U.S.S. Elysium :: Wiki - Lonian Information

Lonian Information

By Federation standards, this is a matriarchal society. Those who can bear children (or otherwise those with characteristics that the Federation designates as female) are highly regarded in Lonia society because they are seen as the ones who can continue one's lineage. These pelareka are treated with respect and often hold positions of power. It's a cultural practice for n'pelaren, or those who cannot continue the lineage, to show their respect specifically to those in power by lowering their gaze. It's typical for a household to have about 3 children, but it's preferred to have a pelareka so some families can have closer to a dozen children.

Planetary Information

Niea IV is in the Hevora sector if the Circinus Galaxy.

Physics

Type: Minshara Class

Radius: 8,272.8k m (1.3 x earth)

Surface area: 8.59 x 10^8 km2

Land area: 4.47 x 10^8 km^2 (2.86 x earth)

Mass: 1.21 x 10^25 kg (1.22 x earth)

Density: 5.6 g/cm3 (~1 x earth)

Gravimetry

Gravity: 11.72 m/s/s (1.2 x earth)

Rotation speed: 26 hours

Axis tilt: 30 degrees

Hydrosphere

Water: 33%

Ice: 15%

Atmosphere

Type: M-class Normal

Pressure: 121.6 kPa (1.2 x earth)

Composition: 71% nitrogen, 27% oxygen, 1% hydrogen, trace other elements

Climate

Type: Standard

Min Temperature: -21 C

Average Temperature: 19 C

Maximum Temperature: 101 C

Biosphere

Chemistry: Carbon

Lifeforms: Humanoid, limited animal diversity

Civilization

Type: Inhabited world

Population: 50 million

Society: Matriarchal Society - Dynastic Oligarchy

Tech Level: Spacefaring, Warp Capable, Diverse

The Thilia System

Star: Thilia, K-type Red Giant

Number of planets currently in system: 5

Niea I and II: Destroyed, formerly Class B.

Niea III: Class D planet. Its atmosphere was stripped during the off-gassing event and the surface shows signs of widespread destruction. Focused concentrations of metal alloys indicate the locations of ancient cities. Former rivers and water basin remnants can be identified from orbit.

Niea IV: Class M planet. Three moons, named Phsar, Quoli, and Aela.

Niea V: Class M planet. One moon, named Roskan.

Niea VI and VII: Class T gas giants. Each has about 100 satellites.

The homeworld for the Lonians is Niea IV. It is the second-closest planet to the star Thilia, and one of two M-class planets in the system. This is the relatively new home of the Lonia, after their star underwent an off-gassing phase 9,000 years ago that made Niea III uninhabitable and destroyed Niea I and II. Geographically, there is one supercontinent on Niea IV, but bodies of water large enough to be seen from orbit divide the land, suggesting active plate tectonics and rifting. The southern part of the supercontinent is covered in ice. Each orbit around the star takes 3.5 Earth years, and a day cycle is 26 hours. Daylight on the planet has an orange tint.

Government

Niea IV is governed by the Ladies of the Four Houses, forming a mix between an oligarchy and a monarchy. Each House has a court, consisting of a Consul, three guards (Vassals), an Advisor, and a servant, who all serve their respective Lady. The only way to become one of the Four is to be born into the family or have your House overthrown by another family. The current leaders and their specialties are:

First House: Lady Vanei, Seventh Heir, Administration and Judicial Oversight

Second House: Lady Emeyr, Third Heir, Diplomatic Relations

Third House: Lady Relou, Fifth Heir, Culture and Innovation

Fourth House: Lady Sama, Fifth Heir, Defense and Security

The Four oversee everything. They are involved, typically in supervisory roles, in their respective specialities, and nothing changes without their approval.

Lonian Culture

Storytelling is a cultural practice. There is a strong cultural memory, allowing valuable information to be retained and passed down through generations. This recollection of oral history also helps their mental development, allowing the Lonia to retain information faster. Some Lonia have eidetic memories as a result of this.

