A lesson in the biology of a fictional race of mole people

This takes place in the same universe as many other stories I have written. It is written similarly to a textbook, and details an underground race called the Hu

Long ago Go’oth gave life to the worlds and then went to live as a gomb. In doing so he created numerous species of flora and fauna, some more suited to their environment than others. Many of these species lived and died out long before the races thought to name them, but over thousands of years, these creatures did undergo a natural evolution into what we see today. Among these early creatures was a species born without sight, hearing or smell. In their places these creatures possessed an ability known as planetsense. Lacking the ability to see, but not really needing it, and being rather slow and ill-suited for their natural environment, a large portion of these creatures came to live underground, where they would undergo evolution into an intelligent (non-playable) race known as the hu. It is unknown what planet the hu originated on, but it is known that at some point after magic was created and spread across the world, the hu discovered it and at least one managed to develop the ability to use portal magic, through which they spread to the underground of each of the five planets. Due to the differing conditions of each planet, even underground where things might generally be thought to be more similar, the hu of each planet developed a few morphogenic differences. On heaven, the underground is made up mostly of deep crevices rather than caves, and as such resources including water, food, and even the odd ray of sunlight often trickle down into their domain. These hu are the least adapted for survival, often fatter and hungrier despite being slower and weaker than those of the other planets. They are, however, the most socially advanced subspecies of hu, forming highly intricate and political societies, with greater numbers and even some advanced technology, though they are far from the best in that regard. The world of tir na nog is mostly forested, and even the ocean floors are covered with a dense and rich array of plant life. While still underground, the hu inhabitants of this planet live closer to the surface than do those of any other planet, and these hu have developed to receive all the nutrition they need from the deep-reaching roots of the plants that grow all across the planet. These hu have stronger teeth and more advanced oral muscles and digestive systems. The hu planetsense has one of four affinities: earth, water, air, or life force. On tir na nog, it is considered unusual (though not unheard of by any means) for a hu’s planetsense to not have the life force affinity. The wildlands has vastly varied terrain, and the hu of this planet are typically more solitary, moving alone or in small groups. Unlike other hu, their bodies are often quite thin, and despite possessing the greatest endurance of the races of hu, they need only eat one or two meals a month to subsist. They also possess a more scooplike claw that can be better used for digging. On earth, the hu have developed the ability to subsist mostly on nutrients and minerals found naturally on the inside of the planet, and providing that they consume these regularly, they have even softer dietary requirements than those of the wildlands hu, needing only eat one real meal (meat or a nutritious plant) every two to three months. These hu appear somewhat plantlike, with harder brown or green tinted skin. The hu living on the planet of Hell lack the morphogenic advancements of some of the other subspecies, but they possess a markedly higher prowess for developing technology. The underground of Hell is rich in precious metals to the point where what would be considered quite valuable on the other planets is used as a relatively commonplace building material on Hell. The hu of Hell are also the only hu to occasionally associate with surface dwellers, as their society uses technology to support itself, but relies more heavily on resources from the surface, while the demons often venture underground, and even have a few small settlements in areas the hu frequent. These hu also sometimes create a system of mirrors to reflect light in from the surface, as though they cannot see, this allows them to grow some crops. 

 

Probably the most interesting thing about the hu, however, is their mysterious planetsense. While they possess only touch and taste in addition to their planetsense, this ability is enough to dispel their need for sight, smell, or hearing. The hu planetsense has one of four affinities, as I mentioned earlier. Essentially, the hu are acutely aware of anything that can be directly connected to their sensory organs through whatever their affinity is. A hu swimming in an ocean, for instance, would be aware of every fish plant, and grain of sand in the ocean, but would have no knowledge of what was going on just a quarter mile inland unless a channel was dug with water flowing through it. Likewise a hu with an earth affinity could while standing on the ground sense everything that was also touching the ground. Life force leaves traces of itself behind wherever life is doing anything that requires it, such as moving, eating, or even growing, and it is this trace remainder of life force that life force affinity planetsense “sees” through. Their planetsense can be interrupted by a significant change in the composition of whatever they are sensing, for instance, a hu with an air affinity would not be able to detect anything beyond a large cloud of smoke, even if a small amount of air was present in that smoke. A hu with a water affinity could not sense the ocean by standing in a freshwater lake that flows into the saltwater ocean, and earth affinity hu cannot see through rocks of a different geological type such as igneous while they are standing on a sedimentary layer. They also cannot see through rocks that are largely metallic in nature without contacting those rocks with their sensory organ directly. The hu also do not truly call themselves the hu. As beings with no hearing that rely primarily on their planetsense, they do not have a voicebox or vocal chords, and as such their language is made up of a system of clicks, grunts, whistles, and subtle body movements that are almost impossible to interpret by one without planetsense, although there was a spell developed once that can mimic a life force affinity planetsense in one of the other races for a short period. The hu are capable of detecting sound waves but find it difficult if they do not have an air affinity planetsense. When a group of demons first thought to ask what they should call these creatures, they responded with a grunt, which the demons took to mean the creatures were called hu, as that sounded like what they were trying to say.

