ÉSeavá

Overview

The ÉSeavá are the founding species of ÉSeavá.

Biology and Appearance

Physiology

ÉSeavá are mammalian in nature, most comparable to the Arbiters and Aetriel, but with marked visual distinctions. As their brains are, on average, 20% larger than those of Arbiters and Aetriel, they have slightly larger heads, with a more dramatic taper from the widest point of the head (just above the ears) to the jaw. They grow full heads of hair, but both sexes lack facial hair.

Physical Variations

Historically, the principle distinction of ÉSeavá races was skin color, but those differences have since been diluted to such subtle deviations that they are hardly worth mentioning. Naturally-colored ÉSeavá have a bronze skin tone which darkens around the eyes, bottoms of the feet, palms of the hands, nipples, and genitals.   Among the Outworlders, who are not selectively bred or genetically modified to nearly the extent of the Worlders, there is a greater variety of natural skin tones, but little racial distinction due to the extensive intermingling.   Beyond this, the most common post-natal gene-mods completely change the subject's skin tone to any color imaginable. Approximately 40% of native Worlders change their color by the age of twenty-five, with a further 20% changing their color by the age of thirty. Some 80% of those who change their color will do so at least twice before reverting, if they ever do. The most common color choices are moderate tones of blue, green, and red, with pink, gold, and silver being more exotic options that are popular nonetheless. Some take the practice to an extreme with high-intensity shades, but these choices are fringe, often associated with certain subcultures or movements. The use of some colors to identify with certain movements is highly controversial and has led to some shades being banned by the government or boycotted by companies that provide such modifications.

Society and Culture

Societal Structure

Historically, there were a range of social structures common for ÉSeavá across a variety of religions and cultures, but in the modern age they arrange themselves by a principle of classless meritocracy, although there is nuance to both words. On the capital world, everyone is born to the government and raised and educated in a government facility, giving them an ostensibly identical education up until adolescence, when they begin diversifying the education to the students' aptitudes and interests.   Those who manage to achieve careers in the natural, philosophical, historical, or social sciences are in what functionally operates as the upper class, not only because of higher wages but also because of the societal privilege and respect afforded the scientific fields. Few in positions of power do not boast at least one degree in these fields, and most have multiple.   Because all native Worlders are conceived in a government lab, those with "less superior" genes are sorted out from the population and given a different education. This is a controversial practice, and despite the government's argument that it only has so much raw material, not all of which meets the ideal standard, there are those who campaign for a zero-tolerance standard on genetic suitability by which only embryos who meet the standard could be made, claiming that it is unethical to create beings not given an equal start on life. Since the government defines the ethical standards, this argument gains little traction.   The Outworlds are not confined to the standards of the capital and often follow semi-traditional structures. These vary wildly across the Outworlds, with many cultural enclaves seeking to preserve what they remember of their "old ways," or creating something entirely new where they blend and interact with other cultures.

Family Structure

Historically, there were several variations on the basic family structure, which was a male and female mating for life shortly after adolescence and producing some number of children (depending on the culture and era, the average number varied from as low as one to as high as eight).   On the capital world, all sex and gender distinctions and family ties were abolished, accomplishing—among other things—the liberation of women from the strictures of childbearing. The official language lacks words for any family relationship or gender distinction, with the only words describing differences between the sexes being technical words for use in medical contexts. Many, particularly in the Outworlds, use these words to describe members of the sexes, but most Worlders consider it uncouth or even discriminatory, with some referring to those words as slurs when used outside of their intended contexts.   The Outworlds have a hodge-podge of family structures, often derived from traditional structures (as they are understood). The basic family structure in the Outworlds is the same as it was historically, with a few regional variations and many unorthodox arrangements. The most common is a monogamous male and female, but in most areas there are no laws ordaining how a family should or should not be constructed. One commonly known and accepted (but, in actuality, rare) variation is a male, a childbearing female, and a sterile female. This structure came about as a result of sterilized Worlder females immigrating to the Outworlds out of a desire for family life. These arrangements are sometimes permanent, but often last only a few years before the female Worlder returns to the capital. It is significantly more rare for male Worlders to immigrate out of a desire for family life, though many do immigrate for other reasons.

ÉSeavá in the Cluster

Due to their familiar and non-threatening appearance, the ÉSeavá as a species are widely accepted across the cluster. However, the culture of their capital is regarded with great suspicion or even outright hostility by some cultures, and this affects how ÉSeavá are received in those nations. The Khettadine and [Species 4] in particular are hostile towards the ÉSeavá for this reason.   The Khettadine view the individualism and cultural-revolutionary origins of the ÉSeavá as a threat to the Khettadine way of life, and so geopolitical relations between the ÉSeavá and Khettadine are frosty as a result, with neither side trusting the other or respecting the other's culture. The Khettadine are more receptive of the Outworlders than of the Worlders, but still regard them with great suspicion.   The J'my view the ÉSeavá's classless system and lack of family structure as a threat to their social system, particularly given the ÉSeavá's attempts to influence the societies of other star-nations. ÉSeavá are entirely banned from [Nation 4], with no division between Worlders and Outworlders and no exceptions for diplomacy, tourism, or business travel.