Shaal[]
Bloodlines: Protoss, Galaxian
Short description:
- Eyes color: Violet, or red/blue, rarely golden
- Hair color: Usually white, with blue/red/violet tint, sometimes golden/yellow
- Skin color: Violet (due to Tethis star radiation spectrum), sometimes with metallic blue or red tint
- Average height: 160 cm
- Average weight: 65 kg
- Average age: 31.000 years, but no real maximum exist (Shaal after reaching maturity stops aging)
- Body: Baseline humanoid, with four digits on each externite. Thinner complexion, with bigger (15-23%) lungs and two hearts. Simplier internal multipurpose organs, with redundancies. Specialised organ (on chest cavity, above hearts) for generation and storage of psionic energy/matter, directly connected to brain via neural link.
Sexual organs are retractable, and Shaals are able of changing their sex on demand, albeit it takes some time, and base DNA remains that of original sex.
Brain volume is 15% larger than average Human, while Shaal usually use up to 95% of its maximum capacity. - Each Shaal is psionic (mainly telepathic) and on subconcious level connected with each race member in reach.
Description[]
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Society[]
Society structure
1) Big Triad (Administrator, Protector, Thinker)
a) Tasks (common)
They are doing basic planetary administration, and take care of important things running as they should.
b) Tasks (for each member)
- Administrator conduct interplanetary diplomacy, sserves as highest advisory authority, issues advices influencing course of society, and arbitrate problems unsolved on lower layers of hierarchy or by colleagues.
- Protector take care of planetary defence against external threats and enemy civilisations, and takes care of internal planetary security.
- Thinker take care of science progress and provide advice in spiritual matters of inhabitants. Also Council of Wise is directly liable to him.
2) Council of Wise
Constitued usually of 12 peers, but number may vary, depending on needs.
It takes care of advisory for Wise Ones in matters, outreaching WO's capabilities. Also coordinate their work according to needs of society.
3) Wise Ones
Persons, who attained sufficient wisdom to be capable to help and advice citizens, who does not have sufficient knowledge or faculty, be it proffessional or spiritual. Their task is to travell throughout planet, and be in hand for Citizens and other Wise Ones.
4) Citizens
Baseline population. Their duty is to do at least three hours of work for society (but majority works voluntary many hours longer), remaining time is free for self-education (and Shaals self-educate themself entire life), fun and recreation, familly, gardening (major part of food gathering and relaxation), social life and personal interests.
5) Young ones
Non-adult persons, preparing for future life in main society. Their "work" is study for future specialisations, attended (when mentally capable) at least 2-3 hodurs per day (depending own mental faculty and inner pace); remaining time is reserved for similar things as adults.
6) Immigrants
Albeit rare, but always possible, is immigration from other planets. If comming from another Shaal planet, immigrants are immediatelly accepted into mainstream society. Members of other races are treated as Young ones, until they prove themselves worthy, and then also accepted as Citizens.
Familly
Could be composed by two or more partners. Two partner familly is quite common. But more common is one man an two women. Two men and one woman is less common. Families with two men and two women constitute, when two two-partner families unite.
Three men and one woman, or three women and one man are quite rare, but sometimes emerge. Even more partner famillies are very rare, and usually appear as result of unity of smaller famillies, connected by work, or feelings
Entrance to marriage have three phases, each one year long.
1) Acquitance - partners live with each other freely and try to experience each other;
2) Common work - partners work together three hours per day, othervise don't see each other;
3) Separation - during this phase are partners not allowed to see each other, except random accidental meetings (what should be avoided if possible).
Only if they want to love together after that, marriage is consummated in public ceremony.
Before marriage partners choose one of Wise ones, who oversee pre-marriage phases, and even after marriage serves as familly advisor.
Familly is by default allowed two children per woman, due to popullation policy of Shaal race (ie no more than three million inhabitants per planet). Exceptions are granted by familly patron, after session with Council of Wise. In case of need could limit number of children (for example, when popullation nears constituted limit).
