Venusian (The Metamorphosis of Earth)

The Venusians are a sapient, technologically-advanced race which started to xenoform Earth in 2197, to alter the composition and environmental conditions of the planet and make it inhabitable for them.

Biology
They're about 1.2 meters in height and have globular bodies with three short legs, four long arms, and a round head that sprouts directly from the body, with no neck. On the lower side of their faces they have two small mouths shaped like suckers. Numerous eyestalks protrude from their circumference, above the four arms. These stalks end in compound eyes made of numerous crystalline facets. Curiously, each eye differs from the other in color and disposition of the facets. They have neither nose nor ears. Their arms are joint-less, but enormously flexible, and are often used alongside the legs to aid in locomotion. Their skin is hairless, dark-grey in color, and divided in "rudimentary scales or plates".

Venusians require between two and three hours of sleep per day, and normally only eat once every four days. Their diet consists of vegetable matter from their home planet complemented by artificial substances. After eating, they enter a torpid state of inactivity which lasts for about 12 hours. They're hermaphrodite and oviparous. It's speculated that their multi-faceted eyes can see through materials that Humans consider opaque. This idea is supported by their superior knowledge of astronomy, in spite of the thick Venusian atmosphere; and the fact that their ships have nearly opaque windows.

The atmosphere and chemical composition of Earth is highly toxic to them; just as the Venusian composition is toxic to Earth creatures; and they're deadly vulnerable to infection from Earth bacteria such as streptococci.

Appearances

 * "The Metamorphosis of Earth", by Clark Ashton Smith (1951)