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Perrachi

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UFO King
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« on: January 08, 2012, 05:24:20 pm »

Encyclopedia Xenobiologica
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Perrachi

1 Etymology - Their name roughly translates to "people of this land", although perra means not only land but also sky, in a sense of a traversable area and not a ceiling. It could also be interpreted as planet, but only referring to their homeworld.

2 History

2.1 Origin - The species perrachi sapiens evolved on the planet Perrawiih, a Class L-Common world with Earth-like gravity and temperature. Flight was an essential option for their long-term survival because of the abundance of ground-based predators, many of which still exist. In the sky they reigned supreme and formed complex societies, constructing dwellings in the gigantic trees that thrive on the Perran surface. In the Crimson Desert trees were scarce, so native perrachi built nomadic villages on mesas and other rocky areas. Many who lived on the continent of Awuno flew across the high mountain ranges to the interior, which was noticeably  safer and in some cases lusher than the rest of the continent.

2.2 Pre-Contact - Thousands of years passed before alien contact, during which countless civilizations and tribes rose and fell. Millions upon millions of sparks of inspiration have been recorded, from writing to the telescope to computers. A calendar was created based on the very first Great Congress, during which representatives from all the societies on the planet would come together in one location for one week to negotiate, trade and discuss. By the year 3489 eight nations had assembled and were posed to initiate the first ever global conflict: The seven-year-long World War. The democratic Southern Powers defeated the authoritarian Northern Powers and brought about a new age of changes, among which was the dominance of the Perri religion: An umbrella philosophy which accepted many beliefs in harmony. Space travel and other advanced technologies kept on improving, culminating in the 3508 Navigator Mission which landed a perrachi on Ashkehar, the most distant planet in the Nupis system.

2.3 Contact - During the seventh day of the Navigator Mission's landing, a starship from the United Goonalian Provinces detected and contacted the perrachi on Ashkehar. The astronauts were awestruck and amazed by the discovery of extraperran intelligent life (microbial organisms had already been found on the planet Pakagtsi and Tazhpeh's moon Nrakshin, not to mention under the surfaces of Perrawiih's moon Setsanari, Tazhpeh's moon Enlesetka and Ariki's moon Kaninitna). The now-unified government, the Perrachi Empire, scrambled and debated for weeks over the appropriate response. Finally they settled on a message of peace and welcoming, and thus in 3509 the goonals gave most of their advanced scientific secrets to the perrachi, resulting in a technological windfall and overnight societal changes. Contact was soon made with the other spacefaring species the UGP knew of, such as the noble vykusi, the friendly rachak and the enthusiastic sombrerons. Several months later reptilian merchants from the Kratairian Republic sold the hyperdrive to the perrachi, kickstarting a massive wave of exodus and expansion. Other species were mostly unaware of the perrachi tendency to quickly settle new areas in huge numbers when they feel crowded, and so their sphere of influence soon expanded to and settled at 64 LY in diameter.

2.4 Post-Contact - Over the years of imperial expansion five intelligent alien species were contacted and discovered by perrachi explorers: The ishpali of Sayari, the agariki of I Don't Know, the qyooro of Zomm, the fnarls of Alarian, and the xinmayi of Kanchugu. Ishpali are a friendly amphibious lot who live on a relatively low-gravity world with a myriad of amazing landscapes. They are undergoing an industrial revolution after discovering the steam engine a few years ago. Agariki are tripedal fungi from a bioluminescent life-dense world and possess a very friendly disposition, a natural curiosity, and a biochemistry utilizing benzene in place of water. They have proven to make excellent companions and workers for Perrachi but are also unfortunately very flammable in L-Common atmospheres. The Eternal Qyooro Academy is the representing body of the qyooro species, a rational and scientific people who had already colonized two other star systems at "slower than light" speeds. They agreed to become a Perrachi protectorate as long as they received all the scientific information they wanted. Qyooro live at speeds roughly five times slower than the average, a consequence of evolving on a barren high-gravity planet. Many species find their appearance to be extremely bizarre. Fnarls are colossal floating photosynthetic creatures who fly through the upper atmosphere of a gas giant. Though extremely intelligent, interest in transporting them offworld is low due to their enormous size and physiology. Xinmayi are short carnivorous plant-like beings that developed on a high-gravity world. They have only just discovered agriculture and have an intense phobia of falling. Though only agariki and qyooro are officially allowed to be interacted with, the technologically primitive xinmayi and ishpali can often be seen in various spaceports.

