Tiburonese
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Tiburonese are hybrids of the natives of Tiburon and those of Ucal, another Class M planet in the same system. Both planets have completely interbred. They project great charm and charisma with little effort.
Personality
Tiburonese project an easy-going, sensual, hedonistic image. Tiburonese enjoy respect without formality, and honor those with open minds. However, their desires can easily become drives; a dedicated, single-minded Tiburonese is far from the contradiction in terms it might seem.
Physiology
Tiburonese are taller-than-average humanoids, ranging in color from reddish tan to pale golden. Some Tiburonese have faint stripes on the back of their heads, hands, and legs. Tiburonese havelarge elaborately flanged ears and sport a row of tiny, bony protrusions running across the head and down the neck. Many, though not all, Tiburonese of both sexes shave all body hair; others trim theirs into elaborate styles. The advanced nature of Tiburonese medicine, and the extreme comfort of Tiburonese society (combined with the side effects of massive interbreeding with the Ucali) have slowly weakened the Tiburonese genome.
History & Culture
The highly technological society of the Tiburonese is a direct outgrowth of alien conquest. The warlike, authoritarian Ucali conquered the pastoral inhabitants of the planet Tiburon in a war for resources fourteen centuries ago. The Spartan-like elites of the Ucali ruled Tiburon with cruelty, allowing the infamous butcher Zora to conduct atrocities in the name of "genetic experimentation" on the Tiburonese populace. However, the native Tiburonese cleverly subverted their captors, tempting them into pleasure, gratification, and eventual decadence. The Ucali finally underwent a total cultural meltdown; their young military cadets and elite soldiers refused to follow the orders of a corrupt regime that no longer practiced the stern asceticism it preached. During a period of anarchy, the Tiburonese population interbred with the Ucali, removing the problem and ending the caste system the Ucali had enforced.
Alari, the Tiburonese courtesan who seduced the Ucali High Suzerain in 1154, began the Grand Subversion that transformed Tiburon from an occupied planet into the source of all cultural trends in the system. Her precepts and proverbs guide many Tiburonese even now (if often ironically); one of the best-known is "He who can make love best, never needs to make war."
The neurochemist Neprin pioneered emotional cybernetics, practical robotics, and atmospheric re-ionization. His scientific principles led to the development of the orgone re-oscillator, the key device at the center of Tiburonese energetic biophysics.
Although the Tiburonese rejected science for centuries, they were forced to maintain an intricate technical infrastructure to keep their planet alive after its looting and devastation by the Ucali. The work of Neprin and others led to a culture and economy heavily dependent on robots and labor-saving devices, freeing the Tiburonese themselves to pursue only joy and pleasure. The brilliant acoustic physicist Dr. Sevrin rebelled against this insulated culture, claiming that over-reliance on technology had weakened the Tiburonese. It does seem to have suppressed their immune systems; the incurable and deadly disease synthiococcus novae infects hundreds of thousands of Tiburonese.
Fortunately, Tiburonese high technology remains well able to control any problems it may have created (Dr. Sevrin was, it turned out, insane), not least because the Tiburonese treat the satisfaction of curiosity as a crucial pleasure. The joys of scientific investigation and exploration animate Tiburonese culture. They also delight in subverting intolerant or authoritarian regimes. Ever since joining the Federation in 2229, Tiburonese representatives on the Council or in Starfleet constantly urge it to take a more active role in deposing despotic rulers. To many Tiburonese, there are self-evidently higher virtues than the non-interference doctrine of the Prime Directive.
Reference(s)
- Hite, Kenneth. Star Trek Roleplaying Game: Starfleet Operations Manual. Norfolk, VA: Decipher, 2003.