The biology of a kerbal.

[Xd the great]

That will also explain the kerman of all kerbals.

Still, i am having difficulty picture a giant kerbal with thousands of jeb on it.

AND HOW THE HELL DO THEY FLIP BACK UP AFTER FALLING I TRIED AND NEARLY BROKE MY NECK.

[kerbiloid]

1 hour ago, Xd the great said:

i am having difficulty picture a giant kerbal with thousands of jeb on it.

Not necessary a giant kerbal with thousand kerbals.

A hill covered with layer of green mystic goo.
Small larva sink down, swim to the hill, sit and infiltrate into it or melt on it.
Here and there there are green bulges sticking in the goo, covered with it. These are growing ephyrae.

Once per several days some bulge pops up and begins slowly emerging.
It looks like, say, this, but more dense.

Spoiler

(Doliolida. Presumably our far relative).

While emerging, it gets denser and greener, and gets swelling due to decompression.
Its tiny eyes pop out and get big.

Once reaching the surface, the ephyra (i.e. "Kerbal") instinctively heads to the West (as KSC in on the Eastern shore), probably following the Sun.
When it faces the ground, it climbs onto the shore and keeps crawling to the West until reaches the basin.
It falls down, sleeps, then wakes up. And you can recruit a new Kerbal.

So, the Mystic goo is amorphous cell substance of the species. Like a sponge.
The Goo layer covering the underwater hill IS the Kerbal and Kraken species.
Kerbals and Krakens are its isolated active form.
Kinda that.

1 hour ago, Xd the great said:

AND HOW THE HELL DO THEY FLIP BACK UP AFTER FALLING

Maybe they don't have a skeleton in our sense.
Maybe they are like sponge enforced with strong protein threads in corresponding places.
So, like they are a living spring filled with amortizing liquid.

Regeneration, like polyp and sponges have.
Also damaged threads self-repair and so (instead of a broken bone).

This also explains their ability tolive long without food. A natural hybernation.

Upd.
Like the mystery goo is epithelium produced by the former larvae, covering all their incubator hill.
Like a bird nest covered with dropped feathers, or a cat's nest covered with cat's hairs. But slimy.
The larvae get to the incubator hill, infiltrate, loose their pseudopodia, and keep growing and producing the slime consisting of still living cells and dead cells.
The goo protects them from damages, temperature, it's hormonally active, it has immune properties. That's why they need the goo, and why they pay so much attention for it.

Some time later a former larva gets bigger (those bulges) and develops one or more bud, which are the Kerbals.

So, a Kerbal word "buddy" means a pack of Kerbals developed by the same bulge as buds.

Edited July 24, 2018 by kerbiloid

[Lisias]

On 7/23/2018 at 3:46 AM, Xd the great said:

Kerbals have chloroplasts on their skin which produces food.

Citation needed.

[Xd the great]

8 minutes ago, Lisias said:

Citation needed.

For food, you need carbon dioxide, light and water in phorosynthesis.

Or maybe, there are some type of fungi that thrives on radiation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus

Kerbals can run on those.

[vger]

10 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

Kerbals have popped eyes.
This reminds of Total Recall scene..

Maybe Kerbals are from a place with much higher pressure?
From a denser atmosphere or the ocean bottom

Actually if something like that were going to happen at all, it would happen from a drop in pressure. High pressure would probably result in smaller eyes. Though high pressure in general allows for overall larger bodies if there's more oxygen... this is why dinosaurs (and pretty much everything else from that era) were enormous. Though science already showed that low pressure sucking eyeballs out wouldn't happen, even if you were in space and popped your helmet.

I did wonder though if their eyes were so huge to compensate for low light during their stone age. Compared to our own moon, Mun has like NO albedo.

[Snark]

Moving to KSP Discussion, since this is a fan topic about kerbals.  Science & Spaceflight is generally for things that aren't about KSP itself.

Also, relevant discussion here:

 

[kerbiloid]

32 minutes ago, vger said:

Though science already showed that low pressure sucking eyeballs out wouldn't happen

With terrestrial animals which have their eyeballs inside the skull sockets.
The terrestrial eyes of course should not pop out, at least because there is almost nothing expandable behind them, between the eyeball and the wall of eye socket..

But Kerbals aren't Earth animals, their have a different anatomy.
Technically their eyes can be pushed out by underlying soft tissues expanding on pressure drop - if they don't have a bone wall behind the eye.
They can have some spatial structure instead of real skeleton, and, say,  their brain may swell and push the eyes out. Again, if they don't have an Earth-like skull with socket walls.

32 minutes ago, vger said:

if their eyes were so huge to compensate for low light during their stone age

Their pupils look not big.
Also their limbs are short, they can't run fast. So, they couldn't react fast even when seeing something. Neither as predators, nor as victims.

