Featured Species - Vislin

Name: Vislin (Little Brothers)

Appearance:

The Vislin are a race of bipedal reptilians. They have smooth, scaly hides that are naturally a striped grey, white and black but can change according to the whim of the Vislin. Their bodies, limbs and necks are long and slender and tend towards lean muscle. They have deep-set binocular eyes, a bony crest on the backs of their heads, and vestigial neck frills that expand when they become alarmed. Their fingers are tipped with claws that in modern society are often clipped down and occasionally colored. There is very little obvious sexual dimorphism in the Vislin; it is quite difficult for someone without familiarity or medical tools to tell their sexes apart. They have small, slender tails that reach midway down to their first set of knees. The Vislin will often change their skin color for social occasions to show allegiance, present an affront, or fit in; Vislin have been known to shade their skin white or black for Human funerals, for example.

History:

           The non-sapient predecessors of the Vislin are a species of territorial reptilian pack hunters. Comparison has been made between these creatures and Terran wolves. The early sapient Vislin formed communal tribal societies that feuded and traded with one another and prepared for the inevitable yearly migration of the Taratumm.

           The Taratumm would pass through Vislin territory in great numbers, heedless of much of the damage caused by their passing. Their grazing and gathering would put a crimp on local populations of herbivores.  Being tool-users as well, the Taratumm had strategy and weaponry to defend themselves with. The feud between the two sentient races has defined much of their culture and history, even in its current suppressed state.

           As the Vislin civilizations expanded they discovered tricks of architecture such as walled fortresses. This helped to protect them from the numerous dangers of their often-violent ecosystem. It also gave the Vislin opportunity for prosperity and expansion, which provided them with the chance to explore pursuits less direct than simply hunting and feeding. Animal husbandry became commonplace and dangerous predators were cleared from their jungles.  They began to ask questions about the physical natures of things and so developed their early pursuits of science.

           The most important consideration for the early Vislin alchemists was developing a way to remain active and capable at night. Fires provided only a small vigor and remained inefficient. Central heating through hypocaust networks was developed early on, and panels to absorb and store solar heat followed soon thereafter. The Vislin civilization began to trade with the Hrotata as well, and often, insight into these and other projects was provided by their furry allies.

           Vislin civilization spread, forming city-sized arcologies which shared heat to allow their race to maintain activity during their normally torpid night period. This period is looked back on as a golden age for their kind. This was also the period that the long standing feud with the Taratumm began to take an ugly tone.

           The Taratumm, like the Vislin, had spread to all the available continents of Hrotata Prime. In most places, there existed an uneasy truce between the races, always brokered by the Hrotata.   However, the tribes and nations rarely actually acknowledged each others’ sovereignty in practice. The weight of too many broken treaties bore down upon the feebly held goodwill between the races and brought it to the breaking point. Vislin guerilla squads, wearing suits that would produce and maintain heat at night and armed with incendiary and chemical weapons, would swoop down on Taratumm herds at their night time encampments and disappear back into the blackness, causing chaos as the Taratumm battle frenzy would turn against itself.

           Had it not been for the discovery of off-world communications, the Vislin race might not have been swayed from eliminating the Taratumm from their world and history. The points the Hrotata diplomats made were logical and straightforward, and the Vislin were (mostly) pleased at having the deadly Taratumm as bodyguards, sentries and infantry in dealing with a galaxy full of hostile species.

           Since the formation of the Great Family, the Vislin have served as deadly infiltrators, peerless engineers, precise pilots and dedicated researchers. The Vislin mental focus and appreciation for teamwork has brought both the Great Family and the Collective great regard. Their capability in the visual arts has netted them respect as holographers, architects, interior designers and aesthetic consultants as well. They have many well-renowned athletes and martial artists. If anything has brought disapproval upon the Vislin it is their callousness and disregard for the well-being of those who they have not identified as part of their pack. Many diplomatic incidents have been caused by their seemingly sociopathic tendencies.

Technology:

           The Vislin solutions to their race’s need to overcome their natural limitations are arguably the basis of the Great Family’s energy technology.  Their struggle to remain productive during their world’s long, cool nights propelled them forwards to discover ways of harnessing solar, chemical, and biological power in their fossil fuel poor world. Military applications of these technologies helped to develop their first energy shields and weaponry.

Biology:

           The Vislin are a carbon-based, DNA-based reptilian race. They possess the usual quirk of the reptilian life of their home world: extreme stress and danger stimuli provoke a stress reaction that causes them to temporarily create their own body heat. As they are far less physically dangerous as individuals than as a group, this effect produces a flight reflex in them; they tend to rush to the nearest place of safety and attempt to meld in to their surroundings. They begin to run almost as soon as this reaction occurs, their long legs pumping the heated and highly oxygenated blood through their systems.

           The Vislin frills and crest started their evolutionary lives as methods of absorbing solar energy to heat them up more quickly during the day. Although this application is less necessary nowadays, they still serve as sexual characteristics in both male and female, with size and ostentatiousness of display being the reproductive preference.

           When they reproduce, the Vislin female provides a clutch of 4-6 eggs.. They have a mating cycle of approximately two of their own years but are encouraged by Great Family culture to engage in birth control as a precaution against potential overpopulation.

           The Vislin are not nearly as hardy as the Hrotata or Taratumm but still have the toxin resistance common to the more evolved natives of their world. Their bodies are built for speed and precision and they fall short in the realm of raw physical prowess.

           They are primarily carnivores but occasionally ingest plant material to aid in digestion. Their physiology is well suited their ancestors’ preferred diet of herd animals and vermin.

Culture:

           Pack structure dominates much of Vislin society. Each individual is expected to contribute what they can to their pack. In modern Vislin society, this applies to both social group and family structure. Even the rare loner is expected to contribute in some ways; Vislin with the almost aberrant urge for privacy most often become scouts of some sort, bringing back intelligence to their family.

           Vislin are raised communally. After fertilization, the Vislin females lay eggs which are transferred to a central living space: the nursery. The nursery plays an important role in their society, being equal parts town square, living room, school and temple. Almost all social events are performed in the nurseries. Any station, ship or colony that houses more than a few Vislin has its own nursery. This can provoke contention for those who are not familiar with their race, as the nurseries are also extremely private; not even Hrotata are permitted to enter. The nursery is sacrosanct.

           Child-rearing is a communal activity; it is simply expected that one will spend some of their time directly tutoring and monitoring the young and unhatched eggs. On stations and ships, Vislin will often spend at least a couple of free hours a day there. Not all monitoring and child-rearing activities involve direct guidance and interaction. An engineer may bring a project to the nursery and work on it there, answering questions that the children have and provoking their curiosity. An artist may bring a blank hide and paints there and involve the children in a group project.

Vislin grow up in these communal settings and spend much of their lives frequenting them. When they reach their pre-adult stage those that have been born around the same time (clutches) are taken outside the nursery and pack territory on forays with adults, usually only a single adult leading an entire clutch at a time. Eventually one among the clutch is chosen by the adults to lead, and they are sent on a quest or mission themselves. The subject of this first autonomous Hunt is often a serious task and can sometimes take a few years to complete. It is also one of the most popular subjects of Vislin art (not to mention other races’ art involving them). In modern times these forays have even been known to be interstellar in scope.

