Non-alien Creatures Wiki
Yrr
Naming
Binomen N/A
Morphology
Body type Amoeboid
Average height Microscopic
Intelligence
Sentience Unknown
Sapience Sapient
Language Scent-based
Ecology
Place of origin Oceans
Habitat Aquatic
Parasitic
Status LC
Behind the Scenes
Universe The Swarm
Created by Frank Schätzing

The Yrr are an intelligent species of sea-dwelling microbes which form huge swarm-like colonies, ruled over by a queen.

Biology[]

Individually, an Yrr looks no different from any other amoeba-like cell. Colonially, however, they become a bioluminescent amorphous superorganism with numerous tentacles to swim and manipulate objects. They can also make use of their gelatinous nature to kill opponents by smothering them. As unicellulars, the Yrr release scents to communicate with each other in the swarm, indicating when it's time to merge and to split.

In each Yrr cell, the DNA acts like a brain. When new information is obtained from the environment, the cell's genetic structure is altered in such a way to store this new information. When they merge into the gestalt, individual cells trade knowledge with each other via lateral transference of genes. This method of storing information also results in the Yrr evolving in a Lamarckian fashion, as new generations will inherit the knowledge and memories of their ancestors.

Culture and society[]

The Yrr have no traditional technology, but are masters of artificial selection, being able to breed other species - both animal and microbial - for virtually any purpose. The Yrr are capable of parasitically infecting these life forms in order to control them.

History[]

The Yrr attained sapience at least 180 million years ago, during the early Jurassic period. Whether they were sapient before then is unclear, but their communication with the Independence revealed that they remembered the layout of the Earth's continents during that time. They were present during a global warming event 55 million years ago, but it is unknown if they caused it, as they would later attempt to do in the 21st century.

At some point, marine biologists discovered and cataloged Yrr cells, but mistook them for mundane amoebas and did not realize their true nature.

In the early 21st century, the yrr determined that mankind was a threat to the oceans and began to wage a genocidal campaign against them. They began by abducting fishermen and other coastal travelers to determine the details of human anatomy. After this, they began to weaponize marine life for attacks on humans. Venomous creatures began to wash up on popular beaches in huge numbers, and whales began to sink whale-watching boats. The attacks would later escalate to mass-casualty disasters. In one such incident, the yrr used modified worms to cause the collapse of the continental shelf in the North Sea, causing a tsunami that killed between two and three million people in Europe. In another, they used genetically modified crabs and lobsters to release a human-targeted strain of Pfiesteria in France and the American East Coast, resulting in millions of deaths.

Appearances[]

  • The Swarm, by Frank Schätzing (2004)