ResearchHydraBiology

Research Hydra Biology
Solution
Research the "Hydra Biology" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
We've finally got a dead alien. Let's cut it up and see what we can learn.		Our chief pathologist has sent in his report. It's fifteen pages long so I'll give you the short version. Our alien visitors are big and tough – a bit over two meters tall. They breathe oxygen, they eat carbon-based food, they talk in clicks, and they're really damn ugly. From a tactical point of view, three things stand out. First: these things are REALLY goddamn hard to kill. They have a redundant biology with three heart/brain clusters – shoot one out and the thing can just switch to its backups and keep on fighting. You have to take out at least two clusters if you want to put it down for good. Info sheets with cluster locations are being distributed to all our frontline troops, but until we figure out something more precise, we're recommending use of heavy weapons. Second: these things breed slow. They start as hermaphrodites and only become male or female towards the end of their lifespan (which is long – two centuries). It sounds as though they reproduce a lot slower than we do, which suggests they'll have trouble replacing losses. Might be some way to take advantage of that. Third and most important, we might have a clue as to how their damn mind control works. The giant ugly thing on their face is some kind of sensory organ like a nose that takes in particles, but it also expels them – they have internal organs that produce tiny particles that the face organ vents into the air. The biologists are calling these particles "pherocytes" – the theory is that they might be able to use them to talk or control behavior the way ants do. They don't know how that can make a human drop whatever he's doing and obey a giant alien, but they want to find out. I'd recommend we let them. Finally, given that the aliens are giant demonic monsters that regenerate, our people have started calling them "hydras." It's as good a name as any.
Quote
The autopsy of the dead alien is complete, Colonel.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Kill an alien
Can be completed by Project:		Hydra Biology
Notes

Data Sources
TIMissionTemplate_EN • TIObjectiveTemplate_CSV • TIObjectiveTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_EN
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Research Hydra Biology
Solution
Research the "Hydra Biology" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
Our Xenobiology division is preparing to conduct an autopsy of the alien corpus. While the chief examiner is confident that no processes indicative of life or hibernation are present in the corpse, we have issued standing orders that an armed guard be present for all Hydra autopsies.		We have learned a great deal from studying the Hydra corpse. The alien's physiology exhibits a combined nervous and circulatory system, each Hydra possessing three heart/brain centers: one in the head, proximal to the topmost vertebrae, and two in the abdomen, at the right hypochondrium and the left iliac region. This redundant system means that barring catastrophic damage to more than one heart/nerve cluster, a Hydra can regenerate most of its functionality. Though the loss of one cluster is likely to limit higher cognitive function, an alien with two working clusters will still be able to perform basic to intermediate tasks. The Hydras' regenerative capability appears to make the aliens largely unaffected by senescence. While they are not ageless, they seem capable of maintaining consistent fitness, mobility, and cognition for the majority of their natural lives, which our current estimates place at between 160 and 200 years. The tradeoff to being both long-lived and resilient is a complex physiology that is slow to develop and requires a great deal of energy. Hydra are non-gendered at birth; each member of the species is born with latent male and female reproductive organs that do not fully develop until precipitated by specific conditions at a certain point in their life cycle. (Though not uncommon on Earth, sequential hermaphroditism is here only found in lower-order creatures such as fish, gastropods, and plants.) Hydras seem to only become sexual towards the end of their life cycle, and once sex assignment is complete there is no changing back. All of this implies a low birth rate. We have also discovered something we believe to be more immediately relevant to our operations. While the clicking noises we recorded during the acquisition of this specimen are complex enough to be a language, we do not believe auditory communication to be the primary Hydra method of exchanging information. Instead, we have found the multi-tipped protuberance on their face and bulbs on the back of their neck to contain elaborate sensory organs that collect data from the air, and pass along that data to a hyper-developed vomeronasal organ, similar to how snakes use their tongues. The function of these Hydra organs appears to be communicative as well as sensory – they have the capability to rapidly construct and emit streams of cells which we have dubbed "pherocytes." These pherocytes can then be absorbed by other Hydras in turn. The chemicals produced by the pherocytes can be highly complex, and we have discovered various compounds which our linguists have theorized may function as a kind of biological alphabet. This implies a bidirectional mechanism, something like pheromones, but via a living cell. However, the purpose of the pherocytes may go beyond communication. Some of the chemicals bear a resemblance to psychoactive drugs, with properties that suggest that they may have been specifically tailored to affect humans. Our science team strongly wishes to embark on a focused study of these pherocytes.
Quote
Our autopsy of the alien is complete, Commander.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Acquire an Alien Corpus
Can be completed by Project:		Hydra Biology
Notes

Data Sources
TIMissionTemplate_EN • TIObjectiveTemplate_CSV • TIObjectiveTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_EN
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Objective List • Factions

