Alien Races
There are a number of major and minor alien races within the Julian Protectorate. Some of the more common, or noteworthy ones are mentioned here.
Vilani/Solomani
At the height of Ziru Sirka dominance, most of Meshan, Mendan, and Amdukan
sectors were under the control of the Vilani Makhidarun bureau, with some
control of the Mendan Main and its surrounds shared with other bureaux.
These areas, along with the rest of the Ziru Sirka, fell under the control
of the Rule of Man at the conclusion of the Interstellar Wars, but even
before that time, the area served to attract Solomani traders. The influx
of Solomani traders increased during the Rule of Man, and their experience
and familiarity with the area came to the notice of Emperor Hiroshi II, who
appointed such individuals to planetary administration, replacing the
military administration of the area.
Scorpion Company Logo
In addition to the appointment of experienced traders as planetary
governors, a Solomani development company, Scorpion, in cooperation with
the Vilani Sharurshid bureau, recruited colonists for the development of
the Antarean region. These two factors contributed to a vibrant, thriving
region which prospered while the rest of the empire decayed.
Vargr
As the Rule of Man decayed, Vargr settlers, who had obtained Jump drive
from the Vilani in Corridor and Windhorn sectors, finally rounded the
coreward end of the Windhorn Rift and entered the area. While initial
reaction was positive (the Vargr were viewed as a potentially useful
resource), raiders and corsairs inevitably followed, and just as inevitably,
conflict between human and Vargr resulted. This conflict did little to
build trust between the races, but remained relatively low-key until the
spark of the Sack of Gashikan.
Panet Relationships
On Asimikigir itself, integration and harmonious relations between
Human and Vargr have progressed farther than anywhere else in the
Asimikigir Confederation, or indeed in the Protectorate itself. On
most other worlds, individual relationships between Human and Vargr are
often friendly; it is unusual for them to progress beyond that to
intimate (in a non-sexual sense). On Asimikigir, it is common for
Human and Vargr to achieve a relationship whose closeness is matched
elsewhere only in the relationship between a person and a pet - except
that in the case of the relationship between a Human and a Vargr, there
is no sense of one member of the relationship being in any way
subordinate to the other. This relationship is referred to as the
'panet' relationship, possibly from 'comPANion/pET'.
The panet relationship has been described as a recognition of the fact
that Humans and Vargr like each other, fundamentally. Those who accept
the panet relationship as 'natural' point to the close relationship
between Humans and non-sophont canines that started on Earth in
prehistoric times, and which continues to this day. They suggest that
the same psychological factors that operated to bring Humans and
canines together on Earth continue to operate to bring Human and Vargr
together; the fact that Vargr are sophonts as well adds an additional
measure of respect that does not normally exist in the relationship
with non-sophont canines, but in no way reduces the fundamental
attraction between the two species.
A Human and a Vargr in a panet relationship are free within certain
relatively loose social limits to engage in behavior that might be
considered "shocking" by either Humans or Vargr elsewhere. For
example, the Human member of the relationship may be seen to scratch or
rub the Vargr member much as might be done to a non-sophont dog, and
the Vargr will enjoy it; similarly, it is not unusual to see the Vargr
member of a panet relationship to greet the Human member after a
prolonged separation by placing his/her hands on the Human's shoulders
and licking the Human's face enthusiastically.
The panet relationship is part of the "social scene" on Asimikigir;
certain social functions require that an attendee bring a panet, much
as others require a spouse or a friend of a particular type.
Members of a panet relationship often also have close relationships
with others of their own species; in both Human and Vargr families, one
or both parents may have panets, who are considered "part of the
family", acting in the role of perhaps a "favorite uncle". The result
of these interlocked relationships is an "extended family" containing
members of both species; it has been noted by psychologists of both
species that the children of both species in such extended families are
more likely to form panet relationships, and at an earlier age, than
those who are not as exposed to panet relationships.
