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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 14:46:12 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300] Section E - Interaction with their environment [/shadow]
Evolution in their home Ecosystem
The Chy’var started life in the oceans but very quickly by their own evolutionary standards they became land creatures. From their they turned into small herd animals. This is where many of the current psychological and psychological traits have developed from.
Being tiny animals in what was once a planet full of pack hunting predators their safety was only assured when they grouped together in large numbers. This is the foundation of the group oriented society and how they managed to survive those early days. In large numbers they were no longer defenseless, they were even able to fight back and take down many of the predators that hunted them. Their success as a group spelt doom for many of the creatures that needed to eat them to survive. As they became meat-eaters their brain mass also increased in development. Within five million years they came to the cusp of intelligence already one of the most dominant species on their little planet.
Being dominate did not automatically mean the most numerous, they had a population of only around half a million spread in groups of around one hundred over several continents. The main problem they had to maintaining their population numbers was the relatively low rate if eggs reaching full term due to their long gestation cycle. Their planet was also going through an unstable period at this point with harsher conditions to live in. Roughly analogous to an ice age thing got more desperate for them but it was through their burgeoning intelligence that they managed to survive.
Although the planet did not totally freeze over it got cold enough to be of detriment to the environment. While by others standards it was cold enough to cause discomfit, for most of the lifeforms their it had much more drastic consequences.
Not only did most of the animals suffer from the drop in temperature but many plant verities also became extinct. This had quite a knock on effect to other species, which relied on those plants as food. The Chy’var was one such animal. When they were but simple grassing animals such a disaster would have been enough to wipe them out. It was only because they had become meat eaters that they had an alternative food supply. They became much more reliant on it now, becoming predators to survive the harsh conditions. Being meat-eaters had some plus sides to it, it helped them build an extra layer of fat on themselves to help cope in the cold conditions. Even more importantly the extra nutrients help to eventually kick-start the development of their cerebrum. This was increased their much needed advantage to survive in this high competitive era. As more plant then animals disappeared from the knock-on effects of the cold other animals also became more relent on hunting. Their intelligence and their heard mentality prevented any other predatory animal from killing too many of them.
The weather did not pick up for another two thousand years but in this time the Chy’var developed far more then any other period in their history. Before it had happened they were on the cusp of intelligence, but by the time it had ended they had begun taking their first steps to becoming a civilisation. The way in which they communicated had become much more sophisticated then any other animals on the planet and they had become much more aware of the environment around them
It was another several thousand years before they really began to use their newfound intelligence in any meaningful way but they were already well on their way.
Primitive dwellings were built out of mud and rock to shelter themselves in; they could erect inter communities in little under a day. They were not permanent structures, lasting for less then a year. At this point however they had no agriculture and where still relying on hunting for the prime meals, so it suited them to not stay in the area for very long.
They have always had a migratory nature; moving onto better ground but eventually they stopped this the conditions around them reached their best ever. With an abundance of food and shelter they no longer had to travel about. Once they became more rooted to an area things like agriculture and permanent settlements became more important to them. Around this their first cities formed, a base from which gave them time to begin to use their intelligence.
When the conditions got better they had already started to produce civilization, and the millions of years of working as a group had meant that it was echoed in their evolutionary patterns. It also meant their further psychology development was always based around this fact and that of their culture.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 14:59:09 GMT -5
The Chy’var Home world
All the indigenous creatures of the Chy’var Homeworld Tyel’m (Ti-lamb) inhabit a world that is supremely exotic. Although there are some similarities compared to other worlds, in this extreme environment nothing is complexly the same.
Despite being eerily similar in appearance to other biospheres the strange mixture of chemicals on the surface and in the air make it a very different place for life.
The three main atmospheric components are Nitrogen, Fluorine and oxygen. The Fluorine levels are by far the highest of these, which is predominate as a thick blanket of yellowy green ground fog that tends to glow as the light from the sun pass through the atmosphere.