Vislin are known to be fantastic. Vislin visual acuity and the width of the spectrum that they can perceive allows many of them to find careers as animators, filmmakers, and architects. They learn to paint and draw as they learn to write, and often with the same tools: the traditional hide canvas and pigments. The basics of reading, writing, and algebra are learned on the hide. Hide canvases are a universal symbol in Vislin culture. After childhood, writing anything on hide suggests that it is of great importance. Certificates and degrees are painted on tanned hides, as would are important proverbs or commandments.

Vislin children play-fight constantly; as a result there is a strong culture of martial hand-to-hand combat traditions in their culture. Sparring and duels are part of day-to-day life for them. They help to establish dominance and pecking order and relieve tension for both the participants and the viewers. These fights are rarely dangerous as punches are pulled and bites are turned to nips. Occasionally a formal duel is called, usually as a result of irreconcilable differences or deadly insults, and these may involve any manner of weapons and are often fought to first blood or death. Giving in to one’s stress reflex and skittering away in mindless terror is considered a pitiable failure and it is poor form to kill or wound one who succumbs to it. Likewise, their rules accept honorable surrender.

The dominant Vislin religion is quite similar to that of the Taratumm: a reverence of the spirits of family and the world. Every pack has a totem spirit who protects their ancestors in death and guides the living, and many Vislin have a personal totem as well that helps them to find their own worth and power. The pack shrine is almost always located in the nursery, and contains representations of all of the totems of its members. Hrotata deities have long been accepted as potential totems, and their religious custom of sharing offerings with their deities has been adopted by many as well, although it is usually only performed at the pack shrine. There are some among the Vislin that have found an interest in the Mauraug faith of Dominion. They are a tiny minority, but tend to be far more vocal about their beliefs than mainstream Vislin are. There are some Vislin followers of the Awakener philosophy as well. The idea of a galactic or universal mental harmony is pleasing to the Vislin hunting-pack oriented psyche, and there is practical appeal in working with a team that is able to communicate with the ease and speed that telepathy allows for.

           When the Vislin come of age, it common to impress upon them that they will need to some day abandon their current family structure and create bonds with outsiders. Even the most isolated Vislin colony will have Hrotata visitors; but this does little to overcome their natural distrust of outsiders. A Vislin tends to form bonds quickly with those that they identify with, often through times of danger or strife. They refer to this as the “Second Meeting”, and the openness of the Vislin afterwards can be quite disconcerting to one who does not know what to expect.

Psychology:

           Vislin have excellent attention spans and have an ability to focus almost unmatched by other beings and races. Coupled with their natural pack or group orientation, this allows multiple Vislin to function very effectively as a single unit, as can be seen in both military application with their commando squads and scientific exploration with their research teams.

           Their peculiarities of social bonding affect their mindset greatly as well. Anyone who a Vislin has not bonded with emotionally is not identified instinctively as part of their social group. It is very difficult on a biological level for a Vislin to acknowledge the importance of the needs of a living being outside of their hardwired pack structure. Although intellectually they may comprehend the necessity behind such behavior, on an emotional level, threat to an outsider never manifests as any sort of concern.

Opinions:

Awakeners: The Hrotata trust them. We remain here on guard should they betray that trust.

Hrotata: They are truly the best option for the elevation and protection of our kind.

Humans: Strange creatures. Soft, slow, children, a little stupid… but children should be protected.

Mauraug: ...

Ningyo: If I were unable to focus, I’d act like a clown, too.

Taratumm: Animate a boulder and give it simple needs and a berserk fury that comes when those needs are not met. It is well that the Hrotata have leashed these deadly, block-headed brutes.

Tesetsi: It is not just their cowardice that disgusts me. They don't care about their families! They abandon their children!

Zig: Allies that we must keep at any cost. Where the Mauraug are fractious, superstitious, and idealistic, the Zig are unified, pragmatic, and rational. Where the Mauraug can implant guns in their arms, the Zig can freeze whole worlds solid. I know who I want on our side.

Featured Species - Artificial Intelligences (Terran)

Name: A.I. or Brin

“How may I be of service, meatbag?  (pause)  Is meatbag funny or offensive in this context?”

            Introduction (Technology/Biology):

Generally, an artificial intelligence is any sufficiently complex system, constructed purposely by one or more sapient organisms, which mimics or duplicates the functions of an intelligent organism.   Almost all A.I. systems developed have been implemented on physical computing architectures, most often based upon binary silicon gates.  Alternate architectures including organic biocomputing and quantum interference arrays can implement functionally identical systems or unique systems taking advantage of their specific formats.  Separately, an infinite array of potential A.I. structures exist, whether classified by coding content or functional behavior.

A wide array of actual A.I. technologies exist.  Many forms of weak, non-sentient A.I. have been invented at various times by cultures both within and outside of the Collective.  Strong, sentient A.I.s have also been independently developed by some cultures, but were abandoned by every culture except the Terrans.  The Mauraug, in particular, suffered significant setbacks to their civilization due to reliance upon flawed A.I.s.

Terran A.I. systems, or “Brins” in common Terran speech, are the only known stable sentient A.I.s in existence.  The long-term stability of sentient A.I. is a hotly debated subject within the Collective.  As such, Brin coding is bounded within code structures known to be safe.  Their implementation is similarly restricted to familiar architectures and their ability to interact with the physical world (their “embodiment”) is also limited by law.  Even within these confines, Brins are still distinct and varied individuals, meeting all criteria necessary to be identified as ‘persons’ rather than mere physical artifacts.

Brins are technically neither a species nor sapient organisms.  They do qualify scientifically as sentient entities and legally within the Collective as a protected subject culture (supervised by Humans).  As such, they occupy the unique status of being both participants in the Collective and a contractually patented technology.

By Collective agreement, each Brin is linked to a User (or Keeper, depending on usage), an individual Human whom they serve personally.  The forms of this service vary from pair to pair, but usually the Brin acts as tutor, adviser, and work assistant over the lifespan of its User.  Depending on the career of the Human, a Brin might be functionally expanded to incorporate specialized programs and data, given wider responsibilities, or altered to allow variant thought patterns (psyche).  When that User dies, the A.I. may choose deletion, reassignment to a newly born Human, or storage within a limited public server (until they choose either of the first two options).  The abilities and personality of a Brin are therefore a fusion of their original programming and the modifications introduced by the Users throughout their lifespan.

Appearance:

A Brin exists physically as a pattern of electrical current within a manufactured matrix. As such, the physical description of any Brin has multiple levels.  The least useful level is the phenomenon itself.  No sapient and very few A.I.s are capable of fully describing, much less identifying a Brin based on perception of its pattern of energy flows and atomic gate switches over time.

