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[Tyrant Leviathan]

On Necrons: Depends on the lore. Usually they are weaponized race of Star Gods that opposes the Warp. Hence anti warp tech ( the gate at casita was of their design.)

And yeah the warp is “the soul” of the material universe. Just fed up ten ways to Sunday.

[wierd]

Emotions evolved as a means to perform a "Decision" automatically, and adapted into behavior controlling/modifying internal signals that improve survival.

Seeking out a companion because you are lonely, improves the chances of copulation, for instance.  Mutual collaborative efforts improve the survival rates of both participants, as another.  Thus, the urge to seek a companion has a strong survival bonus to the organism, even if that companionship is not sexual.

I am thinking that our nervous systems will be electrochemical, with semiconductor junctions, and should exploit energy gradients from saline substances being dissolved in our silicon chloride base solvent. (As opposed to sodium, potassium, and calcium ions being dissolved in water based solute in terrestrial life.)  This would make us somewhat of a bizzare mash up between a lithium salt battery, a solar collector, a conventional computer, and an electrolysis bath.

This would give us a bonus to grafting artificially constructed conventional computer components to our nervous systems, as long as their energy draw and heat production did not overtax our physiology. (We need the bio-electricity to drive our high-energy metabolism)

We may or may not have "instinctual programming", that results from a structural basis (wire based programming similar to ROM, that gets produced as part of our embryonic development), which strongly colors our decision making processes, and would serve a similar function to emotions in terrestrial lifeforms. 

[Ardent Debater]

The trade-off with silicon is that its structural composition offers strength and durability that would be difficult to match without significant adaptions from carbon, but makes it difficult to survive indefinitely on carbon-based biospheres, as the carbon is incompatible with the digestive system designed to interface with a silicon-base. There's nothing preventing a silicon species from making appendage-lengths onto an alien planet or even breathing the atmosphere, if the chemicals their respiratory systems require are present in reasonable amounts, but a silicon species can't settle a world with a carbon-based biosphere without first replacing it with their own silicon system or finding a workaround.

They are rocks, yes, but they are living, respirating organisms and would have as much difficulty colonizing a barren stone as a carbon species. The problem is that carbon will have already established a near-monopoly on habitable worlds in the same orbital range as the species' home-world by the time the species is likely to reach a spacefaring state, which requires an additional step to the [Planet_Name]forming process. Neither are inherently more or less difficult, their biospheres are just incompatible. If anything, a silicon species would have an easier time handling some extremes of temperature, and withstanding a carbon environment isn't made any harder by their much more durable forms, but sustaining their alien chemistry indefinitely is where the complications arise.

Ok, 1. you really don't need to put all of your OOC comments in spoilers, and 2. ...is just eating rocks and metals not an option? I'm pretty sure there's lithovores even on Earth.
Or at least, figuring out how to process rocks and the like into edible forms.

Spoiler:  GM Note (click to show/hide)

I know I don't have to by any means, but it prevents my constant rambling from clogging the thread and serves as a nice, "formal" distinction between OOC tangents and IC updates. Nothing more than a personal preference, really, if you'd all prefer I posted normally I'd be fine with following suit, this is just generally my default. Evolving to consume rocks and minerals is a plenty viable option, especially given how mineral-dense the species' home-world is, but for a silicon life-form might be the equivalent to grazing, though speaking of food sources, there are some radiovores we're aware of. There's no hard rule against evolving to counter the complications of a chemical base largely alien to the broader galaxy or sidestepping them completely, to a further extent I absolutely encourage it, but approaching interplanetary colonization from a silicon foundation requires a different perspective from carbon. Where the Imperium could plant a few hundred thousand boots on a jungle planet and wait a few generations, there's no telling how a silicon species that hasn't even taken shape yet would approach the same.

Having completely incompatible chemistry would *mostly* be vulnerable to, say, reactions that proceed differently in the wrong kind of atmosphere. For example, something that lives in a freakishly lithium-rich environment might have *serious* problems entering an oxygen atmosphere when their body's own chemistry is turned against them.

Spoiler:  GM Note (click to show/hide)

Correct, this is generally overlooked in 40k, but I've always assumed that was because of the human viewpoint and Terraforming that went on during the Dark Age of Technology. A silicon species could very well have respiratory issues, but likely no more than a carbon species that breathes the same air but prefers a radically different chemical ratio.

A funny thing is that although the human body reacts badly to living transplants, it actually reacts fairly well to cybernetics made with proper materials. Look up the results of Kevin Warwick's Project Cyborg experiments for more, but the short of it is that the nervous system and the brain both reacted with "sure, I guess" when hooked up to an electrode array controlling a machine. The Mechanicus may not be so far-fetched as you'd think...

Not that this helps us, unless this species gets the same kind of cybernetic adaptability.

