Science Fiction Species

This article is about Species from, possibly various Science Fiction Settings. 
== Space age science fiction ==
The Space Age Science Fiction Setting Species are listed here.  
=== Alamari ===
Post scream Alamari are descendent of successfully cloned alamari just before the scream happened. They still live very long, but obviously the oldest of them are only a thousand years old, which wasn't exactly venerable for their original species members. They aren't exactly rare any more, at least not in civilized space, and rarely live as long as they used to for entirely different reasons. 
+1 Psionic Attribute
==== Background and biology ====
Based on the Asari of Mass Effect, the Alamari are a mono-sex species that can be either masculine or feminine in Gender. Alamari have very long childhoods and live very long following reaching adulthood. The Alamari are always psionically awakened, but not necessarily anything more than that. While they have the ability to speak, physically, they normally communicate through telepathy.  
While based on the Asari, the Alamari do have "masculine looking" variants. Alamari develop their gender during their growing up, which changes what genitals they will grow. Regardless of what gender they assume, seeing as they are monosex, they could always become pregnant, but male Alamari were generally less likely to become pregnant, because their birthing capacities were reduced from their assumed gender.  
It was actually more common for alamari to seek out partners and mates of the same gender, but freedom to choose a partner of course hasn't always been a reality in Alamari society.  
Male alamari were always rarer than female alamari, and for that reason, the men would often become leaders of small packs - or in other cases, they would be what a pack formed around. In either case, the male alamari would mate with the females and then exchange their young with other packs.  
Later however, the alamari reached a more civilized state of society, and it became normal to choose a partner. The tendency to choose a partner of same gender developed, because of the segregation between male and female in the past. While, practically speaking, lesbian relationships had always been common among the alamari, the alamari, prior to scientific enlightenment, thought that if two male alamari mated, it would grealy increase the chances of one of them becoming pregnant, compared to if a male alamari mated with a female - and pregnant male alamari quite often resulted in complications, as it seemed their species had at some point been moving towards having two separate sexes, but never quite made it there.  
This was eventually proven false, and the long forbidden male and male relations of Alamari became more accepted, though it was always prone to some social stigma, mostly just considered inappropriate to display in public.  
The alamari lived very long, so even though they stopped forming mating packs, their species was in no danger of extinction. They instead organized mating arrangements, ensuring that those who were deemed qualified parents could become so.  
Eventually, the species reached a level of technological advancement that males became obsolete, and the social stigma, and practically all shreds of gender identity disappeared with the alamari - though for some reason, the male alamari became somewhat rarer at that point.  
When the alamari reached the space age, they discovered that they could mate with other humanoid species.  
The alamari reproductive organs collect small samples of DNA from blood, skin cells or slime, which is broken down by enzymes and store the various strands of DNA within a beginning embryo. Essentially, the alamari sync their evolution this way, and subconsciously filter poor genes from good genes and create a clone of themselves with better odds of survival, due to better genes.  
Alamari can only give birth once. In the past when a male alamari gave birth, it usually resulted in death. It's obvious that at some point in their evolution, the Alamari were capable of giving birth multiple times, or maybe even had litters instead of only a single child - buy in modern times it became exceedingly rare for alamari to become pregnant twice. It was also prone to some stigma, because the second child would always be superior to the one that came first.  
The alamari are, for obvious reasons, practically extinct. It's said that there are some that are being kept in cryostasis, and others that have been successfully cloned (something that was impossible earlier due to their complex DNA), and even a few here and there that are actually alive.  
=== Chiss ===
The Chiss rode off the scream, but kept a lot of Imperial Culture from their alliance with the former Sith Empire. They still use uniforms that resemble the ones from the Old Sith Empire.  
+1 Composure  
The Chiss have a culture that resembles Imperial Japan during World War II, but their culture is greatly marked by their long standing alliance with the Sith Empire. While the Chiss, prior to their joining the Empire, were not particularly religious, it's an unofficial state religion of the Chiss to believe in Destiny or Fate, ironically this went against the Sith beliefs. Because of this religious outlook, the Chiss were very quick to accept the limited ruler-ship of the Scions.      
The Chiss did take something away from the Sith however, and they are secretly cultivating families with stronger psionic potential - especially the noble families are prone to this kind of selective breeding. Apart from that, the Chiss believe that they are a superior species.      