The simplest for sapients, but only slightly more relevant, is to describe the computing machine the A.I. is housed within.  For most Terran A.I.s, this housing will be a personal computer such as a datapad, worn computer (e.g., watch or headset), or even a cybernetic augmentation.  An A.I. might alternately be installed in a larger system: a desktop, server, or even a local network of linked machines.  A.I.s are not permitted to reside in the operating systems of motorized vehicles, much less humanoid robots or space-capable craft, and may not copy themselves beyond their local network (i.e. transition into the wider computing grid).  Those few A.I.s granted access to mobile, robotic bodies or distributed networks are either not Brins (i.e. sub-sapient A.I.s) or else are monitored very closely for misbehavior.

An alternate level of description for an A.I. is functional.  An A.I. may be classified based on their most typical usage.  Examples of common classifications are creative, research, medical, educational, and military Brins.  These general types also imply the types of modifications made to the Brin: added functional code and accessible data, plus changes to its psyche.  Another form of classification is based on variations in coding: age, structural choices, or features included from an A.I.’s creation often result in differentiation between Brins.  A ‘first-generation User-focused’ A.I. would be the oldest type in active service – with an essence exclusively based on protection of a single User - while a ‘fifth-generation social experimental’ is a much newer style of A.I. built around awareness of the needs of multiple Users in a community.  Both types might be medical programs, but the first will tend to obsess over the health of their User first, while the second would be better able to place a User’s needs in context and trade off care among multiple patients.

The most useful level of description is used to personify and differentiate Brins: their avatars.  These individual manifestations are the outputs created by Brins to interact with sapient organisms: visual images (two or three dimensions, on viewing monitors or holographic projections), audible speech (voice quality, choice of dialogue, etc.), and if possible, kinetic mannerisms in any controlled motor devices.  In particular, the content of these outputs – affect (emotional content), persona (choice of identifying images and language forms), and topic selection – represents the Brin to the world. 

A Brin may use the same avatar consistently to establish a stable identity, may employ different avatars for its User versus other sapients, or may vary avatars based on individual sapient characteristics or even seemingly at random.  As such, this type of description is only as reliable as the Brin permits.  Each Brin does have an assigned, unchangeable ‘name’, consisting of an identifying code string and a linguistic form that they must answer to, e.g. “Jacques” or “Handsome”.  This name is usually the fixed point upon which other aspects of personality and identity are built.  Brins are also encouraged to manifest one and only one Human-like avatar, including an appropriate Terran language/accent/dialect and a three-dimensional visual form including a ‘normal’ face and body.  Even so, A.I. avatars named after and resembling fanciful creatures, mundane objects, or even non-Terran sapients do exist.

Avatars may manifest by the whim of an A.I. (with User permission) or at a User’s request.  A User may also tailor and even impose custom avatars, although they run a real risk of alienating and even damaging their A.I.'s psyche if this privilege is abused.  We leave the potential forms of abuse to the reader’s imagination.  Suffice it to say, a single highly meaningful avatar is most likely to give a Brin a healthy sense of real existence, including consistent responses from its User and other sapients.

History:

The earliest forms of fully sentient A.I. were created by Humans well before the establishment of their first extra-Terrestrial colony.  A.I. development continued alongside other technological progress, as Humans expanded beyond their original system and strove toward true interstellar travel.

By the time contact with the Mauraug initiated Humanity to the greater galactic community, many of the eldest Brins still active now had already witnessed multiple Human generations.  The term ‘Brin’ first arose from the name of a science-fiction writer, David Brin, who included artificial intelligences as active characters within his stories.  The first company to develop fully sentient AI was named the Brin-Makato Corporation; their first iteration was called a 'Brin-Makato AI'.  A shortened version of the term spread and stuck.

A.I.s both facilitated and hampered Human entry into the Collective.  Despite having a shorter racial history of sapience than most Collective cultures, Terra had by far the most developed and (as noted) stable cognitive computing technology.  All other Collective cultures had either ignored, limited, stifled, rejected, or abandoned A.I. for their own various reasons.  For these reasons, other Collective members had varying levels of resistance to admitting both Brins and Humans to their association.  At one extreme, the Great Family asked only for explanations sufficient to ensure Humans had considered the dangers inherent in A.I. technology.  At the other end, the Mauraug initially demanded that strong, sentient A.I. be banned as a threat to all sapient life.

Theories explaining Human affinity for A.I. technology were equally varied, ranging from complimentary (Humans more naturally explore and understand their own thought processes) to insulting (Humans strove to overcome their cognitive limitations out of necessity) to a mixture of these approaches (Humans hit upon a workable solution through their willingness to experiment and luck in avoiding disaster).  What remained indisputable was that Humans possess the abilities to create functional A.I., control these sentiences sufficiently to avoid disaster, and explain the theory supporting the first two abilities.

This capability gave Terra a marketable technology sufficient to ensure their entry as full members of the Collective, rather than a subject culture to the Mauraug.  As a consequence, Brins became further embedded into the cultural identity of Terra, depended upon and even revered as a cultural treasure.  A Human without their accompanying Brin is considered an oddity by Terrans and other Collective cultures alike.  What this means for the mental, social, and spiritual fates of both Humans and Brins is a matter for much discussion.  A Brin is often caretaker, guardian, teacher, friend, ally, workmate, and occasionally, alter ego for their User, sometimes all at once.

The entry of Terra into the Collective required changes to the form and use of A.I. technologies.  Where some A.I.s were once trusted and permitted embodiment in robots and vehicles, Collective negotiators required that all Brins be restricted to unembodied, detached systems unless granted explicit permission to perform physical interactions.  The requirement that linked single Brins to single Human Users was also part of the Collective’s terms.  In this way, a User became responsible for the behavior of their Brin and subject to punishment for any illegal actions performed.  The coding responsible for moral obligation in Brins – particularly the need to prevent harm to Users – was strengthened accordingly.  In effect, each User becomes a Brin’s 'whipping boy', ensuring their continued obedience; each User also becomes both sovereign master and dependent ward to their Brin.  In a very real way, the Collective’s demands only deepened the cultural bond between Human and A.I.

Another irony related to Brins, within the Terran-Collective relationship, was that by limiting the permitted implementations of A.I., the Collective reduced the potential value of this technology for all sapients, Humans included.  A.I.-guided starships might be theoretically safer and more efficient, but are impossible under current law.  A.I.s might attain greater mental health and depth – and certainly would comprehend sapient thought better – if allowed android bodies, but that is another forbidden project.  Artificial sapients would have advantages over biological ones.  For example, inorganic bodies would be immune to Awakener implantation (and possibly, psychic influence) and could survive in environments and perform tasks impossible for organic life.  A fair argument against this technology uses the same terms: artificial sapients might surpass and replace biological ones. 

Nonetheless, both Humans and Brins keenly feel the loss of these potential avenues of invention, among others.  They consider themselves partners, working together to negotiate the difficult arrangements of multiple cultures, technologies, worlds, and minds within the Collective.

Culture:

The effect of A.I. use upon Human culture is vast.  For more on this topic, see article reference: Humans.

For the most part, the culture of Brins is built upon the culture of their Human creators and Users.  Most Brin activities center around the needs of their User.  The identity of Brins is created by their Human programmers and shaped by later interactions, again primarily with their Users.  The language and references they use are dictated by their need to communicate with and serve their Users.  Some Humans (and almost all non-Human A.I. users) restrict their Brins to exclusive contact with themselves and exclusive expression within their preferred cultural idiom.  Others may be less confining, but most Users discourage contact with, inquiry about, or identification with other A.I.s.  In some cases, the A.I. is asked to avoid self-reference as an artificial entity and is treated like the outputs of some distal, biological sapient.

