 November 22, 2011 - 9:24am | By Bradley McMillian (recovered from a defunct SF site) Song of the Vrusk: An Artist's Reflections The Vrusk Respiratory System The Vrusk respiratory system is an outgrowth of the Vrusk nervous system (both run the length of the 'bug'). The Vrusk's spiracles are lengthy, hollow tubes which run from the underbelly up into the Vrusk's body to a muscle that serves as the Vrusk's diaphragm. All along these hollow tubes are smaller tubes (capillaries) that carry oxygen to all the other areas of the Vrusk's body where oxygen is diffused into the blood stream. The spiracles are capped externally by a flap-like membrane and internally by a piston-like muscle. The piston-like muscles pull air into the lungs and expel carbon dioxide, while the flap-like membranes serve a similar function to the human epiglottis (i.e., it prevents foreign objects from entering the vrusk's lungs and prevents the vrusk from suffocating in dust storms, drowning, etc.). Vrusk Song Vrusk have control over each individual spiracle in much the same way that humans have control over their breathing if they actively try to do so. This level of control allows the Vrusk to make a variety of whistling noises. These whistling noises in combination with mandible clicks comprise Vrusk speech. Vrusk singing is accomplished by relaxing or tensing the external spiracle membrane and building up levels of pressure by speeding up or slowing down the internal piston-like movements. This level of control takes a great deal of practice (much like human singers have to practice breath control and the like), but essentially makes Vrusk into living instruments (the noise that is produced sounds similar to the noise one makes when blowing across the top of a bottle). A fair range of tone and pitch can be produced with appropriate practice. In addition, Vrusk musicians occasionally work in mandible sounds for percussive effects. As the Vrusk became more technologically sophisticated, various harnesses and other devices were constructed to make use of the Vrusk's natural talents (e.g., a harness with tubes that cover half of the Vrusk's spiracles and acts similar to an accordion with the vrusk's natural breathing process acting as the bladder motion. This harness can also be hooked into a synthesizer, which allows for additional accompaniment and/or alters the Vrusk's natural body sounds). I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 2, 2011 - 9:52am |  I'm still on it too  metagaming is the GM caveat [imho] and this fills that niche.Oh humans!!  We discover a galactic community filled with multiple species of aliens, and the first thing we think about is "how can we have sex with them?".~ anymoose, somewhere on the net... so... if you square a square it becomes a cube... if you square a cube does it become an octoid? |
