Contact: Lancia (D. Burden)
HD3413 Date: 910915
CONTACT: LANCIANS
Author: David Burden, Gushemege Sector Analyst
Abstract: An overview of the Lancians and Lancian culture is
given. Details of history, society, government, military, and
refereeing are given.
Lying to trail of the head of the Great Rift lies the Lancian
Cultural Region. Created by Empress Arbellatra in 639 the Region
is home to the Lancians, sentients of many races who follow the
Lancian philosophy and way of life. In the gen erally aggressive,
competitive, and profiteering space of the Imperium Lancia offers
a more creative, considered, and pastoral way.
GENERAL
Although Lancians originated as a minor human race on
Kukhun/Gushemege the term is now applied to sentients of any
world from the Lancian Cultural Region, particularly to those who
follow the Lancian philosophy. The Region covers 5 subsectors and
is centered on Subsector D (Tansa) of Gushemege Sector. Three
subsectors lie in Gushemege (Taapvaia, Tansa, Isi Ahto), and one
each in Corridor (Sashrakusha) and Dagudashaag (Mimu). Whilst the
majority of Lancians are human the culture also embraces minor
races resident in these subsectors, especially the S'mrii from
Mimu. The fact that being "Lancian" is more a way of living than
an accident of biology is often not fully appreciated by
sentients from beyond the bounds of the Region.
PHYSIOLOGY
Pure blooded racial Lancians, who originated on Kukhun in
Tansa Subsector, average 1.9m in height and mass about 70 kg.
They are thinner and taller than most Solomani, usually with fair
skins and light brown or straw hair. Due to dietary
incompatibilities with Kukhunen fauna the original Kukhunen were
vegetarian, and this is still a characteristic of most Lancian
societies. To all intents and purposes the average Lancian is
nowadays indistinguishable from the mass of starfaring humaniti.
HISTORY
Contact: Kukhun ( 3105 B658997-E ) was seeded by the
Ancients with human stock around 300,000 years ago. By the time
that the Vilani Naasirka bureau made first contact around -9100
they had reached TL4. The Kukhunen were a creative culture, but
with a taste for violence and a mind of their own that did not
take too kindly to the rigidity of Vilani rule. In concert with
the neighbouring S'mrii they were continually champing at the bit
of Vilani rule.
When Vilani rule was overthrown in -2219 the Kukhunen,
who had now spread to several neighbouring systems, found
themselves presented with the no more benign rule of the
Solomani. As the Second Imperium slipped into the chaos of the
Long Night the Kukhunen entered into a bloody civil war. This was
initially between the colonies, but was eventually fought out
between factions on Kukhun itself. At the same time Kukhun
slipped into an ice age as Mihev, the planet's K0V star, entered
a cooling phase that has lasted to this day.
The Long Night: The Kukhunen initially seemed oblivious
to these three threats to their survival. Their salvation came
from the efforts of the Lancian Movement. This movement, named
for the goddess Lancia of Kukhunen mythology, believed fervently
in the importance of creativity, both as a way of life and as a
way of thought. By -1324 when the Civil War was at its height the
Movement had gained significant numbers of followers in all the
factions, including amongst the faction leaderships. It was
through the efforts of the Lancian leaders that peace was brought
about, and the planet began to address itself to the problems of
the Long Night and the advancing ice age.
The Lancian Movement formed the core of the new world
government. Over the next century, as Kukhun successfully dealt
with the ice age threat and managed to maintain a TL6 society,
Lancian philosophy permeated every facet of Kukhunen society, and
every Kukhunen's mindset. By -1200 Lancian culture dominated
Kukhun.
Kukhun was unusual in having an active and creative
existence during the Long Night. It emerged, after re-contact by
Sylean traders in -143, as a vibrant and energetic world anxious
to make its mark in the stars. Jump drive was rapidly re-acquired
and for the next 150 years contact was re-established with "lost"
Kukhunen colonies ( who were rapidly converted to Lancia ), and
new worlds were settled.