Edited July 24, 2018 by kerbiloid

[Kerbinchaser]

On 7/23/2018 at 5:21 AM, RealKerbal3x said:

Maybe they don’t have bones...they could just be squishy green guys.

But the way they walk would be impossible without a skeletal structure. 

[ExtremeSquared]

Good luck justifying the biology. Kerbol system contains life on both Eeloo and Moho, which is... unlikely based on existing organisms.

[linuxgurugamer]

7 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

Also their limbs are short, they can't run fast. So, they couldn't react fast even when seeing something. Neither as predators, nor as victims

That's why they have such big heads, to think their way out of trouble

[Lisias]

10 hours ago, Xd the great said:

For food, you need carbon dioxide, light and water in phorosynthesis.

Or maybe, there are some type of fungi that thrives on radiation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus

Kerbals can run on those.

There're no records of living animals that could function like that - there're simple no enough area on a moving body to catch enough sunlight. Compare yourself with a tree, and imagine a Kerbal half your size.

However, there're organisms that use copper as oxygen carriers on the blood. Google for hemocyanin. It gives the blood a blue colour, what under a yellow skin would render a green appearance.

[Xd the great]

33 minutes ago, Lisias said:

There're no records of living animals that could function like that - there're simple no enough area on a moving body to catch enough sunlight. Compare yourself with a tree, and imagine a Kerbal half your size.

However, there're organisms that use copper as oxygen carriers on the blood. Google for hemocyanin. It gives the blood a blue colour, what under a yellow skin would render a green appearance.

Thats why kerbals have mouth and strap themselves in for the whole trip to reduce energy loses.

[Lisias]

8 minutes ago, Xd the great said:

Thats why kerbals have mouth and strap themselves in for the whole trip to reduce energy loses.

The way Bob screams when Jeb is piloting renders any energy saving fruitless! :-D

[kerbiloid]

(To be clear: I don't really insist that Kerbal eyes are popped out due to decompression.
Say, telescopes' eyes are just popped out, without regard to a pressure.

Spoiler

Originally it was just a joke that made me to have a think about Kerbals deep water origin.
This has led me to polyp theme, and then - oops! - discovery.

So, the oceanic hypothesis is serious, while eyes popped by decompression - no.)

Btw we should pay attention to Kerbal teeth.
They are obviously herbivorous: big, squared, blunt.
Unlike humans, Kerbals even don't have fangs. Let alone dolphins and sharks with their cones and pyramids.

But their jaws look strong.

So, Kerbals are neither active predators. no filtrators.
They eat some kind of substrate.

Their stomachs are small relative to body, so unlikely they can be grassy'vorous.
But with their short limbs unlikely they can be tree dwellers.

So, looks like their natural food is some kind of molluscs and different organic junk sinking from surface.
Their big jaws with big blunt teeth can crush the mollusc shells, and their eyes can look up, where the junkfood falls from.

***

The latter circumstance also explains their positive phototropism.
They know: junkfood comes from the bright spot.
Struggling for food, they were getting upper and upper, to the light, to be the first who catches a piece of sinking junk.

Once on surface, they kept following the bright spot (Sun), swimming to the West.
Until they reach the ground on a continent Eastern shore.
Then they kept crawling in the same direction to light, to food. Until got tired (as water species) and made a stop near a mineral spring.

Thus their colony appeared at the place which we call KSC.

Also that's why they didn't colonize other part of planet.
Originally as water species they were not good in landrovering.
Then they didn't have a need.

***

Also we can presume that they didn't discriminate edible molluscs and their sibling larvae dropped by Kraken.
So, due to such cannibalism, their evolution forced the Kerbals to leave the incubator as soon as possible and keep them far from the underwater colony.
That's why Kerbals are bad in diving and need atmospheric air to breathe. To keep them away from defenceless larvae and polyps.

***

Btw if/as natural wild Kerbals had ability to build castles like termites, we can presume that they did this before.
(Otherwise we should presume that they started from 150 m big pyramids like Ancient Egyptians, lol.)

This can mean that their maternal underwater incubator place is full of underwater termite-like castles. And looks like an underwater Town of Kraken, K'rlyeh
It should be somewhere to the East from KSC, not very far.
So, fhtagn.

Edited July 25, 2018 by kerbiloid

[Lisias]

11 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

Btw we should pay attention to Kerbal teeth.
They are obviously herbivorous: big, squared, blunt.
Unlike humans, Kerbals even don't have fangs. Let alone dolphins and sharks with their cones and pyramids.

But their jaws look strong.

It's the only image than I can remember, but since it's on the game itself, I think we should take it in consideration.

I think I see a kind of canines on them, the top rightmost (viewer's point of view).

The huge amount of anterior teeth appears to corroborate your thesis, on the other hand.