Hhkar
The Hhkar are known to have been a spacefaring race for longer than any
other sophont race in Charted Space. Several worlds in what is now
Hikaru Subsector have extensive pyramidal ruins, the youngest of which
is over ten thousand years old. The most extensive of these ruins was
found during the Vilani Imperium period, on Urinir (since renamed
Skkyhrk by the Hhkar, upon their return). It was thought that the race
that built those ruins had been destroyed by plague; the return of the
Hhkar near the end of the Long Night, in -222, came as a shock to the
Vargr who inhabited that planet.
Hhkar starflight was not based on jump drive; they acquired jump drive
from the Vargr upon their return. The Hhkar migrations were done via
regular space ships operating at relativistic velocities and fueled by
ramscoops. The reason for the migrations - and the return - are
unknown; the Hhkar have shown no willingness to discuss the issue.
Current hypotheses, based on the limited information that xenologists
have been able to obtain, mostly from traditional stories and religious
writings of the Hhkar, suggest that the Hhkar homeworld of Ssrar
(location unknown) was geologically violent. This forced the Hhkar to
develop a nomadic culture, although they did develop the practice of
building permanent structures. These structures were left intact when
a Hhkar ssaaahk (clan or race) migrated away, and were often used by
ssaaahk that later entered the area, or by the original builders if
they returned to the area even centuries later. There is a certain
amound of reverence for such structures; very little is done to change
them when they are reused.
The nomadic culture, coupled with increasing population, made
competition between ssaaahk, and eventually war between them,
increasingly common. To reduce conflict, a system of dominant and
subordinate ssaaahk was developed, paralleling in many ways the
structure of dominant and subordinate clans among the Aslan.
Because of the lengthy period in which the Hhkar culture adapted to
being spaceborne, many Hhkar today still prefer to live shipboard, in
orbital cities. Many of these cities are jump-capable, allowing the
residents to maintain their nomadic lifestyle, although they tend to
remain within or very near the Hhkar Sphere.
For reasons unknown, the Hhkar left their homeworld around -50,000, and
colonized other worlds, including Urinir and nearby worlds. Again,
there is no indication of a reason for leaving them around -10,000, and
no indication of why they chose to return in -222 (or, more accurately,
why other Hhkar ssaaahk chose to occupy the worlds at that time). The
Hhkar recolonization of -222 originally aimed to exterminate completely
the human and Vargr society present on the world; Vargr emissaries were
able to negotiate a complete surrender after three years of war. The
terms of surrender included the destruction of non-productive members
of the society (the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed); a total
ban on new births was also part of the terms. Today, there is only a
small population of (Vargr) non-Hhkar present on the planet; these are
descendants of original inhabitants who rejected the surrender to the
Hhkar and went into hiding. They remain for the most part in
subterranean tunnels; the Hhkar do not actively hunt them down, but
they are killed on sight.
Over the next 500 years, the Hhkar expanded their sphere of occupied
worlds, following similar patterns. The expansion was brought to a
halt in 377, when Commodore David Lindquist of the Star Legion was able
to almost defeat the Hhkar at Kargan; the Hhkar were so impressed by
Lindquist's tenacity and cleverness that when he was captured, he was
given an honorable execution, and the Hhkar withdrew from the system in
spite of having been victorious. There were subsequently several
skirmished with the Star Legion, but the Hhkar gradually entered a more
cooperative relationship with the Protectorate and with the Menderes
Corporations. Today, the Menderes Corporations have sizeable
industrial holdings within Hhkar territory, all operated by the Hhkar.
Hhkar Physiology and Sociology
Hhkar are evolved from a reptiloid carnivore/killer. They are roughly
humanoid in appearance, but still show their origins in the heavy claws
at the end of each of their three fingers on each hand, and in the
heavy tail used for balance. They stand, walk or run with a
forward-leaning posture, tail extended behind them or used as a "third
leg" at rest. Like most known reptiloid species, Hhkar possess scales.
The Hhkar show as much variety within their species as do humans.
