Dionysians

Description

Dionysians are the native inhabitants of the planet Dionysus. Outwardly, they very closely resemble humans, except for some prominent ridges on their foreheads. Dionysus is a tropical world with a very mild climate, a plentiful abundance of edible plants, and few large predators. As a result the Dionysians faced relatively low survival pressure, and didn’t develop high technology.

Dionysian brow ridges likely evolved due to the warm temperatures of their home planet. In the tropical climes of Dionysus, the Dionysian body perspires considerably more than a similar human. Their brow-ridges act as an effective mechanism for channeling perspiration away from their eyes, while also being permeated by a substantial quantity of blood-vessels, so that they act as radiators to more effectively shed body heat.

Dionysians tend to have a relatively optimistic psychology compared to humans. Because of their tropical home-world, Dionysians tend to have slightly darker complexions than humans do. Dionysians and humans tend to be about equal in terms of height and weight.

The large areas of physical and psychological similarity between humans and Dionysians make relations between the two species particularly warm and close. Even though the two are separate species incapable of producing offspring together, there is a long history of intermarriage between the two. A common turn of phrase among humans in the old core worlds is to describe a spouse married for companionship with no intention of having children as a “Dionysian Wife”. (“Dionysian Husband” is also used, though less frequently.)

History

Before contact with the outside world, most Dionysians lived in small, nomadic bands, living off the land, with a few permanent settlements. Among these wandering groups were a very wide range of languages, religions and cultures. There was enough variety among these groups that picking a single name to describe the people and their world was rather problematic. Overall, most of the Dionysian cultures were peaceful, as resources were plentiful and life was easy. Warfare was uncommon, and short lived when it did occur.

Some of the early xenographers to study the Dionysians arrived at a time when most of the groups they visited were in the midst of a season of festivals, and their early reports commented on the “Dionysian” ways of the revelers. This turn of phrase was quickly picked up, and became the default descriptor for the people and their world. Also a factor in the rapid uptake of this name is the fact that Dionysus is also home to a number of trees that produce alcoholic fruit, most notably the del-brikki.

First contacted by scouts of the Astrophysical Survey in GSC 155, the Dionysians were relatively quick to join the Planetary League. Most Dionysians were favorably impressed with these outsiders and their alien technology. Within about a century of first contact, most of the various cultures had formed an ad-hoc government that quickly joined the Planetary League officially.

Early on, much commerce with the Planetary League and other outsiders centered around the del-brikki and other alcoholic fruit. This allowed many local gatherers to achieve a level of wealth previously unknown on their planet. As time went on, alcoholic fruit production became systematic, and as era-1 drew to a close, powerful corporate interests muscled their way in and began exploiting the local land and population for profit.

Lärkians

Lärkians are an intelligent species descended from deer-like ancestors. From the outside, it appeared that their home star was gradually dimming over time for unknown reasons. When scouts from the Planetary League arrived to investigate they discovered a burgeoning swarm of space habitats built by the Lärkians. The Lärkians didn’t have expansionist tendencies, but their population exploded after they exterminated all the large predators on their home-world. Running out of room and resources, they began to build space colonies to stave off famine.

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A female Lärkian.

Biology

Lärkians are naturally shy and timid, owing to their history as a prey-species for large predators. However they did adapt to become omnivorous in the swampy biomes of their ancestral home. Hunting and gathering was their main means of sustenance, and most of their space habitats are filled with carefully tended ecosystems, and only sparsely populated.

Lärkians have their eyes at the end of stalks growing out of the sides of their heads. This gives them the advantage of 360° vision. Females have short horns on their heads while males grow large antlers. Lärkian skin is covered with short, velvety fur, usually brown in color.

Most Lärkians are female, with only one male per 50 on average. The few males are kept in the clan-houses that form the basic unit of Lärkian society.

Society

Lärkian society is based around clan houses of about 30-60, mostly unrelated females, and their children with a single male whose main role in life is reproduction. Each house has a name, and a ranking (at least compared to its nearest neighbors) rankings are based on reputation, the productivity and skill of its working members, and a complex series of alliances and deals. There are several large house-ranking bodies (and many more small, local ones), and every clan-house belongs to at least one.

On reaching maturity, most female Lärkians will leave their clan-house and join a new house. A few will take up single life, independent of the houses, but this is a fairly rare event. When the population grows to a certain size such that the existing clan-houses are at capacity, a group of females from allied houses will form a new “maiden house”. When a new male Lärkian is born, he will join an existing maiden house, and upon his reaching maturity, the maiden house will become a regular clan house.

