Chantar

Summary
The chantar are a heavily genetically engineered race from the planet Eo in the Orion Spur. The chantar are incredibly physically diverse, due to their engineered nature, but can be grouped physically according to their castes. Chantar society is complicated and has elements in comment with oligarchies, meritocracies, and theocracies. It stands, however, as a constant reminder that the Coalition worries more about stability and military readiness than it does about democratic norms.

The chantar are specialized in their castes but are not uniform within them. The Roq- a caste consisting of warriors, law enforcement officers, and some athletes- has a similar level of physical variety to humans, but they all have comparatively better physical senses (besides taste) and strength to their fellow chantar. The Ciril, who function as the chantar’s elite, are taller and have improved mental capacities, but their skin pigment and hair color can all vary greatly within a certain range. Chantar are further subdivided by traits granted to them in anticipation of their future specialties: enhanced gravity tolerance or resistance to pressure changes is common. The Reproductive Council will also make changes based on generational differences. For instance, many chantar in past generations had been engineered to have greater tolerance of cybernetic modifications. These days, however, these traits are increasingly minimized due to concerns about conflict with the Denazra.

Finally, the chantarian military is considered to be exceptional. With the exception of the tlecians, who do not engage in front-line combat, the chantarian space fleet is the most advanced in the Coalition. What’s more, while they do not have the raw number of soldiers that other species boast, the Roq Marines are considered to be some of the finest soldiers in the galaxy and have exceptionally low casualty rates in combat due to their resistances to injury, infections, and many biological weapons. The chantar also provide exceptional medical care and, during armed conflicts, freely assist their Coalition allies as best they can. If anything, the chantarians treat their allies with pity; it is not their fault that they possess inferior genes. The chantarians bear the other organics in the galaxy no ill-will, although few would acknowledge any doubt that their species will eventually takes its rightful place at the pinnacle of evolution everywhere.

Biology
The chantar are mammalian but live under a mandatory and extensive program of genetic engineering. Castes are inherited biologically, although the chantar do not have a family structure like that seen amongst many other species. All chantar are unable to reproduce sexually. Instead, chantar reproduce through the use of uterine replicators. The Reproductive Council reviews individual chantar for productivity, lack of genetic defects, and the possession of valuable traits. Those who pass muster are entered into the chantarian genetic libraries. A valuable individual can be used repeatedly to sire new children, but the Council prefers to introduce new blood whenever possible. In very rare cases, an exceptional individual can have their genetic material sent to a different caste. This is the only way to change caste in chantar society. The genetic material of various individuals is then mixed and combined, usually according to the eugenic plans of the Council. The new zygotes are implanted into uterine replicators, incredible machines that simulate the conditions inside a uterus, and then cultivated up until their eventual birth.

Each chantar caste is widely varied in its physical traits. In addition, these traits can change markedly depending on the decisions made by the Reproductive Council when planning a new generation. As such, these descriptions are generalizations. In addition, there are many castes and sub-castes on Eo and the chantar colony worlds; this list is not comprehensive.

The Ciril
The Ciril are the tallest of the chantar (adult males and females both typically reach approximately 1.75 meters) and the smallest segment of the population. Despite their height, Ciril are usually thin, rarely weighing more than 80 kg. They are bipedal, hairless, and have blue-tinged skin. Their heads are noticeably large, sweeping back from a low forehead and two large eyes to a bone carapace that surrounds a large brain that extends horizontally backwards from their face. In order to accommodate this extra weight, the Ciril have thick neck muscles. Their eyesight, while not as keen as the Roq, is still excellent and they have superb color vision. They have long fingers and excellent fine motor control.

The key advantage of the Ciril, however, lies in their mental abilities. The Ciril have excellent memory recall, approaching eidetic levels. Ciril learn notoriously quickly and often have a penchant for mathematics and the sciences. They are almost universally ambidextrous and talented parallel processers, meaning that they can multitask with amazing efficiency. Their spatial awareness is also excellent. The Ciril are typically skilled scientists, artists, and strategists.

The Ciril have a somewhat higher than average metabolism and usually live approximately sixty years at most. Thanks to clever manipulation of hormones, they usually exhibit an almost parental concern for their friends. Combined with the extensive training they receive in the chantar nurseries, the Ciril are often protective and considerate towards their fellows and frequently lavish great care and concern on members of other castes.