Water is very much the same as it is on most other worlds, however it is tainted by the sulphur of the atmosphere. When it rains because of the low gravity and airpressure the drops fall very slowly; in snowflake fashion.
The distribution of the major families of the animal kingdom produce an eccentric mixture that make it an even more strange, if beautiful place.
For instance while there are fish like creatures that inhabit the seas they tend to be of the Bryozoan/Colenerates families. Thus jellyfish are one of the major sea creatures on the planet.
On the land Mollusks and Echinderms are the main families with relatively few mammals around, and most of those are monotremes types. The reason for this strange mixture is almost completely down to the environmental conditions of the planet. The more complex an organism the more in terms of mass it needs to survive. With the harsher conditions that they have to live in, it is much tougher for any organisms to operate under such extremes. That is why so many of the more conventional creatures as such a rarity on the planet. Such animals would need so much more protections against the elements around them. If they were them work they have to have so much more protection which of course means that they have many more biological problems. So much of their body becomes protection for the harsh conditions that only 20 present of its body is given over to the actual internal ‘workings’. However the more complex they become the more problems that they could possibly shrumb to. More radical creatures have filled the gaps in the food chain, whose slightly more simplistic nature allows them to adapt better to planet. The smaller, quicker and more flexible invertebrates have been a much more successful line. With the advantage of a lower gravity it is much easier for them to move about so they have become predominant surface creatures.
This also explains why so many of the mammal like creatures are not only tall given the lighter gravity condition but massive in form as well. These titans of the planet are so huge they could crush cities, it is only by sheer fact that their mass makes them so slow moving and vulnerable that they have not just done that.
The Chy’var are quite a complex organism on the planet, more so then often seen there. It is only because of the systemic way their body has been wired that allows them to overcome the problems that mammals have. Although such systemic biology is a hallmark of the world, there are few specie around that are quite as complex as them. Most of their predersesers where wiped out as an evolutionary dead end, suffering from problems of highly complex body functions, however the Chy’var system is so much robust then theirs. It was only through their few unique qualities that gave them the edge over the other competing organisms that helped them survive through their early environment devastation.
[glow=red,2,300]CHANGES: Paragraph 3, Florine Replacing Sulfur in atmosphere. Thanks DAZO![/glow]
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 15:03:16 GMT -5
Psychology
[shadow=red,left,300]Section A - Group Mentality [/shadow]
Like all other species almost all their Psychological traits come directly from their biological nature. The singular thing that really reflects who they are as a race is their unique method of procreation. Being ‘duplicates’ of each other has made all the individuals of their race group very similar to each other and have less divergence,
Their genetic similarity is as much a boon as it is a curse to them. They consider themselves all equal since, few excel physically over the others. It is only in intelligence that they make the distinction; and the only difference in that comes from age. The oldest are always the ‘leaders’ since they have been around long enough to know what they are talking about. Although defining them as the leaders of society would be quite misleading in this case since none actually control anything, but because they are considered more experienced they are listened to more often then not.
These similarity has produced a society that is very group orientated. They don’t believe individuals are important to the ‘whole’ since only when they work together do they actually achieve anything. This marks the way the go about their everyday lives. They live in cramped communities since they feel the need to be around others, to be part of the whole. It is more then just a psychological comfort to them, its important to keep them working together as a people. Since individually they are not very intelligent and are prone to stupid mistakes it is again only as groups that they are effective. Alone they are confused and muddled, scared and weak. They find it hard to do anything; they will become more lethargic and stagnant. That is why whatever they do they never do it alone.
This has made them a very democratic natured people. They love bouncing ideas off of each other, knowing as a group they are much easier to come up with a complete solution.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 15:05:15 GMT -5
Stagnation
This aspect of themselves can also be viewed as a curse, they have the tendency to groupthink a situation. They have suffered periods of their history where they have been quite inflexible in the way they think because the majority rules and they have suppress any highly individual thoughts. This had led to them to stagnate for long periods of time where no progress has been made ether socially or technologically. In fact their advance from iron age mechanics to the most basic industrialisation took many hundreds of thousands of years to accomplish because of this. While this situation could be seen as largely counterproductive it did have the advantage of forcing their society to mature so that when technological advancement did happen they were more ready for it and had less of a culture shock for the older members of their race.
