Zaldan

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Zaldan
Basic Information
Home SystemDolium
Government
LanguageZaldan


Zaldans are a humanoid species from the planet Zald. The planet Zald is the fifth in the Dolium System. Frigid temperatures and blistering winds scourge the small landmasses on the planet's surface, all of which are located near the poles. Oceans and networks of tiny islands dominate Zald's equatorial regions. Zald has no fishes, their lace in the aquatic ecosystem replaced by a stunning variety of marine mammals, gilled birds and lizards, and crustaceans. Zald's plant species, underwater and otherwise, are able to process complex sensory information, and respond to hostile stimuli by activating a wide variety of exotic defenses.

Most Zaldans live in gigantic cities mounted on platforms. The platforms are supported by enormous pylons rising out of the sea. Many cities consist of complexes of multiple platforms, the living units connected by kilometers of tubing through which high-speed train cars hurtle, propelled by electromagnetic charges.

Physiology

Zaldans look like standard humanoids, except for their webbed hands. Thanks to their aquatic forebears, Zaldans enjoy a higher lung capacity than most other species.

Psychologically, Zaldans are well suited to tasks requiring patience and determination. They can work for long periods without reward or gratification, as long as their goal remains within sight. Quite territorial, they react poorly to those they perceive as interlopers. They don't comprehend irony or sarcasm.

History

Before learning of the Zaldans, Federation sociologists believed all intelligent species engaged in social courtesies of one kind or another. These customs descend from the rituals of dominance and submission found throughout the animal kingdom. They allow groups of social animals to get along with each other without killing one another. Saying "pleased to meet you" is just an evolved version of the canine habit of bowing the head to prevent an attack by another dog.

Scholars were deeply puzzle when they first learned of the Zaldans, who take offense at the trivial courtesies that are second nature to other intelligent species. How did a species evolve without them, they wondered. The answer lay in Zaldan history: The Zaldans evolved with the impulse to customary courtesy, like all other species. However, a social revolution in response to foreign invasion motivated them to suppress this impulse long after they achieved sentience.

The Zaldans' presapient ancestors took to the seas when the planet's major equatorial continent sank into the ocean during their prehistory. Although they never developed the ability to breathe underwater, they became successful marine mammals nonetheless. Their cleverness as hunters and their ability to eat omnivorously stood them in good stead while many others species died out as massive geologic change gripped the planet. The proto-Zaldans, and later the early Zaldans themselves, lived on tiny islands, grouping into large family units.

Although they developed languages, religions, and complicated social structures, Zaldan technology remained primitive until the arrival, in the 13th century, of visitors from another world. These aliens called themselves the Kimilons. They set up bases on several remote islands before discovering the existence of the Zaldans. They did not leave when they learned the planet was inhabited; they considered it a paradise with vast potential for the exploitation of food resources. Zaldan warriors clashed with Kimilon colonists, but, vastly outgunned, were inevitably defeated. The Kimilon, after conquering the Zaldan tribesmen, tried to assuage their guilt by bringing the fruits of civilization to the indigenous people. They forced the Zaldans to learn their language, worship their gods, and follow their laws.

They taught the Zaldans how to build artificial islands, how to operate advanced sea-going vessels, and even how to defend themselves with beam weapons. The Kimilons sincerely believed they were doing good by encouraging the Zaldans to assimilate fully into their society. But the Zaldans - or at least an activist minority among them - maintained over many generations their fervent desire to expel the Kimilons from their planet.

They knew that the polite words and good intentions of their conquerors went hand in hand with a desire to eliminate everything unique about the Zaldans. A cell of freedom fighters embraced Kimilon technology but resolved to strike out as soon as they could be sure their first assault would be the only one needed.

Late in their 15th century, as political upheaval distracted the attention of the Kimilon homeworld, the Zaldan Uprising began. Led by tormented firebrand Rouil Lees, the uprising began as a sudden and violent turning of the tables. The rebels imprisoned those Kimilons who were not killed resisting the rebellion. Lees governed successfully for a few months, but was then outmaneuvered and toppled from power by traitors in his inner circle, using political tricks they'd learned during their service to the Kimilon colonial overseers.

