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--- skiltaire [2010/01/25 03:32] – created zobeid
+++ skiltaire [2011/06/21 04:29] (current) – [Skiltaire] hagalaz
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-Editor's Notes: Psionic ability does not currently fall within the hard sci-fi theme of Furscape. This entry is included more for historical purposes. Your mileage may vary. - Hagalaz
+//(Note: This article concerns the Skiltaire alien species as it exists in the Furscape universe.  While we do have some Skiltaire characters on the MUCK, requests for new Skiltaire characters are not being approved at this time. - Hagalaz)//
-This page needs to be edited to bring it into more conformance with Furscape's theme, and also to add some notes about Skiltaire history in recom space, particularly their colonization attempt on Planet Amazon.  -- Zobeid
 ====== Skiltaire ======
+The basic Skiltaire is a quadruped resembling a Pine Marten (Martes Martes), Stone Marten (Mustela Folna), or Sable (Mustela Sibellina) of Earth, but much larger -- averaging about a meter and a half in length, of which a little over a third is tail, and massing about 40 to 50kg. (Males are about 10% larger than females.) The skull is slightly domed, with a proportionally-larger brain and "cute" facial proportions; two long antennae sprout from the forehead above the eyes, and the "forepaws" form actual hands with three short dextrous fingers and an opposable thumb. (Skiltaire can "periscope" up into a sitting position to use their hands; in such a posture, they are about the same height as a human sitting on the same surface.) Females have four small nipples on the lower torso; males have an animal-like sheathed penis and a prominent scrotum (faired-in like a mink or otter, not hanging down) below the base of the tail.
+Belly fur is usually off-white; main fur color varies, though one or two contrasting lengthwise stripes run down the back from nose or forehead to tail-tip much like a Terry skunk; ears and paw "gloves" match the stripe color. Skiltaire fur is fine and silky, much like that of a mink or otter. All skiltaire have a characteristic musky odor, described as "like a spiced ferret." Unlike true mustelids, they are monogamous, with long-term mated pairs bearing small litters every couple of years, depending on the local seasons; "skil-kits" grow to adulthood in 5-7 years, depending on local conditions, and live about 40-50 years under civilized conditions.
-A legendary furry sci-fi species
-The basic Skiltare is a quadruped resembling a Pine Marten (Martes Martes), Stone Marten (Mustela Folna), or Sable (Mustela Sibellina) of Earth, but much larger -- averaging about a meter and a half in length, of which a little over a third is tail, and massing about 40 to 50kg. (Males are about 10% larger than females.) The skull is slightly domed, with a proportionally-larger brain and "cute" facial proportions; two long antennae sprout from the forehead above the eyes, and the "forepaws" form actual hands with three short dextrous fingers and an opposable thumb. (Skiltare can "periscope" up into a sitting position to use their hands; in such a posture, they are about the same height as a human sitting on the same surface.) Females have four small nipples ("skil tits") on the lower torso; males have an animal-like sheathed penis and a prominent scrotum (faired-in like a mink or otter, not hanging down) below the base of the tail.
-Belly fur is usually off-white; main fur color varies, though one or two contrasting lengthwise stripes run down the back from nose or forehead to tail-tip much like a Terry skunk; ears and paw "gloves" match the stripe color. Skiltare fur is fine and silky, much like that of a mink or otter. All skiltare have a characteristic musky odor, described as "like a spiced ferret." Unlike true mustelids, they are monogamous, with long-term mated pairs bearing small litters every couple of years, depending on the local seasons; "skil-kits" grow to adulthood in 5-7 years, depending on local conditions, and live about 40-50 years under civilized conditions.
 ====== Subspecies ======
+Arboreal: Land/tree dwelling, in the manner of a marten. Arboreal skiltaire have a bushy marten/skunk tail, larger ears, curlier antennae, and generally "warm" fur colors -- earth- or vegetation-tones.
-Arboreal: Land/tree dwelling, in the manner of a marten. Arboreal skiltare have a bushy marten/skunk tail, larger ears, curlier antennae, and generally "warm" fur colors -- earth- or vegetation-tones.
+Aquatic: Water/shore dwelling, in the manner of a river otter. Aquatic skiltaire have an otter-like swimming tail, smaller ears, longer/straighter antennae, and generally "cool" coloration of greys and blues.