Personal space
They have no concept of personal space and are not bother at all by living in close proximity to others. Their lack of emotional baggage make them suited to this which allows them to do this without feeling they are being imposed on. They have little sense of personal property and anything they have is always shared with anyone else. Thus they cannot make each other feel uncomfortable or even annoy them.
This has made them a very trusting people, and they don’t even consider that deceit is even possible. No Chy’var lies; ever. They have no qualms about telling things as how they are. Being able to think on multiple levels at once has prevented them from being upset by anything. It is like they are able to step back and detach themselves from a sitation and make a clear judgment from the different perspectives their mind takes. Even in their modern age such things have not yet perminated their socity even after hundreds of years spying on humans. As yet they have not ever needed to use any form of subterfuge.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 15:08:46 GMT -5
Society Matters; not the individual
They can seem heartless to the individuals, they don’t really care when one person dies because there are thousands more waiting to replace them. Since it is the group that is important the individuals will each bare their part of the burden. It has been known for overeager people to get killed in the attempt to do something for the greater whole rather then care about their own safety. Its not that they are stupid or self-destructive people, but it perversely the only real way to make their mark on the world.
Social Groupings
Although they strive to be similar to each other in the past few millennia their have been some divergent in their society. These are based on the jobs they have. There has always been a clear distinction between the different ‘kiths’ in their society, since each job they perform has different functions. However these changes have become even more accelerated now since they are implanted with upgrades to help them in their particular field. So now instead of a group society of completely average people they are now a group society made up of sub groups. In the end it comes down to the same thing; they still conform to the norm for their particular function and still strive to fit in. In the bigger picture even the different castes conform to society in the whole and no group wishes to be more powerful then the other because they need to be in sync with the rest of their people.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 15:12:43 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Section B – None Evolutionary Traits [/shadow]
Chy’var have now become migratory beings that shun most mechanical technology. This is perhaps the only aspect of their physiological make-up that is not completely born of their biology, it stems from their history
A long time ago when they were isolated to just their home system, their world became overcrowded and highly mechanised. Although they lived like this for thousands of year they did not really worry about until they suddenly realised what was happening to the environment around them. They almost completely destroyed their own ecosystem in their ignorance, and had not even considered it as a possibility up until that point. When they realised what was going on they acted hastily to stop it but failed. It was a point in which their civilisation almost died out, and to a civilisation that holds nothing dearer it was a real wake up call. They had to survive under even worse conditions until they left the planet and they vowed to never again let such a thing happen.
Migration
From this point onwards they began to look after the worlds they were on. Now that they are a fully fledged starfairing race they see it as they duty to protect their environment. This has forced them into the position of migrating between the planets they inhabit, staying only a thousand years at most. Even on worlds that are basically dead anyway they prefer to make as minimal impact as possible.
They now consider themselves tenants rather then owners of the worlds. They would rather dump any waste they have into space rather then spoil a world by dumping it. They also only perform limiting mining operations and most of those are on worlds completely uninhabitable to any form of life.
Everything in their lives has a temporary feel to it. Their buildings can be taken down in days and shipped off to another world if needs be. Most of the time it does not need to be this way but they feel as if that even if they are only going to move from the planet in a few hundred years they might as well be ready and prepared to move. They also proud of the fact that they could leave a world and there would be nothing left to say that they had been there.
