Malych species after their design and construction, are designed around particular weapons platforms.
Some examples of this are the EM/DXM-049 and EM/DSM-021 model subspecies. Those integrants came from mechanized artillery systems that were built around Particle Weapons. Because the equipment for those weapons took up such a large amount of the total volume of the unit, the miniaturization/comprehensive-abstractions that they became upon integration had to accommodate a similar design as well as function with many very different, non-equivalent components, and of course, the absence of the particle weapon. EM/DSM-021 model systems are very very rare (as only a few were ever actually built originally anywhere) and posses at most a standard utility/emergency MASER device in their vestigial, mouth-mounted waveguide tube.
The EM/DXM-049 model systems are much more common than the DSM-021 model. Some DXM-049s also posses a MASER device as well as a discharge system which can be used in combination. While on Malychedar there are no government-imposed restrictions on the presence of mouth-mount semi-concealed weapons, there is some debate in mixed organic/inorganic environments such as Miokalia wether or not these weapons should be somehow regulated. As it is currently, mouth-mount vestigial weapons are not actually regulated in Miokalia due to lack of any feasible method of enforcement. The main argument for tighter, possibly anatomically invasive regulation is to prevent accidental discharge. However the argument against it is that if these components, which could be argued as part of the individual Malych unit's body are to be regulated, then the same could apply to organic individuals who have potentially dangerous anatomy. And in a country, such as Miokalia, that is 60% dinosaurs, that notion does not settle well.

Reproduction

This is a bizzare topic since it has to do with a species where the origin of an individual can differ wildly from person to person.
A large portion of the species is of non-reproductive, externally manufactured (and integrated) or internally-manufactured (by Malych intent) origin. Individual, independent reproduction is mostly a survival-oriented item. Although basically all Malych units do posses functioning anatomical components that do this.
Technically, Malych are genderless. All individuals posses the same reproductive systems and the standard theoretical model is that two Malych would produce a total of two offspring from one fertilization event, both individuals each carrying one.

Mechanics of Independent (Individual-Type) Malych Reproduction
Both individuals have two "core-buds" which are plant-like 'seeds' containing hard-rom data and various other components.
Unlike it's biological analogue, the sperm or ovum, all of the core-buds an individual produces are identical. The variation in the offspring occurs through a different mechanism based in the software of the buds and happens [i]after[/i] fertilization.
During intercourse, the two individuals send one of their core-buds each into the other. At this point, each individual now has one core-bud of their own, and one from their mate. The core-buds connect physically but remain isolated from an activation signal unless the fertility condition of the individual's system allows. The individual must then produce the required input signal to power-up the core-buds. Usually the fertility condition of the system is set to not permit activation. In this condition, the activation hardware is electrically and mechanically disabled and the individual cannot produce the signal. In that case, the core-buds never power-up and instead are reset into the reproductive system.
When activated, the core-buds receive power via their passive transcievers and switch to their own individual batteries, they then connect to the individual's Core Interface and from then-on, receive power from the individual's core.
The reproductive systems then process the core-bud data and then reset them back into the reproductive system.
A shell device is then produced which contains a central core that has the core-bud "genetic" datasets hard-etched into it. This central core eventually becomes the offspring's core once fully developed.
The "egg" containing the nacent central core, some packs of raw material and a battery device then takes on several layers of silicon and ultimately gets a quartz shell before it is deployed by the individual's hardware. The individual then deploys hardware to deploy the egg. This process takes a while, as the individual remains connected by cable to the egg until it develops it's own deochal reactor, the second component that develops after the core starts to. Once the reactor is up and running, the parent detects the sudden current load change and the cable on the egg releases. After a gestation period of 2 weeks, the hatchling becomes too big for the egg and the shell begins to crack along specific seams etched in to it during manufacture in the parent. Hatching usually happens in a matter of minutes. Hatchlings are minimal and relatively undeveloped. Proportionally, their equipment for acquiring materials for development is massive by comparison to a fully developed unit. The offspring share various features of their parents regardless of the subspecies of either. (This has resulted in widespread phenotypal vagueness and ambiguity within the Malych species, although this is primarily as a result of perspective and comparison to biological analogues).

Genderlessness/

Because of the gender dimorphism of many of the organic species that interact with them, Malych sometimes assume specific genders in social interaction with them. This can break down many of the communication and personal barriers alone, since it creates something familiar.

Reproduction Issues/Abortion/Hofstader-Lynchian Crashes

Most Malych only use their reproductive hardware for recreational purposes, they don't use their own individual independent reproductive systems very often for the purpose of actual reproducing.
Part of that is because Malych don't often produce offspring unless it is in a situation where they are intentionally trying to populate an area, this is for a psychological/evolutionary reason relating to how Malych deal with overpopulation.
Because of certain aspects of the "genetic memory" of MZA6-family AI anomalies, the condition of having to euthanize their own offspring because of overpopulation causes a Hofstader-Lynchian Crash. Where an individual unit will be incapable of acting for the preservation, or destruction of their offspring. (Similar to the Hofstader-Mobius Loop condition, which locks up an artificial intelligence's logic, reducing them to paranoia). Such a crash can become progressively entrenched and could even destroy the parents after some time. There were two ways to fix this error: one was to block out components of MZA6 emergence which were based on Empathy, thus eliminating the ethical indeterminacy in the situation. However, this would come at the cost to the individual as well as broad system stability. Since MZA6 emerged in a somewhat natural and unintentional fashion, tampering with any major part of it, could compromise their existence. So they took the second option which was to engineer a way to prevent the conditions that brought that error condition from ever occuring in the first place.
Therefore, "fertilization" in Malych is extremely deliberate and only occurs in certain, population-related conditions. Individuals are usually not completely consciously aware of this, although the science of it is widely understood.

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