HeyNow said
Working on my CS right now. I really like the Riftosian concept - do you have any additional detail on the race that I can use? I'm thinking racial history and cultural characteristics (how common are Riftosians? Do they group together or are they solitary? Do they believe in a higher power?), physical limitations (can a Riftosian pick up a tangible object? How can they kill or be killed?), physiology (does a Riftosian operate more as a singular entity or a swarm? How does it communicate? Does it have a gender? Does it eat?), etc.
Right, okie dokie! Glad to see some interest so let me lay out some more details on them.
Are Riftosians common? Relatively, in their home system. They hail from a single binary star system known as The Rift. The area of space is only well known because of the strange phenomena that occurs between the two stars, that, although failing to be fully explained by Empire scientists, seems to be a strange convergence of loose plasma-form gases from one star and the unusual solar currents from the much larger sister star. This has bathed the planets of the system in powerful radiation over many millions of years which has minutely altered the quantum state of intelligent matter over the course of evolution. The Riftosians, as they are called, have over their course slowly began changing due to the solar effects of their home system. They were once pure solid creatures just like every other, but the microquantum effects have slowly decomposed their physical form, though the conscious connected between the individual areas of matter have remained. They range somewhere in the 10-15 million range, all from The Rift.
Do They group? Do they believe in a higher power? Hard to say. I advocate diversity in sci-fi races. You wouldn't ever find a science fiction depiction of humans where they were all identical, where they all liked to group up, where they all believed in the same higher power. (Well you would, but it's not common). basically, some like to group up, some believe in a higher power. Some don't. That's truly up to you to decide.
Physical limitations? Yes, they can pick up tangible objects. they're not intangible creatures themselves, but rather more like... water? I want to say water. But not quite. They're a very large collection of solid matter that all coordinates through the consciousness of the being. They're almost like sand that can solidify when it needs. Their strength is dependant on the power of the force that binds their constituent 'parts'. Some are always going to be stronger than others, because the strength of this force determines the strength of their 'solidification'.
They can kill by either solidifying and just exerting physical trauma on their foes, or by using their strange, less tangible form to choke out their opponent. Some Riftosians who have incredible control over their bodies can even get inside their opponents through various orifices and do nasty things to them from the outside in.
They can be killed just as you'd except. it just requires dealing enough damage to their forms. Even when they're in their less tangible state, if something disrupts to conscious connection between their components (like bullets, for instance) it is going to weaken the bonds. meaning if they take too much external punishment, their form is going to fail and they will just collapse into a pile of dust.
Gender? Not exactly. They reproduce by mixing the dusty components of several Riftosians and then exposing it to the radiation in The Rift.
Communication? They have a voice. They create soundwaves by vibrating their entire bodies to create the desired phonetic sounds.
Eat? They are nourished through exposure to certain types of radiation. namely lower-spectrum types as it's easier for the to absorb, but they can gain minute amounts of energy from higher frequencies.
Note: Riftosian nomenclature is a bit different. Instead of arbitrary names, they refer to themselves by a phrase that is associated with their identity. Notable Riftosian names include: 'Distant Star', 'Farthest World', 'Blazing Ocean' ect ect.