Andorians
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 3:45 pm((Posted by Kheren))
Part 1
ANDORIA
GEOPHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
PLANETARY SYSTEM:
F5V-IV Binary star system (Procyon A (Alpha Canis Minoris) white main sequence giant 30 times larger an 1000 hotter (6000k) than Sol, and Procyon B blue companion (10,000k)) at 11 light-years in a roughly coreward direction from Sol and 6 light-years from Vulcan.
There is a controversy regarding the point of origin of Andorians, since many of them refered to Epsilon Indi IV and VIII as their ''Homeworld''. In fact, those were very early colonies stated as birthplace and mistaken as the race's point of origin. Like Humans, Andorians tend to name new places in relation to their old ones (ie. Terra Nova for Terrans).
This confusion, and the peculiar biology of Andorians, have made some to speculate that they may origin from even farther, outside of what is actually known as Andorian space altogether.
PLANET:
Andoria (called Fesoan in native language)
Class M moon 56,500km of circumference, orbiting with two other moons the ringed gas giant Procyon VIII called Andor. The ecosystem is arctic and subarctic, mostly covered with ice all year round. Summer temperature averages minus 28C and only the rare and short heat wave will bring temperature above freezing.
Seismic instabilities and cold weather make the few highly salted liquid water seas on Andoria so treacherous that most Andorian religions conceive of watery hells (Andorians are definitely not fond of swimming).They are nevertheless teaming with sea life and therefore a rich source of food, industrial energy and scientific study, but obviously not considered for recreation.
Geothermal activity provided the necessary heat for the development of indigenous lifeforms. If it were not for heavy background radiation and what would otherwise be considered unstable volcanic tectonics, Andoria would have been unable to sustain all but the most rudimentary life, and so the life that has developed there is hardy.
Geothermal activity as the main source of heat and energy also made civilization develop as much underground as on the surface; cities are located in deep caverns and connected with thousands of kilometers of tunnels.
Despite it's apparent inhospitably, Andoria has a thriving tourist industry. Places of notes:
Capital City: Laibok, the largest underground city.
The Andorian Art Academy said to be the greatest, most prestigious and sought after by art collectors within the whole Federation
The Wall of Heroes:a monument to fallen warriors. Andorians consider a sacred duty to bring there part of a deceased Andorian who died away from the homeworld. Remains of Jonathan Archer, captain of the first starship Enterprise who brought about alliance between Andoria and Earth leading to the birth of the Federation, can be found there, the first and only non-Andorian honored in this place of honor.
Therin Park is a remarkable collection of plant and animal life
The Reserve: an off-limit area where the Codices state all Life on Andoria began. Local radiation nullifies scanners and only traditional archaeological research is possible... but rarely allowed.
The great Wash: a valley prone to spectacular flash floods near the Butte Temple
The view of the giant planet Andor is also a sight to amaze even seasoned spacefarers.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
APPEARANCE:
Relatively tall, slim humanoids, averaging between 1.7 and 2.1 meters, with a pair of antennaes protruding from their earless skull. Their shape and position and skin tone defines of which of the subspecies the individual belongs to:
Thallassan - Darker, with knobby antennae from the rear parietal lobes. The most numerous of all the sub-species (60%), mostly coastal dwellers and fond of technology.
Thalish - Grayer with flimsy antennae from the front parietal lobes. Less populous.
Bishee - Lighter with small straight antennae from the frontal lobes. Also fairly common (30%) but living inland and still semi-nomadic and more tradition-bound.
Aenar - White-skinned with small flimsy antennae from the frontal lobes. An offshoot of the Bishee. Considered a myth until the 22nd century when a small colony was found surviving at the poles. Born peculiarly blind (their eyes move around and they can ''perceive'' colors) and powerfully telepathic, they are profondly pacifist, and so secretive that even most Andorians never see them in the flesh.
Andorian cellular physiology is based as much on cobalt as iron, giving them a skin tone ranging from cerulean to a blushing purple, their hair white, ranging from silvery to platinum. They blush purple when embarrassed. A protenous dye (HZB-41) comparable to melanin in Humans, is responsible for their spectacular coloration.
The dye-cells have a comparatively short life span and must be produced constantly from protein sources in the diet. One of the most common symptoms of serious illness is insufficient dye production and a corresponding loss of skin colour. In the folklore, ghosts and walking-dead and other supernatural visitants are always described as "ghastly pale". This perhaps explains one of the early difficulties in contact between the Andorian Empire and humans. Possibly the unfortunate reaction to the appearance of the first contact team can be explained by an excerpt from the ancient ballad, 'The Ghost Brother':
"His face in the light was as pale as his hair,
And Rashilla fell weeping in dread and despair.
'Put back the helmet and leave,' she said,
'For now I know that thou surely are dead!'
Sing: waily, waily, and the long grasses grow."
ANDORIAN PHYSIOLOGY:
The Andorians are Ghelnoid, which is a unique blend of mammalian (endothermal, inner skeleton, viviparous) and insectoid biology (chitin, antennae and osmosis circulatory system). Andorians are the only known sentient race in that unique category apparently exclusive to Andoria. The average Andorian body temperature is about 29º C, a consequence of their evolution in their incredibly harsh arctic-like planetary environment.
The heavy cobalt base to an Andorian's blood and tissue make them most compatible, on a cellular level, with Bolians, whereas both race's blood would be incompatible with a Vulcan's, for instance, and require great effort to make it compatible with Humans.
The race has a genetic disposition towards violent behavior. Imminent danger causes a biochemical reaction resulting in a increase in physical and emotional responses and in sensory input levels, which in turn enhance analytical and reasoning skills. Andorians do not succumb easily to pressure and actually get calmer in a crisis... until they become violent.
Despite their misleadingly fragile appearance, Andorians are almost as strong as Vulcans, able to lift at least twice their own body weight because of their denser bone and muscle tissue. Thus in the famous ballad 'Baron Hathiye' it is not to be taken purely as fable that the hero...
"... stood upon his ramparts, defying one and all,
And then picked up his treacherous steed and threw it over the wall.
Sing: waily, waily, and the silver leaves are tossing."
They are also at least as tough as Klingons. They have a higher cartilage-to-bone ratio in their skeletal structure, and a chitin-like cartilage-bone fusion; internal ridges of this quasi-chitin also compartmentalize organs from gross physical trauma. All of these make them more resistant to pain, injury, and soreness. Andorians take impact differently, and their more efficient circulatory system means they rarely get sore or stiff from over-exertion and never suffer numbness from a cramped posture; they do not experience discomfort from high humidity nor suffer frostbite or hypothermia in cold weather.
They in fact resist with ease extremes of coldness that could kill other humanoids outright. They also require sleep only for 3-4 hours over the 32 hours of the Andorian day. Neither diurnal nor nocturnal, they function equally well at any moment of the day.
Born ambidextrous, they are also natural marksmen because of their superior depth perception coming from their most unique and spectacular feature:the antennae. Their reaction time and speed is slightly above human norm due to their higher metabolism.
They do not have an efficient cooling system since their environment never required them to face heat (when they do sweat, they give out a fruity scent). Because they also have a higher metabolism than humans they are very susceptible to high temperatures. An Andorian could lose 10% of its body weight in as little as 2 days in climates near the boiling point of water.
Their diffuse circulatory system is extremely vulnerable to toxins. Entire cottage industries exist in some Orion Syndicate-controlled systems brewing poisons and drugs that work best on Andorians. Andorians require intramuscular injections (hyposprays do not penetrate their chitin) but injected medicines will also work quickly through their natural osmosis.
Andorians are more prone to shock than humans, even from minor injuries, and are more easily exhausted due to their higher metabolic rate. They can get infected, sometimes mortally if not properly treated, by phaser or disruptor damage.
Because their bones have the tensile properties of cartilage, they break messily (although it requires about 3 times the force necessary to break human bones); any injury which breaks an Andorian's bones will require a great deal of healing time, and cause severe pain.
The average lifespan of the Andorian of any gender is 160 Terran years and they do not seem to suffer any of the physical debilitating effects associated with age; however, until recently, an old Andorian was somewhat rare to behold, given their violent way of life and utter lack of self-preservating fear when exposed to danger. modern life and exposure to alien ways have softened enough their lifestyle to allow for less abrupt death than in their past.
Andorians regard themselves as a passionate, aggressive, even violent race. However, their character is much more complex. At first glance, they appear intelligent, even intellectual humanoids, deadpan and emotionless, very calm, rational and logical like the Vulcans. But in truth, their emotions can emerge with intense psychological and physical reactions.
Although none of the Andorian sexes is truly male or female as humans define them, they do accept male or female pronouns to ease interactions with the various two-sex species that dominate the universe, and to avoid unwelcomed questions about their biology, wich they do not discuss with offworlders.
Andorian history is one of conflict, though they do not battle without reason. The martial spirit is still very much alive in Andorian culture. Andorians are extremely disciplined, possessing a strong sense of duty and personal honor, and so they make excellent military officers.
Though they are stoic and largely unsentimental, they do respect, even revere, family ties. Andorians have little nudity taboos. Non-Andorian visitors will see much blue skin. Although not known for their charity and have few sympathies, they place their highest value on family.
