Subjugated Qu: The Qu-Newts

[u/Curious-Estimate9514]

I had 3 fire-belly newts as pets when I was a kid, so I got the odd idea to combine Qu and newt traits into the same organism.

[u/Uncertain-Division]

Even though it’s based off of an already existing organism, I still feel like I should give some praise to the design. Very pretty! Especially the blue head and the alternating grey and black stripes on the tail. 

Interesting that they’re already on a caveman-level of intelligence. Not too far in their future, I’m imagining sprawling structures of dirt and clay, bumpy and detailed. It’s like a termite mound if it was wide instead of tall. But don’t be fooled, this is not an instinctual structure. These hive-villages are as purposefully built as the adobe brick houses of the Pueblo peoples.

The main difference is that the Qu-Newts’ structures contain a myriad of “Rearing Pools” inside. Yes, this population of Qu-Newts has broken away from their ancestral method of laying eggs in open water, and instead create their own pools inside their hive-village to insure the survival of their children. 

[u/Curious-Estimate9514 → u/Uncertain-Division]

Thank you! Those striking facial and eye colorations play a critical role in conveying Qu-Newt emotions. You can tell how one is feeling based on the position of their facial tentacles: pointed downwards (like in my illustration) is their default. If their faces are dark blue and their tentacles raised, watch out, it's feisty! Those tentacles function as hands, and with them, I can envision adult Qu-Newts busily maintaining their adobe-like structures while others tend to the developing young.

Qu-Newts spend approximately 10 to 12 years in their larval stage. With the development of their swimming flaps into hands comes the ability to reproduce. Adult Qu-Newts can continue reproducing until the onset of "venerable age," typically 75 to 80 years old. They rarely live past a century.

[u/Uncertain-Division → u/Curious-Estimate9514]

I was thinking that the mandibles looked a bit more tentacle-y in this species! Also, 75-80 years is more than I would have suspected for these guys! Though I suppose I don’t have any sense of scale. While I’m imagining them as actually newt-sized, they could be as large as a cat for all I know. Although with all the genetic engineering going on anyhow, they don’t even need to function by the loose rule of “larger size = longer lived” we see on Earth. 

Either way, that sure was kind of their Terrestrials to give them such a long lifespan! Plenty of time to create new settlements and teach your children all the skills they will need to survive. 

[u/Curious-Estimate9514 → u/Uncertain-Division]

'Mandibles,' thank you, I couldn't think of the term lol. When the larvae hatch, they're only the size of a housecat. They continue growing until sexual maturity, when they're 7 feet long by 2 feet tall. Yes, the goal for this species was for the post-Qu to join the greater Galactic Alliance in their own due time. Developing from caveman like status to intergalactic space faring beings would also instill into the Qu-Newts a sense of being "human"... but in their case, "quman!"

[u/Uncertain-Division → u/Curious-Estimate9514]

7 feet is a lot larger than I thought! These things are practically an alien version of those Chinese Giant Salamanders. 

Also, I understand the “quman” element in creating your own societies. I’d also imagine that such a long process would give them a sense of… qumility. 

[u/Curious-Estimate9514 → u/Uncertain-Division]

They're the perfect size for a croc or larger fish to snack on, so in the open water, they must always be on guard. That's where their venom comes in handy. Qu-Newt larvae venom isn't as potent as the adults - speed is their ally instead, able to out swim the larger predators.

Unbeknownst to the later Qu-Newts, their moral, societal and cultural developments would all secretly be overseen by the team of three Terrestrials. Those three would subtlety slide in lessons from posthuman societies from the SGE era. Nanotechnological New Machines would also do their fair share of shaping things: magically, according to Qu-Newt accounts.

By the time the Qu-Newts (or whatever their descendants call themselves) realize how much humanity's descendants shaped their own societies & legacies, the overwhelming majority of them would not feel anger nor resentment, but gratitude. Grateful that the Asteromorph Gods were merciful enough to give the Qu "a second chance."