I'd imagine they live longer than most. If their rite of passage is to do good works, that kind of thing can take half a century. I wouldn't want to put a number on it just yet but i'd say quite a long lifespan.

Genders, no idea. Any biologists in the arena wanna weigh in?

Defense, i was toying with the idea of some kind of sonic boom emitted from the mouth? Designed to stun, disorientate and incapacitate but not necessarily kill.

Perception, I'd say tolerant. Humanity is naturally sceptical of outsiders but the Machine Minds made them free the Tindrel remember? I mean they make themselves useful as a matter of principle. I wouldn't say they'd need to hide their appearance at all. In fact i'd go so far as to say a lot of people like having their helping hand around.

In other news, released a little bit on Actim and corrected all the distances to Babylon.