Homo Stabrinidae

[Keklas Rekobah]

Stabrinde (stah-BRIN-day): Bipedal, mobile, heterotropic, societal, bilaterally symmetrical, serially hermaphroditic, viviparous humanoids native to Brin-IV.


Taxonomic Classification:

- System: Brin
- Domain: Stabrindia
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Hermaphroditia
- Order: Omnivora
- Family: Primata
- Genus: Homo
- Species: Brinidae


Primary Species: "Stabrinde" ("People of Brin")

Appearance: Humanoid, with golden-yellow skin at birth that fades to pale yellow with age. ~1.5 metres tall as adults. Head is disproportionately large, and the eyes even moreso. Little or no body hair, except for a Mohawk-like stand on the top and back of the head. Eyes are uniformly dark brown. Three digits with four joints and an opposable thumb with three joints on hands. Four digits with three joints each on feet. Low BMI. Exceptional hearing and night vision. (Note: Imagine a well-fed Smeagal/Gollum from LotR. -KR-)

Gender Differences: Children are born neuter with male genitalia. Puberty onset in 10 standard years. Male for 10 to 15 years, followed by non-fertile transition to female gender over 1 to 3 years, followed 10 to 15 years as female, followed by transition to neuter gender for remainder of life. Normal life span is ~90 standard years.

Government: Society is run by a gerontocracy (Rulership by the Aged) of neuters. Households are managed by the females. Males perform tasks of labor. Children are taught at an accelerated rate.

Conflict: War is practically unknown, although violent crime among the males is not uncommon. Female crimes tend towards more white-collar varieties. Neuters rarely commit any crimes.

Factions: One notable group, with significant support, well known. Males wishing to have a larger voice in government engaging in civil disobedience. Fortunately, the male stage does not last long enough for a stable coalition to form. Females tend to be more accepting of the status quo, knowing that they'll become leaders soon enough.

Culture:

- (11) Sexist - One gender (neuters) consider the others to be subservient; children, males and females can not own real-estate, neuters can.

- (15) Conservative - Resistance to change and outside influence.

- (43) Peaceful - Physical conflict is almost unheard-of (except among the males). The culture produces few soldiers, and diplomacy is the rule (except among the males). Aggressive or forceful citizens are ostracized. Aggressive, forceful or merely assertive off-worlders will be restricted to the extrality zone.

Behavior: The Brin are known for their understanding of life sciences, from genetics to sociology, and for their passionate regard for all life. Children are energetic, with short attention spans, but easily educated; males are aggressive and self-centered; females are merely assertive and family oriented; and the elders are patient and generally disposed towards peaceful resolution of differences.

Sciences: Primary science is biology, with medicine, organic chemistry and genetics following in close order. Astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, and sociology also feature greatly.

Trade Goods: World is Agricultural, Garden, Non-Industrial, Rich World.

- Illegal exports include anagathics and psionic-related drugs.

- Illegal imports include 'Foreign' entertainment and information, Psionic-related devices, easily-concealed personal firearms (i.e., Body Pistols) and other forbidden weapons.

- Unusual imports include mercenary law-enforcement personnel.

Environmental Data (Brin-IV):

Mineral Resources: Brin has a largely non-metallic crust. Metals heavier than copper lie near the core, with lighter elements closer to the surface. Abundant petroleum reserves.

Geology: No moon, minimal tides. No plate tectonics. Little volcanism. Few quakes.

Climate: Global weather consistent with spring or autumn, with temperature gradient relative to latitude. Small ice caps. A few small arid regions of no great importance.

Biology: Abundant air, land, and oceanic life. Many analogues to Terrestrial life-forms; most follow the serial hermaphroditic age progression of the Homo Brinidae. Brin biology is not incompatible -- Brin and Terrestrials may consume the same foods -- but genetic differences prevent interbreeding with Terrestrial stock.


Planetary Data (Brin-IV):

UWP: "Brin" ???? C7667C8-8 G Ag Ga Ni Ri

- Starport: Downport only. Routine quality facilities for cargo and passengers. Unrefined fuel available at normal price. Refined fuel at double price only. Some repair facilities (civilian only).

- Diameter: 7,000 miles (ll,200 km)
- Atmosphere: Standard Nitrogen-Oxygen (78:21) mix, with traces of noble gases.
- Hydrographics: Water covers 60% of surface, with ice caps at poles.