Average time for bringing first child, is approximately after 100-120 years of marriage. This is hovever not condition, only unwritten custom.
Children and younsters
If partners want to conceive child, they are first required to health and genetical examination, so any problems could be found and cured in advance. It also determine probable dispositions, and malfunctions of child. After that, they choose required sex and dispositions, and are treated genetically and nanobotically, what for one year grants desired results. In case, they didn't manage to conceive child in this time, they have to receive treatment again. Many Shaals decide to left parameters of child on random chance, but probable malfunctions are treated always.
Pregnancy is 2-5 years long (and Shaal women are cabable to voluntary shorten or prolong this time by their will on as needed basis). During this time is child's mind gradually developed by telepathic contact with parents and learning machine. In time of delivery is child already sufficienly psychically mature and capable of telepthic contact with others. Also partially capable of independant movement, but still remains dependent on parents.
Until age 25 is child raised and educated in familly, where (s)he continue development of mental abilities, and natural talents. Then starts to attend basic school, where education is upped to level for future self-education. In age of 50 then choose first specialisation and starts to attends proper expert schools and practisess, what goes on untill age of 100, when (s)he becomes full Citizen, and starts working in chosen specialisation.
There is custom for youngster remain with familly, until hers/his work, interests, or own familly lead her/him away. But even after that bonds amongst parents and child remains strong and stable (likevise amoingst siblings, if there are more then one child).
Old age, death, and reincarnation
After Shaal reaches maturity, aging process stops, and didn't resume untill much later.
But even "old" Shaals keep their mental faculty intact, even if body may start to deteriorate - but this is matter of really overage individuals.
Average age is 32.000 years, but many Shalls consciously choose to die earlier, either to free space for next generation, or because they already reached this life goal. When one decide to die, (s)he enters deep meditative state, and then let body to slowly shutdown. After death Shaal enter strange psionic realm, known as Otherwhen (or by Humans as Limbo), where (s)he contemplate past live(s) (what they could in this stage easilly remember), own deeds, experiencer, relations, thoughts, and so on. After some subjective time, when "dead" is content and done with past, (s)he then choose either to ascend to higher plane of existence (if mental capacity allows), or reincarnate in new body (either with or without memory of interim period and past lives).
This waiting period could last anywhere from seconds, to many millenia, as time flow in Otherwhen is subjective.
Spirituality
Due to unique insight to after-death states, Shaals don't fear death, and thus not mourn lost relatives and friends. Instead they often mentally follow them on their "last journey", and sometimes are cable to contact "spirits" in Otherwhen (usually during silent contemplation on home, or in public temple as group). Shaals know about existence of this spirits, and beings of higher evolution level (often in energy or psionic form). Part of Shaal spiritual system is also belief, that everything is alive, in one way or another.
But core is belief in Ultimate Creator, incomprehensible entity behind creation of all known and unknown universes.
Psionism
As said above, all Shaals are strong psionics. Main ability of entire race is telepathy, accompanied with subconscious connection of all indivisuals in ones reach (usually planet, or system wide).
There are also other psionic abilities, albeit some genetic lines have better predisposition for some, than others. This differs, but in general, each Shaal could learn any ability, given proper training and enough time.
With routine telepathic communication in hand, Shaals are more social beings, than average. They also developed so called psionic ethic. For example, one is not alloved to read mind of other, untill given permission. There are many other rules and ethic codexes about using psionic abilities, but they have them ingrained in subconcious from vere early age, and follow them almost as instinct.
Work and reward system
All work necessary to be done, is performed voluntary by those, who are closest to place of need, and have proper specialisation(s)/abilities. As Shaals are highly nomadic in range of their planet, they could move anywhere they are needed.
Anybody could join work and leave as (s)he wishes, but they rarely leave their work only partially done (but also then it posses no problem, as there is always sulprus of volunteers). This work often lasts no less than three hours per day, but many work much longer, for common welfare.
Shaals don't use money, except for interstellar trade (but even then they prefer exchange of goods, instead of money, if it is possible). For their voluntary work are Shaals awarded with anything of their needs - and Shaal don't have high needs...
