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Materians

Materians are a fictional intelligent species that appears in speculative fiction and related media. The name is often traced to materia or material, signaling their defining trait: bodies and minds built from programmable matter capable of rapid transformation.

Physically, materians are not bound to a single form. Their bodies are composed of modular, reconfigurable matter

Ecology and social structure vary. They are often imagined inhabiting energy-rich environments such as space habitats,

Rationale and themes: In fiction, materians are used to explore questions about identity, continuity, and what

that
can
alter
shape,
density,
transparency,
and
texture
on
demand.
They
can
repair
damage
by
reassembling
shattered
components
and
store
prior
forms
as
templates.
Cognition
is
commonly
depicted
as
a
distributed
computation
embedded
within
the
material
itself;
some
portrayals
emphasize
centralized
cores,
others
describe
a
networked
intelligence
spread
throughout
the
body
and
even
across
connected
individuals.
asteroid
belts,
or
planets
with
abundant
mineral
resources.
Social
organization
ranges
from
loosely
associated
collectives
to
tightly
knit
technocratic
networks;
property
and
identity
are
typically
linked
to
the
arrangement
of
their
matter
rather
than
to
a
fixed
body.
constitutes
life,
as
well
as
relationships
with
carbon-based
beings
and
environmental
ethics.
Depictions
differ
from
benevolent
scholars
to
enigmatic
outsiders
or
threats,
reflecting
authors’
thematic
aims.