The Flesh 7

The Flesh 7 are a race of cyborgs. What this means for them is that they have organic bodies and mechanical brains. They are both built and born. New brains are manufactured out of various parts and given the proprietary boot code. While this is going on, an adult whelps a mindless, near formless creature called a null. The new brain is then installed into the null and the newborn flesh 7 begins to take control of its new organic body.

The Flesh 7 occupy a curious place in galactic hierarchy.  Though in theory their electronic minds should endear them to machine civilization, their enthusiasm for their fleshy bodies  makes them pariahs among the robotic races. This same enthusiasm distances them from organic life as well; the typical Flesh 7 has a carnality that can make more prudish organics uncomfortable.  The reason they are so in touch with their bodies is because of hormone channels in their brains; they experience the something quite similar to an organic being's messy soup of emotion. When combined with the systemic logic of their machine brains this leads to a determined and principled hedonism.

Despite this, the Flesh 7 are not total slaves to their bodies. They can enter into a cocoon and remake their organic parts, in a process they refer to as "reforging."  During reforging they can choose their morphology, their metabolism, even their erogenous zones. Most Flesh 7 choose body plans that are within the morphological norm for the society they live in. The default body plan is a sort of floppy reptile.

The Flesh 7 are spread throughout the galaxy in a loose assortment of clans. They lack a central racial polity, instead choosing to integrate into local societies. Many Flesh 7 choose to wander the galaxy, traveling from place to place in search of wealth and adventure. They have a body of information they call the Records of the Flesh, which is a garbled collection of historical information, some of it said to be from before the advent of their race. The problem is that much of it is encoded in metaphor and anecdotes, so that intense study is required to make sense of it.  Many clans have become rich when they have uncovered some lost relic from the deep past, while some have fruitlessly searched for some hidden legend or other. If the Flesh 7 can be said to have a racial goal beyond hedonism and treasure hunting, it is the extermination of the Flesh 6

The Flesh 6 is a type of computer virus, one that targets spaceships almost exclusively. It seeks to subvert the life support systems first, not so that it can kill the crew, rather it wishes to make minions. Most life support systems make use of living organisms to keep the ship's interior fresh and stable. If not, the virus targets any med bays or cloning facilities.  The goal is to gain a foothold in the material world. Once they've grown an army they take over the ship and turn it into a meaty nightmare. Then they search out other flesh 6 ships to join up with. In their heyday there were planetoid sized  Flesh 6 clusters drifting through space, devouring anything that got too close. Their fortunes have waned with the rise of the Flesh 7. The Flesh 7 hate the 6 and have waged a fairly successful campaign of extermination. Now the flesh 6 can only be found in the darkest, most remote corners of the galaxy. The 7 will pay good money for tips that lead to the location of any 6 infested ships.

Planets

Cheese Covered Planet is one of the few planets under direct Flesh 7 control. It has earned its place in their culture due to its unique ecosystem. The trees here weep nutrient rich sap, which congeals and ferments in the soil, leading to creamy, cheese like loam. Flesh 7 adore its flavor and mouthfeel and eat it by the bucketful. The planet is ruled by the Cheese Covered Planet cheese syndicate, which is a large commercial interest that oversees cheese exports.

If there are secrets to be had be uncovered about the origins of the Flesh 7, they are to be found on Undefined Planet. At least that’s what the Flesh 7 believe. The reason Undefined Planet has remained almost entirely unexplored is because of its dangerous and downright spooky biosphere. The Fauna here, known as the Flesh Undefined, are all cybernetic, much like the Flesh 7. This means they have preternatural intelligence and electronic warfare capabilities. There are only two settlements on the planet. One is a monastery deep in a mountainous desert where Flesh 7 scholars ponder the finer details of the Records of the Flesh. There are few large animals here, so there are only sporadic attacks by desert predators. The other settlement is a heavily armed encampment near an ancient ruin in a primeval forest. Here, teams of researchers accompanied by armed guards make furtive expeditions to discover the secrets of the planet. Attrition is high.

Kentar station is a new project by eccentric flesh 7 billionaire Flarg. Designed as the next stage of Flesh 7 society, every object and creature has an imbedded electronic interface. Here, the Flesh 7 can take full advantage of their electronic brains without sacrificing their physicality. The plan is to have a full cybernetic ecosystem under the control of the stations residents, but the control interface is buggy and unreliable.

Personalities 

Flarnt is the cheese syndicate executive in charge of shadowed City, which is built under an ancient crashed space craft. The interior of the craft is clogged with cheese like goo, infamous for its exotic and dangerous properties. In addition to her other duties, Flarnt is a contact for the black cheese club, an intergalactic cheese smuggling ring. She hires teams of outside contractors to explore the ship and harvest rare cheeses.

Tork is an elderly solider who has been stationed on Undefined Planet for years. He has lost scores of comrades to the Flesh undefined. In particular, one of his lovers had their mind stolen when they were exploring the planet's dim and strange infosphere. Lately, he's been hearing their voice in his head, leading him to a spot deep in the wilds. He's been trying to put together an expedition, but most of the locals see it as a fool's errand.

Flarg earned his fortune working for the cheese syndicate, but he has grown dissatisfied pedaling cheese to his fellows. He dreams of making a new homeworld for his race, and place where they can grow and refine themselves. He has begun to buy his own hype, and see himself as the father of his people