At War: Problems began in -24 when the Lancian
Confederation was approached by the Sylean Federation to join
their federation of the stars. Efforts to bring the Confederation
into line were increased from 36 onwards as the Third Imperium
began to flex its muscles. The Lancians, with bad memories of the
First and Second Imperiums, and now with a culture that was
fundamentally different from that espoused by Emperor Cleon I,
were none to keen to surrender their independence. A cold war
soon gave way to a widespread campaign of terrorism and
de-stabilisation. By 57 open war had broken out on several worlds
as Artemsus sent Imperial aid to guerillas fighting Lancian
governments. By 73 most other worlds in Gushemege had joined the
Imperium; even several non-Lancian dominated worlds from the
Confederation had signed up. In 74 non-Lancians on the strategic
world of Shiramuunir (2507 C444AC8-F) revolted in defiance of the
Lancian government, calling for Imperium help to free them from
Lancian "tyranny".
Artemsus finally lost patience and sent in the Fleet, as
much to stop the expansion of Lancian philosophy, which had been
gaining ground, as to bring Lancia into the Imperium. Artemsus'
great mistake was to put the Duke of Vland in charge of the
Campaign. The Vilani Pacification Campaign was as long and bloody
as it was since the Lancians and S'mrii saw it as a replay of the
Consolidation Wars of 5000 years previously. In the end the
Imperium, in the form of Vland's Makhidkarun Bureau, prevailed
and in 120 the Lancian worlds joined the Third Imperium, but
under sufferance.
The Third Imperium: After the Campaigns Makhidkarun
occupied significant parts of the Lancian Confederation. Many
worlds such as Beheld and Lishun were re-settled by Makhidkarun.
Others, such as Oroth, were radioactive wastelands. Makhidkarun,
with its interests in media and entertainment soon began
exploiting Lancian artistry and creativity. The Lancians did not
take long to realise that perhaps eventual freedom lay trough
subterfuge, by working with Makhidkarun. If you are writing and
producing the prime-time inter-stellar soap simstim then think
what psychological warfare could be conducted.
Over the following centuries Lancia worked quietly
towards building its fame and influence. In Gushemege it made
particular in roads into the nobility and "real" power. During
the Civil War Lancia constantly sought to restore normality, for
who wants entertainment in war, and the destruction stood
directly opposed to Lancian ideals of creativity. The culture was
an early supporter of Arbellatra, and used its considerable
capacity for propaganda to support her. Lancian architects were
also heavily involved in the building of the Grand Palace on
Capital. In recognition of Lancia's support Arbellatra created
the Lancian Cultural Region in 639; a move that was in-line with
the prevailing policy of moving power away from the Domains.
Lancian Cultural Region: The creation of the Region led
to a resurgence in Lancian culture and especially economics. The
old ideas of need driven economies were resurrected and the legal
status of the Region enabled the necessary protectionist trade
and currency measures to be enacted. These enabled the Lancian
economy to exist within the profit driven economy of the
Imperium. Lancian art also flourished, with still a tinge of
psychological subterfuge. As technology improved so did Lancia's
output. The creative drive of Lancian society continually
surprises with the uses it finds for technological developments.
Working with the S'mrii has proved particularly rewarding. S'mrii
neurotechnology mixed with Lancian creativity led to the
development of a vast range of cybertechnologies. Technological
cast-offs found their way into the core of Gushemege where their
uses were not quite so regulated or creative.
With the coming of the Rebellion Lancia is again trying
to bring about a peace in which it can prosper, whilst always
looking for the ultimate chance of independence. Unfortunately
its "four corners" position makes it a major battle-ground where
survival of individual worlds has become more paramount than the
survival of society as a whole.
