Rignothians

Rignothians are an advanced humanoid species from the planet Rignoth. They are widely renowned for their policy of infusing logic with love as well as their remarkable ability to remain calm in aggravating situations.

In 2082, the planet was discovered by Earth and alliances were soon formed.

In 2099, Life Fruit was discovered. After extensive research, the life fruit was proven to not have any major benefits. When asked why the name was chosen, then-president Au'irun Kwaibtin simply stated "because it sounded good".

## History and Politics

Rignoth was once an uncontrolled planet of total anarchy. Homicide was as common as hay fever, buildings were frequently blown up, and hatred was almost their primary emotion. As their level of technology and already high intellect increased, their hateful nature reached a point where it threatened the extinction of their entire species.

In an effort to avoid this fate, in 1062, five Rignothian women (mostly in their nineties) began to develop the very first semblance of a government, but it was more of a tribal-leader thing. They brought a small amount of peace to Rignoth, and began to draft laws. Once these had been implemented, crime rates plummeted. This may be in part due to their paranoid nature causing them to only allow death as a punishment.

Unfortunately, crime rates increased again in the 2050s, and in 2065, Au'irun Kwaibtin, in his early 80s, decided enough was enough! He was going to unite the entire planet under one leader - there were just too many people in charge! He chose a title that to him seemed very modest - President. He officially came into power in 2067, and his first order of business was to get a parliament elected, which he did so quite quickly. His first ever policy was a whole new philosophy - he decided that Rignothians should try to control and suppress their anger, and to learn to infuse logic and reason with love.

Initially this made him so unpopular that people tried to assassinate him. All three attempts failed, and once Rignoth began to see just how happy life was becoming with his new ideas, support for him greatly increased! He toned down the death penalty, and instated a system much like the Interstellar Union's, with misdemeanours, felonies, capital crimes, and war crimes. First contact with Zakarul was made in 2068, and the planets swiftly became enemies due to their greatly conflicting philosophies on life. In fact, the culture divide was so vast Au'irun referred to this as "The Great Cultural Canyon".

They made first contact with humans in 2082 and decided to ally with them, seeing their enthusiasm for a species like themselves. They tended to remark on how humans looked so Rignothian. Humans denied that Rignothians came first, and Au'irun was unable to suppress his anger. In his blind rage, he almost killed one of the admirals of the Union. Thankfully this didn't lead to any hard feelings or grudges, although he did admit that maybe total suppression wasn't the way to go.

Upon finding that other Rignothians were beginning to react the same as he did to even the slightest issue, he decided that the time of year it was would be considered the Korohiranaur. He encouraged Rignothians to talk about their anxieties regarding it to those they cared for.

Parliamentary election after parliamentary election, support for him grew and grew until his untimely death in 2108.

Irifi Comariso was elected not long after, and she didn't have to fight as hard for support - she already had a lot. She named Rignoth's moons - Kaito and Gumi. She was known for getting involved in things that weren't her business, but she often meant well, trying to advise her people on what to do. She was certain Au'irun would have respected her for this. She made first contact with Thulor in 2110, and the planets entered a friendly relationship. She died in 2121 from Rignothian Immunodeficiency Virus with No Known Cause (RIV-NKC), though some suspect she was born with it, leading to her death being widely considered by humans as CRIV (Congenital Rignothian Immunodeficiency Virus).

Altijun Grohnlim, the third president of Rignoth, was elected, and to everybody's surprise, he became the first to declare a successor - his fifteen-year-old son Koharu. Successor became the boy's official title, and the presidency became a semi-dynastic thing. He got involved in a conflict with the Etikans, who eventually admitted that they instigated it partially to see what Rignothians could do when not bound by policy. Altijun was angry at the deception, but agreed to ally anyway, citing that not every citizen desired this. This is now considered one of the prime examples of using Au'irun's policy to its effect (which made sense when it was discovered in 2201 that Altijun was Au'irun's eighth cousin).

Altijun died in 2157, leaving Koharu Grohnlim in charge. Regretfully, he turned out to be a bad person, and became very unpopular very quickly. He forced aggressive foreign policy on Earth and Thulor, even considering Thulorans as an evil species.

Koharu was assassinated within the year, and Zumihaur Sejob was elected unanimously. He was a breath of fresh air to a frightened Rignoth, undoing all of Koharu's awful actions. Being considered extremely caring toward friends and hateful toward aggressors, this led to him gaining the very first 100% approval rate in 2202. He declared his 17-year-old daughter Alyx Lawson his successor, the first female successor.

When Alyx died in 2182, he declared her baby son, Chandler Lawson, his new successor. When he died in 2218, he declared Chandler's 14-year-old daughter, Mia Lawson, his third successor, meaning Zumihaur has changed successors the most times.

## Physiology

Rignothians are generally similar to humans in build and appearance, distinguished mainly by their purple or red skin and corresponding eyes (purple for red-skinned Rignothians, red for purple-skinned Rignothians). The appearance of hybrids was generally a mix between them and the hybrid, but mysteriously, human skin colours tend to be dominant in human/Rignothian hybrids, such as with the Lawson family.

Most Rignothians have black, silver, or white hair. Males are capable of growing facial hair, although most prefer to shave it. Rignothian teeth are generally very strong.

