Why-man

The Why-man also known as the Medusas or Petrification Weapons are a race of machine lifeforms.

Design
Individually this species is composed of tiny smooth surface devices that resembled twisted shaped Möbius strips.

The petrification device is a small, metallic-looking object with a smooth surface in the shape of a trefoil knot in a möbius strip. Each one is approximately 6cm (2.5 inches) and etched with extremely delicate hardware. Examination in the internal workings of a Medusa has revealed that it is powered by a diamond core.

These devices known as the Medusas respond to voice activation, and when given distance and time they emit a field that can petrify specific lifeforms to stone. Though seemingly an insidious weapon, the effects of petrification can be undone by the subject. The brain activity of a superior lifeform is said to be able to break off the stone and return to normal, however the human brain at its current level would not be able to do so.

While seemingly appearing to be machines and tools, are actually sentient constructions and are capable of levitation and traveling through space. Though they each Medusa is an individual, they are just mere components to the collective will of entire species. When together they form a hive intelligence known as the Why-Man which can allow them to function with higher cognitive power and merge and combine the entirety of the Medusas as a single unit.

History
The origins of the Why-man are a mystery even to themselves. According to the Why-man they do not remember having been created, only existing since the immemorial. Though extremely long-lived by organic standards, the Medusas still required to have their diamond cores replaced after prolonged use. The only way to maintain themselves was to search for planets containing other lifeforms and parasitize themselves with to perform the task for them. To incentivize theses species to aid them, the Why-man provide them with the gift of petrification, a science that allows living matter to be converted into stone. While stone, the matter does not suffer age and can even provide regenerative properties so long as the subject remains whole and intact. The petrification process in effect stops death and offers immortality. Once repairs on their internals are completed the Why-man them return depart the planet to space and return to wandering the universe.

The Medusas searched for higher forms of civilization by detecting electromagnetic waves in the vacuum of space. When a planet is located with a high level of civilization, the Why-man sends some of its Medusa components onto the planet's surface. When they make planetfall, these scouts choose an arbitrary species to petrify to test if the petrification process is possible. The Why-man do not reveal themselves or make direct contact with the species initially as the machine lifeforms prefer to allow the species to learn of the gift of petrification for themselves and is not given openly to the species, but is left for them to discover for themselves. Once the species is attracted by the allure of immortality the species would expectantly begin discussing the possibilities via the electromagnetic waves which signals the Why-man to decide whether the species should to be parasitize.

In 2019 the Why-man discovered Earth and believed humans were a sufficient enough species to provide the technical repairs on them. The species established themselves in the moon and followed standard protocol in parasitizing a new species. The Why-man activated the petrification beam to encompass the entire planet, turning every man and woman into stone. They expected the humans would be able to project enough brain power to break the stone shell from their bodies with ease by themselves. However they soon found that they had greatly overestimated humanity's intelligence. Humans were not at a level to effectively break free from the petrification by their mental abilities alone. They unknowingly caused the end of human civilization. They were unaware of as to why humanity did not proceed to utilize the Medusas for mortality but the Why-man were unable to understand their error.

After three thousand years the Medusas detected a primitive electromagnetic wave on the planet created by a human tribe descended from astronauts that managed to survive the petrification wave. Thinking that there were humans that avoided the wave, the Why-man believed that theses humans could still serve to repair the Medusas. It sent a wave of Medusas to the location and directly communicated to the tribe of how to use them. However this too failed as the humans lack any scientific knowledge. Instead of the humans used the Medusas they found to wage war on one another to petrify their enemies.

The Why-man considered that they perhaps made an error in selecting a new species to help them replace their batteries as humanity did not cultivate to understand the devices they were sent. In this they believed humanity to be inferior, however they were confused when electromagnetic waves were being emitted again a hundred years later from the planet which indicated intelligence. They never encountered a species that refused immortality and the idea confounded them. The radio signals created by a new emerging human society were received by the Medusas who responded to WHY in reference to to humans refusing their gift. Believing that the humans did not understand the gift they were being given, the Why-man attempted to explain in the only way it can by activating a Medusa remotely via petrification. Originally these were interpreted by the human scientists as attacked from Why-man.

After the humans managed to regain spaceflight, they finally came face to face with Why-man on the Moon. There misunderstandings were cleared up between the two races. The Why-man now understanding it made a mistake, seeing that while humans were intelligent being they lacked the necessary requirements and technolggy to fully repair their systems. In that end the Why-man decided to leave the solar system for another world to continue their search. Only one Medusa stayed behind, interested in seeing the progress humanity would make in the future.