PHILOSOPHY
"Lancian" is a cultural and philosophical designation
rather than a racial one. It derives from the name of the
movement on Kukhun that was responsible for saving the planet
from natural and self destruction, and which rapidly established
itself as the world philosophy. The name itself is that of the
mythical Kukhunen goddess of creation. Lancia has been described
as one of the most important and influential "godless religions"
in the Imperium. Not every Kukhunen (or indeed every resident of
the Region) is a Lancian though, although some 90% are. Those
that aren't are mainly to be found within the cities and on
industrial worlds where the economy is the most mixed.
The two key elements of Lancian philosophy are creativity
and contribution. Creativity is evident in the art, pacifism, and
originality of Lancian culture. Pacifism should not be taken as
meaning a total aversion to violence but rather an avoidance of
mindless destruction. Kukhunen and S'mrii memories of the First
and Second Imperium led to their extreme hostility against the
Third Imperium, and especially the use of Vland as the subduing
power. The ferocity of the Imperium's response was in part due to
shock and frustration at the effectiveness of the Lancian/S'mrii
defense.
Lancian artistry and originality accounts for Lancia's
dominant position within Imperial entertainment, and its strong
bonds with Makhidkarun (for entertainment) and the S'mrii (for
neurotechnology and virtuality). The Lancian culture has also
bred a counter culture - the Kaz - who believe in destruction as
the ultimatedenial of creation. They should be distinguished from
the Ultra sect who see anarchy and destruction as a necessary
part of the creative process, and who have a pyrotechnics joy of
the beauty of destruction.
The ethic of contribution is reflected in peripheral
fields like the endemic medianet and the high degree of artistic
and political participation of Lancian society. Most importantly
though it underpins the whole of Lancian economics, and the trust
on which it is based.
ECONOMY
Lancian economy is at root an extreme socialist economy,
to use a Solomani term. Although the true Lancian economy is now
only found on a few fundamentalist worlds it's foundations lie at
the heart of the most powerful and influential Lancian worlds. In
traditional Lancian economy everything is free, and everybody
gets paidnothing. If you need it you take it. If you can
contribute you do so. Such an economy must by its very nature be
closed, and as such is only viable nowadays in small communities
and isolated worlds. The contribution ethic restrains Lancians
from taking what they haven't earned or "contributed" to. The
main result of this economy is that everybody has a similar
standard of possessions and a similar standard of living. Lancia
is freed from the crippling uniformity of the old Solomani
Peoples' Democracies by the creative and artistic impetus. This
results in a variety of products that would shame even the most
productive market economy.
Mixed Economies: Those Lancian worlds that are more fully
integrated with inter-stellar society have evolved hybrid
economies that allow greater integration and allow offworlders to
survive more easily. Examples are:
- Sharenga: All Lancian's are paid a flat wage in Imperial
credits, and offworlders are only allowed to import credits in
proportion to their length of stay. The penalties for smuggling
currency are severe. The flat wage is "open to discussion" and
there are set conditions under which it is varied by the state,
eg number of children, distances travelled, health. The crucial
point is that the wage changes with need not work done.
- Liigash: Very high taxes are levied with the large revenues
being used to supply extensive social, health, educational and
transport services for free. Offworlders are either limited in
currency as above, or subjected to a daily tax that brings their
available money down to Lancian levels, and forces them to
contribute to Lancian society.
Sunceinha: The tribunals at which wage variations are
granted, and where greed is dealt with in both fundamental and
mixed economies are an important part of Lancian society. Called
Sunceinha their members are elected yearly by universal suffrage.
The voting age is 5. Each community elects its own Sunceinha, and
a hierarchy of Sunceinha exists for appeals. The Sunceinha,
usually 13 strong, reflects the age, race and sex makeup of its
electorate. Penalties are usually awarded in the form of an
enforced contribution to society, usually menial labouring or
community service. The most persistent offenders are banished.
Traditionally this was to desolate wildernesses such as the ice
plains of Kukhun, but now is more often a one way ticket out of
the Cultural Region.