Everything, what can't be directly manufactured (and Shaals value handwork above all other methods), is created either in underground autofactories, or directly materialised by those with proper ability, and then distributed to those, who want it.
Handwork and manufactured items exchange
As Shaals are rarely in need of extra resources, they make joy in personal creating of art and small gift items. They feel no need of permanently possesing them, and often gift them to familly members, friends, or random visitors. They don't expect anything in return, but as this approach is widespread amongst their race, they are often gifted back anyways. Shaals often carry multiple of this small gifts with them, and are glad to spread them around, making joy of joy of gifted.
This art and gifts may change hands even multiple times per day, and original creator often mentally follows its path (and also its spreaded joy and sense of community), thus participating in mutual bonds of entire race. It is not unusuall, that some piece after some time return to its originator, in meantime sometimes encircling entire planet multiple times (and in rare cases, even multiple planets).
Personal relations
Shaals live in small habitation units, either for single person, or entire familly. Those units are mobile, hanging on antigravitation cushion few centimeters above ground (but are capable to rise and keep to multiple hundreds of meters above local terrain). With their deep familly ties, and nomadic lifestyle, it is not uncommon sight of group of this units moving in height to new place. This have another implication: Shalls don't use large cities, instead using freeform temporary groupings of mobile units. And also many other buildings (like supply stations, libraries, hospitals, etc) are also mobile, and in sufficient number. Only small portion of buildings are imobile, like spaceports, main supply reservoars, factories (usually hidden underground), and some permanent instalations (like Main Library, Capitol, Defense platforms, or interceptor launchers), but Shaals spend big effort for this buildings fitting into landscape without disturbing it (Shaals have strong ecological feeling and try to preserve unharmed nature everywhere possible).
Thus one could travel entire world, and meet various neighbours, without ever leaving vicinity of their house. But also this houses are often abandoned, and one move to another currently vacant unit. With little or no personall possesions (Shaals often travel with only small personal pack with most liked items and some necessary equipment), this makes every person ultimatelly free in movement. And they often leave their personal art, or gift items in previous place, leaving them for future visitors to admire, or even take away. This abandoned places are marked as such, so visitor would know, that items left behind are free to take. In opposite, taking items from inhabited unit without permission of current occupant, is considered rude, and in violation of basic rules.
Shaals also like visits and meetings with others, either for purpose of work, or simply socialising. This visits could occur anytime, if individual don't activate signal for not disturption time (in this case is unwanted visit possible only in case of real need).
With only 3 million (sometimes even less) inhabitants of planet, extreme lifespan of individual, coupled with extreme mobility, one could easilly get to know large percent of popullation, with quite large net of various bonds and relations. And ven complete strangers are often welcomed, as best friends.
Crimes and punisment
Shaals doesn't know crimes per se, due to nature of their society (albeit they know about them from other races).
But sometimes somebody get unexpected mental condition (Shaals treat all crimes as mental illnes), and starts to behave against common rules. This usually didn't last long unnoticed, due to high socialising telepathic society.
When such person is detected, is quickly restrained, and then moved to psychiatric institute, where is (almost always succesfully, as this abbreviations are usually not very deep) cured, and then released back to society, albeit often under some supervision (usually not much visible, but still present) for necessary time.
For more serious crimes (often conducted by outsiders), is another punishment (albeit sometimes mental treatment could be applied, before anything else). Transgressor is either passed over for punishment by proper government (outsiders) or expelled to barren artifical world (insiders), where could still live unharmed, albeit in much harsher conditions, and eventually be redeemed.
Most serious crimes are punished either by banishment to virtual world (where offender, either alone, or accompanied by "Valkyre AIs" (guardians, and artifical punishers) have time to contemplate their crime, and have chance to redeem self), or, if anything else fails, painless euthanasion.
Technology[]
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History[]
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Known bloodlines and their difference from main race[]
Protoss[]
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Galaxian[]
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Important characters[]
Unsorted tidbits[]
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