The chal are a species of parasitic worms, with a thousand-year reputation for being bodysnatchers. Much of the universe is (rightfully) wary of what scattered population of them still wander the stars, but humans have a useful advantage——they are biologically incompatible with chal composition, and so can walk freely among them without having to worry about being tomorrow's stylish new look.
Of course, if you suggested to Az that he might want to steal your body, he'd laugh in your face. Between cultural reform and anti-body-theft laws, most Chal have little interest in taking living 'donors', especially with machine bodies available to be customized. If anything, Az is enjoying living in human space, where the finer things in life are all but overflowing if you know where to look. And as a member of the species that graced humanity with the biotech that powers their space travel, even his mid-tier experience level with it makes him a qualified expert with a sparkling resumé.
He currently puts that advantage to work on New Monaco, a pleasure planet that is known for many, many things, but quite prominently its skimracing. It's a destination for anyone looking for work in the cutting edge of biotech, and it's where Az now finds himself as an advisor to the young owner of a newly revived team, offering his understanding of the field and market to his inexperienced client.... or, more often, tailing her as she goes about her day and keeping her out of general trouble. It fills more time than he would prefer.... but every moment spent steering her away from baffling impulse decisions is a moment paid in overtime, so he's not exactly complaining. It gives him an opportunity to see into the strangely cartoonish world of human skimracing as well, a giant spectacle that has the same powerful magnetism as a flaming car crash in his humble opinion.
When not shepherding his wayward client or bothering the drivers on his team, he does his best to sample a bit of everything that human society has to offer. He figures someday he'll be following the old chal convention of joining his body with a space ship and becoming something more than just an individual——so he'd better have his fun while he still can!
- The large, exposed teeth of his faceplate are not particularly conducive to easy eating. He knew this when he commissioned his custom body, but does it really matter if it means you look cool?
- He hides a set of mandible-like appendages and a huge 'tongue', which is actually a dextrous proboscis. No need to put a straw in his drink, he's got it, thanks. Leave the tiny umbrella though.
- Like all chal, Az is able to change sex depending on the other chal around him (automatically, not at will). They have different ideas about sex and gender because of this, but Az doesn't seem to care and has settled just fine into being a man in human society.
- He dislikes driving, mostly because the vehicles are a bit too.... small. Public transport or pickup is fine by him.
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