Its an almost irrational fear they have taken hold of their society. They see it simply; in order to survive the environment they live in must remain intact. It takes them to almost detrimental lengths in order to do what they think is best. If that means they will never have a permanent home to call their own, they will gladly do it. This fear is so far embedded into their minds that they can do nothing but capitulate to it. Society is the most important thing to them; extinction is not an option. That is what they will think will happen if they get careless again
It is perhaps a irony that this fear came in useful. After contact with the Imperium they have learned that the need to migrate between worlds is their best chance for survival in this harsh times.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 15:16:00 GMT -5
Technology
They also somewhat blamed mechanical technology for its part it their earlier suffering; they had become so reliant on it that it blinded them to the destruction they were causing simply because they knew no other way.
However instead of shunning technology altogether they phased out mechanics and replaced with biological. It was a much more attractive method; you could grow your own technology, it would heal itself and it did not have such a detrimental effect on their environment.
They still use mechanical devices but in a much but prefer to use biologics wherever they can. If they must use something mechanical they then always mix it in with their bio-technology in order to get rid of the ‘taint’. That is the way they view it, as almost an evil omen It causes somewhat of a distress to any Chy’var to look at something too mechanical, because it is like a open wound to them. They can not survive without it but they feel disillusioned by its memory.
However their have been some technology that has not been tarred by this brush. Their transgate network which is so important to their mass migration is ‘overlooked’ when it comes to this distain they have. In fact they almost come to cherish it, but only because it is the root of their continuing existence.
Similarly any technology that slips into this category can almost be forgiven; but they are still very wary of it.
That is the way they have been ever since those events, and the terrors of ages bygone had taken root in their collective psyche; they now so fear that destroying the worlds they exist on because they see it had destroying themselves. They have gladly accepted these changes to their lifestyle and now see it as part of the norm.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 15:17:51 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300] Section C - Motivation [/shadow]
The Primary motivation of the Chy’var race is that of their continuing existence. It is intrinsically connected to the way they think and in part help to form their group oriented life. Before they became sentient the conditions of their environment forced them to co-operate with each other. It massively changed what they were into what they are now. This co-operation meant their very survival and even thought they are now sapient beings and are able to challenge any catastrophe that could possibly wipe them out, it is still very much a focus at the back of their collective thoughts. The near miss they had with extinction only a hundred thousand years ago, and the more resent trouble with the Imperium, has enforced this sense. Nothing would emotionally cripple one of them more then to think they had failed in someway to meet the needs of society. However this fear is hugely magnified with the idea that their race could fail.
Failure to them mean death, success life. Although such things on an individual basis is easy to tell (i.e. how good they are at their job) telling this on the specie level is much harder to judge. However what is certain is that when they set their mind to a task they must not fail at it. They will simply not except that sort of thing and will keep attempting their goal until they succeed.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 15:21:22 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Section D - Emotional Framework [/shadow]
The Chy’var have a higher emotional threshold then most, meaning that they do not have such intense ‘feelings’. Having their brain spread about all their other tissues causes this, since their ability to think along several angles at ones means that they are a lot less distracted by this kind of thing.
This however does not mean they are devoid of emotion, far from it. They suffer from many of the normal spectrum of emotions; love, happiness, depression. Most however are a lot more alien, thus harder to classify.
They do not have ‘anger’ in them, the best they could do is a form of disapproval and discussed combined. This also has hallmarks that could be traced back to their main psychological need of belonging. They do not have concepts of personal space or ‘property’ and thus they have little reason to ever get angry. It is an emotion that never evolved into their brain. Even when the Imperium bombed one of their worlds they were unable to truly hate them for what they did. All they could do was find themselves repelled by such actions. Not having anger has made them tolerant of other’s actions so they are never snap to rash decisions. It has kept their mind clear of jealousy, revenge and other negative aspects of society. It has prevented them from ever going on destructive impulses, which while they feel them they can much more easily ignore them.
Unfortunately it has rather handicapped them when they try to understand other races. Particular the humans, who are themselves driven by hatred, are almost a complete mystery to the Chy’var. From all they can learn about their culture and social order, this, the key component is missing. However it is unlikely they will ever understand; and they will be forever blind to it.