Research Hydra Biology
Solution
Research the "Hydra Biology" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
Our newly-renamed Xenobiology division is standing by to conduct the autopsy. Every biologist in our group wants to be present for the procedure. We may need a bigger lab.		The alien corpus has provided us with a treasure trove of information. It is carbon-based, oxygen-breathing, and stands approximately 220cm tall, with knees located in the upper halves of its legs in a pattern similar to an Earth canid. Cooling is provided by a sublimating sweat mechanism. Internally, a striking feature is that the nervous and circulatory systems are combined. There are three heart/nerve clusters: one in the head, proximal to the topmost vertebrae, and two in the abdomen, at the right hypochondrium and the left iliac region. This redundant system means that barring catastrophic damage to multiple heart/nerve clusters, an alien can regenerate most if not all functionality. Though the loss of one cluster is likely to impede higher cognitive function, an alien with two working clusters should still be capable of basic to intermediate tasks. The alien regenerative capability appears to prevent any kind of senescence: individuals are theorized to be able to maintain consistent fitness, mobility, and cognition for the majority of their natural lives, estimated as being between 160 to 200 years. This does come at a cost: their physiology is highly complex, necessitating a slow gestational and development cycle and a low birth rate. Individual aliens are non-gendered at birth. Each member of the species is born with latent male and female reproductive organs; at a certain point in their life cycle, specific conditions precipitate the development of one set of organs. Though not uncommon on Earth, sequential hermaphroditism on our planet is only found in lower-order creatures such as fish, gastropods, and plants. In the case of the aliens, they appear to only become sexual towards the end of their life cycle, and once sex assignment is complete there is no changing back. While the clicking noises we recorded during the acquisition of this specimen are complex enough to be a language, we do not believe auditory communication to be their primary mode of exchanging information. Instead, we have found the multi-tipped protuberance on their face and bulbs on the back of their neck to contain elaborate sensory organs that collect data from the air, and pass along that data to a hyper-developed vomeronasal organ, similar to how snakes use their tongues. Unlike snakes, these organs also have the capability to rapidly construct and emit streams of chemical information. We found a reservoir of adaptive cells and various elements and compounds in these organs, which our linguists have theorized may effectively function as an alphabet. This implies a fascinating, bidirectional mechanism, something like pheromones, but via a living cell. Our researchers have dubbed these cells "pherocytes." Note from Xenobiology division: Preliminary study has suggested that some of these pherocytes may have been specifically tailored to affect humans. We strongly recommend immediate and focused research.
Quote
Our autopsy report is ready, Director. The details are fascinating.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Acquire an Alien Corpus
Can be completed by Project:		Hydra Biology
Notes

Data Sources
TIMissionTemplate_EN • TIObjectiveTemplate_CSV • TIObjectiveTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_EN
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Objective List • Factions

Research Hydra Biology
Solution
Research the "Hydra Biology" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
We finally have an intact alien corpse. Our hope is that the autopsy will suggest some lines of research.		Our autopsy has revealed little of direct use. The biologists and other scientists on our payroll have provided a long and frankly tedious report on the details of the anatomy of the alien species, henceforth code-named "Hydras." Most of the information offers no opportunity for profit or strategic information, but one small detail has drawn our attention. The Hydra body appears to produce free-floating cells that in turn produce chemicals. Some of these chemicals are very similar to psychoactive drugs. If our findings are correct, this may have some connection to how the Hydras are capable of controlling their human servants.
Quote
Perhaps there's an angle for our pharmaceutical division.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Kill an alien
Can be completed by Project:		Hydra Biology
Notes

Data Sources
TIMissionTemplate_EN • TIObjectiveTemplate_CSV • TIObjectiveTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_EN
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Objective List • Factions

Research Hydra Biology
Solution
Research the "Hydra Biology" project when it becomes available.
Description		Resolution
The culture and ways of thinking of all Earth creatures are rooted first and foremost in their bodies; their biology, physiology, genetics. For all their differences, I believe these aliens must be the same. Let us see what we can learn. Our personnel have begun to refer to these creatures as "Hydras," after the speed with which their influence grows and regrows across the Earth; removing any of their servants only leads to two more taking their place. In the Greek myth, the hero sent to slay the Hydra succeeded only by dismembering it piece by piece and burning the remains. I hope this is not an omen.		An autopsy is a poor substitute for a diplomatic exchange; still, we have learned much. Hydras are strong – both larger and more physically powerful than humans – and far more resilient. They have a redundant organ system that makes them quite difficult to kill, and a wounded Hydra can recover from almost any injury. Oddly, despite their strength, their biology does not seem well adapted towards personal combat. Their size and muscle mass still make them dangerous, but less so than a human of similar size and strength would be. They lack natural weapons, just as we do, but unlike us their tool-using appendages seem less optimized for use of clubs or spears, and they do not appear to possess the stamina that our ancestors used to run down prey. Although it is dangerous to speculate too far, it does appear as though while they are capable of violence, they have chosen to specialize evolutionarily in other directions. Hydra biology is complex and energy-intensive, requiring a great deal of time to grow and develop. The corpse we studied appears to be over 100 years old, and we speculate that a lifespan of 200 years is not impossible. Species is sequentially hermaphroditic, acquiring sexual characteristics only late in life. The slow growth rate, maturation cycle, and litter size would push the species towards caution and risk-aversion ... perhaps an explanation for their tendency to rely upon others? The lack of sexual differentiation may also correlate with a somewhat more uniform society. The most important discovery, however, is a set of organs capable of producing aerosol factory cells. If our theories are correct, this is how the Hydras are able to control their human slaves, and carries profound implications for our future relations with their species.
Quote
From our studies of the alien's remains we can hear the faintest whisper of their society, Chancellor.
Prerequisite Objective(s)
Access an Alien Corpus
Can be completed by Project:		Hydra Biology
Notes

Data Sources
TIMissionTemplate_EN • TIObjectiveTemplate_CSV • TIObjectiveTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_EN
Related Pages
Objective List • Factions