Kri-kik Codex

Translated from the original early Szassar-rokan invented by Kri-kik Split-Tail.

A society thrives on unity of purpose and collaboration. When we work together, we can achieve great things. When we work towards individual agendas without thought to the collective benefit, the collective as a whole suffers, which means that we as individuals also suffer.
Without a vision for who we wish to become, we will ever be stagnant as a nik-rek (archaic: people). It is the duty of all szassar to dream of a future where we can go beyond the sky and walk with the szor-rek (archaic: forge people, perhaps used as a term for creators of the world).
No member of our society should ever go hungry, nor be deprived of the resources required to strive meaningfully towards the objectives of their paj-rek (archaic: work-group) or san-rek (archaic: clan-group) to the best of their physical, mental and emotional abilities.
Violence against another szass of one's paj-rek or san-rek is unacceptable. However, the entire paj-rek or san-rek bears equal accountability for creating the situation in which violence can arise. Restitution starts with understanding how a breach of trust and values occurred within the group, and healing begins when that breach is sealed. The individuals involved in violent behaviour must also make peace with each other, or be moved to a different paj-rek or san-rek if reconciliation proves impossible.
Expertise is valued, but expertise without a broader social context is like a severed limb. As a nik-rek, we strive together not just to share outcomes, but to share knowledge, insights and wisdom. If expertise is hoarded by individuals then their paj-rek and san-rek suffer.
Every szass is deserving of respect and courtesy. We all thrive when we treat each other well. When we treat each other poorly, it leads to resentment and strife. We are a people first. To be a civilised szass is to choose to honour the best in each other, and to provide support for the areas in which our friends and neighbours struggle.
A civilised szass is not covetous, nor are they greedy. Our goal as a nik-rek is to create sufficient excess that all needs are met, yet to do so in a way that does not deplete the places we live of that which supports the wild beasts that live there. We must treat Szorik itself as part of our nik-rek, along with all of the life that it sustains.
As civilised beings, we have a duty to those who cannot participate in productive endeavours to the same degree as others. Regardless of the cause of impairment, we must all recognise that as a long-lived nik-rek, we may all at one point or another end up in a situation where we cannot put in the same amount of work as others. In caring for those who cannot labour for the nik-rek, we care for ourselves.
Each szass who can work for the good of the nik-rek should do so. However, we cannot learn and grow if we are always expected to labour in a single field of expertise. Every szass has it within themselves to be a student, a mentor, a teacher, a master in a given area. But learning takes time, and learning is a labour that provides value in its own right. This means there is no such thing as an optimised use of one's talents or knowledge. All szass must be free to broaden their knowledge to the benefit of all.
The life of every szass is important to the nik-rek. Where we can help people to survive illness and injury, we should do so. However, when a szass reaches a point where their burden of suffering is too great to bear, it is also important that they be allowed to choose the moment of their death with dignity and respect.
Suffering is an unavoidable fact of life. Yet we can seek to mitigate suffering where we can. It is the mark of a civilized szass that they respect the life of all things. Where the lives of other creatures are necessary for our own survival, we should endeavour to make their passing as quick and clean as possible. This applies not just to animals, but to plants we harvest for food and construction. Make your cuts clean, and do what you can to encourage regrowth. The sapling cut today may then yield a tree you can live in later on.
Take only what you need from nature. Excess is waste. Gluttony kills. Abundance can always dwindle. Drought, blight and famine only require so many stores on the lush world of Szorik. Consumption in the now is theft from the future.
Elders should be respected, but their wisdom should also be freely challenged when know ways of thinking emerge. To prevent the accumulation of dogmatic thinking, every san-rek and paj-rek should train an orn-pah (Archaic: freed mind). The role of an orn-pah will be to challenge orthodoxy and be a voice to other elders for the enthusiasms and innovations of the nik-rek. They should be open to all ideas, and only critical of them from objective perspectives, not hidebound by tradition. As soon as an orn-pah is appointed, they should choose a successor to begin training in the role. The person they train should be the fellow elder whose mind is most closed. In this way, the nik-rek shall always push towards progress and growth.
Innovation should always be tempered by respect for life. Progress at the cost of destruction is no progress at all. The orn-pah of the nik-rek should be mindful of this in their advocacy and critique. New ideas and ways of thinking that do no harm to people or planet should always be pushed to the fore. Ideas with a potential cost should be discarded. Instead, they should be improved and reworked to the point where they do no harm if that is possible.

The Kri-Kik Codex is a major cultural work prescribing the core precepts of Szassar social and cultural development. It is notable for its vision and forethought regarding what Szassar Culture could aspire to. The original was kept in a vacuum chamber on display in the Great Library of Zong'cor until the arrival of the Phage. Its current location remains a mystery.

Type

Manuscript, Historical

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