From the Mutain setting, created by Mu Official.

Skivit Species Introduction

Pictured above: (Left) Samek Kaleeli, knight of the Sanctari Tribe, legacy skivit handler. (Right) Meulin Geiger, skivit of the Sanctari Tribe, aether radiation detecting becsquirrel.

Skivits are a species of genetically engineered creatures. They are created by the bio engineers of the Imalbus Tribe, and supplied to other factions throughout the Solant Nebula. They are used as an alternative to non-organic devices, or in applications for which no non-organic device exists. Most skivits resemble three foot tall, bipedal versions of small mammals. They possess a level of intelligence similar to that of humans. However, all skivits suffer from a debilitating psychological condition called skiviticosis. This appears to be an intentional feature, designed to make them dependent upon their human handlers.

Every skivit has a special ability, which is of incalculable value to the group of humans they are designed to serve. These abilities are often based on science which only the Imalbus Tribe understand. Examples of these abilities include:

>Radiation vision. The ability to see a type of electromagnetic radiation as if it was visible light. Some skivits can see forms of radiation which cannot be detected by any non-organic device.

>Deep sensing. The ability to perceive things which are hidden from all normal forms of detection. For example, locating a person who is hidden in a cave, somewhere in a vast tract of wilderness.

>Psyonics. The ability to directly transfer information between minds. For example, entanglement, the ability of a pair of identical twin skivits to communicate in real time, regardless of intervening distance and obstacles, and with no possibility of the signal being intercepted.

>Synthesis. The ability for the skivit to produce a certain substance within their body, which can then be extracted, using a permanently implanted catheter. Examples include; substances which cannot be produced by any other known process, substances which have to be produced when and where they are needed, due to their short shelf life, and live cell cultures, such as blood for transfusions. Skivits who’s synthesis abilities are used in a medical context, are referred to as pharmanimals.

>Traversal. The ability to rapidly traverse terrain which is difficult for humans. Examples include climbing, swimming, levitation and crawling through tight spaces.

>Pursuit. War beasts are large quadrupedal skivits, used by the police and military to chase down fugitives.

>Charm. In addition to their special abilities, many skivits possess characteristics which make them good at influencing human emotions. Skivits used in industry can be used to make instructional videos and product presentations more engaging. Pharmanimals can let patients hold and pet them, calming the patients and promoting recovery. And the unnatural appearance and cries of war beasts, have a devastating psychological effect on their prey.

These are just a few representative examples. The Imalbus Tribe don’t disclose what organizations they have worked with, or what kind of skivits those organizations have commissioned them to create. So no one outside the tribe has a complete list of skivit abilities.

Due to the physical and psychological differences between skivits and humans, skivits cannot function as normal citizens within human society. For this reason, every skivit must have a legally designated human handler. A skivit will effectively become a member of their handler's family, occupying a position similar to that of a teenage child, albeit one who will never be accepted into adulthood. The bond between a handler and their skivit can become so close, that they begin unconsciously copying each other’s body language.

Because of the way that skivits are integrated into their handlers’ families, it is necessary for them to be designed with the most non-threatening appearance possible. Designs exist based on foxes, rabbits, pygmy goats, ferrets, squirrels and many other creatures that humans find endearing. Designs of skivit are referred to as breeds. However, they are not created through selective breeding, and skivits are, in fact, incapable of natural reproduction.

Skivit metabolism is similar to that of a hummingbird; fast, and powered mostly by sugar. This has several implications for them:

>Foods that are considered sugary snacks or desserts for humans, are essential parts of a healthy diet for skivits.

>They need to have several short sleeps throughout the day, in addition to a long sleep at night.

>When they are well fed and well rested, they are capable of impressive athleticism. They are able to run at thirty miles an hour, and climb almost as fast.

>Their normal body temperature is higher than that of humans. So they feel warm to the touch, like a warm hot water bottle in a furry cover.


Zemyna is a planet located somewhere outside the Solant Nebula. The only people who know how to navigate to and from it, are a select few members of the Imalbus Tribe. No human outside of the Imalbus Tribe has ever visited Zemyna.

All skivits are created at a facility on Zemyna. They are then raised and educated at various institutions across Zemyna, which are collectively referred to as The Zemyna Academy. When they are around sixteen years old, they undergo a procedure which suppresses their memories of their individual existence up to that point, leaving only the general knowledge and skills that they will need to perform their intended functions. They are then delivered to whatever organization in the Solant Nebula commissioned them.

It should be noted, that despite their neotenic appearance, most of the skivits in the nebula are actually teenagers or adults. By the age of thirteen, skivits have already reached their final height, at about three feet four inches (not counting the ears).

Handlers can be categorized into two broad groups:

>Ownership handlers believe that skivits are a perfectly satisfactory and ethical solution for the tasks for which they were designed.

>Legacy handlers see skivits as a legacy technology. Something which may have been a necessary evil at one point in human history; but which humanity should have developed a more practical and ethical alternative to by now. They accuse the Imalbus Tribe of using methods such as data hoarding, patent trolling, industrial sabotage and even assassinations, to prevent other factions from developing competing technologies. Legacy handlers try to give their skivits as much freedom as possible. However, the fact remains, that skivits are vulnerable, mentally disabled individuals, living in a society which seeks only to manipulate and exploit them. Also, there are many essential tasks in human society, which at the moment, can still only be accomplished through the use of skivits. So if the use of skivits was abolished right now, the consequences for humanity would be disastrous. So the legacy handlers cannot give their skivits complete personal autonomy.

Ownership handlers dismiss the legacy movement as a bunch of luddites and technophobes, who will never be satisfied with anything science has to offer them. They explain the apparent campaign of terrorism against the Imalbus Tribe’s competitors, as being the work of animal and skivit rights extremists, who oppose all research into organic technology.

Author’s notes:

This is my second complete digital artwork.

Creating this was an absolute ordeal. Just about every problem that could arise, did. The end result is far from perfect. But I’m just glad to be able to call it finished.

Interview with a skivit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g8.....E&index=73