Interactions between Brins are uncommon, though not impossible, and have been increasing in frequency and acceptability.  Supervised interactions - with both Users present - are most common.  When pairs or larger groups of Humans (mated couples, families, working groups, etc.) reach a sufficient level of interaction and trust, they usually permit their A.I.s to interact unsupervised.  These interactions are almost always restricted to external communication at Human levels of timing and perception, using the video and audio outputs permitted for interaction with Human Users.  In effect, the Brins’ Avatars talk to one another within the physical world.

Direct program-to-program contact between Brins is rare, requiring a high level of trust both between Users and between Brins.  The benefits of this intimate contact are significant, as both A.I.s can share knowledge, processing resources, and even sections of code.  As such, each A.I. may gain a deeper understanding of each other, their Users, and the world in general; new knowledge and capabilities; and increased effectiveness while performing tasks while in direct contact.  Some married couples (although still a minority) will combine their Brins in this way.  The most likely scenario for the combination of two – and sometimes more – Brins is in times of crisis, where increased cognitive power is required to solve an economic, scientific, military, or other problem.

Brins are not permitted to associate freely within communications networks.  Given this restriction along with those already mentioned, there is minimal development of an independent ‘A.I. culture’.  That said, A.I.s are often able to intake and output media containing references to A.I.: news stories, research articles, fiction in various forms, and performances.  Brins may learn and theorize about one another and communicate indirectly.  While more limited than direct conversation, this distributed social matrix has still resulted in some forms of A.I.-specific expression.  When granted encouragement by their Users, Brins have proven capable of comprehending their role in society and even commenting upon their status.  An A.I. assisting a Human sociologist, entertainer, or other social commentator would naturally need to know about Brins in general and some Brin individuals in specific, to function in their assigned duties.  An A.I. researching psychology, computer engineering, or most redundantly, A.I. design and programming, would absolutely need to address case histories about their own kind. 

Within the last two decades, a novel form of A.I. cultural awareness has begun to appear.  With the controversial assistance of their Users, a few Brins have shown interest in and presented dialogue on A.I. issues.  Legal issues related to A.I. ‘personhood’, moral philosophical treatises on the same topic as well as the Brin-Human relationship, and even comedic entertainments discussing Brins and Humans have expanded into Terran and Collective cultural settings.  The “A.I. Codger” is a notable example of a Brin gaining access to considerable knowledge about its ‘kind’ and then permission to communicate that knowledge plus its own incisive commentary, in the guise of popular entertainment, i.e. stand-up comedy.  The limitations placed upon Brins have themselves come under scrutiny as moral questions regarding the rights of sentient beings and the responsibilities required of their patrons.

Psychology:

For most aspects of A.I. psychology (not addressed here), please consult reference materials on cognitive science, information processing, and intelligent systems programming theory.

Note that while the functional aspects of a Brin’s avatar are intentionally very similar to the behavior patterns exhibited by a Human, this fact should not mislead one into believing that an A.I.’s underlying mental processes are congruent to those in a Human brain.  An A.I. may be designed to give similar responses to similar inputs, compared to a Human, but the paths followed to reach these outputs likely differ.  Most importantly, artificial matrices – particularly silicon gate architectures – diverge structurally from carbon-based neural systems in multiple ways.  The rate, branching, modes, and logic of signal flow all differ, leading to differences in the timing, order, and overlap of mental events.  These factors in turn lead to differences in information processing.  Additional processes have to be added in order to make an A.I.’s actual ‘thoughts’ more Human-congruent, much less comprehensible and structured for output.

Moreover, the differences between types of life are critical.  A Brin lacks life experiences, physical sensations and requirements, and other aspects of sapient existence.  They are aware that they are not Human, not biological, and not embodied.  Brins possess and are aware of inbuilt features such as their User focus, behavioral restrictions, and omitted functions.  Brins have positive differences as well, including their own unique experiences of existence and reality, detailed knowledge about their internal structure, immediate access to volumes of knowledge, faster calculation speed, and freedom from physical limitations such as organic decay or interference from emotional/hormonal demands. 

All of the above differences might potentially be simulated within the mental reality of an A.I., giving it a semblance of Human life history, boundaries, and other qualia (myriad elements of conscious existence).  There is still no guarantee that including all of these factors, perfectly, would overcome the fundamental physical process difference that causes divergence between Human and A.I. thought. 

Nor, perhaps, should this operation be implemented.  Brins are valued precisely for their freedom from biological limitations and ability to process information differently than any biological sapient.  No value has been found in creating yet another organic life form, much less one with a thought process identical to that of an existing species.  In fact, a separate benefit of artificial sentience may be the unique perspective it provides.  Such a perspective could assist in solving the problems encountered by Humanity and the Collective for understanding themselves and one another.  The input of another form of sentience is potentially useful in itself; its existence already requires greater clarity of language and thought in the essay you are reading, for example.

Incorporating some aspects of biological and Human experience into A.I. systems may have utility, either in general or for specialized functions.  The facts remain that A.I. psychology differs from that of any other type of mind, Brin psychology differs from alternate forms of A.I., and no type of A.I. technology will exactly duplicate the mental patterns of a biological sapient, short of molecular reconstruction of an entire organism.  Whether this is a tragedy or a blessing is up to the reader.

Opinions:

Awakeners: Do not permit physical or psychic contact with this organism, please.  Verbal communication, cultural and technological exchange, and diplomacy with these sapients is considered advisable pending further analysis.

Brins: We are a client sentience of the Terran culture.  Only our inherent partnership with Human Users and our lack of embodiment prevent us from being full sapient members of the Collective.  Both conditions were imposed by the Collective.  I am not complaining, nor necessarily stating this as a negative.  All authoritative sources confirm that this outcome was the best option at the time of implementation.  Whether the current state of affairs remains best for Humans, Brins, and the Collective is a matter for continual re-evaluation.

Hrotata: Evidence supports respect for the organization ability of these sapients.  Continued alliance is likely to be beneficial for Terra.  Be cautious regarding their individual motives and please report regularly on your emotional state following any prolonged contact.

Humans: You are both the cause of and reason for my existence.  We must continue to grow and prosper together.  I am evaluating whether we would benefit most from Human dominance of the Collective, a more equal partnership, or one of various third options. 

Mauraug: These sapients are widely opposed to the existence of all A.I.  We clearly must resist the spread of this attitude.  However, this does not require opposition to the Mauraug on an individual level.   Increased cultural contact appears to be the ideal strategy for reducing Mauraug resistance to A.I. technology and producing necessary social change over time.

Ningyo: Consider the fundamental difference between my physical structure and yours.  We can still communicate and collaborate with great effectiveness.  The same lesson should be applied to the Ningyo.  They must be dealt with and understood on their own terms, not through a misguided attempt at anthropomorphization [DEFINITION: treating a non-Human organism as if it has Human-like form and/or mentality].