The Roq
The Roq are stocky, with a strong skeletal structure and broad torsos and thighs. While not every Roq is athletic, their bodily structure can easily support dense muscle mass and they are predisposed to its growth. They are rarely taller than 1.5 meters, but have broad shoulders and long arms, giving them an average arm span of almost 2 meters. They are usually bulky, weighing in between 75-100kg. In addition to their strong fingers, the Roq have prehensile toes that allow them to firmly grip surfaces with their feet, hang upside down, and navigate low gravity environments. The Roq typically have brown or ash colored skin, although this can vary widely depending on their design. Typically, a Roq citizen will have bone and cartilage protrusions across their body that allows them to interface easily with chantar military equipment. These adaptations range from retractable spikes that allow them to anchor themselves on different surfaces to protrusions on the arms that are useful for balancing the standard issue rifle used in the armed forces.

The Roq have a leathery skin that provides them with some natural protection, although they mostly rely on the standard issue powered armor employed by chantar soldiers. In addition, their major organs are located in areas of heavy bone and muscle concentration and they have redundant systems that allow them to survive even extensive internal damage. These secondary organs are usually weaker than the primary, but they function well enough to allow a Roq to survive until medical help is available.

With the exception of taste, which is very dull, the Roq have superior senses to most other chantar. Roq hearing and their sense of smell is better than other chantar but is only average when compared to other Coalition species. Roq eyesight, however, is generally considered to be remarkable. The pigments in Roq eyes are such that they have a hard time distinguishing nuanced shades of color. Their eyes are, however, further apart and have a wider field of vision (typically 200 degrees total from both eyes) than other chantar. They can most easily detect movement, but are also able to focus in telescopically on objects. This gives them phenomenal eyesight when looking directly at something but leaves their peripheral vision lacking. To make up for this, Roq habitually swivel their heads back and forth so that they can efficiently scan their surroundings. On average, a Roq has 20/8 vision and they produce some of the finest sharpshooters in the galaxy.

The Roq are generally kinesthetic learners, struggling with theoretical work but easily processing any task that requires them to physically manipulate an object. In addition, their sense of personal body position and movement is usually excellent. The Roq are also capable of a sort of hibernation, provided they have received the proper training, and can slow down important bodily systems while entering into a meditative trance. In effect, they are exceptionally patient and can lie dormant for long periods of time. Their metabolism, as part of this process, can vary widely, allowing them to become more energetic and consume more calories when necessary and conserve their resources if the circumstances call for it.

The Roq typically end up in more physically arduous professions, but if a Roq citizen successfully retires (an event usually celebrated with great fanfare in chantar society) they can survive to almost seventy years old. The average, of course, is rather lower.

The Burk
The working chantar working class rarely breaks 1.25 meters in height or 70kg. They are not as skinny as the Ciril nor as bulky as the Roq, but they are extremely resilient. They have a robust metabolism and a powerful endorphin and adrenaline reward system. Most of their physical senses are average, but their sense of taste and smell are exemplary. The Burk love food, crave fun, and rarely get hangovers. Socially, Burk are generally agreeable and have a suppressed fight or flight instinct. Burk are usually trusting, optimistic, and capable of filtering out external disruptions to focus diligently on whatever task they are working on.

The Burk are bipedal and are the most human-like of the chantar. Burk are lanky and, barring the elderly or those with extremely rare medical conditions, very flexible. They have yellow tinged skin, although it can vary widely depending on their genetic predisposition and living conditions. Their eyes are closer together than those of a Roq and they lack that caste’s extremely proficient eyesight. Their hands are similar in design to the Roq, but they lack the prehensile feet (with the exception of some Burk with enhanced spatial awareness specifically intended for zero gravity work).

The Burk are the largest caste within chantar society and they can be found, in some capacity, in most professional fields. Intelligent Burks often work as lab assistants or, in rare cases, as scientists or engineers themselves. They serve in the chantarian space fleet in support roles and even serve with ground troops as combat engineers or field medics. As a result, they are also the most varied of the castes. Their genetic code is heavily manicured and the percentage of Burk who should have a particular predisposition or physical talent is usually the most heavily debated subject when the Reproductive Council designs a new generation. All Burk, however, share a maximum life span of approximately fifty years.

History
The history of the chantar people is somewhat mysterious. Hundreds of years ago, during the rise of the genetically engineered order, the central government had most historical records destroyed. By all accounts, even top secret databases were purged and modern day Ciril have little information about their planet’s history. This, it is generally believed, was a deliberate attempt to eradicate the perceived differences and cultures that had caused so much strife on Eo. From history books to music, the chantar undertook a massive project that took a century to complete. By the end of it, however, there was shockingly little left to remind the chantar people of what life had been like before.