SOCIETY
Art: Everybody links Lancia, and Lancians, with art. The
image is of a whole society spending its entire life in a studio
making objets d'art, electing their best artists to government,
and being incapable of filling o ut a customs form without doing
a sketch and singing an aria first. This is of course far from
the truth. On one level, art occupies the same place in Lancian
society that sport occupies in many others. Most Lancians, but by
no means all, have an art or craft that they indulge in during
their spare time. Most residential districts have clubs and
societies for the main artistic streams, and artistic
competitions attract the same kind of attention that sport
matches may elsewhere. They give a community something to
identify with, and to compare themselves with other communities
by, without getting involved in the negative aggression that
sport tends to bring. On a higher level art, or rather creativity
and contribution, does permeate almost every aspect of Lancian
culture. From a simple view this is manifest in the graceful
architecture and superb industrial design that is evident
everywhere in Lancian society. More complexly it is evident in
Lancian law, with its dislike of "pointless" incarceration, and
in interstellar relations, where the approach is one of
reconciliation rather than confrontation.
The Tariil: In common with many other cultures Lancia has
a system of guilds, called Tariils, to support the arts and
crafts. Given the importance of arts and crafts in Lancian
societies these guilds have greater influence than elsewhere.
Almost every Lancian is a member of at least one such guild. In
crafts the Tariil are responsible for the setting and maintaining
standards, and the award of professional qualifications. In the
arts, the Tariil are responsible for the accreditation of
professional artists, and the organising of competitions and
shows. It should be noted that unlike some technofuedal societies
Lancian guilds have not extended to "modern" trades, such as
engineering and jumpspace navigation. The Tariil have however
expanded to include the modern arts, such as simstim, multimedia,
and social sculpture.
Art Movements: Whilst the Tariil are responsible for the
development and maintenance of the "technical" aspects of the
arts, the aesthetics are developed through various movements,
some enshrined in clubs or associations, others just as
unofficial groupings or critical labels. There are many hundred
such movements. The breadth of Lancian art, which often acts as
a vanguard for Imperium art in general, can be gauged by a brief
description of some of the main movements at present.
- Traditionalist: Traditionalists believe that only the
original arts are worthy of the name art. They are visual
painters, physical sculptures, acoustic musicians, and linear
writers and take great pride in reinventing lost forms of
Lancian, and indeed human, art.
- Ultras: The Ultras believe in experiental and
subjective art. Working mainly through simstim, but also through
physical senses, they make the audience the target of their work,
creating sensations and feelings as directly as possible in the
audience. As an example whereas a traditionalist might paint an
impressionistic painting of a head howling to represent the
suffering, angst and loneliness of a victim of a meson gun
strike, the Ultra would put the audience through a surreal
simstim of a meson gun attack, highlighting and emphasising the
desired senses and emotional reactions. Needless to say much
Ultra work verges on the sadistic, masochistic, and psychoerotic.
Several Lancian worlds have taken steps to limit the activities
of this movement.
- Anachronists: One of the more recent movements, the
anachronists seek to deliberately mix up techniques, so as to
heighten the audiences awareness of the medium. Not surprisingly
they grew out of a deconstructivist movement. An example of
anachronist art is the Satuy Robotic Chamber Orchestra. Every
instrument and note of music is as close to pre-contact Kukhun as
is possible, but every player is a distinctly TL9 humanoid robot.
Another example is the light sculpture of Hati Naihku. Her
earlier works consisted of laser beams criss-crossing the skies
of cities, usually with laser drawings on the sides of a tall
building. Her anachronist works of the same ilk have seen the
lasers replaced by long tubes of oil lamps, and the laser drawing
replaced by a steam engine driving a mirror that reflects the
beam of a powerful arc light according to a punch card program.
The Family: Lancians have a distinctly pragmatic approach
to the family. In the harsh conditions of Kukhun it was survival
that was important, and this could be best achieved by not
bonding a man and woman for life just to have a child. Conversely
it was acknowledged that for the stability of the society, and
especially to support to the young, there comes a time when a man
and woman do wish to be bonded for the rest of their life. To
this end the two tier system of Lancian marriage was evolved. At
the first level marriage is seen as an arrangement for
procreation, and can be expected to be dissolved once any
children are weaned and either partner is ready to move on. A
Lancian may experience several such "low" marriages, although
only one or two are the norm now. The second tier is a bond for
life, and its breaking is a major trauma in Lancian society.