Social relationships are based on a "racial" grouping, called a
"ssaaahk", where common characteristics define the group. The ssaaahk
has the first loyalty of the individual Hhkar, even above what many
humans describe as "loyalty to self" - the needs of the ssaaahk have
absolute first priority, and obedience to the ssaaahk and the patriarch
thereof are absolute. There is a large group of Hhkar individuals who
do not exhibit the racial characteristics that identify them as a
member of the ssaaahk into which they were born; these individuals are
second-class citizens (raaabr) within Hhkar society. It should be
noted that most such individuals are killed as juveniles; the raaabr
citizens are those who survive to adulthood and are ejected from their
ssaaahk. If they exhibit the characteristics of a different ssaaahk,
they may petition for admission to that ssaaahk; it is usually several
generations before such a petition is granted. While an individual is
an outcast from all ssaaahk, he will generally be found as a
servant/employee of a ssaaahk.
Hhkar are adaptable to many tainted atmospheres; while they require
oxygen to survive, they prefer atmospheres laden with sulfur compounds
that humans would consider heavily polluted, exotic, or worse. They
are also capable of thriving in atmospheres that contain other taints
as well. In untainted atmospheres, Hhkar must take precautions
analogous to those that humans must take in tainted atmospheres.
Hhkar are meat-eaters, but everything we have learned about the Hhkar
indicates that meat alone is insufficient to sustain them. The best
information available to us indicates that the atmosphere of their
original homeworld provided many nutrients through respiration;
however, due to geological activity, the availability of those
nutrients varied. To correct for this, the Hhkar started inhaling the
smoke from burning certain kinds of vegetable matter, sometimes treated
with minerals. This allowed more leisure than eating killed animals
did, and gradually assumed the social function in Hhkar society that
eating does in most human societies. The practice took on additional
importance after the Hhkar started settling worlds with alien
environments. Social smoking customs among the Hhkar have been adopted
by other races in the protectorate; similarly, the Hhkar have adopted
some of the customs of the societies that they have come in contact
with, and cultivate tobacco and other plants used by humans and Vargr
for smoking. Hhkar will almost never be found smoking in the presence
of humans or Vargr; many of the substances and compounds that the Hhkar
smoke are unpleasant, noxious, or worse to those races.
Hhkar are oviparous, with gestation taking about 21 weeks. Juveniles
are lighter of frame and faster and more agile than adults. They are
capable of taking a place in society within weeks of hatching, although
they do not reach full growth and maturity until age 22. The average
adult Hhkar is over 2m in height and masses over 250kg.
Hhkar all begin life as males, changing genders later in life, up to
six times throughout their lifespan of almost 200 years. As females,
Hhkar enter estrus and mate once per year. A typical clutch contains
one to six eggs; these eggs are deposited in a central communal area,
heavily guarded, called the "Caves of Life". Juveniles are supervised
by females, who will defend them with their lives. The females are
also responsible for killing those juveniles deemed deformed, slow to
learn, or difficult to control.
Gender change involved biochemical changes that culminate in shedding
of the skin. This also has a renewing effect, so that a Hhkar does not
suffer from aging effects as most other sophonts do. There are also
significant psychological changes involved in a gender change; Hhkar
changing genders lose all skills specific to the old gender - but when
they change back, those skills are regained.
As demonstrated by the gender change, there is a strong connection
between the Hhkar's mental state and his physiological state. The
Hhkar have developed or discovered several mental states which induce
or enhance physical capabilities or changes, and their medical science
and spiritual life is based around the interaction between mind and
body. The mental states range from a state of suspended animation,
wherein most life processes come to a virtual halt (and do not count
against the Hhkar lifespan), through several "dreaming" states, used
for different purposes ranging from spiritual insight to logical
analysis and decision making, and into a number of fully waking states,
ranging from a low-mentation laborer mode up to learning and combat
modes. In addition, there are a number of "medical" modes, used to
enhance the body's ability to repair a wide variety of injuries and
illnesses.
Because of the nature of Hhkar mentality, they rarely use drugs - drugs
cause an imbalance between the mind and the body, which results in
extreme mental stress and the altering of the consciousness state into
any one of several extremely undesirable modes.
Psionic capability among the Hhkar has not been studied. The Hhkar
believe that psionics cause the perversion of the soul, and make it
impossible to achieve the higher spiritual states of consciousness.
Their aversion to psionics is sufficiently strong that a known psionic
of any race is guaranteed a violent reaction, whether the powers are
actually used or not.