Andorians are fond of technology, but insist on its use with respect for nature. For this reason, even their early wars of conquest were fought with a regard for planetary environment, and so the Andorians avoided much of the ecological devastation suffered by Terrans and many other cultures. Weapons of mass destruction were unknown and the very idea is still considered most barbaric.
They are hard-working and serious, often incorrectly viewed as humorless and irritable. Andorians have a complex set of propositional "grammars'' to express humor; thus they do not tend to find human humor amusing, nor do non-Andorians tend to "get'' theirs. The harsh history of early Andorian civilization left a strong taboo against frivolity or wasted effort and so they feel uncomfortable when invited to purely recreational activities. Their curt refusals often make them seem prudish or unsociable, while in fact they simply have a strong cultural pragmatism.
Andorians are also reluctant to enter strong personal relationships outside their bondmates, another left over trait from their troubled past. This lack of a social skill reinforces the sense of isolation and distance that others perceive between them and other races.
THE ANTENNAES:
The Andorian antennaes are unique organs literally functioning as a living multisensor array.
They act as an added pair of eyes (giving them quadriscopic vision, thus higher depth perception). The Andorian retina is composed entirely of intensity sensitive rods and is incapable of discerning color. Color comes through the antennae which feature a complex matrix of light-sensitive cones covering the spectrum of color visible to Terran eyes, even beyond, into limited infrared wavelengths.
they serve also as unidirectional ears effective from infrasonic to ultrasonic ranges.
They can additionally perceive variations of temperature and pressure, display definite aural sensitivity and provide a prodigious sense of smell.
All of this make them able to detect even shrouded Jem'Hadars. Some Andorians can also recognize familiar footfalls and heartbeats close-up, but this is a skill which takes as much practice as it takes for a human recognizing a friend by his after-shave.
The antennae also convey much more emotions than their few, rigid facial muscles:
curving forward: polite attention or interest
rigid and quivering: excitement or fear
drooping: weariness or depression
wringing and lashing: confused or upset
slow writhing; sexual arousal
wobbling wildly: intoxication or disorientation
flattened: rage
facing each other: shrug (slightly) or amusement (almost touching)
Andorians ''kiss'' by touching antennaes; when mating, a telepathic link is achieved and a deep bonding ensues, deeper than that of Vulcan mates. Not only can they sense each other over immeasurable distances afterwards, but the death of one causes such a shock that most Andorians do not survive the death of a spouse.
Because of their importance, Andorian psychology is deeply related to it. Offering antenna jewelry is a gift of deep friendship, if not courtship. The Andorian version of the wedding ring is worn on the left antenna rather than on a finger.
On the other hand, fear of damaging one is deeper than fear of castration to human males; loosing one equates blindness, deafness, muteness, castration and disfigurement all at once and many do not choose to live with it, even knowing it will regenerate within 9 months (half that time with proper treatment of cranial massages and electro stimulation).
Meanwhile the wounded Andorian will be handicaped (no color vision, reduced depth perception, deafness,loss of taste and smell and 48 hours loss of balance). Any hit will cause intense pain to an Andorian. Touching one uninvited is inexcusable rudeness, and threat or attack against it is legal ground for assault and murder... as occasional, unfortunate incidents have shown. For example, in the famous tapestry 'The Assault on Yodina', one notes that Yodina is actually leaning toward the captor who has imprisoned her arms and away from the villainous baron who has clutched her left antenna. To the student of Andorian culture, it comes as no surprise that Yodina's relatives later tore the wicked baron into several pieces and fed the fragments to their hunting beasts before a cheering crowd.
Their relative rigidness make Andorians almost deaf and unable to catch an odor from behind. From there stems their deep aversion to duplicity and treachery; attacking from behind is the foulest form of dishonor and cowardice to them. Thus, they do not respect much cloaking-using cultures like Klingons and Romulans.
MATING:
Andorians are able to reproduce only for 5 years after puberty; they are unique for having completely retractable sexual organs and 4 sexes; the males Chan and Thaan each have ¼ of the chromosomes; the female Shen has 1/2 of the chromosomes and a transfering organ for the female Zhen who carries the pregnancy within a marsupial like pouch with four teats inside it to nurture the embryo. Twins, triplets and quadruplets were more common in ancient times.
Females are generally taller than males and sexually much more aggressive. All subspecies are sexually and genetically totally compatible between themselves but, understandably, not at all with other humanoids... unless drastic and complex genetic manipulation would be involved.
Andorians choose their beloved forming a 'quad'. Andorian marriage bonds are stronger than just about anything. To an Andorian, the remaining three adults of the quad are life mates, even more important than children born to the quad. An Andorian forced to choose his spouses over his children in a medical emergency, or forced to duel his own father to defend the honor of his wife, will do so with little hesitation.
However, they will do their best to make as many children as possible during their fertility period and go to extremes to protect and nurture them.
Because of this peculiar mode of reproduction, the Andorian species is decreasing in number with each generation. Today the danger of extinction is very real.
Recently, it was discovered that secret genetic resequencing research has been ongoing, unsanctioned by the government, that would reduce the 4-gender species to just 2, thus hopefully making the species viable. There is also a philosophical and political movement supporting this that has found a voice within the government despite the outrage voiced by the traditionalist segment of Andorian society, calling blasphemy this monstrous altering of what is considered the very essence of Andorian life and culture.
SPECIFIC DETAILS OF REPRODUCTION
Before the advent of modern medicine and especially genetic science, it was difficult, if not impossible, to determine the sex of an Andorian child at birth, with the result that for millenias, children were raised without different treatment accorded by gender. This is one reason why Andorian society is, even today, completely ambiarchal. The child's genital organs remain dormant until first puberty, which starts at the approximate age of 12 and is completed by the age of 15, when s/he begins the neuter phase of adulthood. At this time, the sex of the individual first becomes apparent. The male possesses a retractable penis AND subcutaneous testes; the Shen female possesses a uterus and vagina while the Zhen has a retractable ovipositor, a ventral pouch, and four breasts - flat and dormant in the neuter phase and arranged in pairs.
Since the sexual activity of neuters does not result in pregnancy, it is given little social importance and is described by the word "play" or "amusement". Neuters are allowed, if not encouraged, to experiment sexually in any way that interests them and are restricted by no taboos whatever. A neuter may "play" with its brothers, sisters, other relatives, friends, enemies, strangers and livestock; nobody cares, unless the activity results in physical injury, which is then treated as a simple case of assault. Although passionate, emotional involvement can form between playing neuters - and are celebrated in story and song - they are not considered in the same category with attachment to one's true mate. The resulting sexual liberality of neuters often puzzles outsiders and has led to some unfortunate misunderstandings, as related in Khardillye's modern poem, 'The Flat-Antennaed ("eared") Stranger':
"Incomprehensible playmate, last night's friend,
Why art thou displeased by daylight, tell?
Have we not played happily all night long?
Enjoying every protrusion and orifice well?
Why, then, this post-sleep change?
Why this attempt to press guinea-pig coins in my hand?
Why your suggestion I hide when the landlady knocked?
Why this insistence on leaving by separate doors?
I believe I detect in your manner a note of contempt.
Ignoring my backswept antennae, you press me too far.
Indeed, we shall exit by separate doorways! - Be off!
Or I'll rip out your windpipe and throw you straight out of this window!"
Second puberty occurs when a neuter forms a serious emotional attachment to neuters of the opposite sex and their normal empathic connection deepens into a full telepathic bond. Because of the need to find, not one partner but three, the process becomes incredibly complex, difficult and time consuming in practice - something that explains a great deal about their dwindling population. This process, known as formal courtship, also lasts several months, often a year and more. During this courtship, the telepathic bonding, by a method the Andorians are reluctant to reveal, causes physiological changes that bring on full fertility: ovulation of the Shen, development of the Zhen's breasts and pouch, increased size and protrusion of the Chan and Thaan testes and the production of gametes. From the time of the first symptoms of change, the quad is considered betrothed, and they may marry at any time before the final bonding. Final bonding consists of male's-penis to female's-vagina mating, from each male of the pair, then the egg transfer from the Shen's uterus to the Zhen pouch, while all are in full telepathic rapport for the first time, and results in first pregnancy.
In a "true" mating, each ''male'' successively provide a quarter of the required chromozome through standard copulation.The Thaan fully fertilize the zygote wich divides into two to eight sub-zygotes, which then grow in the Shen's womb for 3.7 standard months. Here they develop into eggs, which are approximately the size and shape of baseballs, having elastic, gold shells. At the end of this stage, the Chan fertizes the eggs to make them mature and break open to free the fetuses. The fetuses first digest the egg shells through osmosis in about 0.7 months, and then Sh'en deposits the fetuses, through her ovipositor, in the pouch of the Zhen. The fetuses remains there for an additional 3.6 months, absorbing fluid through the teats in the pouch and increasing embryo growth under the slightly higher body temperature in the pouch. They obtain nourishment during this period by means of two hollow, bony protrusions (called pouch-fangs) located in their double navels, with which they pierce a large blood vessel running vertically through the posterior wall of the pouch, thus plugging their circulatory systems into the mother's.