Often such "high" marriages may grow out of the partners' final
"low" marriage, but it is usual for the high marriage to be with
a completely new partner. This should not be surprising as the
partner sought by a young twenty year old for procreation is
often very different from that sought by a thirty year old with a
desire to settle down. Whilst such a two tier arrangement may be
beneficial to the adults many critics have considered it to be an
unhealthy environment for children. Lancians would not support
this. For a start children are spared the heartbreak and agony of
marital break up. In Lancia people expect the partners to go
their own way. To assist the law of child custody is deeply
ingrained into society; first born to same sex parent, then
alternate parent. From a more positive aspect Lancian children
find themselves exposed to a greater number of carers than their
contemporaries elsewhere. This has a beneficial effect on their
learning, and by exposing them to different ideas and interests
acts as a boost to their creativity.
Language: Kehuu, the Lancian language, has its origins in
that spoken by pre-contact Kukhunen. The language has evolved
much, picking up many words and structures from Vilani and
various forms of Galanglic. As may be expected Kehuu is rich in
words associated with arts and crafts, and Kehuu is one of the
most beautiful and expressive languages there is, whether written
or spoken. It does however suffer from the fact that it is not a
particularly precise langauge when it comes to science or
politics. A treaty written in Kehuu would sound impressive, but
would be open to wide interpretation. This led in the early days
of Vilani contact to the import of many Vilani words for times
when precision was required.
Similarly in keeping up with technology the Lancian approach has
been to adopt the Galanglic word rather than invent a compound
one from Kehuu. The use of Vilani and Galanglic words does ease
the task of the foreigner trying to learn Kehuu, or trying to get
a spare part for her jump drive in a remote class E starport.
Kehuu is usually spoken as a first or second language by those in
the Lancian Cultural Region who see themselves as Lancian.
Galanglic is the primary langauge of the region for all business
and commercial uses, in which Kehuu would anyway be inferior.
GOVERNMENT
Legislature and Executive: Because Lancian philosophy so
deeply underpins Lancian society there is not the same need for
the politics of government as in the rest of the Imperium. There
are differences world to world in how government is carried out
but all Lancian society really requires is a civil service to
keep things running. Kukhun, the prototype of Lancian worlds, is
typical in this respect. The structure set up by the Lancian
Movement after the Kukhunen Civil War is still in place. The
legislature and executive are committee based, with members being
career "governors". There is, though, a very strong electronic
lobby system which ensures that the peoples' wishes are heard,
and for major issues referenda are held. Turnouts of 99% are not
uncommon. In general Lancians are happy for government to just
"happen".
Judiciary: In contrast to the other arms of government
the judiciary is more firmly rooted in society. The courts,
called Ammeinha, are made up of 13 person "benches", a combined
judiciary and jury, similar to Solomani Courts Martial. Each
district's Ammeinha is drawn from the members of the local
Sunceinha, and like them its constitution reflects the district
demographics. The emphasis is very much on trial by one's peers.
Crime is generally less of a problem in Lancian society due to
the contribution ethic. But it does exist and all Lancian worlds
have competent police forces which also serve as social and
economic watchdogs.
MILITARY
The fact that Lancians have a military seems incredible
to some. "I mean aren't they meant to be a peaceful and pastoral
society?" You have only to sense the records of the Pacification
Campaign to see that Lancians make formidable opponents. The
waste-worlds of Oroth and Kyla, and the Makhidkarun domination of
Mestitela and Lishan bear witness to this to the present day. The
Lancian military divides into two parts, the Pulehov and the
Silkku.