Bwaps (Newts)
Marhaban (Lentuli/Empty Quarter 0426), in the Imperium, is the
homeworld of the Bwaps or Newts, a minor alien species that resemble
Terrestrial salamanders more than anything else. Newts are regarded as
bureaucrats par excellance, and have been since the days of the Vilani
Imperium. It is from that time that their presence in the area of the
present-day Julian Protectorate dates.
The typical Newt is about 1.4m in height, and masses anywhere from 30
to 50kg. They prefer environments of extremely high humidity,
experiencing various levels of discomfort as the humidity drops below
98%. In humidity of less than 25%, a sealed environment suit is
required for the Newt to survive; at higher humidities, it will
generally suffice for a Newt to wear special garments designed to keep
their skin moist.
Newts range in color from yellow-green through green, blue, and brown;
each individual Newt has a unique pattern of body markings, generally
in a darker shade of their basic body color. In areas of the skin that
lack intense coloring, the Newt has a bluish cast, due to blood whose
oxygen transporting compound is more analogous to hemocyanin than
hemoglobin, being based on copper instead of iron.
Newts are viewed by other species as being obsessed with order and
propriety; a Newt takes literally the proverbial phrase 'a place for
everything and everything in its place', going to great lengths to
ensure that everything is 'just so' and as it should be. Trying to
rush a Newt, or encourage one to take 'shortcuts', is quite definitely
counterproductive, and will often earn a long lecture on the
proprieties of the situation.
Newt social interactions center around their basic philosophy, which is
an extension of 'a place for everything and everything in its place'.
Much of their time is spent discussing their place in the cosmos, and
ascertaining the place in the cosmos of the other. It is their
'obsession' with this philosophy that makes them excellent candidates
for any job that requires painstaking care; Newts are found not only as
bureaucrats, but as accountants, historians, and scientists in the
'hard' sciences.
Kedepu
The Kedepu (correct plural; the singular and adjectival are both
"Kedep") are a Human minor race apparently planted here at around the
same time as most other human races were transplanted from Terra.
Physically, they are not remarkably different from the human norm,
averaging 1.5m in height and 85kg mass.
Mentally, however, they depart radically from the human norm; there is
no trace in Kedep society, history, or literature of anything
resembling religion or "spirituality", and the incidence of what would
be considered mental illness is zero. Additionally, what is considered
crime elsewhere is extremely low (less than 5% of the rate on most
other worlds), and most of what does occur can be classified as crimes
of omission or of negligence. Standardized evaluations of mental
ability show that the Kedep are inherently no more (or less)
intelligent than most humans, but have a learning rate that is
unmatched among all other known human variants.
The Kedepu consider the acquisition of knowledge, and its exchange for
other knowledge, to be the most desirable form of recreation, and their
entire society is built around that principle, with most Kedep having
held several radically different jobs (to learn different skills), and
almost every Kedep either learning a new skill or new science, or
teaching it - or, not infrequently, both. When first contacted by the
Lorean Hegemony, there was some initial confusion - the Kedepu seemed
intrigued by the high-tech goods that the Loreans offered to make
available to them, but they didn't seem interested in purchasing them.
At the same time, discussions to set up a formal trade agreement were
eagerly sought by the Kedepu. When it was finally realized that the
Kedepu were less interested in the goods themselves than they were in
the manufacturing processes, the Loreans understood the cause of
confusion, but expressed some reluctance - what would be the benefit to
the Loreans if the Kedepu could make the products on their own. The
Kedepu took very little time to come up with a solution that surprised
the Loreans with its elegance: The Kedepu would pay the Loreans to
assist in Kedep technological development by making available to the
Loreans all Kedep research data, plus access to Kedep resources in
controlled amounts so as not to disrupt either the Kedep society or
environment. Additionally, the Kedepu would join the Lorean Hegemony
and remit a small royalty from any trade in knowledge or products
deriving from Lorean information to the Hegemony.
