Artrophod is a humanoid, insect-like race in Terra. They're based on real-life arthropods. Compared to other races, they have a much shorter lifespan and retain most of their animal counterpart's traits. For unknown reasons, they also retain most of the animal's primal urges, and some of these urges are immoral and deadly enough to deem them as dangerous. Although they are not treated as badly as people infected with Oripathy, they're still shunned in certain countries and prejudiced in most places. It is strongly advised to hide their identities as arthropods if possible. As such, they usually hide or even erase their arthropod-like traits, color their hair, and lurk in the shadows of society.

They share traits of their animal counterparts, so their traits depends on their sub-races. These insect-like traits complement their entirely humanoid appearance.

They may have varied wings and antennas. Certain antennas act as a normal hair and thus can be cut. Wings can also be pulled out, but it's a painful process and not recommended. They may also have horns, arthropod-like legs, and "tails" that can be seen from real arthropods. Usually, thin tails can be hidden and pulled out freely. Certain extra legs can also be pulled in and out. This process is usually described as a "grotesque transformation".

They may also have pheromones, with varying degree of effects. They retain most of the animal's primal urges, and some of these urges are immoral and deadly enough to deem them as dangerous.

Compared to other races in Terra, they have a much shorter lifespan, around 30-40 years of a human's age. Exception is those who have the qualification to become a Queen, namely the Queen Factor.

Queen Factor

Queen Factor is a part in DNA that dictates the qualification of a Queen, granting them extraordinary pheromones to control others. Oftentimes, this is followed by the existence of a stinger that can be used to turn others to submission - or in other words, turning them into their followers, or simply to quickly relay an order.

While its existence is known, it is still full of mysteries. Nobody knows for sure how it works and why certain people are born with this factor. It's still being highly researched. The only certain thing is how integral it is for the arthropods' society. A few research shows that the death of a Queen can cause mayhem to her followers as they get very aggressive, even sometimes affecting people in other colonies. A few riots broke out due to this. As such, Queen Candidates are actively sought for in event of a sudden death.

While Queens are almost identical to Queen Bees, Queen Candidates are everyone with the Queen Factor, regardless of their sub-race - the potential to become a true Queen. Sometimes they're also called Virgin Queens or Maiden Queens. While way weaker than a true, dominant Queen, they're usually quite aggressive in trying to kill their rivals. This is a problem as there are not a lot of Queen Candidates born each year.

As stated previously, due to immoral and deadly primal urges, they're deemed as dangerous, and thus gets shunned by society at large. Although they are not treated as badly as people infected with Oripathy, they're still shunned in certain countries and prejudiced in most places. It is strongly advised to hide their identities as arthropods if possible. As such, they usually hide or even erase their arthropod-like traits, color their hair, and lurk in the shadows of society.

As life is hard for arthropods, they created an organization, Gigelorum, to unify and strengthen themselves.

Dispute

Due to the competitive nature of Queens and their followers and despite their best efforts, they're always on the verge of a civil war.

Artificial Queen Project

To remedy the lack of and dwindling numbers of Queen Candidates, the research department of Gigelorum started "Artificial Queen Project". Exactly as it says, it researches Queen Factor and how to put or replicate it into someone without Queen Factor. Hana (now known as Dr. Hana of Rhodes Island) is the first successful subject, although it was done without her consent to save her life.

As of now, not everyone can be artificial Queens - they must possess a natural pheromone of any kind to be developed, such as a flower mantis. Artificial Queens aren't as powerful as true Queens. They also still have a shorter lifespan than true Queens. Some health complications came up as well. As such, the research is still going.