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Library Data: VVargr : - Intelligent major race derived from Ancient genetic manipulations of Terran carnivore/chaser stock, which apparently dates from approximately the same time that Humaniti was scattered to the stars.Inhabiting a region rimward of the Imperium, the Vargr were a puzzle to xenologists. The biochemistry and genetic makeup are almost identical with a number of terrestrial animals, but they differ radically from most of the flora and fauna indigenous to Lair, which is the purported Vargr home world. Research during the early years of the Third Imperium concluded them to be the result of genetic manipulation of transplanted Terran animals of the family Canidae, almost certainly of genus Canis. The obvious conclusion, supported by archaeological evidence, is that the race known as the Ancients was responsible. The typical Vargr is about 1.6 meters in height and weighs approximately 60 kilograms. They are upright, bipedal carnivores, with rear limbs digitigrade and hands very similar in size and appearance to those of a human, although there are significant internal differences. They have approximately the same physical parameters as humans and are able to use the same equipment without modification or additional instruction. On average their reactions are slightly faster than those of the typical human, but individuals vary widely. The Vargr senses of smell and sight are superior to those of humans. Government: There is no central Vargr government; indeed, there is no governmental type that can be said to be "typically vargr". Every conceivable form of governmental organization can be found somewhere in the Vargr Extents. The only cohesive force in the Extents is a fierce racial pride which causes a slight tendency towards racial cooperation. The higher the level of the Vargr government, the more unstable it becomes because of the difficulty of obtaining consent of all Vargr involved. Vargr in the Imperium: While only a few planets populated completely by Vargr exist within the Imperium, there are millions of Vargr citizens of loyal subject planets. Additionally, Vargr adventurers, criminals, mercenaries and traders can be found throughout the coreward reaches of the Imperium. Society: The key elements shaping Vargr societies are a very strong centrifugal force resulting from an emphasis on personal leadership and a deeply ingrained family-group-race loyalty and an equally strong centripetal force resulting from acceptance only of informal lines of authority, an a constant competition for power between the more charismatic members of a group. Centralized authority is extremely limited at the upper levels of Vargr society, and action is based on broad coalition concerns, with a constant splitting and rejoining by dissident factions. Traditionally, this has made it very difficult for more centralized and organized societies such as the Imperium to deal on a meaningful basis with what passes for Vargr states. The Vargr have little respect for formal authority, and what respect they might have decreases as that authority becomes more remote. Vargr tend to respect informal authority figures more, and they obey superiors who are better known to them. The Vargr have an intensive racial pride, and they are easily insulted. They are prone to enter fights without regard to possible consequences. Vargr social organization is difficult to characterize in Terran terms, but it can be most closely compared to the Dakota Sioux of North America in c. -2700, if the analogy is not pressed too far. Even within the most stable Vargr governments, a highly charismatic leader can attract followers for almost any cause. The neighbors of the Vargr are constantly subject to impromptu raids and scattered piracy by bands of Vargr (totally without government sanction) who have been talked into a raid, a battle, or a war by a charismatic leader. Vargr Extents : - The territory dominated by Vargr governments. The term Vargr Extents refers to those sectors with major Vargr populations. The Extents are situated roughly coreward of the Imperium and especially coreward of the Deneb, Corridor, and Vland sectors. Vegan : - Vegans are upright, bipedal, and bilaterally symmetrical, averaging 2.2 meters in height. They are bisexual, homeothermic oxygen breathers with an average lifespan of over 200 years. Because of their low-gravity origin, they are physically quite weak, and are unable to live on high gravity worlds. The head serves both as a braincase and as sensory appendage. Auditory organs are located in the collar-like structure around the neck, and can pick up sounds fainter than the average human. Despite external appearances to the contrary, Vegans have two eyes, located inside the hood-like fleshy structure that dominates the head. The paired eyes are covered by a transparent eyelid-like structure, which acts as a polarized light filter. This structure protects the eyes from glare, like built-in sunglasses, and also serves to keep windblown dust out of the eyes. This filter can be retracted when not needed. The eyes themselves are large, and pick up radiation well into the infrared portion of the spectrum (primitive Vegans hunted primarily at night after the desert had cooled). Since the skull is solidly fixed in place, a Vegan cannot turn its head, but the fleshy hood containing the eyes can turn through a large arc. The mouth is a vertical slit in the upper thoracic region, with paired breathing/vocal slits on either side of it. Two mandibles are located inside the upper chest, and grind food between their opposing sets of teeth. Vegans can consume both animal and vegetable matter, a product of their omnivore origins. Like humans, they require minimum amounts of certain vitamins and minerals or eventually become sick and die. Where the forearm and hand would be on a human, Vegans have three tentacles, which serve them as manipulative organs. The tentacles are extremely dexterous, and give Vegans better agility than the average human. Their legs end in broad, splayed feet, which prevent them from sinking into soft sand. The urogenital opening is a vertical slit located ventrally in the lower abdomen. There are no external differences between the sexes, of which there are two (corresponding to "male" and "female"). All mature Vegans possess the same sexual organs, though certain significant internal sexual differences develop after initial coupling with a mate (each taking on the characteristics of the "sex" opposite of their partner). Homosexuality among Vegans is impossible, as one or the other of the partners will change to the opposite sex as appropriate. The changing from "male" to "female" or vice versa involves the rapid slowing down of the production of certain kinds of hormones and the rapid increase of production of certain others, both of which serve to trigger other internal changes. Thus a Vegan may retain the internal sexual characteristics of a "male" or "female" for its entire life, or if it has several different partners during its lifetime span (though Vegan tend toward monogamy), may change from one gender to another and back