Technology is at the core of Lonian culture. The Lonia had to develop technologies that allowed them to thrive on what used to be a barely-passing M class planet, and as a result they value innovation and development to improve quality of life. It’s also common for Lonia to have an affinity for technology.

Historically, there is a long standing rivalry with their sister species, the Kavai, after the Second Great Migration and the Bedia War split the species into two groups. There's bitter feelings between the two species, and it's difficult for them to get along. Since Lady Sama became one of the Four 2 autka (~6 years) ago, recent political changes have shifted society toward another potential conflict with the Kavai, and if not averted, it will eventually cause another war.

A standard, formal greeting is to cross the right hand in front of the left over the chest with both hands facing the other person. It's a way to show that the meeting is peaceful and that there is no intention of harm by putting the hands in a position where it would be difficult to reach for a weapon.

A rite of maturity is Sen Vakai, where one develops their cranial ridge. Lonia are not born with the ridge, rather it typically develops after their 5th autka (5th rotation around the star Thilia, approximately 15-17 Earth years). It’s seen as a sign of maturity, like when Humans hit puberty, and this development is celebrated for two days. The first day is reserved for communal sharing, a time for elders to guide the newly matured Lonia (the Vakai), ending with the consumption of a fruit called Phsov which is believed to have anti-inflammatory properties to help ease the “growing pains.” The second day is for self reflection, usually taking the form of meditation, since it’s now the time for the Vakai to decide their future.

Lonian History

The Lonia have been around for nearly 8,000 years, but their origins can be traced back as far as 50,000 years. They originated on Niea III, which was previously within the star's habitable zone. The history of civilization on Niea III is mostly oral history, but the Gareska (the Pre-Lonia), while one people, had two main classes. The first were an upper class of rulers, and the second could be classified as servants, those who worked behind the scenes to make the upper class look good. The lower class could be identified by an upside-down crescent shape above their cranial ridge that was burned into their foreheads once they reached working age.

About 15,000 years ago, the star, being in its early stages of red giant off-gassing, began to shrink, plunging Niea III into a 7-year winter. Knowing that this was a sudden change for their planet, scientists studied the star and learned that it was preparing to undergo rapid expansion for off-gassing, and they predicted that the astronomical event would drive Niea III to annihilation. Their neighboring planets, Niea IV and V, were a barely-passing M class planet and a D class planet, respectively, and through a collective effort, their technology advanced enough to allow for space travel so they could migrate to the next planet. This mass migration became known as the Falenor Devora (First Great Migration). The star ended up not expanding as much as scientists predicted, with Niea III's surface temperature only increasing by a couple degrees, triggering a short-term greenhouse effect instead of the expected catastrophic destruction. Disgruntled by the incorrect prediction, the Gareska returned to their homes and life went back to normal.

A group of Gareska stayed on Niea IV after the First Great Migration, instead of returning to Niea III. This group consisted largely of researchers and explorers who saw the migration as an excuse to thoroughly explore their neighboring planet, with a handful of servants to do their manual work. The planet at the time was barely habitable, the atmosphere thin and the ground difficult to grow crops in thanks to its existence on the outer edge of the habitable zone, but through extensive terraforming they were able to make the planet habitable. Through this collective struggle to call this place home, the separation between the upper and lower class began to dissolve, since the upper class had virtually no way to enforce their rules and they depended on the lower class to survive. These explorers became the Lonia, and their society centered around development and advancing technology. Policies were established to limit the misuse of technology, instead developing it for the betterment of society and not for personal gain.

Meanwhile, on Niea III, societal order began to crumble. The lower class didn’t think it was fair for the upper class to explore their neighboring planet, and protests began to emerge as the lower class demanded equality. The remaining upper class retaliated harshly, and Gareska society became a sort of oligarchy, ruled by the four largest upper class families. There was a massive movement to alter the genetic sequencing of the lower class so the upside down crescent “spot” would be encoded into their DNA, reducing the need to manually apply the mark, and the lower class rioted in response. Eventually, there was a civil war on Niea III (which is told in Kavaian history but not Lonian history) that was won by the lower class and forced the upper class into submission. The lower class, as an effort to make a name for themselves, began to call themselves the Kavai, the rough translation meaning “the endurers.”