In 3517 Emperor Tuolfs abdicated to fulfill his position as Chancellor of the United Society of Star Systems, an alliance between the Perrachi Empire, United Goonalian Provinces, United Federation of the Bino, Ni'Calls Union of Technology and Sociology, Slakos Hierarchy and Makal Kingdom. Waves of built-up left-wing ideas swept the Empire and transformed it into the Perrachi Socialist Republic in the mostly peaceful Socialist Revolution. The new President Dimikos Talin believed that the oppressive governments ruling the makal and slakos species had to be overthrown, so he and his large group of followers led the new PSR to war. Liberation was initially successful supported by the majority of all three races' population, but the rest of the Galactic Protection Agency disagreed. Misunderstandings and hostile attitudes during negotiations led to a full-blown war between the GPA and the PSR. The war only lasted a few months before the PSR disintegrated into various factions in the Interstellar Civil War, which lasted a year. Peace was settled, but now grudges run deep and the species doesn't act as a whole as much as before.

3 Habitation and Population Statistics

3.1 Historical - Perrachi lived in tribes and towns, the densest of which were six times sparser than the average land-based species. They have a natural propensity for rapidly settling open lands when feeling crowded, so most societies have been very nomadic. Making living space a non-issue is usually a high priority. Families often live together, but as always certain cultures and trends provide exceptions. Hallways and other objects of architecture a land-dwelling species would think natural and obvious are almost nonexistent in Perrachi society, because of their ability to fly. Therefore, wide open spaces are a common sight, as are curtains and similar objects in the place of doors.

3.2 Contemporary - Ceilings are more commonplace with the increased number of starships and colonies in more inhospitable environments, but overall the general layouts and designs are the same, only at a higher tech level.
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UFO King
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« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2012, 05:24:42 pm »

4 Biology

4.1 Anatomy - Perrachi bear a strong superficial resemblance to certain avians of other prominent planets. However, this relation is merely an example of coincidental convergent evolution and is in fact mostly only cosmetic. The feathers of Perran avians are quite different in structure than those of Nauceanican or Apican birds, and major animal life utilizes copper-based hemocyanin rather than iron-based hemoglobin for transporting oxygen in their bloodstream, giving their blood a blue color. Though they appear to have only one beak, perrachi actually possess three beaks within each other. This interesting feature is used for chewing food and speaking language to great effect. Finally, all Perran life including perrachi sapiens is based on carbon.

4.2 Physiology - Perrachi achieve homeostasis in much the same way as any other warm-blooded avian organism. The atmosphere of Perrawiih is 58% nitrogen and 40% oxygen, and has an average density of 118 kPa. This explains the blue blood, as while hemocyanin is less efficient than hemoglobin at oxygen transportation, the plentiful oxygen levels in the air makes it a non-issue. Water is the primary solvent as is on all L-Common worlds, and perrachi have a varied omnivorous diet. Individual tastes are extremely specialized, though. Allergies and diseases are just as abundant on Perrawiih as on Shivaruu or Yalkna, but fortunately cures exist for all native examples and Alliance law dictates that medical services must be completely free for all citizens. Perrachi have a relatively high tolerance for ultraviolet radiation and are usually most comfortable at temperatures between 16°C to 46°C. While Perrawiih's gravity is 1.1g, most people prefer lower gravity levels sporadically. They are nocturnal and have a thought speed around the sapient average. Most other L-Common atmospheres would lead to death by oxygen deprivation and/or carbon dioxide poisoning (Perrawiih's biosphere has an oxygen-methane exchange process between plants and animals), so a gas mask is often mandatory.

4.3 Genetics - DNA contains the genetic instructions for the creation of new life. Genetic tampering is generally frowned upon as perrachi have an instinctive strong distrust of bodily modification. Perrachi possess left-handed chirality, or levoproteins.