- Population: 21 million, and stable.
- Government: Charismatic Oligarchy (Gerontocracy) maintaining a socialist state.
- Law Level: Explosives, Poison Gas, and Firearms are prohibited. Long-Bladed weapons are controlled (limited to SOC-A+). Daggers are permitted, if not carried openly.

- Native Technology: 9 (This is an average value, reflecting TL-B for organic "life" sciences, and TL-7 for inorganic sciences).

- Agricultural, Garden, Non-Industrial, Rich. Most industry is related to the cultivation of foodstuffs, and to the production of organic pharmaceuticals. Distribution is efficient and equitable.

- One gas giant.

- No Naval or Scout bases present.


System Details

Primary: F5-IV, Solitary.

Orbit I: "Sut" X-100-000-0 Ba Va -- Small, mineral-laden rockball, bathed in stellar radiation. Extreme life hazard.

Orbit II: "Brel" X-300-000-0 Ba Va -- Small, mineral-laden rockball. Two asteroidal siliceous satellites, 100 km (irregular shard) and 300 km (spherical).

Orbit III: "Kest" X-530-000-0 Ba De Po -- Small, siliceous rockball.

Orbit IV: "Brin" C-766-7C8-8 G Ag Ga Ni Ri -- Carbo-Siliceous rockball with metallic core. Inhabited.

Orbit V: Empty.

Orbit VI: (Various) X-000-000-0 As Ba Va -- Asteroid belt. Mostly siliceous. Irregular shapes, most less than 1000 km diameter, various compositions.

Orbit VII: "Otra" Large Gas Giant -- Slow rotation, unbanded. Dozens of satellites with irregular shapes, most less than 1000 km diameter, various compositions.

 

[Peter Schutze]

A very interesting species. Nicely presented. Lots of possible adventure hooks suggested just from first readings which I regard as the sign of a well thought out idea

A couple of questions:
do transitioning males (that 1-3 year period) have a class ? A role ?
how is parentage / inheritance handled ?
Is there a similar period for female > neuter transition or some sort of analog to menopause ?
why such a small population for a native sentient race ? are they dying out ?
with their strong life sciences skill are there any technologies / taboos for accelerated transition between stages ?

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

A very interesting species. Nicely presented. Lots of possible adventure hooks suggested just from first readings which I regard as the sign of a well thought out idea

A couple of questions:
do transitioning males (that 1-3 year period) have a class ? A role ?
how is parentage / inheritance handled ?
Is there a similar period for female > neuter transition or some sort of analog to menopause ?
why such a small population for a native sentient race ? are they dying out ?
with their strong life sciences skill are there any technologies / taboos for accelerated transition between stages ?

Thanx!

Some transitioning males have a difficult time of it, what with losing their 'manhood' (it literally withers and falls off) during the transition. Younger males may take advantage of this ... and the transitioning person, since fertility does not set in until the second or third year, while the transitioning person is fully capable of being on the receiving end of the copulatory act after the 'manhood' is lost. Although the act may be quite uncomfortable for the transitioning brin.

There is, however, a small percentage (1 in a billion) of births that result in a person that never transitions out of the male stage. Their reproductive role can continue well into their golden years. The trait is not hereditary.

Inheritance of personal belongings is accomplished in the usual way. Since Brin-IV is a global socialist state, real estate is passed along according to need -- the 'rightful' heirs may never see it. While the elders 'own' all the land (and each has a parcel all their own), inheritance of the land is under full control of the state, although the wishes of the deceased are usually respected.

The female-neuter transition is analogous to terrestrial menopause, and many of the symptoms are similar.

The small population is maintained by governmental controls through contraceptive practices. Also, the females, being more mature than the males in every way, tend to choose older, and more emotionally stable males to mate with, if they choose a mate at all. Some stabrinde go their entire lives without giving birth, while others seem to spend their entire female phase pregnant. It all works out.

Interesting to note that since every stabrinde eventually becomes female, there is no concept of 'paternity' except in the genetic sense. Females are considered solely responsible for their reproduction, since the 'father' of their children is likely to become the 'mother' of their own offspring.

The taboo against violence or force is fully inculcated by the time a brin becomes female. Invasion of personal privacy is taboo (this is Imposition, a form of force). Efforts to artificially extend or accelerate the child, male and transitional stages are also taboo.

One of the biggest taboos is open discussion of reproductive policies with offworlders. There is just too much misunderstanding in such discussions, what with the humaniti predisposition to consider the morality of other species through their own cultural filters. At best, a brin might admit that she is no longer pregnant, and that's all there is to it. No further discussion on this topic is warranted.