It is not uncommon for Zhen in pouch-pregnancy to have voracious appetites, and doubly so if they are also nursing still another litter at the same time. For this reason, the Andorian fertility goddess is often described as The Great Devourer, or The Inspiration of Livestock Raids. Understandably she is usually depicted as the wife of the war god.
In the interests of keeping the quad together, the mating bond causes physical changes in the nervous system so that bonded individuals cease to have sexual interest in any save their mates, and literally cannot perform a fertile mating with anyone else. "Adultery" is an unknown concept among Andorians. "Illegitimacy" is barely possible (not counting the purely social disgrace of failing to undergo the formal marriage ceremony before the final bonding) and is extremely difficult. It consists of a female obtaining an egg which is not hers and introducing it into her paired Zhen's pouch, or a Zhen stealing a fetus, or yet a Chan or a Thaan substituting himself as one of the two genitors. This is considered a horrid disgrace and the usual punishment is death for all members of the quad - the '' females'' for having deceived their mate and the ''males'' for having been so thoroughly deceived (which implies unbearable stupidity and imperfection of the telepathic bond). Thus, when the deception is discovered in the ballad 'The Tragedy of Rok, Hail, Shey and Arn':
"...'Wives, thou hast caused us to bear a bastard!'
Barons Shey, Arn, he cried.
We'll not endure such vile disgrace;
Better we first had died!'
Sing: waily, waily, and the gentle breezes blow.
They speared the wives through their false hearts,
And pinned them against the wall.
Then they drew out their good long-sword,
And on it they did fall.
Sing: waily, waily, all down by the River Rhoe."
There is no divorce among Andorians; the marriage bond lasts for life, and the death of one partner usually causes death of all the others. This is especially true if the death of one partner occurs by violence; the resulting telepathic shock causes sudden and severe stress to the heart, often resulting in fatal coronary occlusion. A widowed Andorian who survives the initial shock is still prey to psychic disorientation, endocrine imbalance and savage psychological depression; these are often sufficient to cause a widowed partner to "lay doon and dee" in a fashion familiar to any observer of telepathic and semi-telepathic races. A widowed Andorian who does survive the breaking of the bond reverts to neuter phase and never becomes fertile again. There are so many well known ballads about this subject that it would be pointless to quote from them, and it is not surprising: that sentimental human ballads about lovers dying of a "broken heart" are quite popular on Andoria.
CULTURAL EFFECT OF THE REPRODUCTION MECHANISM
Because bonding and "true" mating causes such changes in the individual's physiology and lifestyle (and, subsequently, in the personality), it is surrounded by a constellation of important social customs. Bonded quads, being necessarily concerned with feeding their offsprings, tend to be sedentary and conservative - and concerned also with trade, war or other means of acquiring land and livestock. Neuters, having no fierce biological commitment to other individuals, tend to be nomadic and innovative, concerned more with artistic or abstract studies. Bonded Andorians also dress and speak in different modes than neuters, are more formal in public and have a different role in religious practices. For example, only neuters worship Hyuhef, Inspirer of Playmates, and only bonded ones take part in the rites of the fertility-goddess.
These differences, plus the above-mentioned variation in sexual behavior, are doubtless the causes of the first contact-team's disastrous misassumption that neuters and bonded ones were two different classes, or races, with neuters socially subordinated to the land-owning bonded ones. One result of this unfortunate mistake was the discovery that bonded Andorians tend to be much fiercer in battle than neuters.
So great are the social and psychological changes brought about by sexual bonding that neuters usually regard the bonded state with mixed fear and fascination. A common feature of Andorian psychology is the bonding dream, usually described as a nightmare, in which a neuter dreams of the expected change in terms of a supernatural visitant whose touch transforms the dreamer in mind and body. The dreamer usually wakens in a state of mixed fright and extreme sexual arousal, and often counteracts this by plunging into fierce sexual activity or personal combat. Consequently, the standard colloquialism applied to a neuter observed in an agitated or belligerent state is "S/he must have dreamed of The Changer". Another result is that The Changer is an important deity in the Andorian pantheon, called The First Child of the Great Mother, whose presence is invoked by lovers who wish to marry. Thus do dreams become gods.
Some neuters, for career, personal or religious reasons (such as sworn service to Armoured Hlasha, Protector of Mercenaries), choose to remain neuters all their lives, never experience the Change and, hence, never breed. This is considered the honorable form of birth control and older neuters are highly respected for their dedication and self-discipline. Less honorable means of birth control include egg-smashing and infanticide.
Andorians who do marry promptly find themselves faced with the great physiosocial problem of parenthood. Litters of young usually numbered from two to four, although single births are more the norm nowadays. Litters of eight were not rare in ancient times. Since a bonded quad can carry two litters at once (one in the Shen's womb, one in the Zhen's pouch) while nursing a third, a healthy couple can produce up to an average of 16 children per standard year - although an Andorian's breeding life is rather short... One of the common epithets for the fertility goddess is Mother of 1000 Young - which is obviously a wish incarnated in a symbolic figure. Andorians themselves speculate that the concept of the fertility-goddess began with a famous ancestress who spawned great numbers of surviving children, passed in due course from a heroic ancestor-spirit into a tribal goddess, and later merged with similarly evolved goddesses of other tribes. Thus do memories become gods.
DIET:
Although omnivorous, they have a mostly carnivorous diet because of the high level of complex protein their high metabolism requires. Lack of it will show in a noticeable discoloration of the skin.
Andorians have unique senses of smell and taste. For example, salt is spicy to them, and macho Andorians like to eat hearty Andorian, Terran, or Klingon meat dishes sprinkled liberally with salt. Some Andorian Starfleet officers drink highly salted Margaritas or Bloody Marys once introduced to them by humans. Other favorite drinks include sweet Agranu wine, as well as the earthy/rich ales brewed by Keth Endilev, and famous to non-Andorians as 'Andorian ale'.
Some Andorian food: Saysha, a barely edible beetle delicacy served on orbital stations to offworlders, Impararay a red bat meat served with tarrid, Tarrid a common beverage, Hari a bread, Katheka a coffee, Fridd a chikoree, Srjula a tea, Talla is a common drink made from bark, Andorian tuber root is known to be served in salad or in a pie, Andorian flat root is a vegetable, Ale comes in several varieties from blue (strongest) to yellow (foamy).
Common caffeine, even from chocolate, is almost poisonous to them and alcohol is highly intoxicating due to their osmotic circulatory system.
The Andorian nervous system requires great amounts of complex protein for its maintenance and growth, protein which is not available from the few edible nuts, fruits and grains found on Andoria. Also, though most Andorian food beasts are mammals, their milk production is limited and reserved for their litters of young, so there is no Andorian dairy industry. Consequently, the Andorian diet is largely carnivorous. Andorians raise a large variety of livestock, and hunt many non-domesticable species. It is not true, as early contact teams suggested, that Andorians will eat anything that walks, flies or crawls through the grass; they do not, for instance, practice cannibalism - except in cases of extreme emergency.
Certain nuts and fruits are considered condiments, desserts or emergency rations but, for the most part, Andorians look on vegetables as livestock feed. The most important of these is fat-grass, a grain-bearing plant that grows wild in great abundance all over Andoria. It is most like a cross of terran lichen and mushroom in nature, as it is most often found near geothermal sources and even deep underground, not requiring photosynthesis to thrive. In nutritive qualities, fat-grass is analogous to high fat-content quadrotriticale; in its ubiquity, vitality, and persistence, it is analogous to crabgrass. It spreads by seed and creeper and can survive in any soil - although it grows best when fertilised by livestock droppings and the bodies of the dead. Andorians have long been aware of this, and subsequently practice burial instead of cremation. Indeed, the Andorian word for "burial" is feeding the fat-grass - and The Mother of Fat-grass, a major Andorian deity, is also called The Comforter of the Dead.
ANDORIAN LANGUAGE
Andorian language evolved from music. This gives a very melodic and mathematical quality to Andorian speech and thought, explaining much of their strange combination of deep passion and strict discipline. It is soft and somewhat eerie to other races due to the peculiar range of their earing apparatus. Some undertones are not easily perceived by other humanoids. Their ability to sense vibration and pitch is what turned music into language in the first place.
The Andorii Language (Graalek) reflects much of the highly stratified social system (clan-lodge-family-individual), so firmly entrenched in the culture of Andoria, as well as Piin'tel, Aad'hozh, Em'phur, and their other colonies. The Andorian psyche is prevalent in all aspects of the language as much as their physiological peculiarities.
Writing came about much later and now exists in 2 form of scripts: symbolic and phonetic, the symbolic one is amazingly almost virtually identical to standard musical writing but without standard partitions.
NAMING:
Today, an Andorian's name is made of a first name followed by a combination of contracted paternal names, a suffix denoting sexual identity then a combining of the contracted maternal names, then finally the clan's name (i.e. Kheren Kalel Th'Shelleryll Keth Reiji), all of it being also part of the namesong. The clan name ending is not used anymore by most since the founding of the Federation, except in Parliament sessions and traditional ceremonies like marriage. When dealing with off-worlders, only the first name is used to ease contact and avoid insulting and disgraceful mispronunciations (i.e: Captain Kheren).