The Pulehov: Most Lancians do not like the idea of
permanent military forces, and even less the idea of serving in
them. As a result most standing Lancian forces, the Pulehov, are
small and often composed of non-Lancians. It is often forgotten
that Lancia is a philosophy not a race, and so most Lancian world
will have a proportion, usually around 10%, of non-Lancians.
Since Lancians believe that the more creative (and attractive)
jobs are best done by their own kind then the military is one of
the few significant areas where non-Lancians, known colloquially
as Nunjki, can make an impact. That said the Pulehov officer
corps does have a relatively high proportion of Lancians. These
tend to be people who appreciate the creative arts of war, and
see it as a valuable way to contribute to society. Without their
self-discipline these same people would be found roving the
strada as part of some Ultra gang of Lancian delinquents such as
the BarBarDak.
The Silkku: In times of war the whole of the Lancian
population sees it as its duty to contribute to defence. This
does not mean that they become laser wielding berserkers
overnight. If bloodshed can be avoided the Lancians will do so.
As a result much effort goes into techniques of sabotage and
subterfuge, psyops and viruses, both biological and cybernetic.
They like to find clever, and original, ways of waging war. The
result is that the opposition finds its forces falling apart,
sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally. This peoples'
army, the Silkku, is the ultimate defence of Lancian worlds.
REFEREEING THE LANCIANS
Character Generation: Since there are few physiological
differences between Lancians and the rest of humaniti Lancian
characters can be generated using the standard rules. After
determining a homeworld, but before determining career 2D should
be thrown to find out if the character is actually Lancian, or is
a non-Lancian brought up in the Lancian culture. On a throw of 4+
the character is Lancian. This procedure should also be used when
NPCs are met in the Cultural Region to determine their
background. Lancian characters are not likely to be found in the
military careers, and a DM of -6 should be applied to the
enlistment roll. A DM of -2 should be applied to the Merchant
career. By contrast non-Lancians in the Region get a DM of +2 for
military and merchant enlistment. Popular Lancian careers include
bureaucrats and scientists working within the arts and
entertainments industries, or as artists themselves.
MegaTraveller does not have rules for artists. Rules will be
presented in a later document. In the meantime it is suggested
that the Noble career is used as a substitute. Artists of course
have no ranks, the "promotion" representing increased acclaim and
standing.
Playing Lancians: When playing a Lancian the fundamental
psychology of the Lancians should always be borne in mind, the
twin drives to contribute and to create. This doesn't mean that
every Lancian is a do gooding traveller, always eager to help and
who spends their spare time painting murals or writing music. The
drives are more the axis of a personality profile. A Lancian's
urge to contribute can vary wildly in its scope. "Fundamentalist"
Lancians interpret it as the need to contribute to society, or
even humaniti or sophonti as a whole. Less benign Lancians see it
as refering to their street-gang or criminal syndicate. The
problem with Lancians is often that they want to DO things, and
are driven to doing things, be they good or bad. This zealousness
causes many non-Lancians to approach Lancians with caution.
The creative aspect of Lancian psychology is also a
double edged sword. As mentioned earlier Lancians can have quite
different attitudes to what is and isn't creative. To some the
Instellarms PGMP-15 is a highly creative weapon, allowing the
user to refashion her surroundings in quite dramatic ways!
Hopefully this brief discussion has shown that Lancians are not a
bland bunch of artistic do-gooders. The "average" Lancian is, it
is true, unlikely to be any more interesting than the average
Solomani, but she will be differently motivated. As with any
society it is the more extreme characters who will prove
interesting, both to play and to meet. In the Lancian case these
range from fundamentalists who have difficulty comprehending the
monetary Imperial society, but who do everything possible to help
and contribute to humaniti's well being, and so much the better
if that involves creating a planet sized mural, to the Ultras who
contribute with all their energy to the BarBarDak gang,
deconstructively creating desolation, moving aggressively to the
beat of a different drummer.