4.4 Life Cycle - The perrachi lifespan has been extended ever since the birth of the species from 100 to 150 and recently to 200 Perran years. After reproduction, the female gestates for four months and then lays a number of eggs. The father then incubates the eggs for an additional four months before the eggs hatch. It should be noted that during incubation the father secretes hormones that are absorbed through the egg shells and are vital to the survival of the unborn children. Only the hormones of the male who has actually mated with the female will work for this purpose, and once mated it is practically impossible for a female to develop children with any other partner. This has both beneficial and negative side effects: On one hand, perrachi are not careless at all with their romantic lives, creating stable naturally monogamous relationships with courting that often lasts for years in order to insure the partners' compatibility; thus the concept of true love is not ridiculed as in other alien cultures. The male and female are also both equally important to the childrens' development and care for them before hatching in equal amounts of time, making sexism vastly less prominent when compared to many other non-asexual species. On the other hand if a mother is widowed before or during the incubation period this almost always meant the automatic death of her children and personal infertility, that is before the advances of modern medicine starting over 160 years ago with the advancement of genetics.

Perrachi are infants for the first three and a half years of their lives and do not grow a full coat of feathers until age seven, by which time they have emerged from the toddler stage. Juvenile development continues until roughly ages fifteen to seventeen, when puberty begins. This stage (comparable to teenagers) lasts until age thirty-two when the brain is fully developed in all areas. Old age used to set in around the first century and death would come at one hundred and fifty, but nowadays recent leaps in genetic technology have prolonged the average perfachi's lifespan to two centuries and eliminated the negative symptoms of elderly years. Research into prolonging their lifespan even further is ongoing, but many feel that society is still recovering from the shock of the sheer technological windfall from first contact and perhaps taking it slow would be a wise option. Not everyone agrees with this sentiment, of course: You'll always find someone who wants to live forever and not in a virtual world as a downloaded brain. Perrachi cloning is illegal throughout the GPA except for the Zeront Republic, making diplomatic negotiations strained and youth-seeking emigrants common.

4.5 Subspecies and Variations - There are no subspecies, but a variety of ethnic groups do exist. Differences are mostly simply cosmetic and can be usually gleaned by beak shape. Height and weight are very similar among perrachi because of the delicate conditions needed for flight, thus obesity and similar problems do not exist. Different nations have emerged in the past along ethnic lines and in the present along ideological lines. A brief period of total political unity existed recently after the World War that ended with the Interstellar Civil War. Diversity is not quite as prevalent as in some other species because of the perrachi ability to fly: geographic barriers are rare, settlements are widespread, travel is quicker and cultural homogenization is easier. At least, before they ventured into space.

5 Psychology

5.1 Consciousness and Memory - Perrachi are only conscious normally when not sleeping, but of course can get knocked out. Their first memories typically start forming at four years of age but the perrachi mind is far from eidetic, selectively deleting large masses of information judged useless by the subconscious. Dreaming is common but varies among individuals, and lucid dreams are practically nonexistent. Grounded species often grumpily suspect this is because they don't have to be asleep to fly. Mental disorders are rare but pop up very occasionally.

5.2 Mentality and Emotion - Perrachi mentality is similar to that of most other sapient species. Flocking behavior is commonly exhibited, a consequence of living in large, socially active areas. Some interesting features of their mindset are the tendency to connect with larger groups (as a result of the ability to travel across great distances quickly via flight), generally high levels of empathy and caring, thoughts leaning towards the greater good, and a heavier emphasis on flight instead of fight. As the World War has tragically shown, these inclinations are not always dominant. Emotionally, perrachi are standard: People show love, hate, joy, sorrow, confusion, understanding, and so on. They also possess a very advanced form of three-dimensional thinking, which has made them highly valued in certain fields. As always, variations and exceptions are present in many individuals.

6 Culture and Society

6.1 Classification - In most places wealth is the determining factor for a person's status, but in locations like the Tzhan Commune and the Cooperative Biosphere of Aariensk society is very communal. Prejudice based on gender, race and the like is usually rare.

