Sleepless Breeding (Starsight spoilers)

[Zapata]

So, I've been thinking about Sleepless breeding ever since I read this WoB:

 

Quote

Paleo

Then I was wondering about the Dysian Aimians or the Sleepless. Do they reproduce at all, and if so how does it work? Like is it that one... is it asexual if they do?

Brandon Sanderson

So they reproduce, yes. But reproduction for them has a variety of terms. They can breed specific cremlings for specific purposes over time if they want to. They can also exchange cremlings if they need to, in order to improve their genetic diversity. Creating a new one is a different experience but yes. In fact, they... I've written sections, not for the books yet but where I talk about them developing and over evolving one of their cremlings to do something new.

Paleo

Okay. If they do reproduce does it require two of them or is it more like they breed enough and then they split one off.

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO for now, but the individual's consciousness is an interesting thing for them.

Prague Signing (Oct. 26, 2019)

I didn't have any idea how they might make a new Sleepless, but then I read Starsight. Now. what do Sleepless have to do with Starsight? (Starsight spoilers):

Spoiler

The alien race of Diones reproduces by combining, making a "draft", then let the draft develop for a month, at which point the Dione parents can either break apart to make the draft it's own entity, or the parents recombine to change the qualities of the draft and start again.

So my idea was that Sleepless might reproduce by meeting up, and combining for a period of time. this is all just conjecture, since we don't know much about Sleepless, but I think that the act of intermingling most or all of two Sleepless's hordelings causes an intermingling of their minds and Spiritwebs. They then breed new hordelings, who are only connected to this mingled spiritweb, then separate into three Sleepless, the two "parents", and the third, smaller new one.

[Honorless he/him]

I like the theory, @Bearer of Agonies! Although looks like you accidentally quadruple-posted it 

[Karger he/him]

Decent theory.

[+Bliev she/her]

@Bearer of Agonies I like this theory! 

Also, since the "individual's consciousness" is an interesting thing for them, I wonder if sometimes they don't separate back out again--that this "merging" and "separating" can happen in waves and does not necessarily result in a new "being" per se. If they don't feel quite the same compulsion toward individuality or autonomy, maybe they merge when necessary and separate when necessary, thus it's less 1+1=>3 and more 1+1+1-1=3-1 etc.? The "whose hordelings do these belong to" question may be a question that Dysian Aimians would not even consider asking because their sense of individuality differs from ours?

(Forgive me if this doesn't make sense, I'm taking a break from grading and my brain is somewhat fried. lol)

[Zapata]

1 hour ago, Bliev said:

@Bearer of Agonies I like this theory! 

Also, since the "individual's consciousness" is an interesting thing for them, I wonder if sometimes they don't separate back out again--that this "merging" and "separating" can happen in waves and does not necessarily result in a new "being" per se. If they don't feel quite the same compulsion toward individuality or autonomy, maybe they merge when necessary and separate when necessary, thus it's less 1+1=>3 and more 1+1+1-1=3-1 etc.? The "whose hordelings do these belong to" question may be a question that Dysian Aimians would not even consider asking because their sense of individuality differs from ours?

I think you're saying that each Dysian has Connection to every other Dysian in such a way that they all naturally can merge and separate, and procreate(?), and not really feel a distinction between the states. Am I correct?

3 hours ago, Honorless said:

I like the theory, @Bearer of Agonies! Although looks like you accidentally quadruple-posted it 

I think you're right. It is, unfortunately, the worst case of multi-posting that I've seen here since before I even made my account on the site 

[+Bliev she/her]

2 hours ago, Bearer of Agonies said:

think you're saying that each Dysian has Connection to every other Dysian in such a way that they all naturally can merge and separate, and procreate(?), and not really feel a distinction between the states. Am I correct

Yes—although re-written like this I’m not *entirely* sold that this is exactly what I think. But I think the truth may lie somewhere in the middle.

[RShara she/her]

They're based a bit on the tines from A Fire Upon the Deep, so there's a decent chance they reproduce the same way.

[Honorless he/him]

7 hours ago, Bearer of Agonies said:

I think you're right. It is, unfortunately, the worst case of multi-posting that I've seen here since before I even made my account on the site 

They're very simple to deal with, fortunately 

Go to the other iterations of this same page that got posted multiple times, there should be a button marked Moderation Actions marked at the top of the pages, click on 'em and a drop-down should appear with the option Hide, click that, give a reason for hiding the extra topics "accidentally multi-posted" and voilà !