Peacekeepers of the Vast/Cagnid

The Cagnid are associate members of the Peacekeepers of the Vast/Peacekeepers of the Vast/Interstellar League. They display a deep sensitivity for epigenetics, leaving several base principles within their genetic code subject not just to pressures from their physical or chemical circumstances, but also to social pressures. Individual members of the Cagnid species can be pressured physically, mentally, and socially into slowly changing their physical properties. On the scale of individual members of the Cagnid, this means that their physical appearance can change to reflect not only their emotional state, if it persists long enough, but also the attitude of the people around them with whom they interact.

These physical changes affect not only their appearance and structure, but their genetic makeup, which means that the traits they take on in their lifetime are then passed on to their descendants. Over time, this has led to a fairly rigid caste system within Cagnid society, with groups of Cagnids who have drifted so far from one another genetically that they are not recognizable as being of the same species. One of the most striking aspects of this phenomenon is that the Cagnid's space program is largely organic - their space ships are literally other Cagnids who have been slowly modified over dozens of generations to adapt for space flight, albeit with the addition of mechanical components such as hyperspace drives.

If humans have interacted with Cagnids, they have either visited a Cagnid colony or world, or have met a member of the Cagnid dipolomatic caste. Cagnid diplomats are characterized by taking on physical traits more familiar and palatable to other species. As such, most Cagnids that humans are likely to meet are bipeds with two arm-appendages and a generally symmetrical, human-ish face.