Signs of a second off-gassing event from the star became evident around 9,000 years ago. Startled by the sudden change in behavior, the Lonia reached out to the inhabitants of Niea III to warn them of the impending danger. The response rudely dismissed the warning, stating that Niea III was no longer under tyrannical rule and the upper class of Niea IV had no jurisdiction on Niea III. The Lonia insisted that they had changed as a people and extended an invitation to let them migrate to Niea IV when the star released its energy, only to get no response. About two years later, the star expanded rapidly, engulfing Niea I and II and sending intense heat and radiation over Niea III, destroying anything it came into contact with. The solar event even affected Niea IV, killing crops and disrupting technology as intense solar storms blew outward. The few people on Niea III who heeded the warning managed to flee in time and take up the offer to settle on Niea IV in what’s known as Falenor Hevora (the Second Great Migration), but this event is recorded as the most devastating event in the shared history of the Lonia and the Kavai since many lives were lost. On Niea IV, only about 150,000 lives were lost, but the Kavai nearly went extinct.

The roughly 50,000 Kavai survivors migrated to Niea IV and were shocked to see what had become of the society. As promised, the Lonia accepted them openly, but several years went by and the Kavai still struggled to integrate. They couldn’t believe that the upper class had managed to survive for so long, and were appalled by the idea of the upper and lower classes working together after the Kavai’s long history of being under their rule. The discovery that the upper class and lower class had reproduced together left the Kavai disgusted. This created tension between the two species, and eventually led to the Kavai asking for their own space on the planet for them to exist. They said they wanted a communal place for the Kavai to share, but in reality they didn’t want their culture to be tarnished by the Lonia. The Lonia reluctantly agreed, granting them some land in the southern part of the supercontinent. This seemed to resolve things in the short term, but the Kavai’s numbers increased as they aimed to rebuild their population, and it began to put a strain on resources. After about three generations, the Kavai’s land had doubled in size and their population approached one million. The Lonia sought a middle ground to try and maintain a sustainable cohabitation, but the Kavai wanted nothing to do with the Lonia. Eventually, the Lonia put a military presence along the border to ensure the Kavai would stay in their land, and the Kavai retaliated, starting a ten year-long war (Miev Vai-aut) that eventually resulted in the Kavai retreating to Niea V 2,000 years ago, where they built their society. Not all the Kavai left, however; some who were fortunate enough to be born without the characteristic crescent on their foreheads stayed in their former home to infiltrate Lonia society and spy on them. This persisted for about two generations before the imposters were caught. Since it’s uncertain if more Kavai spies existed on Niea IV, the Lonia restricted access to the former Kavai territory in an effort to draw them out of hiding.

With the Kavai mostly gone from Lonia society, the inhabitants of Niea IV returned to a relatively peaceful status until the Federation year 2367. Since Niea V was further out of the star system, travellers looking for trades would often stop there for supplies. This put an economic strain on Niea IV. The Lonia sent a ship to put a beacon on a rogue asteroid that orbited Thilia between Niea IV and V so ships would know where to go if they wanted to do business with the Lonia. The Kavai disliked this, stating that the asteroid was in their territory, and there were several back-and-forth instances of the beacon being destroyed by the Kavai and the Lonia erecting a new one. This eventually escalated into the Bedia War (Miev Bedia), and it mostly took place near the asteroid. This war eventually ended in the destruction of the asteroid, and with nothing left to really fight over, the Kavai and the Lonia retreated back to their respective planets. There has been an increased military presence from both species, however, as they each demonstrated their desire to protect their resources. Over the last ten years, there have been rumors among the Lonia people that their leaders are planning an attack on Niea V, which is creating tension and uncertainty.

Biological Differences from Humans

The key characteristic is a soft ridge across their forehead that typically has a slight downward angle (like a gentle 'v' shape), which is the primary feature that distinguishes Lonians from Humans. Decades of research have gone into the development of this ridge, and the short answer is that hormonal changes in the body as a Lonian ages trigger bone development in the forehead.

