◒

Taynix

From The Coppermind
Revision as of 09:25, 30 June 2020 by LadyLameness (talk | contribs) (Slight rewording and removing quotation marks as they're not necessary.)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Coppermind has spoilers for all of Brandon's published works, now including The Sunlit Man. Information about books that have not yet been released, like Stormlight 5, is allowed only on meta-pages for the books themselves. For more details, see our spoiler policy. To view an earlier version of the wiki without spoilers for a book, go to the Time Machine!

Taynix
Doomslug.png
by Isaac Stewart
Abilities Cytonics
World of Origin Cambri
Universe Cytoverse
This page or section needs to be updated with new information for Starsight!
Be aware that in its current state, it may not include all additional content yet.

The taynix are a species of slugs with cytonic abilities.[1]

Appearance and Anatomy

Taynix are somewhat blobby, and about the size of a loaf of bread, but flatter.[2] They have bright yellow skin and small, blue, somewhat stiff spines along their backs, though there may be coloration differences between individuals.[3] They are not slimy to the touch, feeling tough like leather, but with a soft, springy consistency.[4][5] While they do not have eyes or any components of a face, they can still perceive their environment, probably through sound and scent.[6]

Behavior

Taynix are able to make fluting and trilling noises with their spines[2][7] using different tones, and sometimes do so to express emotion.[4][8] They are capable of recreating a wide variety of sounds, as they often parrot words said to them, as well as other sounds like grunts, groans, and whistles.[9][10][7] They are of above animal intelligence,[11] and Doomslug occasionally corrects Spensa's grammar.[8] Taynix can also give off a cytonically detectable sound that is similar to soft music. This sound, while only perceptible to cytonics, can be used to find out their location over long distances.[12]

Taynix can move by crawling.[2] They can also teleport with their cytonic ability, though they never do so when being watched.[13][14][15] Taynix are able to handle heavy gravitational forces, responding by going rigid and hunkering down, though they do not seem to enjoy the experience.[4]

Ecology

According to the Superiority, the taynix are originally from the planet Cambri,[16] though they have since migrated to other planets. They have been found on Detritus and the kitsen homeworld.[12][17] Little is known about their natural living conditions, except that their diet consists mostly of fungi. Consequently, they are often found near such organisms.[1][6]

Uses

Taynix have an innate cytonic ability to travel through the dimension of the delvers, and are used by the Superiority as hyperdrives that do not risk drawing the delvers into the universe.[1] To do so, a cage containing a taynix is inserted into a Superiority hyperdrive. During a hyperjump, the taynix produces a cytonic scream, which distracts the delvers from the passing ship.[18] This scream is apparently only perceptible for beings with cytonic abilities.[19] Cytonics onboard can, intentionally or unintentionally, interfere with the ship's hyperjump process and cause a malfunction, which is usually resolved by replacing the taynix in use with a new one.[5][15] Engineers can be reluctant to swap in a fresh taynix, though, because doing so leads to a lot of paperwork.[20]

History

Prior to the rise of the Superiority, humans were likely aware of the cytonic powers of the taynix; Commander Spears' order to M-Bot to look for mushrooms was likely because he was trying to find a taynix to power his cytonic hyperdrive.[1]

In order to cover up the taynix's role in cytonic hyperdrives and maintain a monopoly over FTL travel across the galaxy, the Superiority claims the taynix are highly venomous invasive species.[16][1] The Superiority also sends out teams to exterminate taynix that in reality are presumably collecting the taynix in order to power their hyperdrives.[17]

During her exploration of the Detritus caves, Spensa finds a taynix which she nicknames Doomslug and keeps as a pet.[2]

Immediately before the invasion of Detritus, Jorgen finds a colony of several hundred taynix deep in the caves of Detritus.[12]

Notable Taynix

Notes

  1. ↑ a b c d e Starsight chapter 34#
  2. ↑ a b c d Skyward chapter 12#
  3. ↑ Orem Signing
    — Arcanum - 2019-03-16#
  4. ↑ a b c Starsight chapter 3#
  5. ↑ a b Starsight chapter 24#
  6. ↑ a b Starsight chapter 18#
  7. ↑ a b Starsight chapter 7#
  8. ↑ a b Starsight chapter 9#
  9. ↑ Skyward chapter 16#
  10. ↑ Skyward chapter 22#
  11. ↑ DragonCon 2019
    — Arcanum - 2019-08-29#
  12. ↑ a b c Starsight epilogue#
  13. ↑ Skyward chapter 15#
  14. ↑ Skyward chapter 30#
  15. ↑ a b Starsight chapter 33#
  16. ↑ a b Starsight chapter 27#
  17. ↑ a b Starsight chapter 39#
  18. ↑ Starsight chapter 20#
  19. ↑ Starsight chapter 21#
  20. ↑ Starsight chapter 31#
This article is still missing information. Please help The Coppermind by expanding it.
Retrieved from "https://coppermind.net/wiki/Taynix?&oldid=125601"