Lancian NPCs
Lancian NPCs can be divided into three main groups: those living
and working within the Cultural Region, those who act as an
interface between Lancian and non-Lancian society, and those who
form part of the inter-stellar community. Interstellar Lancians
have learnt how to adapt to the money and profit orientated world
of the Imperium. They vary though between those who still hold
true to the Lancian idea of need, those who live in a luxury that
only their creativity could bring. Such characters can often be
too far removed from mainstream Lancia to be of much use as
guides in the region, but can be very useful "left-fielders"
outside it. Interfacing Lancians will often be non Lancians who
were brought up in the Region. They have a good understanding of
the culture and can help to smooth players' ways through the
region. Merchants working in and out of the Region are
predominantly non-Lancian, but those within it are mostly
Lancian, although they are more transporters than merchants. The
man in the street Lancian encountered dirtside could be of any of
the types or leanings described anywhere above. When creating any
Lancian NPC bear in mind the points raised above about playing
Lancians; it is their radically different motivations that makes
Lancians interesting and different.
Welcome to the Lancian Cultural Region.
Contact: Loeskalth (L. Piper)
HIWG
HIWG Document: HD 3426 Date: 24-11-1992
From: Leighton Piper
Gushemege Sector Developer
11 Skeffington Rd.
PRESTON
Lancs, PR1 5UP
UK.
To : David Burden, Gushemege Sector Analyst
Kevin Parry, HIWG UK
Clayton R. Bush, Quadrant 1 Editor
J. Duncan Law-Green, Vland Domain Editor
Subject: The Loeskalth
Abstract: A more detailed look at the lost human race of Gushemege.
THE LOESKALTH
The Loeskalth and their culture were to all intents and purposes,
eradicated through the vilani consolidation wars that raged in
Gushemege between -5400 and -5300. In little less than a hundred years
an independent human culture with a recorded history of six thousand
years was extinguished. The loss was virtually so complete that a
thousand years after the passing of the wars, the Loeskalth were
confined to myth. The people and the culture had undergone a forced
integration that banned the use of thier own language, and wiped out
their own history prior to the arrival of the vilani. The Loeskalth as
an independent, identifiable people have been lost to the mainstream
macrosociety of Gushemege. Most of what is known about the Loeskalth
today comes from archaeological finds, place names and oral tales
passed down through the generations.
The vilani references to the Loeskalth are few and far between but
indicate a fiercly independent and aggressive race. The vilani came
upon the Loeskalth around -6000 and offered them all the benefits of
their technology but under their conditions. This meant the adoption of
a vilani-type culture which the Loeskalth accepted although somewhat
grudgingly. As the people became more prosperous and the influence of
the Loeskalth became more widespread, voices could be heard urging a
divorce from the Vilani Empire and the return to their own values. They
began to carve out a small, pocket-empire of their own causing a great
deal of consternation amongst the vilani. This problem and others led
to the Consolidation Wars which led to the ultimate destruction of the
Loeskalth. The evidence suggests a fierce, bitter war, with little
quarter given or asked for. There are still a few folk tales and songs
which commemorate some of the Loeskalth successes (few and far between)
and many of the Loeskalth defeats. Most notable is "Endril a'Loeskalth
gwalf" - Loeskalth's Fallen Mighty in translation.
Recently interest has been fired by the discovery of a huge asteroid
ship (massing some 50 billion tons) in the Aapu system (Vipach 0132) by
Professor Enrique Laskan (from the Ilelish Cultural University at
Dikaash). The ship measures nearly 10 km long by 8 km wide by 8 km deep
and is nearly identical to a vessel having been recorded to have been
found within a parsec of Saulente in the Inverness subsector of Far
Frontiers. This Aapu vessel has remained in orbit around the system's
primary for nearly 6500 years, and it was only discovered by chance. A
prospecting vessel that had landed on the ships surface activated a
anti-meteorite defence laser.
