Cell

The Cell are one of the four races selected to reside on the Planes, theirs being Epsilon. They are widely regarded as despicable creatures due to their actions in the Harvest of the Nox.

Biology
The Cell have humble origins; records of their original appearance and body structure describe them as crustacean in nature, like large crabs. Modern Cell still maintain their overall crab-like structure, but require the use of mechanical appendages, organs, and other modifications to achieve full mobility and quality of life. Their flesh has become ghostly and pale-green in coloration, looking more like it belongs to a corpse than a living creature. Their eyes are small, black, and beady, the number of them varying due to the higher rate of defects in their population thanks to their means of reproduction.

Society and Culture
Very little is known about Cell society or culture due to their reclusiveness.

History
They were a meek race, avoiding the others when all were ascended by the Sentinels and venturing off into the less desired regions of space. At some point during this period, their motivations changed- they became obsessed with the idea of genetic modification, adding new traits to their genome until their DNA was so jumbled and damaged that few could reproduce naturally, most of them being sterile. Currently, the Cell grow new hatchlings through biological vats, but very few of these Cell live longer than a few weeks at most. Finding the right combination of genetic material that results in viable offspring is a difficult task for them, and isn’t apparently a priority of theirs to begin with, despite their abysmally low numbers. This would have been a death sentence for them before, with their comparatively low original lifespans of 90-120 years, but after harvesting the majority of the Nox for their genetic code, they have theoretically no upper limit to how long they can live. The Cell rarely show themselves anymore, opting instead to hide in the shadows of the galaxy where prying eyes won’t find them. The other races are more than happy with this setup, as the Cell are now unanimously reviled and condemned by the other peoples of Spectra.