Another taboo has to do with providing brin pharmaceuticals to offworlders. It seems that certain substances used in the relief of end-of-life issues in the brin can, when processed a certain way, be used as anagathics in humans and vargr (terrestrial stock only). When processed another way, these same substances become a powerful 'Zombie Drug' -- again, affecting only terrestrials and their decendents. Thus, the brin have decided that the risks outweigh the benefits, and refuse to engage in offworld trade in these substances.

-KR-

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Adventure Hooks

1) The characters are hired to act as peacekeepers (Law Enforcement / Public Safety), and find that they mostly deal with drunken off-worlders in startown. (Roll 1D. 1-3: Drunken off-worlders brawling with each other. 4-5: Drunken off-worlders 'victimizing' a brin transitional. 6: Brin males harassing drunken off-worlders.)

2) The characters are hired to act as peacekeepers (Law Enforcement / Public Safety), and find that they mostly deal with male brin -- similar to handling teenaged punks afflicted with ADD/ADHD or HFA. (Roll 1D. 1-3: Young brin males engaging in 'Hell Night' activities. 4-5: Brin males 'victimizing' off-world females. 6: Older brin males engaged in criminal syndicate activities.)

3) The characters are contacted by a middle-aged male brin. It seems he never went through the transition, and feels that he would be better accepted 'somewhere, out there.' (Roll 1D. 1-3: He is as he seems. 4-5: He is wanted for unspecified 'Crimes Against the State.' 6: He is targeted for execution as an abomination against the brin race by a small group of 'Pure-Race' fanatics.)

4) The characters are contacted by a middle-aged male brin. It seems he never went through Transition, and believes that he is now the target of a governmental conspiracy to force him to become 'normal.' (Roll 1D. 1-3: Treat as #3 above; 4-5: It's all in his head, but evidence suggests otherwise; 6: They're really out to get him, just as he says).

5) The characters are asked to deliver a certain crate to a certain address at a certain time. They are not to examine the contents or allow them to be examined. (Roll 1D for contents. 1-3: Remains of deceased brin, returning home; 4-5: Body pistols and ammunition; 6: Artifact, possibly Ancient).

6) The characters are asked to pick up a shopping list of brin plants and seeds. Some are found only in remote areas. Others are found in areas that are off-limits to offworlders. One in particular raises suspicions when asked for. (Roll 1D. 1-3: Rare spices and herbs only, one is slightly toxic; 4-5: Ordinary weeds with psychotropic effects; 6: Anagathic ingredients.)

Best Wishes!

-KR-

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

A small detail, but it underlies most of brin culture ... the description of Law Level states, "Explosives, Poison Gas, and Firearms are prohibited. Long-Bladed weapons are controlled (limited to SOC-A+). Daggers are permitted, if not carried openly." Some may think that this is a contradiction. How can a society allow its citizens to go around carrying swords and daggers, yet have practically no history of armed conflict except at the personal level?

Simple, really ... "An armed society is a polite society" and the brin value politeness. Since every brin who can carry a dagger or sword usually does, this makes brin society (except the males) very, very polite.

True, most of the daggers and swords were ornamental and made of wood or hard plastic before first contact with offworlders. True, putting daggers in the hands of hyper-active males might put everyone in danger. True, since first contact, edged weapons made of tempered steel or combat polymers have become the norm. But when an average member of the ruling class has the blade combat skill of a deulist or kensai (Blade Combat - 2 or 3), and an average member of the male phase is little more than a street tough with a sharp toy (Blade Combat - 0), it stands to reason that males tend to learn mannerly behavior or suffer greatly for their ignorance.

By the time brin males reach Transition, they have acquired one level of Blade Combat, and a deep appreciation for polite interpersonal relations.

 

[atpollard]

That is VERY clever.

It creeps the heck out of me, so I won't be using them anytime soon, but it is among the most 'alien' concepts that I have ever seen.

 

[coliver988]

I like them as well. Nice job in the detailing.

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

That is VERY clever.

Thanx muchly!

It creeps the heck out of me, so I won't be using them anytime soon, but it is among the most 'alien' concepts that I have ever seen.

I believe that aliens should be more than just humans in latex costumes and stage makeup. Aliens should be ... well ... Alien! Even if they look human, they should at least have something that belies their appearance. Creeped out? Then I've done my job.

I like them as well. Nice job in the detailing.

Thanx, again! Detailing should not end with the what of a UWP; it should also go into the why, without dictating every possible situation.

