I'm rather proud of this design, even if it's an older one. I made this for a character design contest and - can you believe it - I won!

(Personal Note: 1461 words)

Okay, so Zhelo and their story are not currently being worked on, but I'll dump all their info, and everything about their world here for posterity. In case I decide to pick them up again.

GENERAL INFO

SETTING: So, Zhelo was made with a sort of space opera sci-fi kind of setting in mind. Intergalactic empires, FTL travel, space-faring, lots of different kinds of sentient aliens, etc. etc. You get the vibe.

SPECIES & SOCIETY INFO: Zhelo comes from a race of anthropoid creatures called the Jesnari. They're named after the star of their home system, Jesnar. Of course, not all Jesnari live on their home planet of Jesnar Prime anymore. They are notoriously quick to spread and reproduce, and have colonized hundreds of planets. The fate of these planets is usually to be drained of resources before the Jesnar colony moves on. For this reason, many consider the Jesnari to be pests. There is no central Jesnari authority-- it's every colony for itself out there.

They're a race of cyborgs-- in order to overcome the limitations of their natural bodies, they systematically augment the members of their society with technology that's integrated into their bodies. It's commonly known that at least 25% of a Jesnari's body is actually cybernetic. The cybernetic parts can range from brain modules, artificial limbs, built-in tools, etc. All these are, of course, implanted to aid in the function one provides in society. This is actually kind of a technological extension of something present it Jesnari biology-- they come in different "Classes" which are better suited for different roles in society. A gestating Jesnari egg can be influenced by chemical means such that it hatches an individual of a specific Class. The Colony Authorities, based on the needs of the Colony, decide how many of each Class will be born in each generation.

(Except for the Breeding Classes, almost all Jesnari are infertile. Like worker ants, these infertile classes are biologically female, but are culturally considered agender.)

The very first, and the most important, augment installed in a newly-hatched Jesnari is the "Hive Module" which unites the all Jesnari within a colony in an artificial Hivemind. Due to technological limitations, the Hive Module's range is limited to only a single planet. This is why there are no interplanetary Jesnari colonies. The "Hive Module" is somewhat similar to brain-integrated internet where one can upload and download information, and communicate with fellow colony-members, with the ease of thought. It *doesn't* actually unite them all into a single consciousness. The Hivemind is heavily regulated and monitored by the Colony Authorities. Jesnari who tamper with their Hive Module in order to avoid surveillance are considered Rogue, and are hunted down and destroyed.

SPECIES DESIGN INFO:

• Zhelo looks like a twinky bee, but not all Jesnari look like that! They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. But to keep them all looking unified I try to keep their designs inspired by insects, and have black be the major color of their organic parts, and white for their cybernetic parts.
• Zhelo is on the extreme short end for Jesnari-- they stand at about 150cm, or 4'9". Jesnari heights can vary up to about 7'0" for certain Classes.
• The glowing parts of their Cybernetics designates their Class. The cyan lights are common to all Pi-class Jesnari, that is, the intellectual class.
• All Jesnari have four eyes-- two major eyes, and two smaller "vestigial eyes" which open, close and squint in tandem with the major eyes.
• Jesnari have antennae, segmented limbs, and some of them have wings. The wings are, however, vestigial, and can't be used to fly. Just get a rocket booster augment!

CHARACTER INFO

BACKGROUND: Zhelo is from the "Dunos" Colony of Jesnari, who currently reside on the planet Dunos IV-- so named because this is the fourth planet this Colony has moved to, Dunos I-III having been cleanly stripped of all resources, and left as barren wastelands. Zhelo hatched as a Pi-class Jesnari, physically small and frail, but with the potential to develop a keen, rational mind. These are the individuals who are fated to become intellectuals-- researchers, inventors, scientists, etc. Zhelo themself early on displayed an interest in technology and software, and stood out as one who posessed both a keen, scientific mind, as well as great creativity. These traits eventually lead to them working as an inventor and programmer for the Colony Authorities, specifically inventing new cybernetic augments, making and updating the software run within the Hive Module.

STORY: Thanks to both their skill and enthusiasm, they quickly moved up the ranks and were assigned to a secretive project called Project Alpha. This project was a response to recent string of Jesnari going rogue. They were to develop a way for Hive Modules to analyze the content's of a Jesnari's mind and signal to the Authorities which individuals were more likely to go rogue. Zhelo, believing this was for the good of the Colony, and hoping always to excel at the job they've always loved, poured their heart and soul into it. 

During testing, however, Zhelo was distressed to find what they thought was some sort of software bug. Whenever they ran the software on their own Hive Module, it gave back an unbelievably high probability of going Rogue. Zhelo thought this was patently ridiculous, based on the widely spread stereotype that Rogues are highly dangerous, violent and possibly deranged. Zhelo had never wanted to harm a fellow Jesnari in their life. Zhelo informed their colleagues of the bug, and asked them to try it out and see if they could replicate it. Unbeknownst to Zhelo, their colleagues were unable to replicate it, and upon further inspection, decided there was no bug at all. Zhelo genuinely did have an extremely high Rogue Probability. They reported this to the Colony Authorities, but not before a friend warned Zhelo that the result was not a bug.

Zhelo was confused by the result, but trusted the Colony Authorities. They had been told that those with high Rogue Probabilities would undergo correctional treatment in order to be reintegrated into the Colony. Zhelo willingly turned themself in, but as they remained in custody in a Correctional Facility, they began to realize that the "correctional treatment" was just a euphemism for being executed. Zhelo uses their software expertise (as well as some of their specialized Cybernetics) to sabotage the Correctional Facility, and manages to narrowly escape execution. Now a fugitive, Zhelo realizes that their Hive Module would allow the Authorities to track them. They destroy their Hive Module, effectively proving the prediction right by going Rogue.

Throughout the story, Zhelo has to live in hiding, avoiding the Colony Authorities while making their way to the closest Space Station, where they hope to commandeer a space shuttle and escape the Colony. As this goes on, Project Alpha is completed and is rolled out as a mandatory software update for all Jesnari Hive Modules. Zhelo makes it to the Space Station and almost manages to escape, before they decide they can't just run away. Acknowledging their own responsibility for helping develop Project Alpha, Zhelo decides to stay and try to save as many fellow Jesnari unfairly doomed to execution as they possibly can.

PERSONALITY: Zhelo is very outgoing and sociable. They're something of a chatterbox-- they can go on and on unless someone tell them to shut up. They love being the center of attention. They kind of have... theater kid vibes? Like if they weren't a scientist and if art was a thing for the Jesnari, Zhelo would absolutely love to be on the stage. They genuinely love their Colony and want the best for it. That's why they like doing their job so much, because they feel they're doing something to help every single Jesnari in their Colony. They're very open-minded and creative. They're always thinking about if there's a better way to do something. They're an innovator at heart (If the Jesnari had hearts...). They're very energetic, easily excited by new ideas, throwing themself with unbridled enthusiasm into their new projects.

TRIVIA & MISC:

• This whole STORY section was made for the contest I entered Zhelo in, but I never got to use any of it!!
• The story is actually something of a backstory for Zhelo. When I first envisioned them, they were one of the few Jesnari known to have left their Colony and are well-beloved in the community of Jesnari Colony-defectors as someone who risks their life to help others escape. I might make a tab for Post-Defection Zhelo.
• The title I thought up for the story was "system.debug()" Pun intended
• Their design is inspired by bees, ants, and yellow-jackets... And I don't know if you can tell, but their silhouette is inspired by Tracer from Overwatch.