In order to facilitate the technological development of Kedepar,
immigration would be permitted; however, the Kedepu had some concerns
about becoming dependent on the Loreans for the technology; this would
be unacceptable. The Loreans came up with the basic concepts of the
solution; the final agreement on immigration and uplift was reached
after years of negotiation, and could be summarized thus:
The population of non-Kedep on Kedepar would be restricted to no more than 35% of the total planetary population.
Mandatory segregation not based strictly on the need for dissimilar physical environments would be absolutely prohibited.
All immigrants would undergo psychological screening; those deemed to have an unhealthy level of xenophobia would be barred from Kedepar (the Kedepu were going to hold out for no xenophobia at all; a discussion and examination of non-Kedep psychology revealed that this was simply unrealistic).
No technology would be introduced to Kedepar that the Kedepu could not adequately maintain with their existing technological base. As part of the introduction of technology to Kedepar, an educational program would be instituted to integrate the new technology into Kedep society. A technology would not be deemed integrated until the Kedepu could produce it without assistance from the Loreans.
Kedepar remains a shining example of what cooperation can achieve; it
is expected that in the near future, a new agreement will be negotiated
to allow Kedepar to begin uplifting of other planets on the same terms
as their uplift.
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Navigation
The Julian Protectorate
Alien Races
Campaign Setting
Chronology
Julian War
Member States
Menderes Corporation
Star Legion
Tetusu-Dene Scale
The Tetusu-Dene Scale was developed in the Imperial Spinward Marches as an
aid to recognizing Vargr integration into Human societies on the Imperial
Core-Spinward frontier. It has been adopted (in slightly modified form) by
the Julian Protectorate to recognize the level of integration of societies
within the Protectorate.
The Modified Tetusu-Dene Scale is interpreted as follows:
0: Insufficient Contact - The world has not had sufficient contact with
the other species for any attitude on interaction to have developed.
1: Total Xenophobia - Members of the dominant species are bent on the
extermination of the other. Attempts to extend extermination policies
to other worlds will be made.
2: Passive Xenophobia - Murder of the other species when found on the planet
is routine, and generally government policy. If political repercussions
are involved, deportation may occur. Under no circumstances will an
ambassador of the other species be accepted, and relations with states
with less xenophobic attitudes are never warm.
3: Enslavement - Members of the other species are regarded as fit only to
serve the dominant species as slaves. Importation and breeding is
carefully controlled.
4: Alienation - Members of the other species are generally confined to
reservations, except where it suits the convenience of the dominant
species to permit otherwise. Crimes against the other species by the
dominant species are generally not prosecuted; crimes by the other
species against the dominant species generally are punished by long terms
of imprisonment or forced labor, by extremes of corporal punishment, or
by death.
5: Strong Apartheid - Members of the other species are granted limited
rights. Some prosecutions of serious crimes against the other species
may occur. "Free" movement may be permitted, possibly under a system of
travel passes. Participation in government by the other species is
barred, and franchise or equivalent is unavailable.
6: Weak Apartheid - Members of the other species are permitted to
participate in government, though they may be barred from many higher
offices. Franchise or equivalent may be extended, but limited in scope.
Many occupations are closed to members of the other species, and
restrictions on social activities are common. Facilities provided by
the government for use of the other species are inferior to those
provided for the use of the dominant species. Segregation is mandatory
on the part of the other species, voluntary on the part of the dominant
species.
7: Legislative Equality - Members of the other species are not treated
differently at law. Segregation of most activities occurs, and may
or may not be mandatory.
8: Formal Integration - Legal segregation is nonexistent, and forced
segregation of most activities may be illegal. Segregation is either
nonexistent or very informal and very limited, and viewed with distaste.
Intimate relationships between members of different species are unusual,
and meet social resistance.
9: Total Integration - Both species participate in society on a fully equal
basis. Deliberate segregation on any level is considered unacceptable,
and possibly provocative. Intimate relationships between members of
different species are not considered unusual.
The original Tetusu-Dene Scale assumed that, in an unequal relationship
between the species, Humans were dominant. As this may not be the case in
the Julian Protectorate, Tetusu-Dene evaluations of 7 or less are suffixed
with V for Vargr-dominated cultures, or H for Human-dominated cultures.
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