Dzzitian

The Dzzitians are an ancient race of appearance and physique similar to that of spiders that, against all odds, have survived to this day and become influential across the known universe.

Being of a race that has originated 50 million years BU, they have defied all odds by resurfacing 50 million years after their destruction, then another 50 million years after that. Throughout this time, they have been an integral part of several spacefaring empires, four of which they have been at the head of, and another four that have benefitted of their enduring legacy.

The Dzzitian Body
(More coming soon.)

Silicon-Based Symbiosis
Dzzitians have only barely survived the conditions on their homeworld of Chalth due to a symbiotic relation with a few separate species of silicon-based microbial lifeforms, with a smaller amount having even contributed to a limited number of bodily attributes. Among the most important of these allow the respiration of Chalth's toxic air by drawing it in through the bacteria, which draws sustenance from it and releases oxygen and nitrogen, depending on the species, as byproducts. Just as important are a number of species existing in the Dzzitian's digestive system that decompose silicon-based organic matter and similarly convert it to multiple carbon-based organic compounds.

There also exist a few species in a Dzzitian's spinnerets that sustain themselves on the compounds used in the bodily production of webs, growing on Dzzitian-made webs and in turn giving them, by means that have not yet been fully explained by most of mainstream science, electrical conductivity, but at the cost of being less sticky than the webs of other arachnoid species. Nevertheless, this silk was instrumental in the Dzzitian discovery of electricity and in the invention of electrical currents and circuits, until the discovery of more reliable conductive materials.

However, most of these species can only be acquired by drinking from the fresh waters of Chalth from a young age, which has since become an important element of the ancient Chaldist religion and of Dzzitian culture as a whole. This not only means that if a newly-hatched Dzzitian on the homeworld doesn't drink water soon enough after birth, it will die of asphyxiation, but it also means that Dzzitians that are born off-world without getting a drink will grow up like any normal carbon-based lifeform, and will lack the ability to subside in a silicon-based environment like that on Chalth.