‘Love’ on the other hand is an emotion they understand all to well. Although in this case it is not a by product of the need to reproduce it is still an important concept in their lives. Another offshoot of their need to co-operate, love to them is the unconditional bond of kinship they feel for others of their race. It does not matter who they are, or if they have never met them before; their brain has become physiologically conditioned to love any Chy’var they come across. Unlike love in humans this can’t distract them in any meaningful way, but the feeling is their hanging in the recesses of their mind. It makes them so much willing to co-operate with one another and bond with their peers.
To be loved is also an important part of their lives. They have esteem needs like everyone else and if they are rejected by others this can really make them suffer. That is rare but does occasionally happen, perhaps from unintentionally upsetting another. The effects of such are bouts of depression that could scar that person for life. Love is the one emotion that is demanding of them, which can effect them through their multi-layered minds. There are some evolutionary force to this have hardwired them this way, a psycho-physiological dependency in their races earlier need to survive.
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Post by RascalLeader on Dec 12, 2004 15:24:08 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300] Section E - Needs [/shadow]
The Chy’var hierarchy of needs Based on Maslow ‘hierarchy of needs’, 1954
1 - Belonging (Receiving and giving love, affection, trust and acceptance. Affiliation; being part of a group)
2 - Safety Needs (Protection from potentially dangerous objects or situations. This threat is bother physical and psychological. Importance of routine and familiarity)
3- Self-Actualisation (Realising ones full potential ‘becoming everything one is capable of becoming’)
4 -Cognitive needs (Knowledge and understanding, curiosity, exploration, need for meaning and predictability)
5 - Physiological needs (Food, Drink, Nitrogen, temperature regulation, rest, activity)
6 - Esteem needs (The Esteem and respect of others and self-esteem and self-respect. A Sense of Competence)
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Post by RascalLeader on Jan 2, 2005 19:05:35 GMT -5
Society
[shadow=red,left,300]Section A - Government [/shadow]
The Chy’var have no formalised government structure. While for any other species this would lead to absolute chaos and disorder, working in and orderly way comes intrinsically to them. They are all equal, and have no real leaders to speak of. This makes the issuing of orders and mandates all but impossible. It would never work in practice; luckily that is not what they do. Instead ‘society’ on the whole is the one who makes all the decisions. With the current populations somewhere in the trillions that has proven somewhat problematic, so this decision-making process is generally localized to a particular group or area. Again it shows the hallmarks of their biology; the systemic rather then centralised approach. It is the only way the bloated organisation of their race holds together.
Decisions that would effect the whole of society are different, it is then that every single voice must be heard. It is not a formalised affair but they are all very much aware when such decisions need to be made. An event requiring these important decisions to be made would be of a magnitude that would send ripples throughout sociality anyway. It is in the light of these sorts of waves of progression that when everyone voices their opinions the side of the argument who are in the majority get their way. Their psychology works in favour of this method because they are very good at empathizing with one another views and will generally choose what is best overall rather then what is best for them.
That is not to say such a method is so smooth to implement. Having their society strung across starsystem holding them together is not an easy task. Where it not for their Transportal network the Chy’var race would have splintered into separate groups long ago. However with it they have the ability to travel between their colonies instantaneously so there are no real boundaries between the different worlds. With people allow to come and go as they please it makes sure the common bond of kinship towards each other as strong as it has every been.
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Post by RascalLeader on Jan 2, 2005 19:07:57 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Section B - Crime and Law [/shadow]
The Chy’var have almost no crime at all, and have never had a single war in their entire history. It is quite an achievement for a race that has been around as long as they have. This is not a lack of any violent tendencies in their nature, but the effect of having such things suppressed. Violence is a destructive force and to them such things must be quashed for the good of their society.
However this is not to say no one every steps over the lines, but incidents are incredibly rare. Even in a society such as theirs with no leadership behind, laws have formed over the ages in order to safeguard themselves against these problems.
