Species Information
Species Information
Basic Information
Name of Species: Abwehran
Homeworld: Jaspis IVc
Population (approx.):
Total: 9.3 billion
Male: 30%
Female: 70%
Percentage of Surfacers: 64%
Percentage of Night-walkers: 35%
Economy:
Type: Welfare Capitalism
Main Exports: N/A
Main Imports: N/A
Currency: Credit
Valuable backing currency: No Backing
Description: Abwehrans are a humanoid race with prehensile tails and have a height range of six feet to seven feet, six inches. Females can then be identified from males by the fact that males have four arms and females have two arms. Abwehrans have a strong skeletal structure, made of calcium and iron, which gives them the ability to withstand a maximum of 25 Gs of gravity with out support gear. To keep blood circulating through the body at such high forces, Abwehrans have two hearts that work simultaneously. If one heart should stop, the other heart will only pump for an hour until it fails as well.
Abwehrans also have brains that are the same size as an average human's, but it is twice as dense with two lobes fused together. This, and the fact that they can use 20% of their brain for conscious thought, gives them all photographic memories as well as mild empathic ability. This doesn't mean they're geniuses though. It just means their brains can process information at a faster rate. A strange birth defect in the Abwehran community is when the empathic powers seem to triple, making the individual a powerful tele-empath (a person with the ability to use telepathy and empathy). But a side-effect to this is the individual being born without vocal chords. This causes the person to rely more on written Abwehran and telepathy to communicate with others.
They also have the unique ability to regenerate their limbs, as long as a piece of it still remains intact. Abwehrans usually live to be 1200 Earth years old or 300 Abwehran years. There youthfulness stays with them throughout this time (Note: When Abwehran is 150 Abwehran years, they look 50 Earth years). The immune systems of the Abwehran people are incredibly strong and effective against most known diseases and illnesses of other cultures. The most surprising fact is that their immune system attacks the foreign body with not only the antibodies and white blood cells most races have, but also with a cell within the Abwehrans that is not in any other known race. Its name cannot be translated into English, so it has been dubbed the K-cell. The K-cell is an active defense in the body that will attack even live, active viruses and bacteria. It is so active, that it will attack nanoprobes and destroy them. How this came to be is unknown, but most doctors believe this K-cell evolved to protect the Abwehrans from powerful viral agents that at one time may have lived on Abwehr.
Races: Abwehrans can be divided into two races: Surfacers and Night-dwellers.
Culture: It's hard to define the Abwehran culture in its entirety due each race having their separate culture. But there are a few, if rare, similarities to both cultures that could be mentioned together.
First and foremost, all Abwehrans believe in the right to settle their differences with a duel to first blood. This is believed in so much, it is protected in their Empire's Constitution. Once an Abwehran is challenged, both parties are to use their personal swords in the duel. The party who is challenged is given the right to choose when and where the duel is to take place. The objective of the duel is to first blood, meaning the first person to bleed loses the duel. Duels to the death are considered barbaric and illegal. If an Abwehran is purposefully killed in a duel, the transgressor's sword is broken and they are arrested for the crime of Murder in the first degree.
Secondly, family is important to all Abwehrans, no matter what race they come from. Almost every Abwehran family has a coat of arms that identifies them. Each member of a family that is reach the age of adulthood is required to carry a sword with them when allowed to, this is a tradition that was meant to be used as protection and settling arguments. It is still used like that today, but only in marriages, duels, and funerals. These objects are symbols of family union and respect. There is no such thing as disownment or abandonment in any Abwehran family for such things is considered cruel and dishonorable. In other words, if someone in the family commits a crime or insults another family the whole family must atone for it in some way. The individual is punished in an appropriate way, but the family must pay for any damages incurred or help support the other family.
The Abwehr spoken language closely resembles the Earthlings German, though many of their words aren't able to translate into either German or English. Their written language seems to go by the same concept as Japanese and Chinese in the fact that each symbol represents an idea and not a letter. But the Abwehran written language is not as artistic as its Earth counterpart. In fact, it has evolved over the years into a written language that can be typed on computer easily. Each symbol is more blocky or spherical, but are all different. The written language is also read left to right as in English.
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Surfacer Information
Description: Born with a variety of hair and eye colors, Surfacers are closer to resembling humans than their brethren from the subterranean depths. There is really not that much difference from humans other than species appearance.