 

The hu body is notably different from that of other intelligent species’. Huh possess five legs, each of which has two additional joints (three joints on the leg, one more connecting it to the pelvis). Their legs actually do not have bones, and instead have flexible cartilage supporting them. The joints in these legs can bend more than ninety degrees in both directions. The huh stand on all five legs, and four of these legs have a hard but thin keratin shell at the bottoms of the hu’s feet, which protects the hu’s sensory organ for their planetsense. The hu do not need all four of their sensory organs to be functioning to use their planetsense, but it works better with more of them there, similar to how humans don’t really need both eyes to be working to see. The fifth foot will not possess a keratin shell or sensory organ, but will almost always have a tough, calloused and leathery skin on it. This foot will also possess two sharp claws, with sharp “blades” directly opposite each other. This foot will also have a third appendage, which is more of a finger and is soft and free of any blade or edge. The claws are as long as the finger. The hu have skin, which is typically very pale and loose; some may even perceive hu as twisting around within their own skin. Their skin also has pores which can secrete an oily lubricant, and while this does not happen unless the hu detects it is in a small, tight space, this can often give hu a slimy appearance. These pores are not present on the bottoms of their feet, or on their finger. The hu do not have a head, and most possess a fat torso. Their organs are only loosely held in place, and most are encased in their own cases of tough, pericardiumlike muscle. The hu have muscles that allow them a good degree of control over the fat in their torsos. Opposite the side of the torso the legs are on, the hu have a mouth. The hu mouth has only two teeth in it, but these teeth are very wide . The hu actually have a backup set of teeth underneath the visible ones, but these teeth will only push into their mouth if the tooth they lie beneath has been completely removed, roots and all. The hu mouth has no lips, but has a tongue, which is in the shape of a tube and goes around the mouth below the teeth. This tongue can push things completely out of the hu’s mouth, and, of course, can taste. The hu also use their mouth to breath. Hu with an air affinity planetsense actually do not have their sensory organs on the bottoms of their feet, with them instead being found just below the lowest knee. The keratin shell does not interfere at all with the planetsense, just like how humans technically have skin on our eyes. 

 

Additionally, somewhere on every hu’s torso will be a hole. It could be anywhere on the torso, even near the joints on the legs. Of course it will never be found literally in the mouth in any capacity, and will always be separated from the mouth, and it will never be on the one of the hu’s legs. This hole is used for excreting waste, and also for reproduction. The Hu reproductive process can takes about nine steps, which are listed below

1. A female hu produces an egg. Just like how for a human male, getting an erection is involuntary but can sort of be controlled, the hu female producing an egg can sort of be controlled but is mostly involuntary. While it is of course considered rude for a hu to produce an egg around others who they are not involved with sexually, this process is not painful as the hole is very stretchy. This egg will be at least a foot tall and round, but can vary in exact shape. It will always, however, be symmetrical to some degree, and will be hard and durable
2. A male hu discovers or is given the egg. This induces a state of arousal in any heterosexual male hu. Just like how with human males, seeing a vagina will cause arousal, but isn’t the only thing that can do that, heterosexual male hu can also be aroused by various parts of female hu, but the large egg will always cause arousal. Once aroused, the male will begin to drip a secretion out of his hole that he will drip onto the egg. When it contacts the egg, a chemical reaction will cause the egg to become soft and permeable. It will still be relatively springy, and will generally retain its shape, though the shape may change a little. Any changes in shape will make the egg inherently less pleasurable to the male hu for use in sex. The chemical reaction also changes the male secretion into a chemical that will instantly be detectable by the female hu that laid the egg, provided she is within a range where her planetsense can detect it.
3. The male hu will begin to rub the egg on his body. Doing so causes him sexual pleasure, and builds arousal. It also results in the chemical from softening the egg being smeared all over him
4. This is an optional step, but it usually occurs. The female hu will experience sexual pleasure simply from sensing the chemical on her egg with her planetsense. This pleasure will increase as she gets closer to the source of it. If she physically touches the male hu while he is smeared with this chemical, she will experience a level of pleasure roughly equal to an orgasm for the entire time she is in contact with him
5. After rubbing the egg on himself for a time, the male hu will have an orgasm and get his sperm on the egg, fertilizing it. He will then be done with sex, and once the egg dries off from the softening chemical, it will become hard and tough again
6. The egg can be fertilized by several male hu, over the course of usually about 1-2 months. After this point, the egg will undergo cellular division, and will divide into 1-3 smaller eggs per male that fertilized it. Eggs containing male fetuses will be hard and brittle, while eggs containing female fetuses will be soft and leathery
7. After about 7 months, though this amount of time is variable, the hu in the eggs will be fully formed. The last things to form on the hu are their claw, then their lungs. Once these are formed sufficiently, the hu will begin to cry out, while not just creating sound, but intending to catch the planetsense of a nearby adult hu. These cries will be detectable by hu as far as two miles from the egg, and are considered extremely irritating
8. An adult hu, usually one of the parents, will come and crack the male eggs open and tear or cut the female eggs open.
9. If no adult hu appears, males will die. Female hu, if they are strong enough, may be able to use their newly formed claw to cut their way out of their egg.