It is because of their impersonal view that they taken some very strange laws that are quite harsh in some respects. They are in favour of the death penalty for even the most minor of offensives because it is a sign that the perpetrators have ‘strayed’. These individual do get to protest their innocence; they must validate their own existence by what their contribution is to the species. They need not even bring up the crime itself because that is an irrelevance to them; a minor blip that shows that they are not ‘normal’. It weirdly means a lot of Chy’var are let off from being punished, and as long as they stay out of trouble their offence is ignored. Even murder is open to debate but this only goes so far. It must be shown as a positive to their race so that such a crime could be seen as justifiable.
The two most serious crimes in their system of law is; serial killings and causing damage to the everyday working of their sociality. It is considered treason against their species and they will do anything to punish those evolved. Luckily the only ones that would ever go that far are always vastly insane or stupid in some way; so neither could put up a good argument in their defence. This is so very much a rarity that they only have about five document cases ever. They were both the direct result of genetic anomalies in those involved and so where even easier for them to decide on.
Such shocking events have happened in their past and forced them to take drastic steps to prevent future occurrences. Their law has been written down and formalised to create some sort of distinction between acceptable behaviour. Their law is one of conduct rather then simply distinguishing illegal acts by themselves. Most of these are mutable to take into account the changing nature of society; but at its core, key values are recognised. For them it is three main subjects; individuals, groups and Society.
There is no official legal council, for representation victims or perpetrators. The only group that exist are the keepers of the law. They do not directly involved themselves with any other aspect of the law such as its implementation or interpretation; they are just their so that others can read up on president.
Lawyers, judges and even police do not exist in Chy’var society; it is the everyday people that are judge, jury and executioner. In effect it is the lynch mob that hold the power of the law. However this is not to say they are an uniformed majority out for blood. Given their mental stability they are rational about things and will always think everything through. A jury will form often of those parties who have been effected by the accused or those that where in the area at the time. It is not uncommon their to be many hundreds of them to organise themselves into the community centres so that judgment can be made. As a very factual people they will absorb the whole story of what happened first. That is why it is those who where around the event bring themselves to contribute in the debate because, when their view points are added together a more complete picture can be made. They can cover every conceivable angle and ‘reinforce’ the experience they went through by each adding details relevant to themselves. For example if one happened to look at the exact time they heard the event it would not matter that they did not see it because dozens of other would.
Police are a defunct position in their society, there is simply not enough crime for it to ever be a valuable job. Even with the dozens of cases that come to the people each year, a Chy’var will never attempted to run or lie their way out of things. They are rational and do not need to be contained and controlled even if did something incredibility damming. For a Chy’var there is nowhere to run, they cannot leave the fold. If they are rejected by society then they are killed. It is a rather simplistic attitude but one they have never had to change. They are so painstakingly honest and honourable about everything that even the ‘criminals’ are bound by their moral code.
Although Trial are often very short affairs that end with the perpetrator being let off, their have been quite a few occasions when the law has had to be enforced. Only the most mentally deranged Chy’var fight against this fate, because to the others it is a sign of total abject failure. Their life would be seen as meaningless and they are nothing, and this is perhaps a fate worse then being executed. Mostly when things reach this point they prefer to fall on their sword and end it themselves. They are the shamed, the forgotten and it is often seen as better that ending their existence so that it bothers no one else. Those that do not and cannot put themselves up to the task allow the victims of their crime or their peers, to do the deed. While the perpetrators consider this a inconvenience to those around them, which is yet another sign of their failure, the executioners do not have any compunctions about carrying out their duty. For them it is just another way to carry out the needs of society so they quite happily get on with it. The execution or suicide has no set patterns; they make do with whatever is available around to use as a weapon. However it is of vital importance that whatever method is chosen does not have a detrimental effect to the daily life of others.