 

[Whipsnade]

Keklas,

Absolutely, undeniably, unequivocally fan - freakin' - tastic!

For a human minor race, Homo stanbrinadae are more delightfully alien than nearly most of the "alien" aliens slapped into Our Olde Game over the years. Like you, I believe that aliens should be more than humans with plumbing supplies glued to the bridge of their nose. (Thanks for nothing Star Trek... )

One teeny-weeny suggestion and it has to do with the Brin homeworld and not the Brin themselves. The "non-metallic" crust idea should be modified somewhat as metals are so very useful for biology and not just industry.

If you dial back the planet's "heat engine" enough to make vulcanism, continental drift, and other geological processes rare and/or slow, you'll greatly limit the creation of useful ore bodies. There will still be metals in the planetary crust, they just won't be found in economically useful concentrations.

Continuing my metals fixation, most of the off-worlders present in the Brin home system will be belters producing the metals, alloys, and other compounds Brin's TL8 society needs.


Regards,
Bill

P.S. Please submit this material to Jeff at Freelance Traveller so he can include it in his magazine.

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Absolutely, undeniably, unequivocally fan - freakin' - tastic!

For a human minor race, Homo stanbrinadae are more delightfully alien than nearly most of the "alien" aliens slapped into Our Olde Game over the years.

That's 'Homo Stabrinidae' (taxonomical name), 'Stabrinde' (as they call themselves), or 'Brin' for short (what everyone else uses).

Like you, I believe that aliens should be more than humans with plumbing supplies glued to the bridge of their nose. (Thanks for nothing Star Trek... )

Well, look what they have to work with. Humans. Terrestrial humans. TL-7/8 Terrestrial humans, at that!

One teeny-weeny suggestion and it has to do with the Brin homeworld and not the Brin themselves. The "non-metallic" crust idea should be modified somewhat as metals are so very useful for biology and not just industry.

There are metals in the planetary crust. They're just mostly copper or lighter. This is based on my theory that without a large, Luna-like moon in close orbit, there would be little or no mixing of material during planetary accretion and solidification (the 'Hadean' era). Thus, most of the heavier metals settled inward, and most of the lighter ones upward. This correlates nicely to the impact theory of lunar formation as well.

Note that the key word is 'most'. There will be some minor deposits of heavy ores, but the abundance would be considerable less than one would expect from a two-body planetary system.

Brin history includes stone, copper, and bronze ages. Iron and steel are as valuable as silver, while gold and platinum are exceptionally rare. Once the brin developed electricity (copper has the same abundance as on Terra), aluminum processing became possible. Radioactives were a mere laboratory curiousity before first contact with the Imperium. Now, these materials are imported in exchange for some of the custom organics of brin science.

If you dial back the planet's "heat engine" enough to make vulcanism, continental drift, and other geological processes rare and/or slow, you'll greatly limit the creation of useful ore bodies. There will still be metals in the planetary crust, they just won't be found in economically useful concentrations.

... which is my goal in the first place. The idea was to provide a reason for the brin to have a culture and technology that was not based as much on industrial 'Iron Age' development as Terra. The results are the same, however, so no worries.

Continuing my metals fixation, most of the off-worlders present in the Brin home system will be belters producing the metals, alloys, and other compounds Brin's TL8 society needs.

Agreed. Note that there is no naval or scout base in-system. IMTU, such installations depend heavily on local resources. This eliminates the idea of a major naval depot located in a system of two or three X100000-0 worlds orbiting around an M8-V star somewhere off the beaten path. There has to be at least a TL-7 industrial civilization in-system to support such major projects in space. Again, this is IMTU. Yours may vary.

Regards

Always!

P.S. Please submit this material to Jeff at Freelance Traveller so he can include it in his magazine.

Of course ... I'll do the final write-up tonight.

-KR-

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Homo Stabrindae

Submitted.

 

[Whipsnade]

That's 'Homo Stabrinidae' (taxonomical name), 'Stabrinde' (as they call themselves), or 'Brin' for short (what everyone else uses).

Keklas,

Oops... Please pardon the typo...

The idea was to provide a reason for the brin to have a culture and technology that was not based as much on industrial 'Iron Age' development as Terra. The results are the same, however, so no worries.

Ahhh, a similar goal reached by slightly different paths!

Note that there is no naval or scout base in-system. IMTU, such installations depend heavily on local resources.

Agreed. Such facilities are placed with an eye towards using local resources as much as possible IMTU also.