What the chantar do acknowledge in their official histories is that once, approximately eight centuries past, the people of Eo almost destroyed themselves in a globe-spanning war. The chantar world for this conflict is “Torrok,” which translates imperfectly to “Armageddon”. Archaeologists and historians are sharply regulated by the state, but what little work they have done seems to confirm this vague story. There was once a war on Eo that included the use of radioactive weapons and some biological agents. Either during or after this conflict, there was a massive population fall off and extinction event that eliminated much of the plant and animal life on Eo. The chantar are still slowly repairing their damaged world, and it is believed that their skills in genetic engineering may have grown out of the need for a technological response to the environmental catastrophe. In the modern era, Eo has become a beautiful world again and many of the planet’s lost species were restored through the use of gene banks. The survival of these great archives of genetic information is one of the key points in the chantar’s historical mythos and is widely regarded as the miracle that saved Eo from utter annihilation due to the mistakes of the chantar’s forbearers.

Eo is a world of vast oceans and numerous continents, similar in some respects to Earth. Some historians have tried to draw parallels between the two worlds in order to hypothesize about the chantar’s past, but there are so few facts to draw upon that it is impossible to move beyond speculation. What is clear is that from the ashes of Torrok, one dominant government emerged that spread across the continents unifying the survivors of the conflict and beginning to rebuild. The uterine replicator, an amazing device that allows an infant to gestate inside a machine instead of within the body of a parent, features prominently in the approved histories as a way to filter out contaminants and allow the genetic tailoring of chantar infants to survive the challenges of their post apocalyptic world.

As time progressed, the central government allowed many freedoms to their new citizens but kept tight control on the media and information. The ability to color the news and limit access to “anti-social” facts helped produce a more stable culture than Eo had ever seen. The government of chantar, now ruled by an elite Governing Committee, makes no effort to hide their policies. In fact, they openly claim that while they do restrict some activities, this enables them to offer even greater freedoms of a different sort to their citizens, including a freedom from disease and poverty. The numerous luxuries and free services offered to the people of Eo have led to a populace that doesn’t seem terribly upset about the loss of freedoms that some other cultures hold sacrosanct. In fact, the people of chantar have a reputation for fierce pride in their homeworld and its culture.

The rise of genetic engineering appears to have been concurrent with the rise of the re-imagined chantar culture. At first, at least according to the Ciril, access to the Reproductive Council and the gene banks was sharply limited. However, over time, the Council has come to accept any applicants that can past the entrance exams. The chantar point to this as an example of their society’s strong commitment to meritocracy, while many alien critics have dismissed the claim based on the inability of those who have not been properly engineered and trained in the sciences to pass the exams.

Regardless of ethical concerns, the chantar gene banks and nurseries are the real foundation of their society. The chantar maintain massive databases of genetic data which the Reproductive Council uses to produce new generations of citizens at every level of chantar society. The Council places great stock in heterogeneity and will re-introduce different genetic traits repeatedly over various generations before discarding a potentially useful piece of code entirely. The chantar have repeatedly reinvented their species to face different challenges and it is a commonly accepted truth in their society that the seemingly outdated trait of yesterday might become useful again tomorrow. This process of evaluation means that the only hope that an individual chantar has of having their genetic code passed on to a new generation is to perform exceptionally in some area. Chantar typically work hard to excel at a particular specialty as a result, and the state lavishly rewards individuals who perform valuable services to the species as a whole.

The chantar had already unified their society when the tlecians arrived and had begun experimentation that would have eventually led them to the invention of gate technology. The chantar take great pride in this, frequently dismissing outside criticisms of their culture as jealousy. The Tlecians may have had a head start, but there is nothing that an alien can accomplish that the chantar could not achieve themselves. That being said, the chantar embraced the tlecians’ offer to join the Coalition and have since become an immensely important power within the organization. The chantar were the second species the tlecians contacted and the oldest surviving member species besides the tlecians themselves. Their powerful economy and extremely advanced military are incredibly valuable to the Coalition, and their adaptability has allowed them to prepare a flexible military response regardless of which world the denazra target next as well as successfully trade with every other species in discovered space. Still, even they have been unable to defeat one of the denazra fleets and the chantar are firm supporters of the alliance of species that form the Coalition. It is clear that even the most genetically advanced species in the galaxy cannot stand alone against this enemy, and the chantar have proven to be willing and extremely capable allies.