Andorian names are harsh sounding, often very long affairs, literally an entire song, difficult for foreigners to master. In their full traditional form, they are as much an identification system as a poetic description of a moment of great significance to the naming parent, similar to Japanese Haiku; with offworlders, Andorians simply go by the first word in their Namesong.
Samples of Andorian names :
Keth names: Aniri, Claness, Endilev, Ghorev, Hrisvalar, Idrani, Kor, Raioth, Reiji
Thaan/Chan names: Akeen, Akoval, Igrilan, Keval, Shran, Shras, Sorjei, Thalev, Theb, Theleb.
Shen/Zhen names: Jaylas, Imaru, Lissan, Lyaas, Lyrya, Neruu, Schel, Tara, Tala, Tyvya.
WORDLIST:
Alneesh - marsh bison
Athlirith - eagle
Challorn - flower
Ecceara - traditional zhen clothing
Elta - flower tree
Eketha - hardwood tree
Eth'la - flower vine
Grayth - feline
Grelth - spider
Hybor - were-rabbit
Kelthreth - one,s own clan
Khe' - coldness
Kheth - temporary pouch that grows over and around the lower abdomen of a zhen for the final phase of Andorian gestation
Klazh - erratic moving animal
Ren - Fire
Saf - aphrodisiac
Schanchen - medicinal plant
Shax - poisonous insect
Shelthreth - marriage
Taras - tree
Thezha - non-marital sex
Vithi - vegetable
Xixu - marine nurturing plant
Zabathu - camel
Zhavey - eldest mother
Zhiassa - mother's milk
ANDORIAN SOCIETY
Much that appears bizarre and bewildering about Andorian culture - its violence, territoriality, demanding etiquette, clan-based social structure, contradictory sexual morality, oddly primitive religion and art, grim practicality and tendency toward fratricide - becomes comprehensible when one learns the nature of Andorian biology. Andorian culture appears to be shaped almost entirely by biology, and attempts to reach beyond biology meet with only partial success.
Andoria itself supports nowadays a population of 30 millions. Although there were billions in the past, they now merely number 90 millions in all of known space.
Originally a violent and warlike people, Andorians have now a surprisingly peaceful if strict, stable democratic society evolved from a clan-family system where artistic and martial values are both strongly emphasized. Although not unknown, obesity is despised because of this as a sign of laziness and weakness of both body and mind unworthy of a warrior. They do retain a strong dueling tradition and males and females shares equal rights, although motherhood is particularly revered, giving the impression of over protectiveness and nobility of the Sh'en and especially the Zhen genders, and consequently showing more males within the military.
As might be assumed on a planet where weather conditions are severe and predators abound, Andorians evolved a clan-based social structure which has not yet been discarded. Andorians live communally in of 3 basic social structures, from largest to smallest:
Kethni (singular: keth), a clan. The biggest 300 kethni form the ruling council of Andoria, and clans come and go under strict rules. A keth is ruled by an atlolla, or 'chieftain'. Kethni do interrelate and intermarry. Andorian culture is based on the Clan. A Clan today is about 60 to 100 families banding together to pool resources and abilities. It tends now to grow around single lines of endeavor or related centers than just blood ties and location as in the past.
'Lodge', or temporary-but-stable community living amongst non-Andorian majorities. In a Starfleet's station, ship, colony, or outpost, it will combine several living quarters where all Andorians live. Families sometimes do not; but it is very rare for any single adult Andorian to live outside The Lodge, a formal term with deep significance. Andorians in lodges do sleep and dine communally, even in modern ones with side chambers for private use.
'Quads', or marriage structures. Often, once the quad has created offspring, they separate to pursue their own interests.
There are 4 traditional rituals among the Andorians.
The Nutak (Birth) is a ceremony held when a new Andorian is born, there is a 4 days “welcome” ceremony. They celebrate arriving to this world. In the last day, it receives a bless from the priest. Moments after birth, the child's genetic structure is mapped to match with the most compatible mates.
The Time of Knowing is when bondmates become aware of each other for the first time during their mid-teens. They each contribute a strand of hair to each other to be intertwined into a pendant or locket called a Shapla. Then they are taught The First Truth:
“One alone cannot be Whole. What one chooses, is chosen for all, what befalls one, befalls all. Their lives are yours... My life is theirs."
The Remali'y is the Andorian “turning age” ritual. It is a 3 day ceremony to celebrate adulthood. first day is alone with a mentor (preparation); second day is alone (meditation); the third day, a formal ceremony of acceptance among the adults (consumption).
Andorians thinks highly of knowledge, culture, work and nature. They do not value recreation and sports, with exception of martial arts. The educational level in Andoria is very high; all villages have schools, and universities are in almost all cities. The high level of Andorians universities is known in all of the Federation. From age 3 to 12, it’s obligatory to attend primary school. There is a secondary school, that goes from 13 to 18, and upon graduation, university. Although only primary school is mandatory, barely 1.5% of Andorians don’t finish their university studies.
Art is another important factor in Andorian life. They cultivate their art, and value their artists. Their Academy of Arts is said to be the greatest of all the Federation and collector from all over covet their creations, from ceramics to music.
Andorian sense of community and team-effort show in their few sports and games. Andorians prefer team play to solo play; sports include kochek, a cross between hockey and jai-alai played between 3 teams wearing spiked footwear on ice, as well as team-based dueling and martial arts competitions. A warrior culture, their fencing and unarmed martial arts styles are embraced by all Andorians.
The most common Andorian blades are the chaka, an unwieldy three-bladed hand-weapon similar to the Klingon bat'leth and serving a similar honor-blade function, too heavy and awkward to carry in day-to-day use and reserved mostly for ceremonies; the hrisal, a lightly curved short-sword used most for duty functions; dueling however is done with a crescent-shaped serrated blade, the ushaan-thor which was originally an elaborated icepick used by miners for work and movement.
Andorians practice a devastating kick boxing art known as kharakom and a brutal wrestling art known as hleshvalath.
The 12000 rules of the Andorian dueling code is called the ushaan. Duels are fought traditionally on white linens over ice floors, so that blood can be seen clearly and the duel ended at the appropriate time. Starfleet regulations allow Andorian officers and enlisted to participate -death in the ushaan is legally considered suicide. The ushaan consists of the duelists, 3-5 neutral representatives of the governing body or appropriate law enforcement agency at hand, and 2 professional 'recorders'. Starfleet regulations state that the Commanding Officer of a Starfleet ship or installation is to be one of the 'judges', regardless of race and ignorance of the code; by tradition, the CO should choose at least one neutral Andorian as one of the judges as well.
Because survival was the chief activity of the clan, religion, art and education were shaped by their relevance to it. Education, particularly technological, took precedence over art, which in turn took precedence over religion. Wandering neuters transmitted information in the same order; the result was that technological change spreads quickly, artistic innovation more slowly and religious development hardly at all. Thus, Andorian culture presents the peculiar mixed spectacle of space-age technology, medieval artistic development and religious forms of the Late Stone Age.
Andorian science began with advances in animal husbandry, ecology, veterinary medicine, defensive architecture, military engineering, and weapons technology. Such advances gave their discoverers advantages over their neighbors and thus spread rapidly, by conquest or taught by wandering neuters. This insured evolutionary direction toward greater intelligence, higher creativity and further technological progress.
The Andorian word for art derives from the ancient words for family amusement and ancestor glorification and it is not surprising that Andorian arts are somewhat limited in scope. The plastic arts are primarily decorative (including tapestried blankets and hangings, colorful pottery, intricate jewellery and embellished weapons and utensils), or functional (such as religious idols and icons, commemorative statues, family portraits and educational illustrations of clan histories).
Literature is limited to historical drama (popular mainly in urban areas), literary poetry (written and read primarily by wandering neuters) and song (usually folk ballads meant for the edification and amusement of clan gatherings). Andorian drama bears a strong resemblance to early Elizabethan theater of Earth in its length, complexity, structure, subject matter, language, and luridness; reviewers often complain that by the 5th act, the players are having difficulty moving about because of the numbers of bodies littering the stage. Literary poetry, although comparatively free and innovative in form, tends to confine its subject matter to mood pieces, usually love songs. Sung poetry is primarily of the sing along ballad variety. As an example:
"We smote them on the helmet,
And we smote them on the thigh.
We smote them here, we smote them there,
And laughed to watch them die.
Sing: waily, waily, and the gentle rain falls.
We lifted half their livestock,
And their pickled meat and beer,
And we ate and drank and sang about it
For nearly half a year.
Sing: waily, waily, and the gentle rain falls."
A crucial part of Andorian tradition since Antiquity is the ushaan, a code of honor demanding a duel by someone for personal vengeance or honor retribution. However, there are over 12,000 amendments to the rules; among them a right of substitution, allowing each combatant to put up a replacement for themselves. Furthermore, each married combatant could postpone a duel indefinitely if there were no children to continue his claim. Additionally, the fight is called off if one combatant is disabled so that he can not continue the duel to it's pre-ordained conclusion (first blood, submission, death etc).
