| Gem | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Naming | |||
| Original | 宝石 | ||
| Romanization | 'Hōseki' | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Humanoid | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Sapient | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Habitat | Island | ||
| Diet | Light | ||
| Locomotion | Bipedal | ||
| Lifespan | Immortal | ||
| Related species | Admirabilis Lunarian Human | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Houseki no Kuni | ||
| Created by | Haruko Ichikawa | ||
Gems are a race of immortal humanoid beings composed entirely of gemstone.
Appearance and Physiology[]
Physically almost all gems share a similar body type – that of a slender, sexless humanoid. The main exception is Kongo-sensei , their leader and mentor, who appears as a much taller, muscular and masculine figure. Each gem is made of a particular kind of polished gemstone – such as diamond, amethyst etc. They coat their bodies with white powder, covering up their natural color and giving the impression of normal skin. Their hair, eyes and finger/toenails remain uncovered.
In place of head hair they have “hair-like crystallisations” which are flexible like human hair and unlike the rest of their solid bodies. As a result the gems sport a variety of hairstyles. They appear to lack teeth or tongues.
Gems are animated by microorganisms called “inclusions”, which infuse their whole body. Inclusions are responsible for many of the functions normally performed by the nervous system in flesh-and-blood creatures, including thought and memory storage. Memories are stored throughout the entire body, and the loss of a part of their body will also result in the loss of whatever memories were contained in that part. Destruction of the head or torso invariably leads to unconsciousness; the gem doesn’t die but merely enters a dormant state until they are reassembled.
Reattaching a severed part is a matter of gluing the part back on – even gems who have been shattered into pieces can simply be put back together like broken pottery, and will function as normal. Because of this they are essentially immortal.
Gems do not eat or drink; they require only sunlight for energy, and become lethargic in its absence. This effect is especially pronounced during the winter months, when sunlight isn’t as available. During this period most of the gems must hibernate; with some exceptions like Antarcticite and Phosphophyllite being able to endure the lack of light through practice/sheer willpower.
Gems’ combat ability is typically determined by their hardness and/or toughness, with the diamonds in particular being the most capable fighters. However some relatively fragile gems (e.g. Antarcticite) exhibit considerable fighting skills to compensate for their weakness.
As inorganic beings gems are not adversely affected by temperature extremes that would be uncomfortable or lethal to biological organisms. As such they have no need for artificial heating or insulation to keep themselves warm; with the wearing of clothing being a purely cultural phenomenon.
Gems do not reproduce. Instead they are formed by a kind of abiogenetic process at the Shore of Nascency. They emerge from the rock as crystals, some of which have attained a vaguely humanoid form. These humanoid gems are then found by Sensei, who carves and shapes them into a more human-like form.
It is revealed by Ventricosus that gems, admirabilis and lunarians are all evolutionary offshoots of humanity ; which explains why they so closely resemble humans both physically and mentally.
Psychology[]
As immortal and ageless beings, gems have no real concept of death. Even those gems who have been abducted and taken to the Moon are understood to not be lost forever, as they are immortal and there is at least a possibility of them being returned or otherwise reunited with the remaining gems. Nevertheless some gems do become devastated when one of their kind is taken, especially if they were the gem’s partner.
All the gems love and are utterly devoted to their Sensei, and have a strong familial bond with each other. They tend to act childish and immature under certain circumstances, regardless of their original personality. When experiencing great emotional stress their faces and/or entire bodies physically crack; depending on the strength of the emotion they may even begin to fall apart. Only two gems are capable of shedding “tears”; the first is Phosphophyllite using their platinum/gold alloy as fluid, the second is Cinnabar using their mercury.