Their charismatic leader imprisoned, they fell to arguing over the fate of the Kimilon prisoners. The most extreme demagogues among them won the argument, embarking on a campaign of genocide against the helpless prisoners. But the infighting wasn't over; the rebels broke down into factions, which grew into nations, which spent the next several centuries fighting one another.

In 1716 (on the Zald calendar, itself imposed by the Kimilons), the common people of one of these exhausted, war-torn nations embarked on a program to bring peace and world government to Zald.

Drawing on the rediscovered journals of Rouil Lees, they called themselves the Leesites. Support for the Leesites grew in other nations, even though they were often tarred as subversives by their governments. Employing protests, hunger strikes, and other techniques of passive resistance, they gained converts by the millions and brought about the collapse of the old, corrupt governments.

Through a policy they called "radical honesty" the Leesite government prevented itself from lapsing into the infighting and hypocrisy that had followed the Zaldan Uprising. By the end of the 18th century, Leesite thought was an everyday part of the culture. It determined how people related to one another in their private lives and how they worked.

It took a long time for the Zaldans to overcome their distrust of space exploration. Many expected to find a galaxy colonized by their old paternalistic rulers, the Kimilon. In 2290, the first warp ship, the Lees, took off from the platform city of Illan, where it was detected by a Centauran freighter en route to the Tellarite system. Starfleet had already surveyed Zald from afar but had left it alone, in accordance with the Prime Directive subclause that forbids contact with prewarp civilizations.

The establishment of diplomatic relations with the courtesy-hating Zaldans was difficult at first, but over time the two groups came to understand one another. Since joining the ranks of spacefaring races, the Zaldans have kept an eye open for the invaders who gave them technology and disrupted their culture. So far, they've found no sign of them.

Culture

Rouil Lees hated the phony diplomatic language and false courtesies of the Kimilons and their Zaldan imitators. In his journals, he argued that the Zaldans immunize themselves from moral corruption by adopting only radical honesty.

So where a human diplomat might say, "I am honored to meet you," as part of an exchange of preliminary pleasantries with a negotiating partner from a hostile group, Zaldan morality admits no possibility other than a full and frank disclosure of feelings: "I do not think I will ever like you, or forgive your people what they have done. But this is of no importance to our meeting." White lies to prevent hurt feelings are just as wrong. You don't say "you're looking good today" to someone who's been ill and is worried about his appearance. You say, "you look half-dead." The Zaldan doesn't go out of his way to be insulting; he only says "I am nauseated by this food you have cooked me" if he really is sickened by it. But if he is, he must be forthright in saying so, or he dishonors himself, his family, and the memory of all of the freedom fighters who died so that Zaldans might be free.

Samton, Zaldan Ambassador to the Federation Council, recently caused a diplomatic incident with the Evora, when he greeted Regent Cuzar by saying "you are short, making dancing most unfeasible." Needless to say, the Evora, new to the Federation and unfamiliar with Zaldan ways, took offense. Since then, relations between the two governments have been cool, despite the best "behind the scenes" efforts to heal the rift.

Radical honesty has been a central part of Zaldan culture for about five hundred years, so Zaldans are well used to it. Their feelings don't get hurt if you tell them they look like death, sickened you with their cooking, or emit an overwhelming body odor. Instead, they get offended at any statement which even hints at empty pleasantry, let alone outright dishonesty.

Zaldans live in large family groups. In most cities, these family groups "marry" other families, merging into one communal household. Some households include three or four extended families. Families may "divorce" their households, moving to their own separate quarters or marrying into yet another large household.

Zaldan leisure activities revolve around the sea. They love to swim, to play with dog-sized, dolphin-like pets called zamrol, and to explore old underwater wrecks. Most Zaldans compete in the amorta, a grueling underwater marathon, at least once in their lives.

Reference(s)

  • Isaacs, Ross A., et al. Star Trek: The Next Generation RPG Players Guide, Culver City, CA: Last Unicorn Games, 1999.