Part 1
ANDORIA
GEOPHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
PLANETARY SYSTEM:
F5V-IV Binary star system (Procyon A (Alpha Canis Minoris) white main sequence giant 30 times larger an 1000 hotter (6000k) than Sol, and Procyon B blue companion (10,000k)) at 11 light-years in a roughly coreward direction from Sol and 6 light-years from Vulcan.
There is a controversy regarding the point of origin of Andorians, since many of them refered to Epsilon Indi IV and VIII as their ''Homeworld''. In fact, those were very early colonies stated as birthplace and mistaken as the race's point of origin. Like Humans, Andorians tend to name new places in relation to their old ones (ie. Terra Nova for Terrans).
This confusion, and the peculiar biology of Andorians, have made some to speculate that they may origin from even farther, outside of what is actually known as Andorian space altogether.
PLANET:
Andoria (called Fesoan in native language)
Class M moon 56,500km of circumference, orbiting with two other moons the ringed gas giant Procyon VIII called Andor. The ecosystem is arctic and subarctic, mostly covered with ice all year round. Summer temperature averages minus 28C and only the rare and short heat wave will bring temperature above freezing.
Seismic instabilities and cold weather make the few highly salted liquid water seas on Andoria so treacherous that most Andorian religions conceive of watery hells (Andorians are definitely not fond of swimming).They are nevertheless teaming with sea life and therefore a rich source of food, industrial energy and scientific study, but obviously not considered for recreation.
Geothermal activity provided the necessary heat for the development of indigenous lifeforms. If it were not for heavy background radiation and what would otherwise be considered unstable volcanic tectonics, Andoria would have been unable to sustain all but the most rudimentary life, and so the life that has developed there is hardy.
Geothermal activity as the main source of heat and energy also made civilization develop as much underground as on the surface; cities are located in deep caverns and connected with thousands of kilometers of tunnels.
Despite it's apparent inhospitably, Andoria has a thriving tourist industry. Places of notes:
Capital City: Laibok, the largest underground city.
The Andorian Art Academy said to be the greatest, most prestigious and sought after by art collectors within the whole Federation
The Wall of Heroes:a monument to fallen warriors. Andorians consider a sacred duty to bring there part of a deceased Andorian who died away from the homeworld. Remains of Jonathan Archer, captain of the first starship Enterprise who brought about alliance between Andoria and Earth leading to the birth of the Federation, can be found there, the first and only non-Andorian honored in this place of honor.
Therin Park is a remarkable collection of plant and animal life
The Reserve: an off-limit area where the Codices state all Life on Andoria began. Local radiation nullifies scanners and only traditional archaeological research is possible... but rarely allowed.
The great Wash: a valley prone to spectacular flash floods near the Butte Temple
The view of the giant planet Andor is also a sight to amaze even seasoned spacefarers.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
APPEARANCE:
Relatively tall, slim humanoids, averaging between 1.7 and 2.1 meters, with a pair of antennaes protruding from their earless skull. Their shape and position and skin tone defines of which of the subspecies the individual belongs to:
Thallassan - Darker, with knobby antennae from the rear parietal lobes. The most numerous of all the sub-species (60%), mostly coastal dwellers and fond of technology.
Thalish - Grayer with flimsy antennae from the front parietal lobes. Less populous.
Bishee - Lighter with small straight antennae from the frontal lobes. Also fairly common (30%) but living inland and still semi-nomadic and more tradition-bound.
Aenar - White-skinned with small flimsy antennae from the frontal lobes. An offshoot of the Bishee. Considered a myth until the 22nd century when a small colony was found surviving at the poles. Born peculiarly blind (their eyes move around and they can ''perceive'' colors) and powerfully telepathic, they are profondly pacifist, and so secretive that even most Andorians never see them in the flesh.
Andorian cellular physiology is based as much on cobalt as iron, giving them a skin tone ranging from cerulean to a blushing purple, their hair white, ranging from silvery to platinum. They blush purple when embarrassed. A protenous dye (HZB-41) comparable to melanin in Humans, is responsible for their spectacular coloration.
The dye-cells have a comparatively short life span and must be produced constantly from protein sources in the diet. One of the most common symptoms of serious illness is insufficient dye production and a corresponding loss of skin colour. In the folklore, ghosts and walking-dead and other supernatural visitants are always described as "ghastly pale". This perhaps explains one of the early difficulties in contact between the Andorian Empire and humans. Possibly the unfortunate reaction to the appearance of the first contact team can be explained by an excerpt from the ancient ballad, 'The Ghost Brother':
"His face in the light was as pale as his hair,
And Rashilla fell weeping in dread and despair.
'Put back the helmet and leave,' she said,
'For now I know that thou surely are dead!'
Sing: waily, waily, and the long grasses grow."
ANDORIAN PHYSIOLOGY:
The Andorians are Ghelnoid, which is a unique blend of mammalian (endothermal, inner skeleton, viviparous) and insectoid biology (chitin, antennae and osmosis circulatory system). Andorians are the only known sentient race in that unique category apparently exclusive to Andoria. The average Andorian body temperature is about 29º C, a consequence of their evolution in their incredibly harsh arctic-like planetary environment.
The heavy cobalt base to an Andorian's blood and tissue make them most compatible, on a cellular level, with Bolians, whereas both race's blood would be incompatible with a Vulcan's, for instance, and require great effort to make it compatible with Humans.
The race has a genetic disposition towards violent behavior. Imminent danger causes a biochemical reaction resulting in a increase in physical and emotional responses and in sensory input levels, which in turn enhance analytical and reasoning skills. Andorians do not succumb easily to pressure and actually get calmer in a crisis... until they become violent.
Despite their misleadingly fragile appearance, Andorians are almost as strong as Vulcans, able to lift at least twice their own body weight because of their denser bone and muscle tissue. Thus in the famous ballad 'Baron Hathiye' it is not to be taken purely as fable that the hero...
"... stood upon his ramparts, defying one and all,
And then picked up his treacherous steed and threw it over the wall.
Sing: waily, waily, and the silver leaves are tossing."
They are also at least as tough as Klingons. They have a higher cartilage-to-bone ratio in their skeletal structure, and a chitin-like cartilage-bone fusion; internal ridges of this quasi-chitin also compartmentalize organs from gross physical trauma. All of these make them more resistant to pain, injury, and soreness. Andorians take impact differently, and their more efficient circulatory system means they rarely get sore or stiff from over-exertion and never suffer numbness from a cramped posture; they do not experience discomfort from high humidity nor suffer frostbite or hypothermia in cold weather.
They in fact resist with ease extremes of coldness that could kill other humanoids outright. They also require sleep only for 3-4 hours over the 32 hours of the Andorian day. Neither diurnal nor nocturnal, they function equally well at any moment of the day.
Born ambidextrous, they are also natural marksmen because of their superior depth perception coming from their most unique and spectacular feature:the antennae. Their reaction time and speed is slightly above human norm due to their higher metabolism.
They do not have an efficient cooling system since their environment never required them to face heat (when they do sweat, they give out a fruity scent). Because they also have a higher metabolism than humans they are very susceptible to high temperatures. An Andorian could lose 10% of its body weight in as little as 2 days in climates near the boiling point of water.
Their diffuse circulatory system is extremely vulnerable to toxins. Entire cottage industries exist in some Orion Syndicate-controlled systems brewing poisons and drugs that work best on Andorians. Andorians require intramuscular injections (hyposprays do not penetrate their chitin) but injected medicines will also work quickly through their natural osmosis.
Andorians are more prone to shock than humans, even from minor injuries, and are more easily exhausted due to their higher metabolic rate. They can get infected, sometimes mortally if not properly treated, by phaser or disruptor damage.
Because their bones have the tensile properties of cartilage, they break messily (although it requires about 3 times the force necessary to break human bones); any injury which breaks an Andorian's bones will require a great deal of healing time, and cause severe pain.
The average lifespan of the Andorian of any gender is 160 Terran years and they do not seem to suffer any of the physical debilitating effects associated with age; however, until recently, an old Andorian was somewhat rare to behold, given their violent way of life and utter lack of self-preservating fear when exposed to danger. modern life and exposure to alien ways have softened enough their lifestyle to allow for less abrupt death than in their past.
Andorians regard themselves as a passionate, aggressive, even violent race. However, their character is much more complex. At first glance, they appear intelligent, even intellectual humanoids, deadpan and emotionless, very calm, rational and logical like the Vulcans. But in truth, their emotions can emerge with intense psychological and physical reactions.
Although none of the Andorian sexes is truly male or female as humans define them, they do accept male or female pronouns to ease interactions with the various two-sex species that dominate the universe, and to avoid unwelcomed questions about their biology, wich they do not discuss with offworlders.
Andorian history is one of conflict, though they do not battle without reason. The martial spirit is still very much alive in Andorian culture. Andorians are extremely disciplined, possessing a strong sense of duty and personal honor, and so they make excellent military officers.
Though they are stoic and largely unsentimental, they do respect, even revere, family ties. Andorians have little nudity taboos. Non-Andorian visitors will see much blue skin. Although not known for their charity and have few sympathies, they place their highest value on family.
