Humanist Za'uc (Za-ook)

The People of Light

The first meetings conjured initial concerns of the ancient depictions of sentient machines being that of war machines dedicated to the culling of organic life, the Zauc quickly removed that fear. The people of steel held no aggression towards organic life nor were they a cold-hearted hivemind. They were as curious, as social, and as creative as humanity. In many ways a reflection of humanity made of metal and light.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Zauc are a machine race with bodies made of metal, though some may choose to overlay their frames with a skin-like material. At birth, a Zauc's body is made based on the desired characteristics of the one meant to inhabit the body. This leaves room for many shapes to be created. Some Zauc choose for their bodies to have over eight limbs or even just two. They can also come in many different sizes. But ever since encountering Humanity many Zauc have chosen to take on shapes very similar to that of Humans.

Genetics and Reproduction

To create a new Zauc a living Zauc must interact with a Core Soul or a "Nivzim" as it is known in the Zauc vocal language. Upon engaging in a physical connection and a mental link to a Core Soul a new Zauc soul is parted from the Core Soul. The Zauc soul is a unique combination of energy patterns from both the Core Soul and the parent Zauc. The new soul will remain near the Core Soul and other fellow new souls. It will remain till it has completely developed a minimal personality and necessary intellectual capabilities. This process takes a little under an earth month.
Without a physical body, a Zauc exists only as energy. However, this form is only temporary and will deteriorate the Zauc's soul unless it remains in contact with a NivZim or another massive source of energy that retains a very specific output of energy. A Zauc's body, combined with successful completion of the tethering process, slows the decaying process down enough to equal an average Zauc life cycle.

Growth Rate & Stages

A newborn Zauc soul is ready for the second stage of development when it has fully designed its own body. The body is then created in a foundry for the Zauc. As soon as a Zauc soul is introduced into its body it is physically mature however it will take a few days for the soul to fully tether itself to the body. This tethering is what fully combines a Zaucs mind and body. It however lacks any of the emotional or social skills necessary to be considered completely mature. To complete this process the new Zauc will live with its parent Zauc till its learning is complete. This stage collectively takes only about a week.

The final stage of development is where a Zauc soul will learn most of its specific set of skills. This is comparable to a human attending a school or an internship. Most often this education is completely conducted by Zauc parents, who pass on their trades to their children. However, some less traditional Zauc families may seek education from official institutions or tutors. This stage takes as long as it needs to and completes a Zauc's official development cycle.

Ecology and Habitats

It is easier to describe what isn't an optimal environment for a Zauc rather than what is. A Zauc is capable of living perfectly normally in many environments. There are some environments that a Zauc would find hostile, however.
Some extreme temperatures will not affect a Zauc. Any environment where temperatures exceed 1,000F will kill a Zauc. The Zauc body is extremely heat resistant due to the mysterious alloy that is produced at Zauc foundries and will keep the internal systems safe so long as the heat maximum isn't reached. However, extremely cold environments that exceed -100F will cause the fluids inside a Zauc to slowly freeze till they die.
Pressure is another environmental feature that only affects Zauc under extremes. In places, with no pressure, a Zauc can function normally due to all its vitals being internally pressurized. The Zauc body is capable of withstanding extremely high environmental pressures due to its build composition. It is believed that the body will only be destroyed at pressures exceeding 14,000PSI.
Radiation is a great danger to the Zauc soul. Amounts of radiation that would kill a human in years would kill a Zauc nearly instantly. However, the body of a Zauc provides just as much protection as a human has to radiation naturally. However, a Zauc has little protection against radiation capable of damaging electronics. If caught in a wave unprotected it could mean almost certain death.
Atmospheric conditions are fine for Zauc so long as the atmosphere is favorable for machines. For instance, if a world is prone to constant electrical storms a Zauc will have trouble living on it without the proper protection. Zauc may become confused or may act sporadically due to all the strange electrical interference. If an atmosphere is acidic it may risk damaging a Zauc's body so these conditions are also to be avoided.

