Immortal Myphym

Immortal Myphym are individual Myphym that, due to extensive genetic manipulation, are biologically immortal.

Biology
Immortal Myphym are created through a complex procedure, now lost to history, that involves both genetic manipulation and nanotechnology. Myphym made immortal cease to age, become immune to most cancers, and are highly resistant to disease. They can still be killed by violent means, and in this respect they are essentially the same as mortal Myphym. Immortality is not an inheritable trait; children of an Immortal Myphym will still be mortal unless the procedure is carried out on them. Immortal Myphym are also less fertile than their mortal counterparts, and though this has not been fully researched, it seems that their fertility declines over the centuries.

There is one downside to the procedure: in order to maintain their immortality, Myphym must fall into a deep, stasis-like sleep every two or three hundred years. These sleeps generally last twenty five to forty years, with slightly longer sleeps for older Myphym. On the Shoals it is possible to sleep in calm waters, but those Immortal Myphym who live offworld or in space generally use isolation tanks filled with water. Obviously, Immortals are extremely vulnerable during sleep - many are caught and killed while asleep.

History
During the height of social inequality on the Myphym homeworld, a thousand years before humans made first contact, a small group of Myphym scientists discovered the key to biological immortality, using a combination of nanotechnology and genetic manipulation. The procedure was complex and required on-the-spot thinking and state-of-the-art nanobots, and as such it quickly became so expensive that only the very richest in society could afford it (and even then at great cost). Still, the few who could afford it flocked to the laboratory to have the procedure, and hundreds of thousands of Myphym were made immortal. These Myphym already had effective control over society due to their wealth, and with immortality they became something akin to god-kings, ruling over the increasingly impoverished masses.

Eventually, the underclass rebelled, starting a revolution that nearly ended with the destruction of Myphym society. The Immortal Myphym lost all their wealth and many lost their lives; the laboratories that performed the operation were destroyed and all who knew of its specifics were killed by the revolutionary army.

In the aftermath of the revolution, as Myphym society reshaped itself, they were forced into hiding to avoid vigilantes and mobs. At first the new leadership vowed to find and apprehend all of the Immortal Myphym, but as the centuries went by and the ills of pre-revolution society began to fade from memory, such initiatives were all but dropped. When the Myphym made first contact with humanity, it is suspected that the Immortals left the Shoals for quieter, more tolerant waters.

It is unknown exactly how many Immortal Myphym still live, but some speculate it could be as many as ten thousand.