-Aquatic: Water/shore dwelling, in the manner of a river otter. Aquatic skiltare have an otter-like swimming tail, smaller ears, longer/straighter antennae, and generally "cool" coloration of greys and blues.
 ====== Special Abilities ======
+Electrogenerative: Skiltaire are able to generate and sense electricity; under their skin is a layer of electrogenative tissue, able to create a powerful pulsed DC current. This current can be channeled through exposed skin as an electroshock weapon to stun or kill prey or deliver a defensive shock to any predator which penetrates the skin. In addition, reciprocal shocking through interlinked antennae serves as a sexual stimulant during mating, leading to the term "zapping"; the antennae have a rough, sandpaper-like surface of micro-barbels to catch and hold the other's antennae.
+Aquatic skiltaire make maximum use of this ability while swimming, projecting an electrical field through the water and sensing anomalies with their antennae; the surrounding water also transmits electric shock out ot a range of several meters, allowing maximum effectiveness as a offensive or defensive weapon. For this reason, aquatics are believed to be the ancestral form, and arboreals a later offshoot.
-Electrogenerative: Skiltare are able to generate and sense electricity; under their skin is a layer of electrogenative tissue, able to create a powerful pulsed DC current. This current can be channeled through the mouth, antennae, genitalia, and other exposed skin as an electroshock weapon to stun or kill prey or deliver a defensive shock to any predator which penetrates the skin. In addition, reciprocal shocking through interlinked antennae serves as a sexual stimulant during mating, leading to the term "zapping"; the antennae have a rough, sandpaper-like surface of micro-barbels to catch and hold the other's antennae.
-Aquatic skiltare make maximum use of this ability while swimming, projecting an electrical field through the water and sensing anomalies with their antennae; the surrounding water also transmits electric shock out ot a range of several meters, allowing maximum effectiveness as a offensive or defensive weapon. For this reason, aquatics are believed to be the ancestral form, and arboreals a later offshoot.
-Psionic: Skiltare are psionic to a low level, almost always the lower levels of telepathy (shielding, life detection, and telempathy) and rarely in addition low-end clairvoyance (basic sense) and awareness (suspended animation), all with longer range than normal. Their telepathic shield ability (called "greying out") is especially awesome, a "stealth shield" exactly matching the psionic background that allows the skiltare to "disappear without atrace". This leads xenologists to believe Skiltare originated on a world where animal psionics were common; "greying out" allowed Skiltare to hide from psionic predators, while the life-detect and telempathy serve to detect and sneak up on prey.
 ====== History ======
+//(Note: This concerns the history of the Skiltaire as related to Furscape MUCK. Anything happening outside of the context of the MUCK is considered non-canon for historical purposes. - Hagalaz.)//
-The origin and distribution of Skiltare is one of the great unsolved mysteries of the universe -- they are found "native" to a lot of worlds with compatible atmospheres and biologies, with no clue as to how they got there. No world of origin has ever been found. The going theory is they were seeded by the Ancients or another unknown forerunner race for unknown reasons.
+In 2203, a colony ship of unknown configuration arrived in Sol System.  Tensions ran high at first, but peaceful contact was eventually established.
-When first encountered on Merlino's World, Skiltare were believed to be animals, a local carnivore/pouncer on that world. They had no discernable society other than small hunting packs and/or family groups, no complex language, no technology, nothing to indicate they were more than "smart animals".
+None of the Skiltaire crew could explain where they or their ship had originated, only that they had been travelling "for a very long, long time".  Attempts to examine the ship itself revealed technology that was equivalent to but incompatible with existing recom technology, and offered no clear advantages or disadvantages compared to existing tech (an SDF engineer was quoted as saying, "It's just //different//!").
-For decades afterwards, Skiltare were hunted for their colorful pelts. Live-capture specimens were found to be very "domesticated" and were kept as pets, being very smart and friendly; their popularity grew rapidly, heading off any idea of using them in fur-farming. Before long, "tame" Skiltare had legal status as LOC's ("lower-order companions", aka "Super-pets"), legally intermediate between animals and people.
