[Space/Aliens] Reproductive Features: alien, exotic and weird ideas

[starslayer]

Don't nessassarily get hung up on 'male/female'.

Some microbacteria 'trade' genetic information between each other. If a species were to become intelligent but retain that early genetic ability they might have conscious control of this ability when breeding; in which case 10 goblaps get together, one of them molts a blank (a completely genetically void section of stem cells) then the ten of them take turns conferring traits until it is a whole genetic code then it starts to grow.

I'll give it my eyes, ohh your eyes are good so I will add my mathematical ability, ohh that would be an excellent pairing with my musical background...

Such a species would react to change very well as they can select the most efficent breeding traits in one generation to react to lean, and the most powerful but expensive ones in times of plenty. Depending on how strong there sense of individual rights are they might also purposely breed for tasks selecting traits suited for those tasks (Soldiers have higher 3d spatial senses, reflexes, and overall resilience) or could lead to more accountability for parenting (Why did you EVER think it was a good idea to instill your poor reflexes into your child!?!)

Another idea of note is a species that reproduces necromatically, in that they have either a mystical/psionic ability to raise the dead as a member of there own species or else grew up in close proximity to another similar enough species and developed some method of restarting a deceased corpse with new genetic data (viral or stem cell injecting that makes use of the existing framework).

Finally, viral reproduction: The major intelligent species transfers its initial genetic data to a 'host' via the injection of a powerful retro-virus, over the next while the hosts genetic data is overwritten by the virus until they too are a member of the virus species, and the process continues. Such a species might 'farm' there host species trying to instill better 'starting traits' so that once injected they result in a better 'child', or the species may have very little indemnification with there 'children' due to how little energy and resources are required to create them.