They are culturally, generally, too polite to openly admit this, but their slightly fascist tendencies shine through openly in some instances. They for instance do not condone relationships of mixed species, and the Twi'lek species who can practically mate with anything humanoid, are automatically assumed to be whores by most Chiss.      
That said, the Chiss have no particular problem with whores, it is breeding that they have a problem with.      
The Chiss own a number of colony worlds where there are also other species living, and they clearly segregate themselves from those other species. The Chiss always have it better, or have the right of way, but it's never openly said or insinuated that the Chiss think that they are better - Most Chiss respond to such claims with old proverbs, suggesting that only the insecure would assume that others look down on them for no reason.      
This paints a very superficial picture of the Chiss in general, and the Chiss do indeed have a very superficial society. The classic Imperial Japanese values of honor and self-sacrifice are very much upheld in the Chiss ways. The Chiss are somewhat caste-based as a society, and while it's possible to leave a caste, it's rare and also considered somewhat pretentious. And being pretentious is much more serious than it may sound, among the Chiss. Those related to, or associating with, someone who is pretentious, suffer the same shame as the one who exhibits such behavior - that actually can be said about any kind of non-ideal behavior.      
Families police themselves among the Chiss, often not using violence, but some sort of withdrawal of privileges is common to teach the youth a lesson of humility. Forcing them to do some sort of humiliating chore to recover their honor is also a frequent way of punishment.      
To the Chiss, family matters a lot, but many Chiss leave the Ascendancy for various reasons. The Chiss that do tend to relax a lot about the original traditions of the Chiss, but usually still form Ghettos. Because of the incredibly strong familial ties of the Chiss, it seems natural that their families form something akin to Mafias.      
These powerful gangs are so deeply embedded in Chiss society, both inside and outside of the ascendancy, but playing very different roles. The Chiss gangs are among the most powerful members of the Exchange, rivalled by few in power.      
=== Mirialan ===
Mirialan on Miral resemble Eastern Asian Religion and Culture in many ways, as it's often portrayed. They are deeply spiritual and superstitious and this culture bleeds into the way they dress, behave and act. The Mirialan religion is that of the Force, believing that some unifying force combines the world and acts through all the living beings, and that there is a light side of the force, and a dark side (strong relations to Ying and Yang) - generally speaking, the Mirialan believe in Destiny and can be compared to Taoists or other Chinese religious cultures.      
+1 Agility      
The Mirialan have an unconventional caste based society - When a Mirialan grows up, they take a test, often involving a actual test and a review of how they've been doing in school, but it also involves a visit to an oracle. The Oracle will usually give extremely vague and mystical advice, but the Oracle IS in fact a Psionic with the ability to see the future (allegedly). After this test, the Mirialan must decide what to dedicate their life to.      
The Mirialan after that, then belong to a "Caste" based on their profession, and the Castes are very strictly divided. Mirialan commonly marry within their Caste, and live with their Caste. Some Castes are seen as "related" and interact more openly with each other, but the Castes almost behave like tribes.      
Quite often, a Mirialan will end up in the same profession as their parents, but sometimes an individual chooses a different profession, and if it wasn't so, Mirialan society would never expand.      
The Mirialan have a cultural tradition of tattooing certain marks on their faces to express what caste they belong to. Each caste has it's own symbols, and then as they master their craft more and more, they expand on their tattoos. A Mirialan "Full Face" is basically a Mirialan elder - someone who has mastered their craft entirely.      
Of course, some castes are more prestigious than others, because not all professions are equally difficult. The professions that are more difficult often have more complex tattoos associated with them.      
Since the Commercium outlawed Psionic religions, the Mirialan have suffered greatly as a culture. This religion is under a lot of censorship, and what they themselves refer to, as a Death Watch has been placed on their home planet, ready to at any moments notice, exterminate all the Miralana Oracles and temples.      
The Mirialan consider themselves an oppressed people, but very few care for their plight, saying that they could simply abandon their practices. As a result of the situation, more Mirialan than ever, have been seeking new lives outside of Miral, and this has resulted in Mirialan ghettos around the galaxy.      
The Mirialan were doing well after the scream, so their species is quite numerous, as opposed to before. The ghettos now make up a significant portion of the Mirialan population, and the Ghettos only vaguely echo true Miralan culture.      
The above described the majority of Mirialan culture, just a century ago, but an older religion from before the Mirialan were discovered by the republic, that was segregated from the rest of Mirialan culture, is on the advance, for obvious reasons.      