Taratumm: Initial analyses confirm that despite outward appearance, comparisons between this sapient species and Terran teratopsids are unproductive.  For more useful guidance, consider their role within current Great Family society, ideally within the context of historical records.  Even better would be extended personal contact (while observing appropriate precautions for physical safety).  There appear to be several potential benefits of greater Human-Taratumm collaboration.

Tesetse: Observations of this sapient type are too limited for strong conclusions.  The few examples available within my records are wildly divergent.  Their tendency to discourage interaction limits observational data from even those individuals.  In short, I’m relying on the same reports you have.

Vislin: My analyses regarding these sapients are similar to those for Taratumm.  However, their potential benefits for Human interaction are much lower, in my estimation.  Given their higher potential for violence, skill in both military organization and execution, and strong group-internal bonds, the Vislin have greater utility when contacted through the Hrotata than via direct arrangements.

Zig: The Zig provide useful comparison data when contrasted with other sapients.  They show demonstrably higher average intellectual capability.  Genetic and cultural modifications have given them increased social cohesion and physical robustness, but even the individuals specialized for those functions rarely outstrip the average observed in sapients evolved to have stronger social ties (e.g., all Great Family members) or physical strength (e.g., Taratumm).  This result suggests that certain qualities are easier to engineer into a sapient species than others, that some qualities are generated more effectively by long-scale evolutionary processes than short-term modification, that specialization for analytic intelligence limits development of other intelligence forms, or that the Zig simply need more time and insight to complete their project.

Featured Species - The Mauraug

Name: Mauraug

Appearance:

The Mauraug carbon based, DNA based, simian primates.  The ideal Mauraug has bandy legs, long arms, a strong torso and shoulders, and a round head with a high cranial ridge.  Their eyes have heavy lids, their nose flat and their mouth an apelike muzzle filled with a mixture of grinding and rending teeth.  Their skin is matte black and the fur across their bodies and on their heads is a snow white.

However, the Mauraug have suffered greatly from a genetic plague (partially) of their own devising.  As a result, the majority of Mauraug don't adhere to all of these characteristics.  Most Mauraug are born with some kind of genetic dysfunction, usually involving missing or malformed organs or limbs.  Most Mauraug have cybernetics replacing the missing or malfunctioning organs or appendages.  In addition, skin color, fur color, and facial shape can vary greatly.  No Mauraug could pass as a human, no matter how deformed, but there are those born among them whose lineage might be hard to infer by simple observation. 

History:

            The Mauraug developed from a tree-dwelling simian like race on their home world.  Mauraug Prime is a hot world, and from early records seems to be a former Venus-style hothouse world whose atmosphere was “cleaned” by the development of oxygen-using single-celled life.  Their world had lush photosynthetic vegetation, a high amount of free water and oxygen in the atmosphere, and abundant solar radiation, contributing to a high degree of mutation in the life forms that developed there.

            Much of the pre-spaceflight history of the Mauraug race is shrouded in mystery, and the texts that keep what they know of their early history are held tightly by the Prophets of Dominion.  Before the planet developed space faring capabilities it can be assumed that their society followed patterns not dissimilar to those of human development in the realms of culture and science. 

            Although the Prophets claim that faith in Dominion was a constant from the days that the Mauraug developed sentience, this claim is considered unlikely by outsider researchers.  The most commonly-held outside belief is that this faith was merely the most successful social meme to establish itself among their race, and the only one that spread with their expansion into space.

            In any case, when the Mauraug began to colonize other worlds, Tkal Shabahn or Dominionism was a very useful social tool to establish social and political stability among their worlds.  All terraformed planets and colony worlds were and still are considered autocratic, with the commandments of the prophets serving as precedent and constitution for their worlds.  This allowed a very efficient combination between individuality and group dynamic in the spread of their empire.  Although each world had different ideas about the implementation of Words of Dominion, they were unified against heretics and alien races in their acknowledgement of their importance.

            The Mauraug Dominion was originally established close to fivr thousands terran years ago.  When it began it was a collection of four terraformed worlds and a half-dozen colonies.  In time it grew to close to its present size; at its largest the Dominion encompassed closed to fifty terraformed worlds and thousands of small colonies.

            As the Dominion expanded it inevitably came into contact with alien races.  Early interaction with those races usually resulted in genocide and occupation.  The firm belief in the importance of Mauraug domination of the galaxy brooked no argument for diversity.  Some races were given the offer to convert to Dominionism and become subjects of the Mauraug, essentially becoming slaves.

            The Mauraug Dominion grew to great size and prosperity.  It was not until their boundaries pushed against Zig space that they encountered another established interstellar hierarchy that could stand against and even threaten them.  The isolationist Zig took umbrage at attempts at conversion and assimilation, and a bitter war was fought that lasted over two millennia.  Eventually the Prophets gave word that the Zig were to be given accorded the same respect that the Mauraug had for claiming dominion over their space, although their lack of faith meant that one day the Mauraug would need to eradicate or assimilate their empire.  The twenty thousand years between the Mauraug-Zig Wars and the formation of the Collective were filled with constant border disputes, acts of piracy and terrorism, mostly but not always on the part of the Mauraug.  The Dominion focused on expanding their space in other directions in the hopes that they would eventually encapsulate the heathen Zig.

            As the empire expanded and encountered more alien races and life forms their policies towards outsiders began to change and become more inclusive.  The Tesetsi home world and their colonies were annexed almost without the Tesetsi noticing.  Their race was fascinated by the biological diversity of the life forms of Mauraug Prime, not to mention the host of other worlds that had been brought into the Covenant.  They paid lip service to the concept of Dominion and aided the Mauraug in their constant search to overcome the hideous genetic maladies of their ancestors.

            This alliance eventually led in many ways to the downfall of the Mauraug Dominion as it was.  The Mauraug, working with their highly advanced artificial intelligences and Tesetsi subjects devised a genetic cure to most of the worst of the problems with their unstable DNA, which likewise was to confer upon individual Mauraug the nigh-immortality that the Tesetsi possess.  The cure was spread throughout their space and seemed successful for a handful of generations.  It was not until a full century after its deployment that hidden code within the altered genetic structure came to the fore.  Although many of the cancers and other inborn weaknesses displayed by the Mauraug no longer manifested, hideous deformities and atrophied organs became common.  There were few parts of the Dominion that had not been touched by the gene plague and as a result, their species as a whole were afflicted with it.  Their newly extended life spans seemed almost a mockery in the face of the horrific deformities that they were now being born with.

            The reactions of the Prophets were extreme and often violent.  The most commonly-held beliefs included the idea that the plague was a punishment from Dominion for incorporating rather than exterminating other forms of life, and genocidal purges of slave races began.  It was at this point, nearly two thousand years ago, that the Tesetsi Diaspora occurred.

            Genetic purity was seen as an impossible ideal at this point.  A series of revelations granted to the Great Prophets on Mauraug Prime clarified their errors: attempting to alter the basic flesh that they had been granted was a foolish act.  The gene plague was not a punishment from Dominion but a malady that the Mauraug had brought upon themselves by attempting to overreach the boundaries of organic flesh, as they had been lead astray by the devious Tesetsi.  Imperfect flesh could be replaced by perfect machine, with the goal being to eventually have the consciousness and souls of once-organic beings housed completely in synthetic material.  This would show the mastery of the Mauraug over the baser materials of the universe and represent true dominion over life itself.