 

[Xd the great]

Maybe the canines are for tearing other kerbals up.

[Kernel Kraken]

@kerbiloid's responses need to be re-formatted and added to the 'Kerbal' page on the wiki as Canon.

Edited July 26, 2018 by Kernel Kraken

[kerbiloid]

@Kernel Kraken, thank you!

P.S.
An example explaining why Kerbal always wear spacesuits with helmets (unless you undress them with mods).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermit_crab

A crab itself.

Spoiler

...and equipped

Spoiler

So, as we can see, though while the crabs are brainless (literally) and definitely do not understand the idea of space or suit, they instinctively find emrty shells, get inside, and even equip it additionally with a toxic symbiont.

***

Another example.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddisfly

Larvae of the caddisfly gather sand, various junk, and build their cases, which can be very different.

Spoiler

So, this absolutely brainless thing can not just find and use an existing shell, but constructs it itself out of snot and junk pieces.

***

Probably, proto-Kerbal form was doing something like this, covering the body with protective layer.

Nowadays, highly evolved, sapient Kerbals do not cover themselves with mud, but they still feel a need in some cover.
Like people usually feel defenseless and uncomfortable being totally naked, even when climate allows.

Also, as sapient Kerbal lifestyle includes swimming and spaceflights, they anyway need suits, and there is no reason to withstand the instinct.
Helmets are just part of this.

*****

Another note about Kerbal "courage and stupidity".

As everybody knows, Kerbals are brave and reckless creatures taking easy dangerous things.

This is probably caused by their high mortality in the past, when they were wild.
Currently they look at things more rationally, with caution.
But their instincts remember the times when "just one of hundred" Kerbal survived to become adult.
(Larvae mortality of course was much more terrible, as they are more primitive and numerous.)

Say, rats. They are enough clever, cautious, and very fearful and suspicious.
Once seeing an usual thing, they hide and then avoid it.
But this lasts not very long, as if the thing didn't attack you, it can be a food.
So, their fear quickly gets replaced with courage, even if sometimes it's a trap, and too brave and reckless rats die in it.
But if it's a food, then too wise and cautious rats don't get it because brave and stupid eat it all.
So, it's important for rats to keep a balance in "wise/stupid " and "brave/reckless" coordinates, and to be not too wise, not too courageous.
We see this in Kerbals.

Also such terrible natural selection was forcing their brains evolution.

Edited July 27, 2018 by kerbiloid

[Cheif Operations Director]

Genetically mutated humans

The continent the KSC is on looks likes Africa there for my guess is a nuclear war happened with only Africa surviving 

Millions of years later you have continental drift and then the Kerbals re-achieving space flight.

On 7/24/2018 at 12:27 PM, Lo Var Lachland said:

But the way they walk would be impossible without a skeletal structure. 

It could be cardilage 

[Xd the great]

11 hours ago, Cheif Operations Director said:

Genetically mutated humans

The continent the KSC is on looks likes Africa there for my guess is a nuclear war happened with only Africa surviving 

Millions of years later you have continental drift and then the Kerbals re-achieving space flight.

It could be cardilage 

Nuclear bomb edited dna.

That explanes the pyramids.

Also, I orginally opened this thread for science, but...

[RealKerbal3x]

13 hours ago, Cheif Operations Director said:

The continent the KSC is on looks likes Africa there for my guess is a nuclear war happened with only Africa surviving

But how did a nuclear war make Earth 10x smaller??

[ARS]

Just done some test flight lately, with plenty of crashes, and I noticed something. Whenever a Kerbal is being subjected by powerful force, their neck is the weakest point (it's almost always the first body part to get krakenified), followed by arms/legs then body. Also, they can have their head being rotated 360 degree with no ill effects

[Cheif Operations Director]

3 hours ago, RealKerbal3x said:

But how did a nuclear war make Earth 10x smaller??

...

[Kernel Kraken]

49 minutes ago, Cheif Operations Director said:

...

 

3 hours ago, RealKerbal3x said:

But how did a nuclear war make Earth 10x smaller??

How 'bout another planet smashed into earth (like how the moon was created) and smashed a lot of mass off, and a lot of that turned into minmus and humans had to migrate into the water because land was inhabitable? They evolved into kerbals with a jellyfish like life cycle to survive after the world ended.

Edited July 31, 2018 by Kernel Kraken
Spellin' and Grammer.

[RealKerbal3x]

4 minutes ago, Kernel Kraken said:

 

How 'bout another planet smashed into earth (like how the moon was created) and smashed a lot of mass off, and a lot of that turned into minmus and humans had to migrate into the water because land was inhabitable? They evolved into kerbals with a jellyfish like life cycle to survive after the world ended.

Must've been a pretty big planet to knock 90% of Earth's mass into space.....