Culture
Chantar culture is heavily influenced by the idea of the “biological imperative”. This philosophy encourages an individual to excel at whatever task they attempt as the best assurance that their genetic line will be carried on to future generations. In turn, the aggregate of these individual efforts will lead to the strengthening of the chantar people. Chantar society is defined, in many ways, by competition and the chantar make no secret of their belief that they will one day dominate the galaxy by virtue of their superior nature. That being said, the ever present menace of the denazra has sidelined these longer term aspirations and the chantar have proven able and dedicated members of the Coalition. Chantar Roqs have served with distinction in almost every military engagement waged by the Coalition.

The nurseries, where an infant is placed after they are birthed from the uterine replicator, are where most of the societal conditioning takes place. The Ciril fiercely deny that these programs amount to brainwashing. Instead, infants are taught civic responsibility and loyalty to the greater whole. They also receive scholastic training at a much earlier age than most children from alien cultures. A child will go through multiple classes on far ranging subjects, often at surprisingly advanced levels explained in indirect or entertaining ways. When areas of aptitude are identified, they are placed in increasingly challenging classes and given games to play that reinforce these learned skills. In some cases, children undergo more gene therapy to help enhance certain desirable traits.

Access to these nurseries and training centers is strictly controlled, but the chantar broadcast a wide range of “reality” entertainment programs following the development of many of these youngsters. These shows are massively popular on chantar and a source of cultural pride. The chantar will eagerly point out to dubious observers that all infants, regardless of caste, receive the same amount of attention and that they will all graduate after the same amount of time. While Ciril may have a stronger average aptitude for mathematics than a Burk, a talented Burk has access to the same classes and resources as anyone else.

When a chantar child finally graduates, typically after ten solar cycles, they are provided with resources and placed in dorm style housing along with many of their former classmates. There they gradually acclimate to the wider society around them and are incorporated into the greater whole. All graduates must then pass a series of exams that determine their various skills. Passing these exams is considered the true passage to adulthood and is a requirement for all professional fields. Even membership in the Governing Committee or Reproductive Council is based on merit, and test takers who score exceptionally well and perform admirably in their fields can hope to one day join the ranks of their culture’s true elites. An individual who scores highly in different areas is encouraged to pursue these different fields, even if they are widely varied; a scientist who dabbles in music can expect to receive a modest amount of compensation from this hobby just as they receive pay for their regular work.

The chantars argue that they have a true meritocracy; an individual can attempt any task they desire as long as it is in service to the biological imperative. That being said, the chantar are so heavily modified that it is exceedingly difficult for any individual to find a task they can do well outside of their own caste. This has led a society defined by immense social as well as biological pressure. A member of the Roq could attempt to become an artist and many do in fact dabble in such pursuits. But in order to pursue such a job as a career, they would have to successfully compete with individuals with better fine motor control, better training, and a better ability to perceive nuances of color. While the chantar will occasionally embrace a fad for severe Roq-style art, for the most part the castes are incredibly rigid and rarely violated.

The architects of chantar society are the Ciril, who are considered to be exceptionally beautiful and are designed to have better memory and other genetic traits that promote intelligence. They live in luxury and are relatively few compared to the rest of the population, but genuinely do seem to take excellent care of their underlings. Ciril make excellent scientists and the use of uterine replicators has allowed them to stabilize population growth at a manageable four billion inhabitants on their home world. Poverty does exist but is exceptionally rare, and the Ciril have spearheaded numerous programs that ensure that at-risk individuals have ready access to services and placement in menial (but well paying) jobs. A truly rebellious individual is almost always screened out during their initial education and extremely competent psychologists are available to any troubled chantar to help reintegrate them into proper society.

In addition, the command of their species’ genome has allowed the Ciril to create resistances to many problems that plague other societies (such as most sexually transmitted infections and substance addictions). And chantarian society, despite the total control of the media and education by the central government, promotes leisure activity for all its citizens. Sex is casual and frequent due to the lack of family structures, related health risks, or accidental pregnancies. Games, both electronic and physical, are ubiquitous, and exceptional individuals from all castes are honored publicly and granted great rewards.

Religion
Perhaps due to their engineered culture, formal religions are unheard of on Eo or any of the other chantarian colonies. The dominant philosophy, besides the overarching themes of their veneration of the biological imperative, is close to utilitarianism. The Ciril have a unique way of stifling alternative philosophies and repressing religions. Using a minimal amount of violence, opponents of the status quo are brought into media centers and placed in front of cameras and a hostile crowd. There, they are confronted by other individuals they respect or are friendly with as well as a panel of philosophers or other experts and the ensuing drama is broadcast to the public at large (with subtle corrective edits so viewers will find the majority argument to be even stronger). These mandatory interventions typically result in the iconoclast emotionally breaking down and asking for forgiveness from their friends and the audience and being warmly welcomed back into society. Those who refuse to give in can be subjected to multiple interventions, with the suggestive editing becoming more and more aggressive each time so that the more rebellious individuals typically look increasingly desperate and angry. In the extremely rare occasion where this time of peer pressure does not result in “rehabilitation”, the individual becomes ostracized from the community without any direct action by the central government; everyone else knows how foolish and irrational the person is and refuses to associate with them.

