Iyaar
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A neutral world within Federation space, Iyaar (also spelled Iyar) is the home of a civilization which has only recently initiated contact with the UFP. Iyaarans are an advanced race with no emotions of their own who are making great efforts to understand emotional races.
Iyaar is the fifth planet of seven around a bright yellow-white dwarf Type F3 V star of the same name on the edge of Federation territory. The three inner worlds are all airless rocks: The first two are uninhabitable Class D planets, and Iyaar III is Class F. Iyaar IV is a marginally habitable Class L world which the Iyaarans have colonized. The two outer planets are both large Class J gas giants. Iyaar itself is a Class M planet which is slightly larger than Earth. Its gravity is five percent greater than standard, and its atmosphere is a breathable nitrogen-oxygen mix. Its year is 511 standard days long, and Iyaar's day is 20 hours long. Iyaar has two tiny moons, both of which have large domed bases.
Environment
Iyaar is slightly drier than Earth, with a generally warmer climate. Approximately half of Iyaar's surface is covered by ocean. There are nine continents, grouped in two clusters on opposite sides of the planet. Iyaar is very geologically active, with numerous volcanoes and frequent seismic quakes. There are few forests, but large expanses of grassland support a substantial population.
Iyaar has a population of nine billion people, spread nearly equally between numerous cities. These cities are planned with strict attention to form and function, and would make Klingon accommodations seem luxurious in comparison. Iyaaran architecture does not concern itself with aesthetics, but with utility. Practically every building is alike, identified solely by function and number (such as Chemical Research Center Four, or Dormitory 12428); workers, scientists, and administrators live in massive dormitories not far from their indistinguishable factories, research institutes, and government offices. No Iyaaran city has anything like an entertainment district. This has led some human visitors to Iyaar to compare Iyaaran cities unfavorably to those of the ancient Soviet Union on Earth. Even Vulcans find Iyaaran cities drab and oppressive.
The Iyaaran capital city is Oasuu, located in the center of the major landmass in the northern hemisphere. Oasuu has forty million inhabitants, crammed into row after row of identical towers. The Policy Council, Iyaar's ruling body, meets in a nearly indistinguishable tower known as Government One. The Federation's consulate is located in Oasuu, which the staffers there have tried desperately to brighten up.
The famous Iyaaran crystal formations cover a desert plain in the equatorial region of the eastern hemisphere. Millions of years ago a landlocked sea gradually became supersaturated with dissolved minerals, which precipitated out in amazing delicate crystals the size of trees. When a geological shift allowed the waters to drain away, the old seabed was left covered by a "forest" of startling beauty. Travelers from all over the quadrant come to see the crystal formations, but Iyaarans themselves are completely uninterested. Probably more aliens have visited the crystal formations than Iyaarans.
History
For as long as Iyaaran history records, the Iyaaran people have remained unchanged. Scholars from other worlds are often struck by how uneventful much of Iyaar's history seems. Theirs is not a story of conflict and strife, out of which arose new social and technological advancements, but one of near-linear progression. Ancient Iyaarans simply banded together into small tribal groups to maximize efficiency, and the process continued along an ever-increasing progression - tribes became cities, cities became nations, and nations unified into one planetary government - all in the name of efficiency. Because of the Iyaaran absence of aggression, Iyaar never experienced way. The few disputes arose out of mutually conflicting goals, and were solved through reasoned debate and passionless negotiation. Technological advancement, normally the byproduct of strife, proceeded from the Iyaaran drive for productivity. The invention of steam power and later combustion engines and fusion reactors, electricity, wireless communications, and eventually space travel allowed Iyaarans to achieve economies of scale and output.
The development of space travel approximately two hundred years ago provided Iyaar with new resources to exploit. Iyaarans first ventured out into their own system and explored the inner planets. Iyaar IV, a Class L planet, possessed abundant mineral wealth, which, because of its habitability, could be easily mined. Surveys of the system's outer planets revealed two gas giants, with the Iyaarans eventually establishing a gas-mining station to process deuterium in orbit around Iyaar VI. This provided Iyaar with fuel for its fusion impulse-engine reactors. One hundred fifty years later, Iyaaran scientists developed warp propulsion, utilizing dilithium crystals mined from Iyaar IV. First contact with aliens came in 2365 when an Iyaaran explorer surveyed a nearby system and found the wreckage of a crashed freighter. In the logs of the lone human survivor, the Iyaarans learned not only about the existence of other sapient life, but also about emotions - concepts with which Iyaaran civilization was unfamiliar.
