In their true form resembling a hugely overgrown fleshy tadpole with vaguely feline features and bulging temples that give them a perpetually stern expression, Go-gong are incapable of maneuvering on dry land and will quickly suffocate if submerged in anything apart from their native pristine waters for too long. Despite this fact they are ardent explorers and repositories of trivia who love to get out into the galaxy and experience all of its many wonders, even if they can’t do so unaided by bulky mechanical ‘containers’. It is thought that this eagerness to explore is influenced in large part by their historical inhabitation of a shallow sea that was itself locked beneath a thick layer of insulating ice, protecting the Go-gong from the harsh cold of the surface but preventing them from ever exploring beyond the cloying muck that they are adapted to sift around in. Located in the freezing heart of tundric space, even the kilometres thick shelter provided by overhead deposits of snow and ice wasn’t enough to totally cocoon them from the cold, and so they evolved large reserves of natural fat instead to shield from the icy currents.
So frigid as to be almost completely uninhabited save for their secret oasis, their home planet has never been exploited for any of its natural resources and is covered entirely in ice, ensuring that the quality of the water which they inhabit nears statistical perfection. In the present day this is their primary export, and although the bottling industry actually occurs on the far side of the planet they are still careful to extract too much - meaning that Go-gong brands are synonymous with scarcity and quiet luxury. Because the ice looms a scant two to three metres from the sediment where they evolved, the species is agoraphobic and actually prefer the narrow confines which historically hemmed them in. They have no problem inhabiting pools of water scarcely larger than themselves so long as the water quality is upheld, and can get antsy under open skies.
Typically resembling a yaogu drum propped up on a pair of improbably spindly legs at its centre, Go-gong take a special care in artfully fabricating each component of their mechanical bodies, being aware that these will be their chief identifier once on land. Preferring the appearance provided by burnished brass, they ensure that the container portion of their transports are engraved with intricate patterns which in some way represent the individual inside. A stylised ‘face’ reminiscent of simplified depictions of other feline species adorns the forward facing surface of the tank, giving their friends a way to at a glance identify the individual they are looking for. In vogue right now amongst some Go-gong is the practice of having their shells recast in durable acrylic. The complete transparency which this lends to their mechanical body means that for the first time other species are becoming familiar with their appearance inside of the apparatus, an acquaintance which was previously reserved for the Rhein, long-time allies to the species who were the first to bore into the ice and make contact with them.