Calramite

"They looked like people, but then I saw they had no hands. None. The calramites sprout a bundle of snaking tendrils from each arm, thick at the shoulder, but finer than fingers at the tip. Maybe even as fine as a nanomachine manipulator. Sometimes I wish my hands were so precise."

- Haranko, Aeon Priest

The Calramites are an intelligent, humanoid race of creatures who inhabit the orbiting alien structure of Calram.



Appearance and Traits
Calramites are mostly humanoid in terms of appearance, with their most distinct feature being the 5 long tentacles they sprout from their shoulder joints rather than arms. Similar to those of an earth cephalopod, these tentacles, in turn, branch off into smaller and much finer pairs which serve as manipulator tendrils, much like the fingers of a human being. However, the former can be able to manipulate complex machinery in ways far beyond the latter. Consequently, calramites tend to utilize tools and equipment that only their tendrils can operate, all allowing them to micromanipulate items and unlock their full potential. Unfortunately, for most humans, it is very difficult to unlock the full-abilities of any items or gear manufactured by calramite "hands".

In addition, calramites also hold a much better understanding of technology in general than that of Ninth World humans, being fully conversant in a variety of technologies which humans would simply lump together as just being "numenera". Calramites are known to slightly longer lifetimes than that of humans and require at least 13 hours of sleep rather than the usual 10 for a human being.

Society and Culture
Despite their technological prowess, the calramites' understand of human beings and other "lesser" individuals is poor, as they would rather sleep away for many years at a time within cryostasis, waiting for the day of reckonings provided by the distant descendants of Earth's humans. Unfortunately, what kind of special emergence this event entails hasn't been communicated well to any human living there. One thing that is clear, however, is that the calramites believe themselves to be in some way connected to the planet Earth. Whether it be from further into the future or rather from a completely alternate dimension, the ancient machine memories that either the seven or the viral intelligence Mozck might know indicate that the calramites and their home were flung out of their original location by some probability wave collapse. Because of this fact, many of their number, with the exception of the Dissenters faction, seem to be quiet and patient, with a hint of melancholy to their mood.

The calramites speak their own alien language, however even those aboard Calram who have access to any of its data ports can pick up the Truth in a matter of minutes.

The Seven
A Notable Political Group, the calramites which compose the So-called "Seven" seem to have direct mental control over much of their habitat's automatons. Unlike the sleeping cycles the rest of their kind on Calram abide by, the Seven exist in a constant state of semi-hibernation, with consciousness-machinery allowing them to remain cognizant, connected to the functioning of their habitat as well as to others of their group. Often, they will utilize this function to engage each other with mental debates regarding mainly obscure topics which ultimately relate to the status of the Ninth World itself. Their home is a crystalline structure at the heart of Calram, translucent enough for outsiders to actually glimpse their forms and discover their true number to either be between 5 - 17.

Usually, the Seven will arrange for certain humans or other denizens of Earth be brought to their home for questioning, where they are guided towards the council's area via drones. Any and all who encounter the Seven will only retain vague memories of their encounter, but rarely remember anything else of importance, such the questions asked, what was discussed, or even why they were leaving.

The Dissenters
A faction that stands in stark opposition to the Seven's non-interaction policy, the Dissenters believe that all Calram natives should be able to interact with Ninth World natives immediately, having long accepted that the future emergence of which the Seven speak will never occur. Because of this, the Dissenters also see no problem with abducting humans from Earth and placing them into specific tests designed to measure both their mental and physical capabilities, possibly to convince the others of their kind that humans really aren't worth the hype. In some events, the tests will involve humans being pitted against calramite warriors or even abhumans also, collected from the earth below, within some kind of arena aboard Calram. Those that fail are easily slain and discarded and the rare few that succeed will find all their damaged flesh and organs healed and replaced, sent back to earth with no knowledge of what transpired with the exception of new scars as well as the strange side-effects provided the Dissenter's replacement organs.

Luckily, however, the Dissenters constitute a small portion of Calram's population and are only awake for only a few months out of a period of around 7 years. They're best known for claiming a small staff of servitor drones that are suited to both their needs and defense whenever they lie unconscious.

Miscellaneous
The calramites get their name from what Ninth World humans refer to as any denizen of Calram. Their species' true name still remains a mystery.