The CONSUMIDORO continued...
The
consumidoro can be very roughly divided into two general categories, the lone predators and the subtle subversives. There is some limited overlap between these two groups, and the latter sometimes direct the activities of the former, often without the knowledge of the former, but sometimes in knowing cooperation. The 'lone' predators sometimes operate in small groups, as well, though this is definitely the exception rather than the rule. It would be rare predators who operated in a group bigger than three or four, and the large majority operate alone.
The predators are more purely monstrous, in a physical way, than the subversives. They often display visible somatic mutations, some come to appear rather inhuman. They more often than not display physical 'augmentations' that make them more dangerous in combat, or more effective as predatory creatures. They can be
extremely dangerous in melee combat, or as a threat to individual humans, but they are rarely dangerous to large groups or organized societies.
The subtle subversives more often than not look completely human, and some display no physical changes at all, though most do possess some
subtle physical enhancements. They may well display intellectual abilities that are not within normal human ranges, and often possess strange paraphysical abilities as well (though never true psionic powers, see below).
Either variety of
consumidoro remains entirely mortal, and fully capable of dying by violence or other forms of harm. Many
consumidoro are extremely long-lived, however, some are recorded to have survived for several centuries. The most common cause of death among the
consumidoro is violence, from any of several sources, or accident.
Still, the
consumidoro do have finite lifespans, though exactly how long they can live is difficult to ascertain, since so few die naturally.
As noted above, no
consumidoro ever does or can display psionic powers. This is linked to their very nature.
As the Malignium changes potential
consumidoro, it is also devouring the psychic essence that is part of what makes them human. This is one of the roots of the term 'consumidoro', and has as a side-effect the removal of the latent psionic potential all normal human beings possess. With that inner essence consumed and gone, the potential for psionic power is also gone. If an active psion becomes a
consumidoro, his or her psionic powers will not survive the transformation process.
More fundamentally, this psychic essence is tightly linked to the biological life processes, its absence would normally be fatal. In the
consumidoro, however, life continues because the Malignium continues to supply the necessary support in place of the native life essence.
[1]
The original mind remains present and controls the body, but mind and body can remain integrated and operational only so long as the Malignium maintains this supporting power. If it is interrupted, even momentarily, or withdrawn by the Malignium, the
consumidoro will expire
immediately.
The changes made by the Malignium in the process of creating a
consumidoro are both physical and mental, though the mix varies according to the individual case and the general category. The Malignium can and does stimulate the cells of a
consumidoro to make substantial changes to the external appearance and (to a lesser degree) the internal structure and organization of the new
consumidoro. Still, fairly hard limits to this ability do exist.
The Malignium can not cause the body to radically transform its structure, it must remain a mammalian biped, it can not transform into an animal, or grow wings and fly. Muscles can be bulked up and/or made denser, skin can be made tougher, but within biological limits. The body can be made to grow new teeth, in different shapes than natural human teeth, but not to grow a beak, or baleen. The body can be covered entirely in dense fur, or scale-like deposits, but not true scales.
Since the physical transformation can be continued over time, an older creature may show considerably greater changes than a new one, because more time has been available for the transformation process to unfold.
To be continued...
[1:] There is a remote similarity to the process for creating 'Antediluvian Revenants', as described here:
http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread...evenant&page=3