Eleepod



The Eleepods are a caterpillar-like civilization of intellectuals from the world of Fostral.

Biology
Eleepods express humanoid features in their hands and face, although the latter has multiple, inconsistent pairs of eyes. They're always seen wearing a translucent exterior which their heads can retreat into. The larval form of an Eleepod is called an eLeech, in this state they appear to be completely cryspoid, and don't seem to have permanent memories. Most of their interactions with Vanger s are actually based on other details of their biology, primarily their reproduction, and "both parties" is what this sentence means by "they".

Eleepods produce a material called a nymbos, which are consumed by Eleepods (or? to?) be cultivated inside Incubator for eLeeches. A mucus called phlegma is involved, and spare phlegma is used throughout the entire chain as a hygiene product. There's only one period where the eLeeches can survive outside the Incubator, the basis of their ritual race.

The delivered eLeechs can now bond to a pod and finish maturing into Eleepods. Failure to find the appropriate pod is failure to become an Eleepod, and the counselor must instead transfer their minds into a mechos, making that victim of fate into a Vanger.

Society
The society of the Eleepods is organized into "pods", a hierarchical telepathic link between individual eleepods, apparently based on ordinary energy waves which native flora can block. This link is powerful enough that Eleepods do not claim to be individual entities, merely extensions of the pod, even if they display distinct identities and personalities. This is a workaround to their permanent under-development, and a source of immortality to them. There's nothing more horrible to Eleepods than to die as an eLeech, where timeless existence hasn't been given to the infant yet.

Another power or technology of Eleepods is the p-beam, a source of extrasensory perception regarding anything in the present state of UniVang, however its calibration requires a participating Vanger to fly straight from Podish to Incubator without landing. These psychic capabilities and others allow them to know the most about the Chain out of any bios, where others only know the Infernal s from superstitious fear of Threall, the Eleepods can directly sense the malevolent "mana" which they bring.

In general, the Eleepods boast absolute knowledge of "the present" and carelessness for the "past or future", even if they obviously interact with those concepts in daily life. Common pastimes of Eleepods are poetry, and the collection of fetishes called "kusowocks". They're especially agoraphobic as a bios, and who could blame them when they all experienced Eleection's violence as babies?

A great source of fear is also the Beeboorat's unceasing war with them, and their hunger for eLeech flesh. In one incident the Beeboorats invented a new subterranean mechos called a "Wormaster" to assault any Eleection participants, succeeding well enough for the Eleepods to recognize foul play. The countermeasure was for Vangers to swamp them with Terminator Wormers, a common attack drone based on Cryspo technology.

Incubator
Incubator is "the holy place", an escave that operates as a nursery for eLeeches, and works on the side as an exporter of Phlegma to Podish (and incidentally other bunches, of other bios). Nymbos are an important part of its task. The counselor of Incubator is Feenger, an extension of Leepky's pod. Mythological claims of Zeephra suggest that geothermal energy is important to its function.

Podish
The main escave of Fostral and the Eleepods, notable for the enormous beeb shaped opening. Powerlines saturate its latitude. The counselor of Podish is Leepky.

Cycles
The cycles of Fostral are directly keyed to the reproductive cycles of Eleepods.

Plump-up
The Plump-up cycle is the period where new Eleepods have finished entering a pod, and the production of nymbos is resumed. It's also period where Vangers can sign up for an Eleection's ritual race.

Eleection
The next time is Eleection, the period where Vangers are trusted with sending eLeeches to Podish. Repeat winners are gifted with access to Glorx, while losers are cursed for their carelessness. This is a time period where the pods resume transmitting their telepathic "chords", which is beginning of establishing a bond to eLeeches. Any who don't find a pod will end up as a new Vanger in the same cycle.

Gulp-down
Any transported eLeech will continue the absorption of chords in this cycle, finally entering the pod's mind as a new Eleepod.