There has to be at least a TL-7 industrial civilization in-system to support such major projects in space. Again, this is IMTU. Yours may vary.

MTU varies very little from that idea and I suspect what variance there is results from different ideas regarding just what "major" constitutes.

Where I couldn't see the Brin homeworld directly supporting a tens of thousands of corporate belters and large sized mining/refining conglomerates, I could see the same world supporting tens of hundreds of wildcat belters and middling sized mining/refining co-operatives meeting the Brin homeworld's immediate metallurgical needs. Any local metallurgical needs that are too specialized would then be met by imports.

Of course ... I'll do the final write-up tonight. Submitted.

Excellent! Jeff's next issue will be even better than the first now.


Regards,
Bill

 

[rancke]

Taxonomic Classification:

- System: Brin
- Domain: Stabrindia
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Hermaphroditia
- Order: Omnivora
- Family: Primata
- Genus: Homo
- Species: Brinidae

Is 'System' a rank you made up yourself or does it have a scientific basis? I've been using the term 'Sphere' (from 'biosphere') for the same rank (i.e. which world the life evolved on).

How about using 'Anthro' instead of 'Homo'? This would allow Imperial scientists to reserve the term 'Homo' for the various human races and 'Anthro' for humanoid aliens.


Hans

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Is 'System' a rank you made up yourself or does it have a scientific basis? I've been using the term 'Sphere' (from 'biosphere') for the same rank (i.e. which world the life evolved on).

How about using 'Anthro' instead of 'Homo'? This would allow Imperial scientists to reserve the term 'Homo' for the various human races and 'Anthro' for humanoid aliens.

'System' is a rank I made up myself. 'Sphere' might be more accurate, but some worlds would likely have segregated biospheres -- remember the Terrestrial tubeworms? Maybe 'System' is a rank above 'Sphere' ...

'Anthro' versus 'Homo'? These arguments have been going on for centuries at every IISS survey office ... yeah, that's the story ... some of those scouts get a little space-weary and can't distinguish the difference ... right?

 

[rancke]

'System' is a rank I made up myself. 'Sphere' might be more accurate, but some worlds would likely have segregated biospheres -- remember the Terrestrial tubeworms? Maybe 'System' is a rank above 'Sphere' ...

The way I concieved it, 'Sphere' is where an organism's ancestors evolved. All humans, for example, belong to Sphere Terra, even if they've been living on Vland or Zhdant or Wherever for 300,000 years. A previously barren world seeded with species from dozens of different worlds would have examples of dozens of spheres, none of them itself. Just a suggestion.

'Anthro' versus 'Homo'? These arguments have been going on for centuries at every IISS survey office ... yeah, that's the story ... some of those scouts get a little space-weary and can't distinguish the difference ... right?

Actually, when I saw the thread title, I thought it was about a new Human Race. That's what made me suggest having such a distinction. Again just a suggestion, but I think it makes sense.


Hans

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Actually, Hans, your suggestion does make sense.

What spheres do you propose for other races, such as the Chirper/Droyne? Droynia? Droynaeia?

 

[rancke]

What spheres do you propose for other races, such as the Chirper/Droyne? Droynia? Droynaeia?

That's a very good question, and one that I haven't been able to come up with an answer to.

Not too long after the Terrans reach the stars, they're going to come up with the notion of a new taxonomic rank denoting world of origin. Then they're going to find out that someone has thoroughly mixed up the life in this part of the galaxy. Humans and other species from Terra spread to many worlds by the mysterious Ancients. Sphere Vland and many other spread by the Vilani. Sphere Dingir spread to this and that neighboring world, Sphere This here, Sphere That there, again by the Ancients, whoever they may be.

And eventually they're going to notice that one particular sphere crops up all over the place, almost as often as Sphere Terra or maybe even more often. And none of the places they find it is the original homeworld. They don't know that the world is called Droynia or Eskaloyt, and they're not going to find out for many many years. So what are they going to name it?

I think they'll choose a word that means something like ubiquitous, widespread. But I'm not sure what. What would it be in latin?


Hans

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Diasporae; as in "Anthro Diasporae can be found on nearly every Terrestrial world within 24 parsecs of Regina, although no evidence exists of their having visited the Regina system itself."

 

[rancke]

Sphere Diasporae[*] it is.

[*] "Scattered", right?​

Hans

 

[FreeTrav]

And received. Haven't felt to optimum the past few days, but will look at it as soon as I reasonably can - most likely, if it doesn't appear in January - and I will be planning on January for it - it WILL appear in February.