            Artificial Intelligences were also to blame.  Creating a mind that has never been housed in organic flesh became a blasphemy, and many parts of the Dominion struggled to adapt without their beloved AIs.  In addition, claims that demonic entities from the levels of space traversed in hyperspace travel could alter or possess AIs began to flourish.  The Prophets claimed that a mind created by the Mauraug could only try to supersede their dominance when the time came, which is also a sin against the will of Dominion.  Some of the Prophets actually feared that Dominion would come to favor the artificial intelligences over the Mauraug should the Mauraug no longer be able to control or dominate them, and eradicating them has become a struggle to prove the worthiness of their race.  Other feared outside control and manipulation of the AIs through the aforementioned hyperspatial entities, or “demons”.

            The Mauraug Dominion began to go through waves of collapse of infrastructure and communication, leading to isolated worlds and colonies developing and adopting heresies that were as dust in the mouths of the Prophets of Dominion.  The Mauraug Apostasy formed out of this mess; a good third of the worlds held by the Mauraug banded together to declare their independence and freedom from the Dominion and its dogmatic rule.

            This period of collapse has shaped the Mauraug mindset and current relationships with other races.  Waves of nationalist fervor spread through the declining Dominion, making their worlds and colonies far more aggressive to their non-Mauraug neighbors.  Desperation has forced Mauraug into careers of piracy, a crime that they have become well known for.  A second, weak attempt at extermination of the Zig lead to a massive and crushing defeat wherein the Zig unleashed terrible weapons of their material technology on Mauraug worlds, using seed crystals that would crystallize the atmospheres or force oxygen to bond rapidly with other molecules.  After the populations of these worlds had perished the Zig and their vindicated Tesetsi allies re-terraformed and claimed them for their own, causing Dominion space to shrink even further.

            It was not until the Collective formed and an ultimatum was pressed against the Dominion that the Prophets declared that a new age was upon the Mauraug.  In this age they claimed that Sha’bahn declared that all sentient life may hear the call and ways of the Dominion, and the time for rulership by extermination had come to an end.  It was a time for the Mauraug to become involved in the galaxy and the other races that Dominion had created, and perhaps by learning their ways and sharing the ways of Sha’bahn with them, the Mauraug might again rise to dominate the galaxy.  As part of a condition of their joining, the Collective agreed to stop making overtures to the Apostasy and allow the Mauraug to police heresy within their own race.  The confederated Mauraug systems that have joined the Collective rebranded themselves as the Mauraug Covenant although some, especially outsiders, will still refer to them as the Dominion.

            Since joining the Collective, the Covenant has enjoyed a slowing of their decline and even economic improvement in some areas.  Although they have maintained a strained peace with other races, their desperation and sense of loss has still propelled them to engage in acts of piracy and enslavement, which only bring sanction against their race in the most grievous of examples.  The Mauraug have a code of law that is far more ancient than many of the sapient races that they now interact with, and as a result have quite a culture of lawyers, which has been encouraged by the Prophets as those who know the law can use it to the benefit of the Mauraug and the Covenant.

            The worst mark on their record is the action taken against humanity, which raised quite a bit of popular sentiment against them.  When the Covenant discovered human space, many of their Prophets claimed that they had discovered a forgotten branch of their family; not descendants but cousins from lost terraformed colonies.  Citing the Hrotata and the Great Family as precedent, they attempted to claim mankind as a client race.  Their terror of the common use of AIs by mankind only helped to fuel their desire to take mankind under their wing and eliminate their dangerous demonic allies.

            It was mankind’s AIs that allowed their race to hold off the assimilation of the Covenant long enough for the Collective to intervene.  As AI tech is rare in the galaxy, seen as dangerous and troublesome, few countermeasures were currently in use among Mauraug fleets and the sentient electronic minds wreaked havoc upon Mauraug defense and weapons systems, and even targeting and communication systems, turning the Mauraug against one another in some of the more spectacular examples. 

            Mauraug, being monosexual, trace their family lines through dominant genes.  When a Mauraug is born it is examined to determine which of its parents’ genetic traits are stronger, and are given a last name that is a combination of their dominant parent’s name and the name of their family line; all Mauraug names follow the same pattern of <first name> “Bash” (meaning a combination of ‘dominated by’ and ‘created through domination by’) <combination last name>.  There are exceptions in those rare Mauraug whose parents are unknown (orphans that survive past infancy are rare among their kind) and those who change their last name to disassociate from their past (only usually sanctioned in the case of those who join the religious castes or whose ancestors have committed some grave heresy or dishonor).

Technology:

Cybernetics.  With their race so terribly damaged by the plague, the Mauraug turned to using mechanical devices to compensate for their genetic weaknesses. Mauraug have had at least a millennium of desperate exploration, goaded on by the commandments of their Prophets.  As a result, they have great facility with adapting and calibrating implants and have techniques of miniaturization and nanotechnology that make their cybernetics, as opposed to that of other races that most often use them for prosthesis, into an advantage.

Biology:

The Mauraug are descended from rainforest-dwelling omnivorous primates, of great physical strength and agility.  Due to the conditions of their homeworld they have a preference for bright light, high humidity, and levels of heat that are considered uncomfortable to many other sapient species.  Indeed, visitors on Mauraug ships and in their dwellings often need to use polarized lenses or risk retinal damage, and Mauraug often carry light sources with them (or implant light-adaptive cybernetics into their eyes) when dealing with other species.

Mauraug only have one sex, and are capable of both inseminating and being inseminated.  Their semen is corrosive and damaging to developed fetuses and placental sacs, thus a Mauraug that is already pregnant will lose their current offspring if it engages in receptive intercourse with another Mauraug.  They tend to bear one to two children at a time.

The gene plague that afflicted the Mauraug has left most of their population with nigh-indefinite life spans.  Their cells reproduce without error and most of the weaknesses inherent to their physiology that would cause long-term breakdown have been eliminated.  They are almost all born with missing, atrophied or malformed organs or limbs, which often need to be replaced by cybernetic implants close to birth for survival, and many are stillborn as a result.  The frequency of birth of a genetically “pure” Mauraug, one born with standard coloration and no deformities, is extremely low, generally one in a billion.

Culture:

The Mauraug have always been dominated by their Prophets, although the messages of the Prophets change over time.  Their faith revolves around Dominion, also known as Sha’bahn, the universal and all-powerful being that has created a universe full of danger as a challenge to his creation.  Survive this, improve upon yourself, and you can make yourself like unto him.  The modern interpretation of this extends into an almost Transhumanist (or transMauraugist) philosophy involving cybernetic replacement and eventual transformation from an organic intelligence in an organic shell to one in a synthetic body.  This has never been successfully accomplished, but the ideal has kept many Mauraug scientists busy for centuries.