When a male dies, his clan house becomes a “widow house”. If the house has a good reputation and many allies, a rite of purification will be performed and the house will become a maiden house again. If the house has a bad reputation or few allies, it will be disbanded and the former members will either join new houses or live independently.

Males have no personal wealth or political power in this arrangement, but are often publicly displayed by their clan-houses as a status symbol. Sometimes, the clan-houses even have competitions over who can groom and dress their house-husbands in the most impressive fashion. Males are forbidden from having productive jobs, but most do have at least some hobbies.

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Male Lärkians are relatively rare.

After the arrival of the Planetary League, the majority of Lärkian clan houses voted to join the League, with the promise of mutual defense, as safety in numbers is an idea strongly ingrained in the Lärkian psyche. The rest of the clan-houses carried on as independent entities, with little conflict, as the Lärkians are one of the more peaceful intelligent species.

Takarrans

Biology

Takarrans are biologically most similar to amphibians.  They have gills on the sides of their necks, and during early childhood live entirely underwater.  Around the age of five Earth years, young Takarrans start breathing air, and gradually come to spend most of their time on land.  The ability to breathe water is never lost, though, and in old age, many retire underwater. 

Takarrans eat an omnivorous diet.

The Takarran reproductive system is very similar to that of humans.  Mothers give birth to live young, and produce milk through mammary glands.

Takarrans have smooth skin, and come in two distinct ethnic groups, based on the color of their skin.  All Takarrans have pale underbellies and faces, but their backs and limbs are either bright red or purple, except for rare takarrans of mixed heritage who’s coloration is a iridescent mix of red and purple. 

Takarran ears project out of the tops of their heads, and, like those of a cat can be turned in different directions to listen or to express emotion. 

A Takarran's eyes are nearly black in color, and are adjusted to a bluer spectrum than human eyes, as their home star is an F-class star.

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“I’ll tell you what kind of work environment suits me best: the corner office.“ -Kurgun Dakk

The Lu'Tak are one of the two main subspecies of Takarrans, and their cultures tend to focus on ambition and power. Since the diaspora from their home-world, they are often found in the corporate states, plotting their ways up the corporate ladder.

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Red-Takarran(Ki’Tak): Most Ki’Tak are trying to conserve their original cultures after their home-world was overrun by machine intelligences, as a result, the majority of Ki’Tak live in or near bodies of water.

History

Early in their history, Takarrans were separated by geographical barriers onto two separate continents.  Those on the Eastern Continent became the Purple-Takarrans (known as the Lu’Tak in their native tongue), and those on the Western Continent became the Red-Takarrans (called the Ki’Tak).  For tens of thousands of years these two groups lived in isolation from one another. 

They advanced technologically at roughly the same pace, but with wildly different cultures.  Red-Takarrans were relatively peaceful (when left to their own devices) with an emphasis on egalitarian principals and individuality.  Meanwhile, the Purple-Takarrans developed a highly stratified society, where leadership was determined through physical combat. 

When explorers from the Red-Takarrans first met the Purple-Takarrans, cultural misunderstandings rapidly escalated into war.  Wars, genocides, raids, and other atrocities marred the relationship between the two groups for centuries, until one particularly bloody conflict ended especially badly for both sides.  An uneasy truce settled over their home-world, and eventually developed into a cold war.  

During the Takarran cold-war, an arms-race developed between the two sides.  The focus of this arms race was on artificial intelligence and robotics, leading to the creation of the Cryptobots by the purple takarrans, and the Defendrons by the red takarrans.  Combat robots from the two sides occasionally clashed in clandestine battles, hidden from public view.  Over time, each side contrived to infiltrate its own combat robots into the other side's territory, disguised as innocuous pieces of civilian technology. 

On the day the inevitable war broke out, civilians on both sides were completely unaware of the fatal threat hiding in plain sight.  As cars, trains, toasters and even televisions revealed their true nature, whole populations were caught entirely off guard, and mercilessly slaughtered in a matter of minutes. 

Very few Takarrans on either side survived the conflict.  Most of the survivors were hunters and gatherers or subsistence farmers with little access to technology.  Those who wandered too close to civilization died at the hands of the still-active robots, and so the survivors quickly learned to fear technology. 