They are typically shorter, averaging about 5'2, and the average lifespan is about 170 Earth years. Four fingers is a common trait (~98%) amongst those who cannot continue the lineage (what the Federation designates as male) and can be used to distinguish between the sexes.

Their blood is a dark red, looking almost deoxygenated when compared to Human blood. Lonian blood actually becomes lighter in color when it’s deprived of oxygen. Partly due to Niea IV’s denser atmosphere, Lonia are more sensitive to changes in air pressure and air quality. This also makes them sensitive to pollutants, since the use of technology keeps the air clean on Niea IV. It’s not entirely clear what biologically causes this, but doctors on Niea IV have theorised that it has to do with an extra gland between the shoulder blades that was believed to have once served a purpose, like the Human appendix.

All Lonians only have one kidney (or, an organ that serves the same function as a kidney), and their kidney and liver are swapped relative to the Human anatomy.

Genetically, they share about 70% of their DNA with the Kavai (excluding the genetic modifications done to the Kavai), and they are able to reproduce, but it’s for cultural and historical reasons that it’s prohibited.

Time

A standard day on Niea IV is 26 hours, and there are 12 days in a “week”. Due to the long orbital period, there are 1,095 Earth days in a year on Niea IV. A week on Niea IV consists of twelve 26-hour periods, resulting in 91.25 weeks, which are divided up into 13 months (7 weeks per month). As there is excess time in a year, Lonians do observe a “leap year” and add an extra day.

Zey - Day

Eylad - Week

Wevi - Month

Wevika - Year

Asat - Hour

Kiqta - Minute

Hulet - Second

Language

The primary language on Niea IV is Lonai. It tends to have a rhythmic and flowing cadence with expressive intonation, similar to French on Earth. Lonai has some interesting characteristics:

One of the consonants is technically a variant of the letter “f”, but it’s essentially the letter “f” with the mouth shape of a “sh”. It would be transcribed phonetically as a voiceless labiodental fricative combined with the articulatory features of “sh”. When translating this consonant, it tends to translate as “sph”. An example of this usage is the Spheia, Teevs’ cargo ship.

There is no letter “x” in Lonai. The mouth shape required to produce the “ks” sound that the letter “x” makes is near impossible for Lonians to form, so it’s common for Lonians to replace the letter “x” with an “s” sound.

The Lonian written language is predominantly with consonants, with the vowels as accents. It vaguely resembles Brahmic characters. Hard sounds (P, K, T, CH, etc) tend to have more rigid shapes, whereas the soft consonants (N, M, L, J, SH, SPH, etc) tend to be more curved. It’s written left to right.

Sentence structure: VOS (Verb-Object-Subject)

Singular/plural: adding "ka" to the end of the word makes it plural (E.g.: star- Dara; stars- Daraka).

Pronouns: I (-ou), you (-a), we (-nt), formal you (-en), and “not us” (he, she, they) (-ei).

Three tenses: past, present, future. Order of events is based on order of appearance in the sentence.

Questions/interrogative: the word "seli" at the beginning of the sentence indicates a question, and the interrogative is at the end of the sentence. The question indicator behaves as a verb, like "to ask".

E.g.: "Seli daraka kari" literally translates as "question: stars where" aka "where are the stars?"

Interrogatives:

Kari - Where

Kevi - Why

Kavo - Who

Koru - When

Kive - What

Mos - How

Negation: the letter "n" prefixes the verb with a soft glottal stop to indicate negation.

E.g.: "tirun" is to walk, therefore "n'tirun" is to not walk, implying some other action.

Numbers:

Numbers are simply added together. So 15 is “ten-five”, 38 is “three-ten-eight”, 189 is “sen netai-nektek”, and so on.

Del - 1 Vai - 10 Hel - 2 H’vai - 20 Tev - 3 T’vai - 30 Tek - 4 T’kai - 40 Nek - 5 Nekai - 50 Nek-del - 6 Nedai - 60 Nek-hel - 7 Nehai - 70 Nek-tev - 8 Netai - 80 Nek-tek - 9 Netei - 90 Sen - 100