Areas: All over the surface of the planet.
Culture: Quite hedonistic, Surfacers have no preference in religion and prefer the arts and commerce to more technical occupation. Monogamists due to a near equal male to female population ratio, they tend to consider homosexuality as taboo and have a discriminatory belief in it. Fashions and trends tend to be dictated by celebrities and what the Empress wears out in public.
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Night-Dweller Information
Description: Unlike the Abwehrans that live on the surface, Night-Dwellers have pasty complexions with glowing blue eyes due to living under the surface of the planet. Their hair is usually raven black and dark brown in variation. Though they can and will go out onto the surface during the day, they are forced to wear dark black goggles when they do. Without that protection, the suns rays will burn out the ultra-sensitive retinas in the Night-Dwellers specialized eyes and cause permanent blindness. Dim artificial light to starlight is the only thing Night-Dwellers can really stand.
Area: Subterranean Cities underground and one Deep-Sea, Ocean-floor City.
Culture: The Night-Dwellers worship the universe as if it were a living creature and are the minority of the Abwehran species. The Abwehran Night-Dwellers believe that children are the gift of the universe and that a family with many children is a blessed family. Any children that have lost their families to war or famine are usually taken in by the family's greatest friend. Because of these believes the Abwehran Government provides children services, which involve discounts on numerous necessities. Night-Dwellers are also polygamists due to the uneven nature of their gender ratio, which also causes homo-sexuality with-in the female gender to be acceptable. It is also because of these beliefs that Night-Dweller families are the larger of the two races, sometimes being as large as one husband and five wives with nearly ten children.
The Night-Dwellers are the only Abwehrans with an active coming of age ceremony, which is a long and tedious one. It involves the child of 16 Earth years going through a series of three tasks. The first task is of purification. The child goes up to a mountain peak for spiritual cleansing and meditation. This meditation lasts for three days straight. Once this is done, the child should then come down the mountain to perform the second task. The second task is a duel with their father. Though to other races, this maybe considered barbaric, the Night-Dwellers consider it a necessity. To them, if the child can hold his own or win against his father, the child is then considered to be ready to protect himself and his future family without the need for help. The third trial is created specifically by the mother to test her child for his or her days as an adult. It can be anything and is usually wither something the grandmother did to her or completely original. Once the child passes the three trials, they are considered an adult. A celebration then occurs for the new adult of the family.
Abwehrans are rarely seen in any other occupation other than one's involving technical and scientific skills. Most of them can be found in the Abwehran Imperial Military Forces, government or private exploration programs, and within the scientific community; though the vast majority will always be found trying to gain entrance into the newly formed Space Forces.
The Night-Dweller marriage is a simple wedding, though it is quite large due to family. Traditionally, the male wears a black on dark gray suit with his sword on his left side. The female wears a forest green or teal evening gown-like wedding dress with no lace or frills on it. Unlike the male, she has a choice whether or not to have her sword with her. If she chooses to have it with her, the sibling or cousin closest to her age is asked to carry it for her. During the ceremony, both man and woman walk down the aisle together. Once at the alter, they turn to face each other and clasp hands. A special cloth with the coat of arms of both families is draped on top of the clasped hands and the couple pledges to the universe and to the people attending their love and devotion. Once that is done, the couple can then share a kiss together to cement their marriage. Afterwards, a celebration is thrown that can last from four hours to eight whole hours, depending on the size of the family.
The Night-Dwellers religion is known as Universalism, the belief that the universe is a living organism and that everything in the universe is constantly being recycled to be reborn anew. Another belief of the Universalists is that if a great wrong has been done (such as genocide, mass murder, or rape) the transgressor is punished by a decrease in the Life/Food Chain. Likewise, a greet deed is rewarded by a promotion in the chain. The Life/Food Chain is a ranking system of objects in the Universe. A sun or star is usually considered to be the highest form that can be received on the chain and is only for those who have led full and great lives. It goes on from their like planets, other celestial bodies, large predators, the intelligent races, other animals, plants, and micro-organisms. The lowest form on the chain is called the Charec Worm. This is an animal that is very destructive and has no known use in nature at all, a mere pest. Due to this status, the highest form of an insult that can be given is "May you forever return as a Charec!â€