Andorians are fond of technology, but insist on its use with respect for nature. For this reason, even their early wars of conquest were fought with a regard for planetary environment, and so the Andorians avoided much of the ecological devastation suffered by Terrans and many other cultures. Weapons of mass destruction were unknown and the very idea is still considered most barbaric.
They are hard-working and serious, often incorrectly viewed as humorless and irritable. Andorians have a complex set of propositional "grammars'' to express humor; thus they do not tend to find human humor amusing, nor do non-Andorians tend to "get'' theirs. The harsh history of early Andorian civilization left a strong taboo against frivolity or wasted effort and so they feel uncomfortable when invited to purely recreational activities. Their curt refusals often make them seem prudish or unsociable, while in fact they simply have a strong cultural pragmatism.
Andorians are also reluctant to enter strong personal relationships outside their bondmates, another left over trait from their troubled past. This lack of a social skill reinforces the sense of isolation and distance that others perceive between them and other races.
THE ANTENNAES:
The Andorian antennaes are unique organs literally functioning as a living multisensor array.
They act as an added pair of eyes (giving them quadriscopic vision, thus higher depth perception). The Andorian retina is composed entirely of intensity sensitive rods and is incapable of discerning color. Color comes through the antennae which feature a complex matrix of light-sensitive cones covering the spectrum of color visible to Terran eyes, even beyond, into limited infrared wavelengths.
they serve also as unidirectional ears effective from infrasonic to ultrasonic ranges.
They can additionally perceive variations of temperature and pressure, display definite aural sensitivity and provide a prodigious sense of smell.
All of this make them able to detect even shrouded Jem'Hadars. Some Andorians can also recognize familiar footfalls and heartbeats close-up, but this is a skill which takes as much practice as it takes for a human recognizing a friend by his after-shave.
The antennae also convey much more emotions than their few, rigid facial muscles:
curving forward: polite attention or interest
rigid and quivering: excitement or fear
drooping: weariness or depression
wringing and lashing: confused or upset
slow writhing; sexual arousal
wobbling wildly: intoxication or disorientation
flattened: rage
facing each other: shrug (slightly) or amusement (almost touching)
Andorians ''kiss'' by touching antennaes; when mating, a telepathic link is achieved and a deep bonding ensues, deeper than that of Vulcan mates. Not only can they sense each other over immeasurable distances afterwards, but the death of one causes such a shock that most Andorians do not survive the death of a spouse.
Because of their importance, Andorian psychology is deeply related to it. Offering antenna jewelry is a gift of deep friendship, if not courtship. The Andorian version of the wedding ring is worn on the left antenna rather than on a finger.
On the other hand, fear of damaging one is deeper than fear of castration to human males; loosing one equates blindness, deafness, muteness, castration and disfigurement all at once and many do not choose to live with it, even knowing it will regenerate within 9 months (half that time with proper treatment of cranial massages and electro stimulation).
Meanwhile the wounded Andorian will be handicaped (no color vision, reduced depth perception, deafness,loss of taste and smell and 48 hours loss of balance). Any hit will cause intense pain to an Andorian. Touching one uninvited is inexcusable rudeness, and threat or attack against it is legal ground for assault and murder... as occasional, unfortunate incidents have shown. For example, in the famous tapestry 'The Assault on Yodina', one notes that Yodina is actually leaning toward the captor who has imprisoned her arms and away from the villainous baron who has clutched her left antenna. To the student of Andorian culture, it comes as no surprise that Yodina's relatives later tore the wicked baron into several pieces and fed the fragments to their hunting beasts before a cheering crowd.
Their relative rigidness make Andorians almost deaf and unable to catch an odor from behind. From there stems their deep aversion to duplicity and treachery; attacking from behind is the foulest form of dishonor and cowardice to them. Thus, they do not respect much cloaking-using cultures like Klingons and Romulans.
MATING:
Andorians are able to reproduce only for 5 years after puberty; they are unique for having completely retractable sexual organs and 4 sexes; the males Chan and Thaan each have ¼ of the chromosomes; the female Shen has 1/2 of the chromosomes and a transfering organ for the female Zhen who carries the pregnancy within a marsupial like pouch with four teats inside it to nurture the embryo. Twins, triplets and quadruplets were more common in ancient times.
Females are generally taller than males and sexually much more aggressive. All subspecies are sexually and genetically totally compatible between themselves but, understandably, not at all with other humanoids... unless drastic and complex genetic manipulation would be involved.
Andorians choose their beloved forming a 'quad'. Andorian marriage bonds are stronger than just about anything. To an Andorian, the remaining three adults of the quad are life mates, even more important than children born to the quad. An Andorian forced to choose his spouses over his children in a medical emergency, or forced to duel his own father to defend the honor of his wife, will do so with little hesitation.
However, they will do their best to make as many children as possible during their fertility period and go to extremes to protect and nurture them.
Because of this peculiar mode of reproduction, the Andorian species is decreasing in number with each generation. Today the danger of extinction is very real.
Recently, it was discovered that secret genetic resequencing research has been ongoing, unsanctioned by the government, that would reduce the 4-gender species to just 2, thus hopefully making the species viable. There is also a philosophical and political movement supporting this that has found a voice within the government despite the outrage voiced by the traditionalist segment of Andorian society, calling blasphemy this monstrous altering of what is considered the very essence of Andorian life and culture.
SPECIFIC DETAILS OF REPRODUCTION
Before the advent of modern medicine and especially genetic science, it was difficult, if not impossible, to determine the sex of an Andorian child at birth, with the result that for millenias, children were raised without different treatment accorded by gender. This is one reason why Andorian society is, even today, completely ambiarchal. The child's genital organs remain dormant until first puberty, which starts at the approximate age of 12 and is completed by the age of 15, when s/he begins the neuter phase of adulthood. At this time, the sex of the individual first becomes apparent. The male possesses a retractable penis AND subcutaneous testes; the Shen female possesses a uterus and vagina while the Zhen has a retractable ovipositor, a ventral pouch, and four breasts - flat and dormant in the neuter phase and arranged in pairs.
Since the sexual activity of neuters does not result in pregnancy, it is given little social importance and is described by the word "play" or "amusement". Neuters are allowed, if not encouraged, to experiment sexually in any way that interests them and are restricted by no taboos whatever. A neuter may "play" with its brothers, sisters, other relatives, friends, enemies, strangers and livestock; nobody cares, unless the activity results in physical injury, which is then treated as a simple case of assault. Although passionate, emotional involvement can form between playing neuters - and are celebrated in story and song - they are not considered in the same category with attachment to one's true mate. The resulting sexual liberality of neuters often puzzles outsiders and has led to some unfortunate misunderstandings, as related in Khardillye's modern poem, 'The Flat-Antennaed ("eared") Stranger':
"Incomprehensible playmate, last night's friend,
Why art thou displeased by daylight, tell?
Have we not played happily all night long?
Enjoying every protrusion and orifice well?
Why, then, this post-sleep change?
Why this attempt to press guinea-pig coins in my hand?
Why your suggestion I hide when the landlady knocked?
Why this insistence on leaving by separate doors?
I believe I detect in your manner a note of contempt.
Ignoring my backswept antennae, you press me too far.
Indeed, we shall exit by separate doorways! - Be off!
Or I'll rip out your windpipe and throw you straight out of this window!"
Second puberty occurs when a neuter forms a serious emotional attachment to neuters of the opposite sex and their normal empathic connection deepens into a full telepathic bond. Because of the need to find, not one partner but three, the process becomes incredibly complex, difficult and time consuming in practice - something that explains a great deal about their dwindling population. This process, known as formal courtship, also lasts several months, often a year and more. During this courtship, the telepathic bonding, by a method the Andorians are reluctant to reveal, causes physiological changes that bring on full fertility: ovulation of the Shen, development of the Zhen's breasts and pouch, increased size and protrusion of the Chan and Thaan testes and the production of gametes. From the time of the first symptoms of change, the quad is considered betrothed, and they may marry at any time before the final bonding. Final bonding consists of male's-penis to female's-vagina mating, from each male of the pair, then the egg transfer from the Shen's uterus to the Zhen pouch, while all are in full telepathic rapport for the first time, and results in first pregnancy.
In a "true" mating, each ''male'' successively provide a quarter of the required chromozome through standard copulation.The Thaan fully fertilize the zygote wich divides into two to eight sub-zygotes, which then grow in the Shen's womb for 3.7 standard months. Here they develop into eggs, which are approximately the size and shape of baseballs, having elastic, gold shells. At the end of this stage, the Chan fertizes the eggs to make them mature and break open to free the fetuses. The fetuses first digest the egg shells through osmosis in about 0.7 months, and then Sh'en deposits the fetuses, through her ovipositor, in the pouch of the Zhen. The fetuses remains there for an additional 3.6 months, absorbing fluid through the teats in the pouch and increasing embryo growth under the slightly higher body temperature in the pouch. They obtain nourishment during this period by means of two hollow, bony protrusions (called pouch-fangs) located in their double navels, with which they pierce a large blood vessel running vertically through the posterior wall of the pouch, thus plugging their circulatory systems into the mother's.
