Cryspo

The Cryspo are, or were, a physically and technologically superior insectoid civilization that played a role in the existence of the Lost Chain of Worlds. Human explorers and their Spirit benefactors discovered them in the 22nd century, releasing them into the other worlds of the local Chain. These beings were unexpectedly formidable by the standards of the decadent exploration teams, becoming an unsurmountable foe once they realized the nutritional value which humans offered to larvae, beginning the horrific Clash. Their last resort was a bioweapon designed to corrupt Cryspo genetics, which was too effective against humans themselves. At this time the chain had become lost to both species, meaning that only a few worlds were trapped in the hybrid entity called the Creature Soup, whose surviving specimens became the current inhabitants of UniVang.

The technology of the cryspo is not well known, but Vangers inherited their weaponized insect-mechanisms now known as "terminators", suicide made to suicidality eviscerate enemy vehicles. Similar living or lifelike entities are nearly everywhere in the chain.

Biology
Very little is known about the physiology of the cryspo except for what physical traits of the bios are absent from humans. The crypso are described as being split into "divisions" which includes a queen that controlled the biological roles of all divisions, and the larvae. Psychologically, they were very simple organisms that acted on the larva's chemical instructions in a similar manner to ants, and only exhibited intelligence as a consequence of their collective intelligence.