6.2 Roles - Perrachi number 10 billion and rapidly growing. The notion that a single philosophy or way of living could ever rule all of them is completely absurd.

6.3 Social Structure - The family is almost always the fundamental unit of society, but naturally there are always plenty of exceptions. During the existence of the Perrachi Empire and Perrachi Socialist Republic the position of Emperor and President (respectively) held the most influence, but of course power was decentralized considerably. Those twenty years were the only period in all of history when practically the entire perrachi species was governed by a single entity. They were also the period during which first contact was initiated, the GPA and USSS were formed, the Core Combine was met and defeated, dozens of new intelligent races were discovered, and the PSR formed and collapsed. The perrachi have had key roles in every one of these events, affecting the galactic political and social scene profoundly. Their cultural influence has been powerful as well, setting trends in several USSS locations.

6.4 Economics - Perrachi economies range from regulated capitalism to communal living, so no sngle model rules everybody. The considerably left-wing economies of the Empire and Republic did have effects on the local galaxy, starting revolutions in bino, slakos and makal space. Other species were affected to a lesser degree as well.

6.5 Conflict Management - Individually everyone has their own way, as perrachi are not a hive mind. Ten or eleven nations exist at least, and all of them save QUIDworld have decentralized, provincial power structures. Other species are dealt with individually, but all nations have strict anti-prejudice laws. Immigration can be difficult for some species, and anyone representing the Core Combine, Shadow, Fiikkal and Supara is banned from anywhere. (NOTE: This does not specifically refer to the perrachi enclave city Anywhere on the planet I Don't Know, although the Alliance's enemies is also banned from it.) Facilities do not always conform to the dietary and atmospheric needs of every alien, but major cities can usually provide for goonals, bino, and agariki at least.

6.6 Technology and Artifacts - Perrachi technology is approximately at the same level as the rest of the mainstream galaxy. Because they were only recently granted the tech they possess now by goonals, the advanced stuff is far from working its way into every facet of life. The Nupis system has therefore gained a reputation as being comparatively backwards. The foremost priorities when upgrading after first contact were medical, exploration and military, so the Alliance military is very much an opponent to be reckoned with and has proven a match for most species. The aforementioned perrachi three-dimensional thinking (similar to that of luzonians and asemi) makes them invaluable in fields such as air and space military strategy, travel, architectural design, puzzles, and game design. In particular, perrachi games have proven quite popular in markets across local space, with many a goonal afternoon spent playing Aweh Cheh.

When first contact was made with the UGP, goonal authorities famously refused a single technology to their new avian friends: The Super-Secret Goonal Warp Drive™. The warp drive achieves effective FTL by bending space around a vehicle, and only four species are known to use it: Goonals, vykusi, milika and photos. All four of their govenrnments keep the technology a completely classified state secret, with multiple amusing stories existing of failed attempts to smuggle out the secret. Within less than a year after perrachi first contact, however, kratair merchants sold the Empire the secret of the hyperdrive, the mainstream wormhole-using drive. Hyperdrives must be mounted closer to a ship's surface, but warp drives are much bulkier. Perrachi starships have gained a reputation as being effecient and reliable in pretty much every aspect, thanks to their designers' gift of flight. Similar beliefs surround luzonian ships.

Perrachi fashion is a wide field, but clothes have usually been restricted to hats and such as anything that gets in the way of flying is viewed as ridiculously useless. Shoes are also seen as impractical, not to mention shirts and pants. Capes and ponchos have proven popular in some cultures, however. Such trends have been a hit with certain aliens, and the perrachi fashion booth is a rising cliché on Beyon. Pornography is omnipresent (naturally) but kept private and away from pre-adolescents. This aspect of culture is of course not nearly as appealing to aliens as games or hats, but have been of interest to xenobiologists and *ahem* connoisseurs of the exotic.

