History

Foundational Biology

Although both animals and mons are based on a form of cellular unit (a biological cell or a certain type of nanomachine), mons differ fundamentally in their biochemistry and in the nature of their self-replication.

Whereas animals are based on a self-replicating cellular unit, and arise from a single totipotent cell, mon self-replication is somewhat more complicated than natural biology. Mons do not arise from a single cellular machine, but from a minimal bootstrapping replicative unit (a "gonite") with diverse components, many of which it cannot itself replicate before building additional specialized machinery. (This is true for viviparous mons as well, since they were created as a modification of earlier mons which used gonites.)

As with any self-replicating system, mons are subject to evolution by means of natural selection. (Albeit very slowly because of their very low mutation rate.)

Physiology

(This section is not complete.) Organ systems of mons include:

• Parallel Processing Network (neural network)
• Sequential Processing Unit (conventional computer)
• Predigester (Stomach)
• Energetic Digester
• Catabolic Digester
• Atomic Assembler
• Molecular Assembler
• Semiconductor Processor
• Universal Integrator
• Structural Part Assembler
• Mechanical Effectors (synthetic muscles)
• Gonophore
• Gestation Sac Interface (viviparous mons)
• Sensory Systems
• Radio phased array

Psychology

Mons are generally made in the psychic image of humans, though there are deliberate and incidental departures.

Mon types vary in analytical intelligence, from moderately super-human (IQ ~160, too high to be reliably measured, but not staggering) to intellectually marginal (IQ ~40, equivalent to a moderate intellectual disability, though typically with higher self-care functionality). However, it is difficult to impair them directly, because of differences in cognition.

Mons have broadly human-like emotions and personalities, with considerable variation between types. Utility mons often have personalities which humans perceive as emotionally flat. By contrast, uMon's modern battle mons for sporting purposes usually strike humans as emotionally labile and quick to anger; this is notable in the feral forms but accentuated by the upgrade process, which makes them more aggressive. All types of mons have the capacity to develop emotionally and intellectually over time, and by the same token can also develop psychological disorders in response to sufficiently severe distress.

Diet

For energy, mons can eat many common organic chemicals that can readily be oxidized, excluding strong solvents. Their food must be relatively dry; excess water reduces the energy yield. (As a rule of thumb, if it burns and occurs in nature, mons can eat it. Bulk sulfur and light fossil fuel fractions are exceptions.) This includes things that humans can eat, like sugar and vegetable oil, and things that humans cannot eat, like sawdust and coal. Mons require very little water. Mons can also be powered electrically, bypassing their need to eat for energy, but not their need to eat for bodily regeneration.

For regeneration (routine self-maintenance or extraordinary self-repair after trauma) and reproduction, mons additionally require silica and various minerals. Some mons may require "mon vitamins" (similar chemically to the reproduction medium described below) to heal injuries. Mons do not constantly slough cells as do biological creatures (e.g. skin or intestine lining), and have correspondingly less need for metabolic building blocks in their diet. They have relatively more limited systemic catabolism than natural biologics.

Mon digestion is very efficient, and mons do not have a gut microbiome. (Most microbes would in fact be catabolized.) Similar to Cnidaria, most mons do not need anuses, being able to occasionally regurgitate indigestible debris and ash, similar to an owl pellet or hairball. However, some types, specialized for low-grade foods, do have them. Water vapor from dietary water intake is exhaled with the cooling air.

Though mons have a wide dietary range, they can't eat everything; notable things that are actually dangerous to mons taken by mouth include chlorinated solvents, acetone and other light ketones, light liquid hydrocarbons (e.g. octane), aromatic hydrocarbons, strong acids and bases, sharp objects (e.g. blades, pins), reactive metals (e.g. sodium), very reactive oxidizers, very hard materials not already in fine granular form, and excessively sticky or viscous substances that adhere to silicone polymers. Although water is not poisonous to mons, mons that ingest large amounts of water (typically inadvertently) must typically regurgitate it, losing the nutritive value of whatever else they were digesting before ingesting the water.

There is pretty much nothing that humans can eat that is specifically poisonous to mons, but much of what humans eat has too much water in it for efficient mon digestion, e.g. fruit and living plants generally.

Reproduction

Since the early 22nd century, mons have all used more or less the same system of reproduction. uMon sport mons are all reproductively competent in their "feral" forms, but reproduction is inhibited by uMon's DRM "upgrade" for obvious commercial reasons. Mon reproduction is generally asexual, although experiments with sexual reproduction have been performed.

Non-viviparous mons reproduce by means of a macroscopic "gonite," (typically ~2cm diameter and roughly spherical) one of which is produced at a time. Placing a gonite into an appropriate reproduction medium leads to the development of a new individual. The medium is a complex chemical solution including polysiloxane oligomers tagged for self-assembly and various organic chemicals. The medium is very hostile to natural life (including bacteria, yeasts, etc) and does not require special sterility precautions, as nuisance mon-compatible life has not yet had time to evolve. (Mons very rarely develop neoplasia, but such could presumably be an origin of such nuisance mon-compatible life, apart from someone creating it deliberately.) Though this technology was once common and well understood, it is increasingly scarce and arcane, and uMon now relies entirely on viviparous mons, which were developed later. In most cases, uMon does not even breed their own mons anymore, but harvests feral populations and subjects them to an "upgrade" process.

Modern uMon mons are viviparous and relatively precocial, and are able to synthesize a growth medium for their gonites within their bodies. Their reproduction is slow, with all modern feral mons tending to be K-strategists. This is presumably by design, to avoid excessive proliferation, though it also fits well with their lack of senescence.

Health

Mons rarely sicken spontaneously; illness is usually as a result of damage/trauma. Neoplasia are extremely uncommon, but are a known entity. There is no direct analog of bacteria. Mon parasites have been created deliberately, but are probably now extinct. Transmissible virus-analogs exist but rarely affect well-designed mons, and uMon claims to have eradicated them in the modern day, through, unsurprisingly, harsh quarantine and vector control measures. Mons sometimes develop mental illnesses, especially mons with more human-like intelligence and personality.

Mons sometimes become colonized by bacteria, and their mouths and upper digestive system can support biofilms, if they eat a relatively human-like diet high in organic materials. Once established, these can require cleaning to eradicate, though dietary changes may also be sufficient. Though no bacterial species able to colonize the inside of mons has yet developed (i.e. mons cannot become septic), the surface of mons is not usually biocidal, and they may harbor bacteria like other “inanimate” surfaces (especially an issue for difficult-to-clean mons with complicated surface textures, extensive fur, etc.)