It is not uncommon for Zhen in pouch-pregnancy to have voracious appetites, and doubly so if they are also nursing still another litter at the same time. For this reason, the Andorian fertility goddess is often described as The Great Devourer, or The Inspiration of Livestock Raids. Understandably she is usually depicted as the wife of the war god.
In the interests of keeping the quad together, the mating bond causes physical changes in the nervous system so that bonded individuals cease to have sexual interest in any save their mates, and literally cannot perform a fertile mating with anyone else. "Adultery" is an unknown concept among Andorians. "Illegitimacy" is barely possible (not counting the purely social disgrace of failing to undergo the formal marriage ceremony before the final bonding) and is extremely difficult. It consists of a female obtaining an egg which is not hers and introducing it into her paired Zhen's pouch, or a Zhen stealing a fetus, or yet a Chan or a Thaan substituting himself as one of the two genitors. This is considered a horrid disgrace and the usual punishment is death for all members of the quad - the '' females'' for having deceived their mate and the ''males'' for having been so thoroughly deceived (which implies unbearable stupidity and imperfection of the telepathic bond). Thus, when the deception is discovered in the ballad 'The Tragedy of Rok, Hail, Shey and Arn':
"...'Wives, thou hast caused us to bear a bastard!'
Barons Shey, Arn, he cried.
We'll not endure such vile disgrace;
Better we first had died!'
Sing: waily, waily, and the gentle breezes blow.
They speared the wives through their false hearts,
And pinned them against the wall.
Then they drew out their good long-sword,
And on it they did fall.
Sing: waily, waily, all down by the River Rhoe."
There is no divorce among Andorians; the marriage bond lasts for life, and the death of one partner usually causes death of all the others. This is especially true if the death of one partner occurs by violence; the resulting telepathic shock causes sudden and severe stress to the heart, often resulting in fatal coronary occlusion. A widowed Andorian who survives the initial shock is still prey to psychic disorientation, endocrine imbalance and savage psychological depression; these are often sufficient to cause a widowed partner to "lay doon and dee" in a fashion familiar to any observer of telepathic and semi-telepathic races. A widowed Andorian who does survive the breaking of the bond reverts to neuter phase and never becomes fertile again. There are so many well known ballads about this subject that it would be pointless to quote from them, and it is not surprising: that sentimental human ballads about lovers dying of a "broken heart" are quite popular on Andoria.
CULTURAL EFFECT OF THE REPRODUCTION MECHANISM
Because bonding and "true" mating causes such changes in the individual's physiology and lifestyle (and, subsequently, in the personality), it is surrounded by a constellation of important social customs. Bonded quads, being necessarily concerned with feeding their offsprings, tend to be sedentary and conservative - and concerned also with trade, war or other means of acquiring land and livestock. Neuters, having no fierce biological commitment to other individuals, tend to be nomadic and innovative, concerned more with artistic or abstract studies. Bonded Andorians also dress and speak in different modes than neuters, are more formal in public and have a different role in religious practices. For example, only neuters worship Hyuhef, Inspirer of Playmates, and only bonded ones take part in the rites of the fertility-goddess.
These differences, plus the above-mentioned variation in sexual behavior, are doubtless the causes of the first contact-team's disastrous misassumption that neuters and bonded ones were two different classes, or races, with neuters socially subordinated to the land-owning bonded ones. One result of this unfortunate mistake was the discovery that bonded Andorians tend to be much fiercer in battle than neuters.
So great are the social and psychological changes brought about by sexual bonding that neuters usually regard the bonded state with mixed fear and fascination. A common feature of Andorian psychology is the bonding dream, usually described as a nightmare, in which a neuter dreams of the expected change in terms of a supernatural visitant whose touch transforms the dreamer in mind and body. The dreamer usually wakens in a state of mixed fright and extreme sexual arousal, and often counteracts this by plunging into fierce sexual activity or personal combat. Consequently, the standard colloquialism applied to a neuter observed in an agitated or belligerent state is "S/he must have dreamed of The Changer". Another result is that The Changer is an important deity in the Andorian pantheon, called The First Child of the Great Mother, whose presence is invoked by lovers who wish to marry. Thus do dreams become gods.
Some neuters, for career, personal or religious reasons (such as sworn service to Armoured Hlasha, Protector of Mercenaries), choose to remain neuters all their lives, never experience the Change and, hence, never breed. This is considered the honorable form of birth control and older neuters are highly respected for their dedication and self-discipline. Less honorable means of birth control include egg-smashing and infanticide.
Andorians who do marry promptly find themselves faced with the great physiosocial problem of parenthood. Litters of young usually numbered from two to four, although single births are more the norm nowadays. Litters of eight were not rare in ancient times. Since a bonded quad can carry two litters at once (one in the Shen's womb, one in the Zhen's pouch) while nursing a third, a healthy couple can produce up to an average of 16 children per standard year - although an Andorian's breeding life is rather short... One of the common epithets for the fertility goddess is Mother of 1000 Young - which is obviously a wish incarnated in a symbolic figure. Andorians themselves speculate that the concept of the fertility-goddess began with a famous ancestress who spawned great numbers of surviving children, passed in due course from a heroic ancestor-spirit into a tribal goddess, and later merged with similarly evolved goddesses of other tribes. Thus do memories become gods.
DIET:
Although omnivorous, they have a mostly carnivorous diet because of the high level of complex protein their high metabolism requires. Lack of it will show in a noticeable discoloration of the skin.
Andorians have unique senses of smell and taste. For example, salt is spicy to them, and macho Andorians like to eat hearty Andorian, Terran, or Klingon meat dishes sprinkled liberally with salt. Some Andorian Starfleet officers drink highly salted Margaritas or Bloody Marys once introduced to them by humans. Other favorite drinks include sweet Agranu wine, as well as the earthy/rich ales brewed by Keth Endilev, and famous to non-Andorians as 'Andorian ale'.
Some Andorian food: Saysha, a barely edible beetle delicacy served on orbital stations to offworlders, Impararay a red bat meat served with tarrid, Tarrid a common beverage, Hari a bread, Katheka a coffee, Fridd a chikoree, Srjula a tea, Talla is a common drink made from bark, Andorian tuber root is known to be served in salad or in a pie, Andorian flat root is a vegetable, Ale comes in several varieties from blue (strongest) to yellow (foamy).
Common caffeine, even from chocolate, is almost poisonous to them and alcohol is highly intoxicating due to their osmotic circulatory system.
The Andorian nervous system requires great amounts of complex protein for its maintenance and growth, protein which is not available from the few edible nuts, fruits and grains found on Andoria. Also, though most Andorian food beasts are mammals, their milk production is limited and reserved for their litters of young, so there is no Andorian dairy industry. Consequently, the Andorian diet is largely carnivorous. Andorians raise a large variety of livestock, and hunt many non-domesticable species. It is not true, as early contact teams suggested, that Andorians will eat anything that walks, flies or crawls through the grass; they do not, for instance, practice cannibalism - except in cases of extreme emergency.
Certain nuts and fruits are considered condiments, desserts or emergency rations but, for the most part, Andorians look on vegetables as livestock feed. The most important of these is fat-grass, a grain-bearing plant that grows wild in great abundance all over Andoria. It is most like a cross of terran lichen and mushroom in nature, as it is most often found near geothermal sources and even deep underground, not requiring photosynthesis to thrive. In nutritive qualities, fat-grass is analogous to high fat-content quadrotriticale; in its ubiquity, vitality, and persistence, it is analogous to crabgrass. It spreads by seed and creeper and can survive in any soil - although it grows best when fertilised by livestock droppings and the bodies of the dead. Andorians have long been aware of this, and subsequently practice burial instead of cremation. Indeed, the Andorian word for "burial" is feeding the fat-grass - and The Mother of Fat-grass, a major Andorian deity, is also called The Comforter of the Dead.
ANDORIAN LANGUAGE
Andorian language evolved from music. This gives a very melodic and mathematical quality to Andorian speech and thought, explaining much of their strange combination of deep passion and strict discipline. It is soft and somewhat eerie to other races due to the peculiar range of their earing apparatus. Some undertones are not easily perceived by other humanoids. Their ability to sense vibration and pitch is what turned music into language in the first place.
The Andorii Language (Graalek) reflects much of the highly stratified social system (clan-lodge-family-individual), so firmly entrenched in the culture of Andoria, as well as Piin'tel, Aad'hozh, Em'phur, and their other colonies. The Andorian psyche is prevalent in all aspects of the language as much as their physiological peculiarities.
Writing came about much later and now exists in 2 form of scripts: symbolic and phonetic, the symbolic one is amazingly almost virtually identical to standard musical writing but without standard partitions.
NAMING:
Today, an Andorian's name is made of a first name followed by a combination of contracted paternal names, a suffix denoting sexual identity then a combining of the contracted maternal names, then finally the clan's name (i.e. Kheren Kalel Th'Shelleryll Keth Reiji), all of it being also part of the namesong. The clan name ending is not used anymore by most since the founding of the Federation, except in Parliament sessions and traditional ceremonies like marriage. When dealing with off-worlders, only the first name is used to ease contact and avoid insulting and disgraceful mispronunciations (i.e: Captain Kheren).
