Background on Andromedan Physiological Attributes Under Construction
Contributed by Radu386, Not from any story.
Andromedans are endowed with a sixth sense, psionics. Psionics is a low level mental link to exchange images and sounds. It doesn't rank up with a telepath's powers, as it is comparatively weak in proportion, but it is functional. Species originating from Andromeda are all possesive of psionics. An Andromedan may form a link with them, allowing information to pass. This fits in with the collective mind vision of Andromedans, as it makes sense that Andromedans would be linked to each other, allowing easy sharing of important information at a fast pace. Psionics are also responsible for Andromedan directional/spatial capabilities. This works two ways. First, if you're in contact with the group, someone's going to know directions. Second, others can act as beacons to navigate from.
The Andromedan internal physical structure is different from humans. They possess a complete
internal atmosphere, which probably provides support for various organ systems. Andromedans may alter the pressures of the internal atmosphere to equalize with the outside atmosphere, otherwise, pressure differences would make travel and exploration uncomfortable, if not deadly. An Andromedan vents pressure through his or her ear canals. Venting snow indicates falling barometric pressure, and venting steam indicates rising pressure. Andromedans have been known to produce thunder on occasion, possibly a meeting of high and low internal pressure pockets.
Andromedan genetic makeup gives them a dense muscle structure, allowing for increased strenth and endurance. Reverse engineering the facts gives us a relative picture of Andromeda, a high gravity, thin atmosphere planet. High molecular density makes their strength in excess of ten times that of a human. Molecular structure also tends to make tasks like drawing blood or cutting hair difficult because of the body's high density. Molecular density increases the subject's mass, so of an Andromedan and a human of the same physical size, the Andromedan will weigh approximately twice what the human does. Also written into the genetic code are highly sensitive spiral ears, allowing for hearing to far exceed human norms. Andromedans can focus on sounds approximating a few hundred meters distant, even through walls and objects.
Andromedan children are hatched from eggs. It's unclear if the eggs are 'laid' after conception, or if the child is conceived inside the egg. Eggs are approximately 100 cm in diameter, so that would make birthing an uncomfortable process for the parent. The eggs are placed in a communal hatchery, providing unilateral support for the children, regardless of parental status. This is also intended to prevent future wars, see previous article.
The average Andromedan lifespan is approximately 250-300 ESY. (Earth Standard Years) Since we haven't seen any adult Andromedans, it's open to debate what happens during the aging process. Presumably it might be similar to the human aging process, where the body ages normally during puberty, holds its condition and appearance for decades, and then proceeds to age. To retain this much information over a longer lifetime, the Andromedan memory must be near eidetic (non-forgetting).