Spoiler:  GM Note (click to show/hide)

The mere existence of Servitors on such a massive scale is more than enough evidence of that. I've always thought it's fascinating just how horrifying the Imperium is, not from an internal, human perspective which is already bad enough, but an external alien culture trying to come to terms with... well, everything.

autochemotrophs are a thing.  They mostly live in the deep ocean in hot water vents that are filled with reduced sulfur compounds, but in an irradiated environment, a strong scouring UV source that breaks atomic bonds down (and thus produces energetic free radicals that can then be used for metabolic purposes) could enable a plethora of inorganic substances to be used as chemical energy sources.  It would mean that our biology would be very high-energy resistant, and thus would need pretty strongly chemically active materials to use as food. (Strong acids, highly reactive alkaline earth metals, corrosive gasses like chlorine, etc) that form very strong bonds, and have strong bond energies. (Otherwise the solar radiation would degrade our organism as well!)

I am thinking this:

Silicon based life that uses chlorine instead of oxygen. Perhaps with silicon tetrachloride + water reaction to produce silicon oxide and hydrochloric acid as waste product.  The water should be the result of internal chemistry from the decomposition of minerals, via UV radiation, in a process similar to photosynthesis. (in that a high energy radiation source is harnessed as an energy source to produce substances inside a lifeform. In this case, it is the harsh high energy particles and UV light from our star.) This would allow us to produce a silicondioxide exoskeleton, (or a complex of compound silicates to exploit chirality and crystal structures to create something both flexible and highly resistant to radiation, external sources of water, and mechanical attack)

This kind of metabolism would enable us to have a ready supply of "Highly deadly" waste we could employ against ordinary lifeforms. 

Since chlorine is so reactive, suggest we consume it in the form of rare-earth salts, and to have evolved to consume such salts in crystallized form, as well as adaptations (evolutionary) to consume strongly saline water (despite the toxicity of the water.)

Flavor description: Exoskeleton replete with microscopic ridges and structures between secreted silicate mineral crystal type boundaries, which capture and absorb high energy photons, and convert that energy directly into internal electrical potentials. (Photovoltaics, and the like.)  (see also, this article about how adding these to silicon based photo cells improves their performance.) This would make our appearance very "Prismatic", similar to the "Structural colors" found in blue insects, or on peacock feathers.

Basically-- We eat salt, and rocks.  We exhale/urinate concentrated hydrochloric acid solution as a metabolic biproduct.  We utilize the rare-earth minerals and silicon compounds in the surrounding regolith, along with the ever-present high energy radiation from our star to perform this chemistry.  Our internals are liquid solutions suspended in silicon chloride solution. Water is theoretically toxic to us, but our exoskeletons prevent exposure from outside sources being harmful to us, and our digestive systems produce water in trace amounts as a biproduct, necessitating their resistance to it.  We do not respire in the normally conventional way; We expel a vapor/mist as a waste product, but do not inhale.  We metabolize some of the water our primary energy consumption mechanism produces to create silicon rubbers, and other flexible materials for our internal body structures. Our exoskeletons are thick, and ornate in appearance, with a shimmering prismatic quality, due to their use as both environmental protection and as an energy harvesting organ.  Nanostructures in the exoskeleton force lower energy photons to be re-emitted as higher energy ones, (shorter wavelengths) by acting as naturally occuring nanoscopic waveguides. To humans, our appearance is black and iridescent.   Our optical systems are adapted to use higher frequencies of light than humans. We utilize light in the ultraviolet and Xray spectra. We appear translucent to other members of our species.

Downside:  We *NEED* the high energy environment to survive.  Being naked in space poses little trouble to us aside from temperature and internal pressure regulation; we do not breathe, and the harsh, unfiltered radiation of a star is our food. Requirement of chloride minerals limits our ability to move to naked planetoids. (Without an atmosphere to help recycle those compounds via reaction with a local regolith, we would quickly run out of metabolic material and starve to death, despite being surrounded by otherwise edible rocks. HCl is a gas, and would escape into space without a suitably strong gravity well, and atmosphere.) As such, we still need "Biospheres", and space suits.

Spoiler:  GM Note (click to show/hide)

Because neither Oxygen or Exotic Atmosphere was chosen, I actually intended on having the species breathe chlorine, so I suppose the cat's out of the bag now. Everything you've detailed is not only brilliant but more than possible, assuming certain decisions in determining the specifics of the distant evolutionary ancestor and everything you determine during the progress that goes on from there. Regardless, should you come head-to-xenos equivalent, I strongly doubt Mars would find its atomics to be of much use. For a species that evolved in an environment most sapients would consider a Tomb World for the background... Your evolutionary descendants could likely get as inordinate in nuclear ordnance as they pleased.

So wait a moment the fungus Orks, the Skynet kill all organic robotic Necrons, and the Flood-knock off Nids (I simply jest ) are all immune to Chaos because they don’t have any emotions and whatnot; so would it be possible to create a Silicion species that can’t feel or display any emotion besides pure calculating logical thinking result in them having the possibility of being immune or gaining a high level of resistance level to being corrupted?, that just seems to make the Rocky-bois the better pick imo.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/9txkrz/because_chaos_can_corrupt_anything_with_emotion/

Spoiler:  GM Note (click to show/hide)

It would be possible to eschew emotion during the evolutionary process, but Chaos has a way of assimilating mechanical or even conventionally mindless things, as seen in many cases of AI and otherwise inanimate vehicles being overrun with daemonic taint. That could improve your resistance, to be sure, but so could driving society toward monasticism or leaning toward a mindset that doesn't fall under the purview of the Ruinous Powers. I'd say the Thyrrus are one such example, but... almost everything about them screams that they've fallen to the Lord of Excess or were never free to begin with to me. MetalSlimeHunt gave a very good explanation.