Andorian names are harsh sounding, often very long affairs, literally an entire song, difficult for foreigners to master. In their full traditional form, they are as much an identification system as a poetic description of a moment of great significance to the naming parent, similar to Japanese Haiku; with offworlders, Andorians simply go by the first word in their Namesong.
Samples of Andorian names :
Keth names: Aniri, Claness, Endilev, Ghorev, Hrisvalar, Idrani, Kor, Raioth, Reiji
Thaan/Chan names: Akeen, Akoval, Igrilan, Keval, Shran, Shras, Sorjei, Thalev, Theb, Theleb.
Shen/Zhen names: Jaylas, Imaru, Lissan, Lyaas, Lyrya, Neruu, Schel, Tara, Tala, Tyvya.
WORDLIST:
Alneesh - marsh bison
Athlirith - eagle
Challorn - flower
Ecceara - traditional zhen clothing
Elta - flower tree
Eketha - hardwood tree
Eth'la - flower vine
Grayth - feline
Grelth - spider
Hybor - were-rabbit
Kelthreth - one,s own clan
Khe' - coldness
Kheth - temporary pouch that grows over and around the lower abdomen of a zhen for the final phase of Andorian gestation
Klazh - erratic moving animal
Ren - Fire
Saf - aphrodisiac
Schanchen - medicinal plant
Shax - poisonous insect
Shelthreth - marriage
Taras - tree
Thezha - non-marital sex
Vithi - vegetable
Xixu - marine nurturing plant
Zabathu - camel
Zhavey - eldest mother
Zhiassa - mother's milk
ANDORIAN SOCIETY
Much that appears bizarre and bewildering about Andorian culture - its violence, territoriality, demanding etiquette, clan-based social structure, contradictory sexual morality, oddly primitive religion and art, grim practicality and tendency toward fratricide - becomes comprehensible when one learns the nature of Andorian biology. Andorian culture appears to be shaped almost entirely by biology, and attempts to reach beyond biology meet with only partial success.
Andoria itself supports nowadays a population of 30 millions. Although there were billions in the past, they now merely number 90 millions in all of known space.
Originally a violent and warlike people, Andorians have now a surprisingly peaceful if strict, stable democratic society evolved from a clan-family system where artistic and martial values are both strongly emphasized. Although not unknown, obesity is despised because of this as a sign of laziness and weakness of both body and mind unworthy of a warrior. They do retain a strong dueling tradition and males and females shares equal rights, although motherhood is particularly revered, giving the impression of over protectiveness and nobility of the Sh'en and especially the Zhen genders, and consequently showing more males within the military.
As might be assumed on a planet where weather conditions are severe and predators abound, Andorians evolved a clan-based social structure which has not yet been discarded. Andorians live communally in of 3 basic social structures, from largest to smallest:
Kethni (singular: keth), a clan. The biggest 300 kethni form the ruling council of Andoria, and clans come and go under strict rules. A keth is ruled by an atlolla, or 'chieftain'. Kethni do interrelate and intermarry. Andorian culture is based on the Clan. A Clan today is about 60 to 100 families banding together to pool resources and abilities. It tends now to grow around single lines of endeavor or related centers than just blood ties and location as in the past.
'Lodge', or temporary-but-stable community living amongst non-Andorian majorities. In a Starfleet's station, ship, colony, or outpost, it will combine several living quarters where all Andorians live. Families sometimes do not; but it is very rare for any single adult Andorian to live outside The Lodge, a formal term with deep significance. Andorians in lodges do sleep and dine communally, even in modern ones with side chambers for private use.
'Quads', or marriage structures. Often, once the quad has created offspring, they separate to pursue their own interests.
There are 4 traditional rituals among the Andorians.
The Nutak (Birth) is a ceremony held when a new Andorian is born, there is a 4 days “welcome” ceremony. They celebrate arriving to this world. In the last day, it receives a bless from the priest. Moments after birth, the child's genetic structure is mapped to match with the most compatible mates.
The Time of Knowing is when bondmates become aware of each other for the first time during their mid-teens. They each contribute a strand of hair to each other to be intertwined into a pendant or locket called a Shapla. Then they are taught The First Truth:
“One alone cannot be Whole. What one chooses, is chosen for all, what befalls one, befalls all. Their lives are yours... My life is theirs."
The Remali'y is the Andorian “turning age” ritual. It is a 3 day ceremony to celebrate adulthood. first day is alone with a mentor (preparation); second day is alone (meditation); the third day, a formal ceremony of acceptance among the adults (consumption).
Andorians thinks highly of knowledge, culture, work and nature. They do not value recreation and sports, with exception of martial arts. The educational level in Andoria is very high; all villages have schools, and universities are in almost all cities. The high level of Andorians universities is known in all of the Federation. From age 3 to 12, it’s obligatory to attend primary school. There is a secondary school, that goes from 13 to 18, and upon graduation, university. Although only primary school is mandatory, barely 1.5% of Andorians don’t finish their university studies.
Art is another important factor in Andorian life. They cultivate their art, and value their artists. Their Academy of Arts is said to be the greatest of all the Federation and collector from all over covet their creations, from ceramics to music.
Andorian sense of community and team-effort show in their few sports and games. Andorians prefer team play to solo play; sports include kochek, a cross between hockey and jai-alai played between 3 teams wearing spiked footwear on ice, as well as team-based dueling and martial arts competitions. A warrior culture, their fencing and unarmed martial arts styles are embraced by all Andorians.
The most common Andorian blades are the chaka, an unwieldy three-bladed hand-weapon similar to the Klingon bat'leth and serving a similar honor-blade function, too heavy and awkward to carry in day-to-day use and reserved mostly for ceremonies; the hrisal, a lightly curved short-sword used most for duty functions; dueling however is done with a crescent-shaped serrated blade, the ushaan-thor which was originally an elaborated icepick used by miners for work and movement.
Andorians practice a devastating kick boxing art known as kharakom and a brutal wrestling art known as hleshvalath.
The 12000 rules of the Andorian dueling code is called the ushaan. Duels are fought traditionally on white linens over ice floors, so that blood can be seen clearly and the duel ended at the appropriate time. Starfleet regulations allow Andorian officers and enlisted to participate -death in the ushaan is legally considered suicide. The ushaan consists of the duelists, 3-5 neutral representatives of the governing body or appropriate law enforcement agency at hand, and 2 professional 'recorders'. Starfleet regulations state that the Commanding Officer of a Starfleet ship or installation is to be one of the 'judges', regardless of race and ignorance of the code; by tradition, the CO should choose at least one neutral Andorian as one of the judges as well.
Because survival was the chief activity of the clan, religion, art and education were shaped by their relevance to it. Education, particularly technological, took precedence over art, which in turn took precedence over religion. Wandering neuters transmitted information in the same order; the result was that technological change spreads quickly, artistic innovation more slowly and religious development hardly at all. Thus, Andorian culture presents the peculiar mixed spectacle of space-age technology, medieval artistic development and religious forms of the Late Stone Age.
Andorian science began with advances in animal husbandry, ecology, veterinary medicine, defensive architecture, military engineering, and weapons technology. Such advances gave their discoverers advantages over their neighbors and thus spread rapidly, by conquest or taught by wandering neuters. This insured evolutionary direction toward greater intelligence, higher creativity and further technological progress.
The Andorian word for art derives from the ancient words for family amusement and ancestor glorification and it is not surprising that Andorian arts are somewhat limited in scope. The plastic arts are primarily decorative (including tapestried blankets and hangings, colorful pottery, intricate jewellery and embellished weapons and utensils), or functional (such as religious idols and icons, commemorative statues, family portraits and educational illustrations of clan histories).
Literature is limited to historical drama (popular mainly in urban areas), literary poetry (written and read primarily by wandering neuters) and song (usually folk ballads meant for the edification and amusement of clan gatherings). Andorian drama bears a strong resemblance to early Elizabethan theater of Earth in its length, complexity, structure, subject matter, language, and luridness; reviewers often complain that by the 5th act, the players are having difficulty moving about because of the numbers of bodies littering the stage. Literary poetry, although comparatively free and innovative in form, tends to confine its subject matter to mood pieces, usually love songs. Sung poetry is primarily of the sing along ballad variety. As an example:
"We smote them on the helmet,
And we smote them on the thigh.
We smote them here, we smote them there,
And laughed to watch them die.
Sing: waily, waily, and the gentle rain falls.
We lifted half their livestock,
And their pickled meat and beer,
And we ate and drank and sang about it
For nearly half a year.
Sing: waily, waily, and the gentle rain falls."
A crucial part of Andorian tradition since Antiquity is the ushaan, a code of honor demanding a duel by someone for personal vengeance or honor retribution. However, there are over 12,000 amendments to the rules; among them a right of substitution, allowing each combatant to put up a replacement for themselves. Furthermore, each married combatant could postpone a duel indefinitely if there were no children to continue his claim. Additionally, the fight is called off if one combatant is disabled so that he can not continue the duel to it's pre-ordained conclusion (first blood, submission, death etc).