6.7 Communication - Perrachi have historically stayed in contact with every one of themselves by meeting at a worldwide assembly every eleven years to discuss every sort of matter. This assembly is possibly the most adhered-to tradition in history, and has insured the non-isolation of faraway peoples (unlike many non-flying races). These assemblies have also created an unusual linguistic situation: Namely, everyone speaks the same language, but with different dialects and accents. The language in question is known as Paranchi, and is spoken verbally. A selection of phonemes make it up, although perrachi are widely known to be excellent imitators and usually use "exotic" sounds for personal names and when speaking languages like Kratera or Photese. Words are divided into four categories, each of which is spoken with a different-sounding voice. For writing they primarily use an alphabet made of dashes and lines called Panakchi, which is often written in different colors corresponding with word categories. Most other races that use verbal communication (like goonals, kratair, and photos) can speak Paranchi in a basic sense but are almost always completely incapable of pronouncing words in the "voices" perrachi use for categories.

6.8 Philosophy and Spirituality - Although many perrachi are agnostic or informally religious (i.e. pantheism and the like), the most prominent religion is known as Perrism. There is no equivalent to this in many other similar alien cultures, and is widely seen as the product of perrachi tendencies to connect with larger groups. The best term would be "umbrella religion": The only thing most Perrists can agree on is that there is one God (Perr in Paranchi) in some way or another, and everyone should treat each other with love and kindness. It should be noted that Perrism only arose around 200 years ago, and the last major faith to fall before it was Cykiism. This philosophy was a revival of ancient Karthat traditions and emphasized fascist values. It is currently banned in all areas of the Perrachi Alliance, a result of the Cykiists' genocidal actions during the World War. Currently, the only theocratic state is in the Sontol system, based on the planet Newlight. This nation is known as the Great Enlightened Union of the Will of Perr, but unlike many other theocracies in local space's past the government is actually very relaxed and carefree, letting others do as they wish as long as they don't harm others. Newlight has since become a haven for those seeking spiritual awakening and Perrism has gained a notable population of non-perrachi followers.

6.9 Art - Perrachi culture is widely considered to be their finest achievement, as is the case with most sapients. Given the biological and geological conditions their societies evolved in, a practically infinite multitude of unique cultures within the general sphere of the species has given way to a beautiful mosaic of literature, music, visual arts and more. Staggering numbers of styles and trends in every imaginable field rival and often surpass the diverse cultural universes of nauceans, vykusi, bino and goonals. Everything from arboreal architecture to Chervan folk music to competitive lhiwrri-stacking is surrounded by vibrant communities of enthusiasts. In short, perrachi culture is inherently diverse to the point where even using the all-encompassing term of "culture" is arguably inaccurate. From Pfakkkilr humor to Tirinyarll painting, the generally gentle avians have given undeniably great artistic contributions to galactic culture.

6.10 Entertainment - Much of what was stated in the previous section is very much applicable here, although a loose current of popular culture definitely exists for much of modern society. After all, not everyone spends their HaRe nights admiring Wipero Uelkaima's sculptures at a classic art gallery! Movies have been a wildly popular art form ever since the Avik Tour of the Grand City was released in 3307, and ever since films have held the status of a universal enjoyment. It is generally agreed that perrachi filmmaking has not yet fully adapted to the massive changes brought about by goonals, hyperdrives and the exodus to the colonies. Video games were invented about 150 years ago, precise dates varying by definition. Everything from 10-bit sidescrollers to immersive VR science fiction epics are played by billions and recently acquired a sizeable alien fanbase. One interesting feature of their video games is the much lower prevalence of "grounded" games, with players almost always able to fly. Perrachi entertainment in general is often considered to be of higher quality percentage-wise than many other species', as for some reason quality control and awareness are just placed as a high priority in their minds. This isn't to say pakuweinia or slakos have worse taste or are incapable of creating superior works, but Sturgeon's Law simply is more generous to perrachi art. Of course, quality is subjective and so some aliens like chivi simply find their definitions of high-caliber art to be repulsive (except for xenophiles) even though many perrachi critics are fascinated by the deep existential musings of even the most common chivi poets. Perrachi humor is naturally quite multi-sided, but even individuals with the broadest senses of humor have found makal jokes to be dumbfoundingly incomprehensible—although makal are renowned as comedians with slakos and many bino. This is one example of how entertainment quality is so dependent on brain chemistry. To sum it up, entertainment always was and still is an inseparable part of life for all perrachi.
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