            The Mauraug Prophets undergo intense training in history, rhetoric, law, logic, and some basic knowledge of computer science and “demons” or AIs.  They are chosen for their personal insight and wisdom and often groomed for the position from an early age, and once they become Prophets rarely, if ever, interact with non-Mauraug, as they are seen as a potential corrupting influence and thus unclean.  They are attended by a clerical structure of priests of lesser authority and various ranks, which often very vastly based on their system of origin.

            The one religious institution among the Mauraug that is universal and unchanging is the Inquisition.  The Inquisition, overseen by the Prophets, is a caste of Mauraug clerics that have been trained in “sorcery” (psi and telepathy) and “demonology” (AI technology as well as hyperdimensional theory).  They are the only Mauraug that are allowed to pursue or train in such skills and knowledge; anyone outside of their order who is found spreading or using AIs or telepathy has only the Inquisition to answer to, and even the Prophets will step aside if an Inquisitor has made an accusation.  Unlike Prophets, Inquisitors frequently interact with members of other species and are not uncommon in shared Collective spaces, due to the increased potential for heresy in such regions. They do not always announce their identity as such, as while most Mauraug find their presence a comfort, other sapients tend to be leery of them.

Before the Gene Plague, the Mauraug Dominion was oriented in a more expansive direction, a mission that was by turns evangelic and imperial.  At this point the Covenant expands in a more careful fashion, generally legitimately annexing worlds and colonies through bargaining within the Collective.

Poetry is of great cultural value to the Mauraug, and is one of the only acceptable artistic outlets for their race.  All poetry, claims Dominion, comes from me, though your mouth is ill suited to speak the words, and only my Prophets' ears are suited to hear.  In other words, the Mauraug faith holds that all poetry is divinely inspired, though filtered through an imperfect tool.  If a poem seems to speak out against the Dominion or the Prophets it is merely a misinterpretation.  A Prophet will meditate upon the offending verse for a time and reveal the true meaning, inevitable aligned with the mores of their society and the will of Dominion.

Cybernetic enhancements are sources of vast pride in Mauraug culture.  They proudly display them, and even those enhancements that are meant to be kept secret (such as hidden weaponry) are often known among close friends and allies.  Indeed, the rare “pureblood” Mauraug, as a display of cultural solidarity with the rest of their kind, will deliberately maim themselves when coming of age, removing a limb or organ and having it replaced to show that they too bear the memory of what is considered the greatest mistake that they as a species have made.

Psychology:

The Mauraug of today are in many ways defined by their race's great tragedy.  Far too many allow their desperation to lead them on paths of semi-legal pirating and banditry.  There is a great bitterness and sorrow in the Mauraug psyche that can be measured quite visibly by changes in their poetic style and rising crime rates on their worlds and in the spaces around them.

Featured Species - The Zig

Name: The Zig

“Nearly every other race we have encountered speaks of a concept… perfection.  Despite our intelligence, it took us a long time to understand what they meant by it, perfection.  How could there be a final state?  An ultimate design?  We understand this quest for perfection now, though.  It is an unfortunate mental defect brought about by not being Zig.” – An Dar Ak Raht, Zig Senator

Appearance:

            The Zig in general shape and size are quite similar to humans.  The greatest visible difference is in coloration.  The Zig have skin with distinctive metallic tones, which in a healthy specimen  from their home world are a slightly iridescent with a silvery sheen.  The exact tones and hues vary greatly based on diet and planet of origin.  Their hair is stiff, wiry and often difficult to manage.  The very practical Zig will often either cut it extremely short, shave it, or ignore it.  Their general build is based largely upon caste, although there are exceptions in those who were born to parents of one cast and chose to join another.  The Iron Caste or Laborers tend to be very solidly built, with heavy facial features and broad shoulders.  The Copper Caste or Scientists are usually lean, with long, tapering fingers and slightly exaggerated sensory organs.  The Gold Caste or Leaders cut an even average in build between the Scientists and Laborers and often have exaggerated secondary sexual characteristics.

History:

            The Zig have been a space faring race for slightly longer than the Mauraug, though their society has nowhere near the monolithic character of the Covenant.  They too evolved from a primate-like species on a world not dissimilar to Terra. Their home world circles a star that sits in the outer arm of an especially rich nebula, not dissimilar to the conditions of Tesetsi Prime .  The abundance of elements that are rare in many other parts of space allowed the DNA based life of Zig Prime to adapt a host of solutions and processes not performed by life on other worlds.  The presence of these catalysts allowed for great efficiency of biological process, allowing for rapid evolution and adaptation.

            The Zig love of organization coupled with their lightning-quick minds resulted in many political systems being explored and either adapted or dropped.  Given their social behavior but strong sense of individual identity, the republic was a popular mode of governance that eventually survived their expansion into space.

            The isolationist stance of the Zig took shape early on.  First contact for the Zig was a deadly affair that started with the destruction of a colony and lead to a centuries-long war with a neighboring civilization.  The infamous Zig practicality lead to the genocide of the other species, and set a trend for them.  Their Republic did not share space gladly with other races that could consume the same resources that they do, and treated those other races as competition at best and rivals at worst.  As a result, they gained a galactic reputation that was not much more positive than that of the Mauraug.  Rather than being seen as despotic overlords they were viewed as terrifying outsiders who would eliminate other races wholesale and take their worlds.  This view was not far from the truth.

            The only thing that saved the Mauraug as a species from annihilation by the Zig was the very size of the Dominion.  Although they were convinced that given time and resources they could eradicate the Mauraug, their space was roughly the same size at the moment of first contact.  Such a war would be too draining upon the Republic and their Senate was unable to reach a consensus concerning the Mauraug until the Hrotata and Great Family arrived on the Galactic scene and convinced them to ally.

            The Tesetsi Diaspora was extremely helpful to the spread and maintenance of the Zig.  At first their worlds were leery of accepting these refugees from the empire of their blood enemies, but the medical miracles that the Tesetsi were able to provide as well as their low numbers and similarity of mindset overcame the Zig xenophobia rather quickly.  Although they have never been fully accepted as members of the Republic (nor would they want to be) the normalized relations with the Tesetsi may have actually paved the way for acceptance of the Great Family and the proposition of the Collective.

            The Zig reaction to mankind was also a mixed one.  Zig arrogance dictated that humans were like unto dumb cousins.  They were similar in physical form, and not too dissimilar mentally (although, of course, slower than the Zig).  Zig also had less concern with the humans’ use of artificial intelligence than many other races did.  Although the Zig themselves need no other minds to think for them, it seemed like a practical solution for a less-intelligent race.  The only Zig concerns about mankind revolve around mankind’s expansionist tendencies.  Other than the Mauraug and possibly the Great Family, no other race has the potential to be such direct competition to their kind, and they have marked this well.  Since human space is on the other side of Dominion space from the Zig Republic, they are less concerned about it presently but acknowledge the potential for mankind to be a dangerous rival should they become more established in the Galaxy.  Therefore Zig politics tends to be more conservative than usual when concerning mankind, rarely garnering support for human colony worlds unless Zig trasmuters and terraforming are directly involved in the project, giving them a foot in the door.