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Post by RascalLeader on Jan 2, 2005 19:09:38 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Section C - Work and Trade[/shadow]
The Chy’var have never had an economy. It is a foreign concept to them, which they would think is completely flawed. They do not ‘trade’, they exchange goods to one another based upon time honoured systems of fairness. Goods and services are given to those who need them rather then what they want.
The different functions of society each contribute their own set of skills to the group to make sure things keep going. It is a system that has similarities to communism but for the fact that they do not understand the concept of ownership ether. For everything they rely on with ‘trade’ like this, is about what is required of them at that moment. They have a use as long as they are needed. Their needs are met by others who do something for them as a by-product of their job. In turn their own job meets the needs of someone else; and these ‘favours’ are pass along through their society so everyone benefits. In the end they all get what they need eventually.
To explain this using the example of a farm labourer; their work tending to the animals or crop allows others to eat. In turn for this food, they are given the equipment in order to do this task, which is also tended to continually so it does not fall into disrepair. They have homes built for them, electricity pumped into their habitats and so on. This is as long as the food keeps flowing, which it enviably does. The worst that ever happens is the occasional hick-up in the system where things slow down slightly because one of the steps in the chain gets delayed or put off. Eventually it is worked out anyway.
But they have no sense of luxury. They have only what they need to exist and do their job and nothing else. It is a very plain and boring existence, but they can also see the tangible evidence of all their hard work. It brings incredible meaning to their existence because their actions are worth something. This makes them very zealous in their need to keep going because they see how their action affects others.
Everything is reliant on everyone; it is a tight framework that only works because they all play their part. They are all honourable people who will keep up their end of the bargain.
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Post by RascalLeader on Jan 2, 2005 19:11:05 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Section D - Religion and Spirituality[/shadow]
The Chy’var multi-layered mind has prevented them from becoming too in entrenched in any form of Religious practice. Even from the dawn of their civilisation they did not feel compelled to make up things in order to explain the world they lived in, instead they have always excepted that their were things that they do not understand. This made them far less susceptible to believing in mythical creatures or be distracted by thoughts ‘above’ their station. They were far more concerned about their work to get to worried about their theological identity.
Their were several instances in the past when the miraculous events apparently happened, however many of these where disputed by others around them. Although individuals almost came to the point where they believed something magical had happened these ideals were quashed by those around them. Their social structure meant that the majority was always correct so that deviant behaviour was dealt with rather ruthlessly so that these stupid ideas would not turn valuable members of society into what they considered nutcases.
The Chy’var never fully conceptualised the idea of a god; it was an unnecessary detail for them. When they saw the world around them they felt no need to ascribe everything sort of external power; as far as they were concerned as along as the world went on the way it was it was no concern of their how thing happened. When they finally did become curious to these reasons they still tended to trust in the facts they had gathers then anything else.
Since the time of struggle they have become more respectful of their ecosystems, which has almost spawned into a religion in itself. They do not have organised worship but for many tending to a small communal garden has become the closet thing. It is one of the few bits of unnecessary pleasures they have fitted into their puritan lifestyle. It is more of a physiological compulsion to look after the ‘world’ around them. By tending to these little gardens they keep in touch with nature, and show the respect they have to it. It also reminds them of their ancient crime, so that they will never again turn their back on the world around them in return for empty prosperity.
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Post by RascalLeader on Jan 2, 2005 19:12:50 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Section E- Interactions with other races [/shadow]
Since encountering other species the Chy’var have kept themselves to themselves. They are isolationists since the highly individualised societies they have encountered are incredibly frightening for them. They see the others as disorganised rabble that are completely unpredictable to them. They call ‘outsiders’, as well as individualised people within their own societies; 'Radicals'. It is a derisive term that is the highest form of insult that they can lay upon anyone. They simply cannot grasp the concept that a single person will work on their own rules and beliefs. They view the outsiders as barbarians in nature, with no focus and will. They do not really understand how the other civilisation work this way, and even hundred of years of observations have not gotten them far. This is why they tend not to interact with anyone else, and the contact teams they once sent out were eventually decommissioned.
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