The Iyaaran government established contact with the Federation in 2367, after broadcasting a subspace signal designed to be picked up by Starfleet relays, and opened formal diplomatic relations three years later. To the Iyaarans, curious about alien life, it seemed the most efficient method of making first contact. In 2370, the Federation send the U.S.S. Enterprise-D to participate in a cultural exchange program with the Iyaarans. Two Iyaarans visited the Enterprise, while Captain Jean-Luc Picard journeyed to Iyaar. The Iyaarans used the opportunity to study alien emotions, but met with only partial success. Since this initial foray into mutual understanding, contacts between the Federation and Iyaar have continued, with varying degrees of success. (TNG: "Liaisons")
Government
The Iyaaran government is managed by highly trained experts. The Institute for Administrative Selection chooses individuals to serve in government positions as soon as they emerge from their natal pods, and subjects them to a rigorous education in government methods and policy implementation. Iyaaran bureaucrats advance through competitive examination. The highest level of government is the Policy Council.
Iyaarans have no control over their government, and find the concept of democracy, of placing the fate of society in the hands of billions of individuals, confusing. They find it much more efficient to leave governmental decisions up to those trained in administration. Iyaarans obey laws because it is efficient to do so. Were the government to announce an illogical policy, the populace would simply ignore it.
Iyaarans learn their society's rules for conduct early in life and follow them without question. Because crime stems from desire or passion, both of which Iyaarans lack, there is no need for a police force. The closest equivalent to a legal system or police organization is the Investigations Bureau, which determines the facts in any dispute. Once the facts are known, the situation can be resolved logically. The Investigations Bureau can use any means necessary to determine the truth.
Contact with aliens has given Iyaarans their exposure to the concept of deliberate crime. The idea is difficult for them to understand - why would somebody take something if there was no reason to do so? If the "thief" did need the item, why would the owner refuse to give it to him? Crimes of aggression are even more baffling; Iyaarans deal with them the same way they deal with attacks by animals - by capturing and destroying the dangerous individual.
Currently, the Iyaarans face the dilemma of interacting with a universe populated by billions of aliens, most of whom experience mysterious impulses called emotions. Efforts to understand alien emotions have met with mixed success. Some Iyaarans argue that emotions remain unnecessary, and advocate a policy of strict isolation from more emotional alien species. Others contend that Iyaar must interact with alien societies, and so should understand emotions. A small minority believe they must learn to experience emotions themselves - to add meaning and purpose to their lives. Most Iyaarans consider these poor fanatics to be hopelessly insane.
Economy
So far, Iyaar has found little to export to other planets. Iyaaran bioenzymatic wafers are unlikely take galactic cuisine by storm, and Iyaar produces nothing in the way of art or entertainment. The planet possesses rich mineralogical wealth, which the Federation has expressed some interest in exporting. Iyaaran holographic technology attracts some outside interest as well, in particular the holographic disguise device; this device allows the wearer to assume the appearance of another person.
So far, however, trade negotiators have yet to convince the Iyaarans of the utility of intergalactic commerce. Similarly, few merchants have found goods of interest to the Iyaarans; Iyaar produces enough to support itself, thus the inhabitants see little need to import. Only when a product has a demonstrably greater practical value than domestically produced items will the Iyaarans agree to trade.
The fantastic beauty of the crystal formations on Iyaar have attracted a growing number of tourists, but so far the Iyaarans show little interest in promoting tourism on their world. Travelers to the planet find the accommodations leave much to be desired; Iyaaran cuisine consists solely of bioenzymatic wafers, and the lodgings are decidedly utilitarian. A small number of Vulcans have visited Iyaar to admire their entirely logical society (though many come away convinced that the complete elimination of emotions is a bad idea).
Creatures
Extremely pragmatic, Iyaarans deliberately ordered their planet's biosphere. Every aspect of the planet's ecology has been tamed and regulated. After careful examination, they exterminated all harmful species, as well as those the Iyaarans deemed "useless." This eradication was handled systemically - the Iyaarans carefully preserved DNA from every species they removed, in case they discovered a use for the creatures later on.
Iyaarans have a similar attitude toward the native fauna of their colony worlds. All animals that do not serve a critical ecological function, or present a logical benefit, are removed. When Iyaaran colonists arrive to colonize a world, they conduct a detailed investigation into the planet's ecology; once the role of every creature is understood, the Iyaarans commence with "ecological reengineering."
Reference(s)
- Cambias, James, et al. Planets of the UFP: A Guide to Federation Worlds, Last Unicorn Games, 1999. ISBN: 0671040065.