+After a period of negotation between the Skiltaire and various planetary governments, an agreemment was struck allowing the Skiltaire to establish a colony on the largely-undeveloped [[Planet Amazon]]. While the Skiltaire were generally pleased with having their own place to explore and live, the combination of predatory animals and hostile vegetation proved to be a challenge even for them, and some Skiltaire opted to emigrate to more civilized places.
-Then the Scout Service started finding Skiltare on world after world; pet Skiltare, now available for study, began to learn to talk, slowly picking up complex human language. It became more and more apparent that these "smart animals" were actually a minor intelligent race. There followed a twenty-year struggle to get them recognized as such, with the "Skiltare Alliance" (the main pro-Skiltare organization) fighting uphill first against inertia, then against the fear that once recognized, the Skiltare would demand repatriations for their former treatment. Legal infighting among pro-Skiltare activists themselves probably stretched the fight out twice as long as it would normally have taken. Finally Scout Service xenologists (with "Fanta", an aquatic female from their xeno-study lab who was the first Skiltare to become fluent in human language) weighed in with the deciding evidence and clout.
+After struggling to create a viable colony on Amazon, in 2209 the Skiltaire decided to pack everything up and move on.  They stripped all items of value and departed into deep space, searching for a planet that they considered more suitable.  However, some Skiltaire stayed behind, choosing to integrate into recom society.
-Since then, Skiltare have been a small but visible presence in interstellar society. "Urban" Skiltare (descendants of "tame" Skiltare) have adapted and adopted human society, becoming a secondary "sidekick" race; their quick adaptation and social personalities have led to speculation that "they were out there just waiting for us."
-====== Society & Demographics ======
-Wild Skiltare
-These are Skiltare as first encountered. In the wild, Skiltare form small "packs" analogous to hunter-gatherer tribes, based around small family groups of mated pairs and their kits. Larger organized groups, governments, technology, and organized warfare (other than cooperative defense against top predators or territorial skirmishes) never developed. Neither did complex language; their natural telempathy and a series of simple "call" sounds served adequately for communication.
-Urban Skiltare (formerly "tame Skiltare")
-These are Skiltare, originally descendents of pets and LOCs, who have integrated into interstellar society. Some remain voluntary LOCs, as personal companions. Skiltare have no specific culture of their own; instead, they adopt the culture they are raised in, with some exceptions and unique schticks.
-====== Origins ======
-Currently, to my knowledge, there are two main theories to how the Skiltaire have been found on several unrelated planets.
-Theory #1
-They have the ability to boost their psionic powers in conjunction with others of their kinds to boost the distance and strength of their psionic abilities. This allowing them to reach across space and influence a race on a distant planet and change the genetics of their young so they give birth to Skiltaire.
-My thoughts on this are a) there is good proof that Skiltaire can “gestalt” with one another and boost their ranges enormously… BUT don’t you think a race would be alerted to something if their females started popping out Skiltaire instead of their own young. And if this were true it would also lead to the end of that race as they stopped reproducing their own kind and produced Skiltaire. I do not believe this to be true as the Skiltaire are as pacifistic as they come, only harming something else in self defense or hunting for food.
-Theory #2
-This seems to be by far the more probable of them. There is a theory that the Skiltaire are an artificially created race of beings created by a superior “Precursor” race as communicators of some type. And that the “over-race” found them to be good and spread them out on several planets to grow naturally. Sort of the “Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket” outlook.
-My thoughts on this are a good probability. Their body structure seems to be completely unique to the environments they are found in. With their electrogenerative abilities as well as their extreme psionic abilities. They also communicate on a very basic level of images and feelings. These being a quite universal language, as it doesn’t rely on language, sight, sound, or touch. Which can vary greatly between races.
+====== Society ======
+'Urban Skiltaire': These are Skiltaire who have integrated into recom society. Skiltaire have no specific culture of their own; instead, they adopt the culture they are raised in, with some exceptions and unique schticks.
+'Wild Skiltaire': These were the Skiltaire who attempted to colonize Planet Amazon. They were formed into loose communities for self-defense and sharing of resources.  As of this date, no wild Skiltaire are believed to remain in Known Space, the last of them either having departed on their colony ship or having assimilated into recom society.
+====== Credits ======
 The Skiltaire species is © Sy of Furscape (Mark Merlino). It was introduced in Furscape by Firepaws and others with the original artist's permission, then recently Sy joined Furscape himself.