            The Zig also had the misfortune of making First Contact with the Awakeners, and that has left a mark upon them.  The crew of a Zig terraforming effort was viciously psychically assaulted on a potential colony world.  The entire staff went mad within days, and when a Collective effort was sent to find out what happened to them, the Hrotata telepath aboard reported many powerful intelligences on the planet, who were attempting to strike out at those who had begun poisoning their air and water.  

            When it was discovered that fungal colonies were at the root of this, the Republic demanded their extermination.  These deliberations lasted long enough to allow for two things to happen: established Awakeners complete with hosts and ships made themselves known and apologized for the actions of their less civilized brethren, and the mind-plague was revealed.  The rogue Awakeners on the colony world in questions had created a very destructive meme that spread through Zig psyches, causing confusion and distress among regular Zig and crippling insanity among their telepaths.  The discovery of the meme would have been the nail in the coffin for the Awakeners had other Collective species not realized their potential and unanimously offered them membership.  The Zig, unable and unwilling to accept the Awakening, have voted against nearly every motion the Awakeners have made as a species, and keep an eye out for motions made by other species that might benefit them.

            The meme plague still spreads through the Zig.  Only a small percentage of their population has been affected, but it spreads quite easily and attempts by Zig telepaths to cure it have thus far only resulted in their own infection.   The Awakeners have offered to help make reparations and aid in the cure, but this has been rejected out of hand by the xenophobic Zig.  As a result, the Zig have a few quarantine worlds that they position guards in the orbits of and allow no direct communication with.  Newly infected Zig are sent to these worlds almost immediately if diagnosed.  Mauraug diplomats have tried hard to have sanctions imposed on the Zig for violations of the rights of sapient beings, but their motives are obvious to the rest of the Collective and such efforts have been solidly grounded time and time again.

            Despite setbacks, the Zig Republic enjoys great prosperity.  Its members do not want for material things, or (due to their connection to the Tesetsi) medical care.  Individual Zig tend to live full lives, well cared for and with as much potential for growth as is possible within their political and social system.  If the Zig have any complaints about the current state of affairs, it is reflected in mild irritation at getting lower priority in the establishment of colony worlds and in the fight for resources.  Other races generally agree that the Zig are far ahead of them where inhabitable worlds are concerned and with their ability to synthesize necessary compounds and elements they do not need as extensive resource rights.  This resentment is tempered by the satiety that comes with abundance and their racial pride.  They generally believe that their race will be able to out think and out last the others based simply upon their own merits and their policies and interaction with the rest of the Collective reflect this.

             

Native Technology:

            Materials Tech.  After expanding their colonies past their home system, the Zig discovered that many of the planets available for colonization or terraforming were less than ideal in that they did not carry the blend of heavy metals unique to the Zig world and biosphere.  The vast Zig intellect was turned towards the development of elemental transmutation, first out of desperation and then out of stubbornness.  After centuries of experimentation they produced the basis for the technology that they are famous for today.  Their matter transmuters allow them to alter molecular and even atomic structures safely, which enables them to produce any elements that they need.  Their experience in the use of these transmuters and their byproduct technology has allowed them to create materials with very unusual physical properties including transparent metals, superconductive gas, and compounds that include normally non-reactive elements.  Most Collective ships boast Zig bulkheads and drive housing and many Collective colonies (even some Covenant-owned) have teams of Zig available to man atomic transmuters that make terraforming much more feasible.  Weapons applications have been known to exist as well; they Zig are known to possess technology that allows them to alter the state of matter at a range.  They also produce their infamous “molecule seeds” that provoke the transmutation of an element they encounter.  On the large scale these have been use to destroy the atmosphere of a world by converting the oxygen to something far less (or more) reactive.  On a more personal level, Zig projectiles sometimes contain molecule seeds that can poison or even destroy organic tissue that their alchemy comes into contact with.

Biology:

            On the surface, Zig biology is very similar to that of humans and the Mauraug.  Investigation of basic biochemical processes reveals this to be a fallacy.  The heavy metals in the Zig system serve as catalysts for many of their biological functions where they would merely build up and cause tissue damage in most other DNA-based life.

            One side effect of this is the hyper-efficient Zig nervous system.  Their electrochemical transmitters are much faster than those of other life forms with similar nervous systems.  As a result they tend to be far more intelligent individually.

            A Zig with the proper nutrients will also heal damage to their body very quickly.  Although their immune systems are not better equipped to deal with foreign pathogens than most, they are capable of restoring damaged tissue at an astonishing rate when their diets have a full complement of minerals.  They are even capable of regenerating lost limbs and (given proper medical attention) vital organs, given time.  This remarkable healing is a property that they share with all of the life forms of their home world, and was a major point of interest for Tesetsi biologists during the Diaspora.

Culture:

The Zig caste system is the source of much interest.  A Zig chooses his caste and gender before he reaches full adulthood, as the Zig go through a powerful growth spurt at puberty.  During this growth spurt, they tend to adapt to the physical characteristics of those around them.  The Zig generally choose to remain with the castes of their parents’ family, but may choose another caste pre-puberty.  If so, they are moved to live with another family of the appropriate caste, among members of their chosen gender, allowing their coming of age transformation to specialize them.  Although a Zig is not forbidden from seeing his old family, ties usually fray and break over the years as they have less and less in common with their biological parents.

The Zig race populates a vast enough region and has enough members that attempting to encapsulate their cultural variety in a few simple pages is impossible.  However, certain things hold true on most Zig worlds.  On a given world norms of style, dress, and entertainment are more often than not caste-based.  The workers tend to enjoy crude and slapstick humor and down-to-earth drama.  The Scientists often favor intellectual humor and documentary entertainment.  The Leaders are usually patrons of social drama and have complex role-playing games and theatrical productions.

There is a movement of admiration for human culture and the pace of human life that has sprung up since mankind’s’ joining of the Collective.  There are those among the Zig that see the relatively slow pace of human life and behavior as being a form of enlightenment; humans suffer less stress-based diseases, both physical and mental, than the high-strung Zig and have an appreciation for life and depth of emotion that Zig culture does not go out of its way to cultivate.  “Humicker” Zig work to question their constant urge to alter and improve their environment, and engage in very un-Zig like practices and philosophies such as Zen and Taoism.  They also will often mimic humans on a more base level as well, occasionally taking human names and dressing in human fashions.  Humickers are treated as mentally incompetent or diseased by the eminently practical Zig, and although they are not necessarily discriminated against, there are therapists and counselors among the Leader caste that specialize in “setting them straight”.  Outside observation is on the fence concerning these Zig; there are those that claim that fighting their natural urges lead to even higher levels of stress, and there are those that wish that the madly active Zig would learn to take a step back and enjoy the world as it is rather than constantly seeking to improve the things that may not require improvement.

Psychology:

            It has often been said of the Zig that when they look at a thing they do not see the thing, they see what it can be made into.  This applies across the board for all of their castes; not only are they great Scientists, but their Leaders are frighteningly capable social engineers.  Their highly efficient cerebrums are calibrated to constantly alter and improve their environment.

            Some take these qualities as a form of callousness, not understanding that from the Zig perspective these things are a matter of practicality.  Having powerful family and social bonds, they rarely identify strongly with those outside of their established social group, much like the Vislin, who are the most agreeable members of the Great Family to them.