It has a pantheon of gods, with two major gods, one good and one evil - and otherwise a god dedicated to all aspects of life. This mirialan religion teaches that those who are psionics are blessed by a god and that their caste reflects which god, but they are not held in any higher esteem for their psionic potential - quite the opposite, a lot is expected of them, and they toil under the weight of society.      
The majority of all Mirialan on Miral now follow this religion, which is culturally identical to the declining religion, except they are much stricter on their castes. As a result, the Mirialan of the common religion are fleeing to colony worlds in large numbers, forming ghettos and hoping to be left alone by the Commercium.      
The Commercium has taken a fairly relaxed stance on them, because the Mirialan have dispersed into many small ghettos, instead of simply populating a new planet. This means they are unlikely to become a galactic power at any time, so the Commercium doesn't view them as a threat, even though they follow their psionic religion in the hidden.      
=== Xanu ===
The Xanu are inspired (appearance wise) by Turians from Mass Effect but are quite a bit shorter - usually same height as a short human or a tall child. 
+1 Stamina 
These Insectoid/humanoid hybrids have societies resembling humans, but come from the other galaxy, through the Jump Gate. 
The Xanu are biologically tailored for colder climates, preferring arid worlds of generally cold climate. 
They are dextro-DNA based, meaning they cannot survive on the same biology as humans - making them naturally non-competitive versus humans, as they do not seek to inhabit the same worlds. 
The Xanu have generally been peaceful since crossing over, but have difficulty learning new languages, and as such are incredibly difficult to communicate with. They guard their new colonies with a territorial fierceness. 
There are practically only male Xanu because the few female Xanu upon being impregnated grow catatonic and eventually die after giving birth to at least around a hundred Xanu larvae. Only one in a hundred Xanu males ever experience mating with a female, and becoming a father raises them in society to being the head of 100 Xanu. 
One in 100 Xanu larvae is female. There's almost always one female in a batch, rarely more though. Because of the way the Xanu work, they grow very slowly in population. 
The Xanu are organized in Clans, and every time a female is born into a clan, members of neighboring clans will fight and compete for the honor of owning this female. 
Females in Xanu society aren't considered people, and aren't even biologically capable being individuals. Xanu grow up very quickly and do not live very long, a Xanu larvae cocoons after 3 years, and hatches again after a year. They're only eggs for about a year and they live an average of 10 years at the most. 
Homosexuality is normal in Xanu society, and Xanu males form couples naturally. In fact, Xanu males have a cavity similar to a human female vagina that seems to solely serve the purpose of being a sexual organ. When a Xanu manages to acquire a female, the female is still a larvae, so in many ways, it is comparable to a couple that adopts a child, except they do it with the sole purpose of impregnating it to raise their own social status. 
Some Xanu naturally develop feminine tendencies, despite being male (roughly an equal split between male mindsets and female mindsets), and these two opposites are naturally attracted to each other. These homosexual relationships typically form between siblings, but also frequently between members of different clans. Xanu are very xenophobic, but trade with foreigners sometimes. 
They have space-fearing technology, but they're somewhat primitive. It's believed they developed their space-tech from salvaged species. Some believe the Xanu developed from parasitic lesser species and might have caused the downfall of a previous civilization.
=== Xengh'li ===
The Xengh'li (people of Xengh) are modeled on Salarians from Mass Effect. They are frail and weak, compared to humans, but they have existed for a longer time than the human species and are considered more advanced. Referred to by humans as the Xengh, this species are akin to salamanders and seem to share a lot of DNA with Salamander-like species, and they're not mammals either. Originially aquatic, they evolved into being amphibious shortly before they grew sapient.
Because they're amphibious, their expansion has been slow, because they could utilize planets much more effectively when it came to living space and as such, their home sector, they barely ever expanded outside, except for exploration and mining operations.
The Xeng are generally peaceful and do not seek conflicts, which is of course wise, given their frail nature. They are naturally curious and inquisitive, but are by nature non-confrontational. Their ability to climb certain surfaces almost effortlessly (when naked at least, which they commonly would be on their own worlds at least - clothing being something they've adapted to after reaching the space age) and survive in both water and on land makes them versatile enough to have survived for this long despite their weak nature.
The Xeng are from the other galaxy and have only dared the jump gate in small numbers.