Despite their external similarities, Rignothian internal anatomy differed substantially from humans. For example, their brains take up more skull space. Their hearts also beat between 90 and 160 times per minute, which jumped to between 160 and 210 during the korohiranaur. Their blood is iron based, but also contains a surprising concentration of lithium, tinging their bruises a grey colour.

Rignothians are considered extremophiles, having naturally adapted to the low temperature of their planet, which is frequently in the deep negatives. This turns their blood into a liability, so Rignothians also adapted to have larger blood vessels to accommodate blood thickening. Rignothians also have strange white blood cells - whilst they have the same as humans, they have another type that secretes something similar to horseshoe crabs. This is still being tested.

The body temperature of Rignothians is also remarkably low. An average of 15 to 21 degrees Celsius is often reported, with anything above 25 as requiring immediate medical attention. A body temperature surpassing 30 is usually lethal. The highest survived body temperature by a full Rignothian was reported to be 39 degrees Celsius, caused by extreme heatstroke.

According to the Interstellar Union Medical Reference Manual (published in-universe in 2046), the blood pressure of Rignothians is low, usually 60/30. This means that 40/20 is completely survivable. Their blood pressure would have to drop to levels so low they would be unreadable on a human blood pressure monitor before they were affected by symptoms. However, this information is likely outdated due to Zumihaur being a known sufferer of hypertension (his blood pressure being 140/90).

Rignothians are eight times more sensitive to heat than humans. As such, a special heatproof layer is often worn on hot days, even though "hot day" to them means a temperature above 5 degrees Celsius, as confirmed by Alyx Lawson in 2166.

The Rignothian digestive tract is highly spice-resistant, with some of the species even able to eat a Carolina Reaper with no consequences.

Rignothians were confirmed in 2091 to have reflexes five times faster than a human. Au'irun was tested with a dropped ruler, and as soon as it exited the tester's hand, Au'irun caught it. When asked where they developed the reflexes from, Au'irun couldn't answer. It was one of few things he did not know.

Rignothians taking IQ tests often receive extremely high scores, with their current president having a score of 580. Their hybrids tend to be of above average intellect too, with Alyx Lawson being a known example, having an IQ of 258. Their mental age tends to be much higher than their chronological, but sometimes this isn't the case - when Mia Lawson was tested on this aged 10, she received a score of 7, registering her mental capabilities as "slightly inhibited" the tester citing "intense emotional reactions hold her back". She was tested again at 15, with her mental age now jumping to 56, which is considered "well above average". Sometimes, though, their mental age was even higher than expected - when Alyx Lawson was tested aged 30, her mental age was discovered to be 228, considered "extremely exceptional" likely owing to her inability to get angry. This is still the highest any hybrid has scored on a mental age test.

## Society and Culture

Rignothians are generally non-violent but love and logic dictates that combat is sometimes necessary, sometimes for continued existence, sometimes to protect someone they love.

While Rignothians particularly like giving gifts, custom dictates that the recipient is not expected to return a gift.

Rignothian names are sometimes difficult to pronounce, but females generally choose their children's names.

### Education

Naturally, the development of a Rignothian's intelligence and infusion of logic with love is encouraged at a very early age. Rignothian parents utilise gentle and careful methods to train new infants in the latter. Rignothian children often learn, for example, how to overcome anger, which often aids in difficult childhood situations. The children are allowed a substantial amount of freedom as well, and enjoy a number of passions, a prevalent one being singing.

A Rignothian's attachment to their family is indescribable.

A Rignothian program suitable for Second Year through Ninth Year Cadets which teaches children to solve issues without resorting to hatred is available at the Aquarius's school.

### Attitudes to deception

Deception is one of few things that can make even the most stoic Rignothians lose their temper, unless, like Alyx Lawson, they are physically incapable of becoming angry.

When President Altijun Grohnlim was deceived by Etikans, in his anger, he almost declared war on the planet, but his love and logic won out, leading him to decide on an alliance.

When asked if Rignothians were capable of lying, Mia Lawson simply stated, "Rignothian mouths are not bakeries, we do not sugarcoat things."

Despite this, Rignothians are known to be creative with insults and comebacks. When Chandler Lawson got into a heated argument with his first officer, he called her a handbag woman (essentially calling her old), she responded with "Captain, I am not a mirror." Chandler's reply was, "I know, and I'm not your reflection."

### Romantic relationships

Love was encouraged on Rignoth, and some members of the species have been known to choose lifelong partners before their adult years, sometimes as young as 13. It is traditional for the male to propose marriage by presenting a blue flower to the female. There are few signals to indicate this is going to happen.

As blue is the colour of hope on Rignoth, the females usually wear a blue wedding dress. When told of some negative connotations associated with blue, Chandler Lawson stated "Nobody should feel forced to reclaim a colour. Blue is our colour of hope, and no-one can change that!"

Rignothians do not usually partake in public displays of affection, but hybrids can be extremely affectionate in front of others, with Chandler Lawson a noteable example regarding his wife Aria.

### Food and Drink

Rignothians are entirely omnivorous, and see vegetarianism as strange regarding the deceptive properties of plant food made to look like meat. Zumihaur, regarding this, stated, "Why do your people allow themselves to be deceived by plant products designed to look like meat?" How humans survive on a diet without meat is still a mystery to their species.

They often refuse to touch certain foods with their hands, however some foods are only eaten with their hands.

## Trivia

* Rignothians are 500 million years older than humans, so Au'irun was right - Rignothians came before humans.