Silicon entities might still produce chemicals analogous to hormones, thus giving the ability to feel emotions. (Hormones govern our emotions. To me, it wouldn't be farfetched for silicon based species to have similar processes)
On the note of emotions, why do animals on Terra have them? I'm a human and don't really know why we have them in the first place. Like, I know other animals have them too, My question is why emotions evolved in animals on Terra in the first place, and why they stayed.

Spoiler:  GM Note (click to show/hide)

Everyone else has ninja'd me with solid explanations, but I'll pitch in one of my own. In short, the biggest we, and almost every other animal capable of higher thought, have emotions is that they're extremely useful for autonomous decision-making and encouraging productive behaviour for the appropriate situation. Some examples are anger for self-defense, hunger for resource-finding, and terror for when it's best to run away as far and as fast as possible.

Spoiler:  GM Note (click to show/hide)

This all said, I'm going to give you a few more hours to decide between Carbon and Silicon, it's arguably exponentially more important than your Home-System's composition so I want to give you as much time as you need to consider it.

[Glass]

Code: [Select]

Carbon (8): MetalSlimeHunt, Nirur, Superdorf?, mightymushroom, Kashyyk, MrThrowaway, IronyOwl, Powder Miner
Silicon (9): NG, IncompetentFortressMaker, Madman, TL, SC777, Kilojoule Proton, 0cra, Chaoskl21, Glass
Something Exotic (0):As a result of discussion, all aboard the silicon train.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I was thinking more on what humanity is going to inevitably bring on us and I realized another issue. The Emperor is out there. That means that even if we by some miracle beat them to the punch and find Earth before human expansion, we can't merk them. Emps will kill us all. The entire period of time Emps is alive, we can't beat humanity no matter how powerful we grow conventionally. And if we screw up the timeline badly enough Chaos will fail to create an avatar strong enough to kill Emps for us, and he will kill us all.

That's gonna be fun to deal with!

[Madman198237]

I was thinking more on what humanity is going to inevitably bring on us and I realized another issue. The Emperor is out there. That means that even if we by some miracle beat them to the punch and find Earth before human expansion, we can't merk them. Emps will kill us all. The entire period of time Emps is alive, we can't beat humanity no matter how powerful we grow conventionally. And if we screw up the timeline badly enough Chaos will fail to create an avatar strong enough to kill Emps for us, and he will kill us all.

That's gonna be fun to deal with!

Depends, how much does he require ships to get to orbit and how well can he survive a planet cracker of the sort that 40k throws around like bad candy on Halloween?

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Let me put it this way: He probably teleported himself to Mars during the middle ages to fight and imprison the Void Dragon, who was one of the only C'Tan not shattered by the Necrons.

[Powder Miner]

Hell, why not maybe try to bud it up with DAoT humanity instead of trying to jump in for the murder? Could be interesting.

[Glass]

Hell, why not maybe try to bud it up with DAoT humanity instead of trying to jump in for the murder? Could be interesting.

Exactly. Why do we need to be making humanity mad, when we can A. try to be not worth their time to fight or B. try to get them to actually not hate us?

[Taricus]

Code: [Select]

Carbon (9): MetalSlimeHunt, Nirur, Superdorf?, mightymushroom, Kashyyk, MrThrowaway, IronyOwl, Powder Miner, Taricus
Silicon (9): NG, IncompetentFortressMaker, Madman, TL, SC777, Kilojoule Proton, 0cra, Chaoskl21, Glass
Something Exotic (0):
*Makes TIE fighter noises*

[Madman198237]

Is there a time period where humanity isn't xenophobic and we could conceivably then befriend them?

[Taricus]

In a way that'd have us survive the great crusade or the tantrum after it? Nooooope.

[Powder Miner]

Humanity in the Dark Age of Technology is real poorly defined so it might be possible. We can probably avoid the immediate murderlist, at least

[frostgiant]

Code: [Select]

Carbon (9): MetalSlimeHunt, Nirur, Superdorf?, mightymushroom, Kashyyk, MrThrowaway, IronyOwl, Powder Miner, Taricus
Silicon (10): NG, IncompetentFortressMaker, Madman, TL, SC777, Kilojoule Proton, 0cra, Chaoskl21, Glass,Frostgiant
Something Exotic (0):

[Puppyguard]

Code: [Select]

Carbon (9): MetalSlimeHunt, Nirur, Superdorf?, mightymushroom, Kashyyk, MrThrowaway, IronyOwl, Powder Miner, Taricus
Silicon (11): NG, IncompetentFortressMaker, Madman, TL, SC777, Kilojoule Proton, 0cra, Chaoskl21, Glass, Frostgiant, Puppyguard
Something Exotic (0):
Rocks sound cool.