I give permission to frontier games to use the image and ideas it spawns for all time, no other use is permitted and rights to the painting remain with me the artist © 2008 Richard James Batty. Idea for the aliens if you like I have cool ideas for ships. They are a plant based species, with two independent multi spectral eyes. While this would mean lack of depth perception for a crab these eyes are huge and have in addition to the forward visual + spectral pupil, has additional crystals in the sides which adjust other frequencies and focus these on a separate region of the retina array. This gives very good depth perception as there are many crystals both sides and this diversity reaches into higher dimensions that we have only recently become aware of. Both eyes are in pods and can both observe the same thing by articulating them. This setup along with the independent coordination centres of the brain led to a four armed four legged setup with each coordination centre controlling one pair of arms and legs which then coordinate their actions. They have a very unusual mouth orifice which is on a trunk like arm with a three jawed mandible structure which grabs fruits from plants. They are very in tune with their environment and all technology ever developed and used by them is clean and sustainable. They can all produce offspring, however they do share genetic material to do so and at this point choose wether one or both will create a child depending on circumstances. The young form as singular buds which once ready are deposited in metal and mineral rich soil, they need little light and no atmosphere to grow. This is due to a unique energy production method. This evolved it seems due to vast green crystal mountains of the home world being erroded into the soil. These minerals were incorporated into all life on the planet are believed to produce energy directly when combined with metals and are destroyed in the process. The fruits they eat concentrate these in their flesh along with basic materials and proteins also required for life. Once the young have reached their hatch state they hibernate whilst giving off a uniquie energy which travels slowly in normal space but exists in the higher dimensions allowing fast accurate action if required by parents as the energy moves fast in higher dimensions. When exposed to home world conditions the young hatch fully formed but small about one fith adult size. They receive combined knowledge of both parents somehow genetically, but can only access it as their understanding grows with age. This has given them an extreme advantage technologically.