The robots of Takara Prime, never sure if reinforcements for the other side of the war would eventually arrive, continued to maintain the cities and farms where they were deployed.  This left an eerie discovery for the first explorers from the Planetary League Astrophysical Survey (PLAS) , when they arrived in GSC 179. (See: Exodus) The Cryptobots discovered the possibilities of atmospheric flight and space travel from the arrival of the Planetary League, endangering the remaining red takarrans, and prompting a rescue mission from the Planetary League.  Many of the Cryptobots also left the planet in the cargo holds of unsuspecting explorers, treasure hunters, and archaeologists.  Then, after allying with General Zarlok, the Cryptobots turned on their creators, the purple takarrans, prompting a second rescue. The rise of the Cryptobots led to the beginning of the Second Robot War in GSC 184.

Eventually, the Planetary League was able to safely resettle much of the remaining population of Takarrans on other worlds. Gradually, the Takarran population started to thrive again in their new homes, but the lingering animosity between the red and purple races was slow to fade.

Jovians

First contacted in GSC 205 by an expedition led by Zoe Bonnard, the Jovians are an intelligent life-form from the planet Jovium (the name of their planet in their most widely-spoken language, and the origin of their name). 

Species

There are two distinct, but closely related species of Jovians.  They are nearly identical in appearance, but vary widely in behavior. 

Bon Jovians, (the "Bon" comes from the French, meaning "good", but feel free to insert your favorite Bon Jovi jokes here), are the intelligent species, the ones that formed tribes, and ended up joining the Planetary League.  They have language, technology and culture.  They wear clothing, and most adhere to a local animistic or polytheistic religion.

Kal Jovians (simply known as the Kal to the Bon Jovians) are wild predators.  While they look like the intelligent Bon, they have no culture or technology, don't wear clothing, and will even hunt intelligent life-forms.  The Kal regularly hunted and ate the Bon (greatly affecting the culture of the Bon), and even regularly cannibalize their own kind.  The similarity in appearance makes the Kal especially dangerous, as it is easy to mistake one for a Bon.

Anatomy

Jovians are generally humanoid in appearance, with a number of unique features. 

Their hands and feet each have two opposing digits (one on either side).

Their eyes and ears reside on retractable stalks.  Jovians can see into the near-infrared spectrum, but not colors in the blue part of our visible spectrum, owing to their cooler sun that emits most of its light at lower frequencies. 

Jovian hair grows in thick tufts, and comes in a number of colors not naturally found in humans.  Similarly, Jovian skin is brightly colored, generally ranging from blue to purple. Because of their inability to see colors in the blue part of the spectrum, most Jovians look black to one another, although humans can see their color variations.

 Jovians also tend to be taller than humans, averaging between seven and eight feet, owing to the slightly lower gravity of their home-world.

Jovians are strictly carnivorous, and have sharp teeth and wide mouths to accommodate their diets. 

In Jovians, the functionality of respiration and circulation of blood is combined into a single organ located in the chest cavity.

Female Jovians have four breasts, (a feature that makes them popular in Rishathra parlors across the galaxy).  Jovians are typically born as twins or quadruplets. 

The hands of Jovians resemble the occult symbol, known as the Hamsa (for which the religious police in the Holy Empire of Man was named). Members of certain sects of the Church of God would hunt Jovians to get their hands to use as religious fetishes. This mainly led to the hunting of the Kal, (although not only the Kal were used in this regard), and as a result Kal Jovians went extinct during Era-2, with Bon Jovians also seeing a significant decline in population. 

Culture

When first contacted, Bon Jovians lived in scattered hunting, herding, and fishing tribes with technology similar to that of neolithic cultures on Earth.  It is widely believed that the carnivorous diet of the Jovians prevented the development of technology on their planet, as they never had cause to develop agriculture.  Several easily domesticable plants grow wild on their home-world, but the Jovians had scant reason to utilize them, as they relied on herding and hunting to earn a living.

Single births among Jovians are rare enough that when they do happen, it is a major event, and most Bon Jovian religions believe that a single birth is a sign of a special destiny for the child.

One upshot of the Bon being regularly hunted by the Kal is that when a Bon Jovian meets someone, the first thing they do is to ask a question.  Since the Kal have no faculty for language, this is a simple test to make sure the encountered party is safe.  If the stranger gives no answer, or an unintelligible one, they are assumed to be dangerous. 

After contact, knowledge about the Planetary League spread across the planet, and there was a movement to create a common culture as more tribes sought contact with outsiders and the knowledge they brought. 

In GSC 705, on the 500th anniversary of first contact, a body representing the majority of Bon Jovians voted to join the Planetary League.

Notable Jovians

Burlix Hubart was the mayor of Fructose City on Neo Jalisco.

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