Lower Hangesu

The lower hangesu are a space-dwelling, amorphous species of intelligent being. They are unique in that their race has three genders, and they are also severely endangered, with less than 100 full-blooded individuals still in existence.

The lower hangesu are notable for their nomadic lifestyle and reproductive habits, which often enter into the mythology and culture of other species. As they possess shape-shifting abilities, these are often used to help members of the hangesu infiltrate and reproduce with alien species.

Physical Description
In their natural state, Lower Hangesu possess a semi-gaseous, amorphous anatomy similar to that of most single-celled organisms. This allows them to sustain an indeterminately long lifespan in their natural habitat, which is the vacuum of space. Their body coloring changes depending on the atmosphere around them, and they are able to sustain themselves entirely off of trace nutrients and particles from their environment. A fully mature individual will reach a mass of approximately 82 lbs. regardless of gender.

The lower hangesu possess three genders: male, female and mir. The third gender, mir, possesses traits of both the male and female sexes, and is capable of both fathering children (with females only) or giving birth (with males only). Female hangesu are unable to produce mir offspring, and the mir are considered vital to the continued existence of the species. Due to their disparate lifestyle, however, mir levels dropped considerably in the last century, and only one known mir (see: Keraun) is still alive.

Shapeshifting
All lower hangesu are able to change their appearance at will. These changes can be drastic, detailed and extremely believable, to the point where individuals of a species they might be imitating will not know that the person they are speaking with is not a member of their own race. This is a vital function of hangesu biology, as it allows them to reproduce widely with other species and also to infiltrate other species to obtain needed resources.

These same abilities can be problematic for mixed-species offspring, as the genetics involved are skewed and may result in deformed or sickly children.

False Body
Lower hangesu have a remarkable amount of resilience, and can heal from even the most devastating wounds and illnesses. This is made possible by an ability typically referred to as the "false body," wherein a lower hangesu will create a shell-like coating around its physical form and project a thin, less stable appearance of its own preference while its true self heals.

Remarkably, some non-lower hangesu people with lower hangesu descent also carry this ability, most notably Psirasephes and Kidari Shinem-Ikaera.

Culture
What is known about lower hangesu culture is taken exclusively from the single surviving flock, who typically refer to themselves as The Hundred. The Hundred are led by a single, dominant female (see: Illsphoiden) who is responsible for the movement of the flock, finding resources and guiding all attempts at colonization or breeding. They are entirely nomadic, and usually spend no more than a few months on any one world.

Hangesu are traditionally atheistic, and do not conform to any known belief system. Their lives are focused entirely on movement and reproduction, as the lower hangesu are dedicated to attempting to revive their species through intermixing with other races in the hopes that a fluke might produce offspring that could help continue the race as a whole.