again. Xenobiologists speculate that Vegans as a species may at one time have had two distinct sexes from birth like humans, and later evolved the ability to change sex in response to environmental factors, or perhaps a shortage of one particular sex in their past. Vegans have a number of adaptations to the arid dry region of Muan Gwi where they developed. Their tall, thin bodies are designed for maximum radiation of heat. The torso is covered with a thick integument, whose convoluted surface is richly supplied with blood vessels. By increasing or decreasing the supply of blood to the integument, heat radiation from the torso can be regulated to optimum effect (more during the day, less at night). This arrangement obviates the necessity for sweating and its consequent water loss. All orifices of the body can be sealed to prevent unnecessary moisture loss. Vilani : - Human major race (H. sapiens) that developed on Vland from human stock placed there by the Ancients. History: The world of Vland, while possessed of a hospitable environment, boasted an alien ecology based on its own independently evolved biology, a biology that produced amino acids, proteins, and sugars that were difficult for humans to digest and metabolize. The humans just could not use local plant and animal life for food. One of the oldest occupations in Vilani society is that of shugilii (which translates roughly as miller). The shugilii was a person who could transform raw food into edible food through special aging and chemical treatments. The shugilii position was more akin to that of shaman or witch doctor than that of cook. Since virtually no food on Vland was edible without some treatment, shugilii were powerful members of society. The alienness of land was reciprocal: humans were unsuitable as food for predators, parasites died because humans provided no nutrition, bacteria could not infect the human system, and even viruses were unable to invade and take over human cells. Consequently, the primitive human society found no need for medically oriented shaman. Vilani medical understanding was very slow to develop because of this. Vilani legends are full of accounts of the wars of the gods, terrible destruction, and occasional intervention in human affairs by the gods. Legends exist of early explorers who found lands with great living stone-metal gods possessed of immense magical powers. Modern archaeologists now believe these "gods" were actually great robot warriors and juggernauts used by the ancients in the final war. Apparently, the last of these machines finally ran down around -20,000. Society. Early Vilani society was dominated by three groups: the shugilii, the aristocrats, and the merchants. Aristocrats were the natural leaders of society, the shugilii were the all important food processors, and the merchants controlled trade. With the flowering of Vilani society (circa -11,000) and its attendant industrial revolution, each of these three forces gained power rather than lost it; each participated in the creation of the industrialized wealth of Vland. In -9235 the Vilani made their ultimate breakthrough, one that would assure their ascendence for the next 6000 years. A research team working on the fringes of the Vland system created the first working prototype jump drive and demonstrated its effects. The Vilani discovered intelligent lifeforms on other worlds within 60 parsecs of Vland. None of the races had progressed enough to have begun interstellar travel. The Vilani found it easy to dominate these less technically advanced races. The Vilani were able to impose Vilani culture and law on these other races among the stars. However, the Vilani conquering was not of a militaristic nature, but was economic subjugation. As their sphere of influence was expanding, the Vilani found it difficult to maintain control across such great distances with jump-l their maximum rate of travel and communication. At the same time, each of the three power classes of the Vilani society found themselves threatened by the forces around it. Three bureaus were established, each independent of the other two, and each assigned a territory among the stars for which it was responsible. Each of the three bureaus was effectively identical, but they initially espoused different philosophies, which were based on their origins. The bureaus maintained their own governments within their territories. Silarurshid, originating with the merchant class, emphasized interstellar trade. lakhidkarhn, originating with the aristocracy, emphasized interstellar government. Naasirka, originating with the shugilii, floundered after it found that it could not control food supplies on most worlds it dealt with, but it ultimately became a broad based organization, emphasizing energy, transport, and luxury goods. In -5430, the Vilani finally discovered jump-2. No other race had jump-2, and the Vilani maintained its monopoly on jump-2 by jealously guarding its secrets from all subject races. Beginning in -5400, a series of wars to subjugate the resisting fringe cultures was waged. This period of consolidation lasted until -4045. Grand Empire of Stars: In -4045, the ruling Vilani council, the Igsiirdi, declared the Grand Empire of Stars, or in the Vilani tongue the Ziru Sirka. The Vilani calendar starts on this date. At first, the Empire had no emperor. Within 10 years, the chairman of the Igsiirdi (elected for life by the council) was declared the Isilimkarun, the Shadow Emperor, Who ruled by published proclamation, but never appeared in public. In -3610, the Shadow Emperor became Emperor of the Stars, who was absolute monarch of the Empire. Successors were elected from the Igsiirdi upon the death of the old emperor. For nearly 1,200 years the Grand Empire of Stars Kept peace among its star spanning population. however, the empire insisted on cultural rigidity. Exploration was brought to a halt by -4000. Scientific research was controlled and then stopped altogether by -300. The beginning of the end of Vilani domination, however, was emphasized when the Terrans contacted the empire in -2422. By - 240 the Terrans and the Vilani were at war; by -2219 the Terrans had surpassed the Vilani technology and were marching through the cities of Vland as conquerors, and the Grand Empire of Stars was at an end. Currently, Vilani is a cultural rather than racial or national labeling, and it is applied to those within the Imperium who retain some of the old ways. Dialects of the old High Vilani language survive in certain places, along with a few other fragments of Vilani culture, such as musical forms and other fine arts. Certain of the old Vilani noble families have maintained more of the old culture. In particular, those who control the Vilani megacorporations instill a predominantly Vilani culture on many of their employees. Virusha : - The INFAT Virusha is a 25000 ton Imperial Navy Tanker/Fleet Replenishment Vessel attached to the Rimward Expedition towards the galaxy's rim. Vland : - Homeworld of the Vilani, former capital of the Vilani Imperium, current capital of the Vland sector. Vland is a major trade and cultural center for the coreward/spinward regions of the Imperium. |