Just before the final destruction of the Loes homeworld, some of the
people undertook a project to excavate a series of asteroids to use as
colony ships, to leave the turmoil and devastation with the plan to
find a new home. The migrants decided to leave the region altogether
and strike out over into the unexplored space spinward of the Great
Rift. Evidence points to at least six vessels being constructed
(including the one around Aapu), each with jump-1 capability and a
magnetic fusion ramjet sub-light propulsion system.
Examination of the abandoned, incomplete asteroid ship around Aapu
suggests the vessel would have been home to some 10 to 15 thousand
people. The vessel came complete with huge wharehouses, production
centres, extensive hydroponic farms, resedential areas, space-/starship
hangers and a complex museum-come-library which acted as a repository
of all the remaining Loeskalth culture and history.
As the vessels set out in slightly different directions only the fate
of the two can be accounted for. By extrapolation it would appear that
the starting point is the sytem of Abaelou (0233). Recent examinations
of Abaelou would seem to support this theory. The reknowned
archaeologist Professor Limun Sar-James has led a number of expeditions
to the likely sites on the world, between 1099 and 1108. These research
expeditions revealed the existence of a human culture some 6,000 to
6,600 years ago at the very latest.
BIOLOGICAL ORIGINS
The Loeskalth like all 'native' human populations discovered so far,
originated on Terra and transported around 300,000 years ago by the
Ancients. This was deduced from scraps of vilani medical data collected
on the Loeskalth prior to their assimilation. Nearly aii the
information on the Loeskalth was destroyed in the aftermath of the
Consolidation Wars. This medical data indicates an average size, wieght
and build for the Loeskalth. It would appear that they are descended
from caucasian stock, possibly of celtic origin. This is derived from
genetic and linguistic data that has survived. However evidence is
tenuous at best, for at that stage of the transporting of the humans
from Terra the languages were elementary in form. The slight celtic
slant may have originated with the mingling of some terran European
sublight travellers that colonised the Islands Cluster in Reft.
Contact: Vapethi (L. Piper)
VAPETH
The Vapeth are an intelligent star faring aliens originating on
Imapiirn (F/0723). They are only a metres tall will pale green
complexions. They are as alien to humaniti as it is possible to
envisage. Although they have a roughly similar biochemistry to humaniti
the major physiological preoccupation of the Vapethi is the need to
conserve water. The Vapethi have an internal stalk-like skeleton around
which a series of muscles are attached like spokes on a wheel. This
muscles are separated by bands of muscles set in concentric rings.
These muscles allow the Vapethi to alter the general shape of their
bodies to suit the prevailing environmental conditions. This body shape
is also a reflection of the status of the individual (and whose company
the individual is in) and the individual's emotional state. Thus a
practiced vapethi-watcher can gauge an individual's mood by his/ her
shape. In controlled environments and relaxed situations their bodies
tend to be shapeless blobs. The limbs (anywhere between two and six)
are contractile with a core of a cartilage-like substance. They end in
two-way prehensile digits.
Discovered early on in the vilani explorations of Gushemege, the
Vapethi had already surveyed their own system and had begun to branch
out to explore the neighbouring stars. The vilani first noted
intelligent life in the system when a scout ship ran into a
sophisticated unmanned probe. Observations of the Vapethi indicated a
thriving tech level 8 culture.
The vapethi were instrumental in the removal of the vilani from
Inapiirn when the solomani advanced on Vland during the Nth
Interstellar War. The vilani withheld their technology from the vapethi
who resented this action and thus sowed the seeds of the later vapethi
rebellion. With the rise of the solomani the vapethi could be found
wandering the border of Verge, Gushemege and Ilelish exploring space
out of pure curiosity.
The current scene shows increased tensions within the vapethi colonised
worlds of the Inapiirn cluster with The subsector Duke of Balech
attempting to annexe the region. Feeling betrayed by the central
Gushemege government the vapethi are beginning to arm themselves in an
attempt to forestall the Duke's excesses. The vapethi councils are in
favour of siding with Dulinor who has garunteed the vapethi
independence/indentity.
Back to SectorMap
Back to GalaxyMap