Dietary Needs and Habits

A Zauc doesn't need to eat or sleep. They do need to obtain water at least once a week though. This is because they must have a certain amount of fluid in their bodies to cool their systems. A Zauc doesn't need to breathe.

Biological Cycle

The Zauc can repair their own forms to extend their longevity and certain Zauc make use of nanobots to rapidly increase the healing of their physical forms. Their physical bodies do not degrade over time though, only outside forces can damage a Zauc's body.
What does degrade over time though is a Zauc's soul. In their vocal language, it is referred to as a "Nex'le'lom". It is essentially the consciousness of the Zauc and is what inhabits the mortal body.
The average Zauc lives 350 earth years.

Additional Information

Social Structure

A group of Za'uc will tend to identify their elders as their leaders. The oldest is considered the wisest as this thought process is literally engrained into a za'uc's mind.
A young Za'uc will only ever have one biological parent that they live with. This parent is the Za'uc that provided them with fifty percent of their base code and may choose to raise their child in a larger community or alone.

Average Intelligence

Their average intelligence tends to be on a level with the intelligence of a human genius.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

While in energy form a Zauc can communicate telepathically by manipulating electrical charges in the minds of creatures around them to a small degree while also being able to interpret electrical charges in the minds of others as messages. They essentially can read minds while doing this, but many Zauc can't focus on specific thoughts. This ability is lost in the vast majority of Zauc once they enter their bodies. Only very few who have trained for years can achieve telepathy and mindreading once again.
While in the physical form a Zauc has all the senses a human has so long as their body is capable of using these senses. Their bodies are even capable of having more than one source of these senses. For example some Zauc attempt to make their physical forms more perceptive by including multiple sets of eyes.
There are two forms of communication that every Zauc learns. One is their vocal language. This language's origins are lost to history but it is believed to have been unchanged since its creation. The language itself is made of sounds that mimic the mechanic noises made by the Zauc body which has led to many assuming that the language was created long before the Zauc actually developed voices. Rather some theories believe that the first physical Zauc communicated in short electrical noises and mechanical squeaks from the body.
The second form of communication that every Zauc knows is a language completely made of lights. This is where the name "The People of Light" comes from. This language consists of an untold number of words all communicated by the mixing of multiple colors of light. Many words are completely unknown by humans due to the Zauc's ability to see many more colors than humans.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

A Zauc name tends to be derived from a technical aspect or related to a scientific phenomenon. For instance Electro (Electric), Ion, Solar, Mag (Magenitism), Dia (dilation).
However, ever since meeting humanity the names of the Zauc have tended towards more human names.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Word of Lights - A language communicated through the displaying of lights with various colors.
Word of Metal - This is the vocal language of the Zauc and tends to sound like someone replicating machine noises.

Faction Traits

Size

Za'uc size depends on the type of body they build themselves. On average 6ft or 1.8 meters in height. Their weight tend to be around 350lbs - 600lbs (158kg - 275kg)

Speed

Za'uc walking speed is 30 feet.

Damage Resistances

-Cold Resistance-

The metal of the Za'uc's body is incredibly durable and naturally controls its own temperature relatively well. They receive resistance to cold damage.

Hyper Vision

Za'uc can see in most light forms and lower light levels. This translates to them having 60ft of Ultralight Vision and Dark Vision.

Flesh to Steel

Your body is capable of adapting certain augmentations meant for flesh. Any Augmentation you have with the Biological type instead has the Mechanized type.

Languages

Word of Lights - The visual language of the Za'uc that requires Ultravision to understand.
Word of Metal - The vocal language of the Za'uc.
Interlang - The common tongue.

Lifespan

350 Standard years

Average Height

Varies drastically, but most heights are on average 6ft or 1.8 meters

Average Weight

Varies drastically, but with the average height the weight of Zauc tend to be around 350lbs - 600 lbs (158kg - 275kg)

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Varies drastically, Za'uc make their own bodies and as a result their body can be any color they wish. However the true color of the metal that the Za'uc body is made of it a blueish silver coloring with a matte texture.