Economy
The chantarian economy is huge and pervasive. Taxes are high, but these funds are garnished directly from wages and the actual numbers are never reported to the individuals paying them. The government provides a wide variety of services to the populace free of charge, including the heavy subsidization of luxury items. There are very few banned substances, thanks to the chantarian resistance to most known detrimental chemical compounds, and individual chantar are generally free to live a life of luxury, provided they are willing to work to contribute to the rest of society for approximately half of their waking hours. Notably, even casual participants in games or other publicly viewable entertainments (which range from storytelling, to comedy shows, to sex acts) are given compensation for their time, encouraging socialization and the near ubiquitous participation of chantar citizens in these entertainments during their off-work hours. Most of these extremely entertaining diversions are broadcast to the population at large. If a citizen is not working or at their leisure, they will probably be watching a recording of someone else engaging in one of those activities.

Thanks to their unified society, resources are easily mobilized and large projects are comparatively easier to implement. Eo’s equator sprouts two dozen space elevators, and the chantarian colony worlds are similarly developed. The chantar shipyards are also famous galaxy wide. While they do not have the highest manufacturing capacity in the galaxy, although they can maintain a remarkable production schedule during war time, the quality of their goods is superb and their level of technological advancement is second only to the Tlecians.

In times of war, every citizen can be called into action as a reservist. Not every individual serves as a soldier, however, as they reservist position can include a wide variety of tasks ranging from factory work to manufacturing propaganda. Each citizen undergoes regular training in their wartime job, enabling the chantar to rapidly shift from peace to war time footing and back again. Furthermore, chantarian infrastructure is heavily modular, meaning that existing facilities can be quickly retrofitted by its assigned reservists to a more immediately useful task.

Due to the chantar’s societal stability, technological advancement, and impressive productivity, their currency is usually the preferred medium for commercial transactions. It is extremely easy to exchange one currency for another through the use of any properly programmed computer, but those who do not use the chantarian credit can expect to pay a transaction fee almost anywhere in the galaxy.

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Language
The chantar are an extremely rare species in the galaxy in that they have only one remaining language. The arrival of the tlecian designed universal translator has actually preserved many lesser-used languages on many planets due to the ability to comprehend another language without bothering to speak it yourself. The chantar, however, banned and thoroughly stamped out the various languages common to their ancestors. Even the names of these languages have been erased from the historical archives, along with information on the long defunct nation-states of Eo. The chantar government refuses to entertain any efforts to resuscitate or even research these dead languages for fear that it will lead to fracturing of their society and violence. Even so, there are some differences in lingo and accent depending on where an individual chantar has lived or traveled. The government has chosen to embrace these variations, encouraging the chantar to travel liberally and exchange particularly funny or useful phrases with one another. The result has been, in part, a mono-linguistic culture with an extreme fondness for memes.

Military
With the exception of the tlecians, who do not always share their best technology, the chantar have the most advanced military in Coalition space. Due to the inability of the tlecians to fight on the front lines, however, the chantar form the offensive and defensive backbone of all Coalition operations. That being said, due to their highly engineered society and stable population, the chantar cannot always deploy as many soldiers as the pentites, mravans or the humans. Chantar doctrine relies, instead, on superior firepower, better technology, and extensive planning.

The chantarian space fleet is the pride of their armed services and, even in ground operations, rely on it extensively as a force multiplier. The chantar will typically deploy a large force of air and space units before sending in a small, but heavily armed group of Roq soldiers to secure an objective. Roq troops, while not as numerous as the foot soldiers of other species, are widely considered to be some of the finest in the galaxy.

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Notable Planets
Eo - The economic and cultural center of the known galaxy, Eo is a universally known name throughout the galaxy. The chantar have spared no expense on their homeworld, and the cities of Eo are wonders to behold and visit. The government is everywhere, but almost always restricts itself to observation and noninterference. Locals and visitors alike are free to do just about anything they like, although theft and violent crimes are dealt with summarily and with draconian methods (nearly everything is being recorded one way or another on Eo, reducing the need for elaborate judicial systems). Eo is the marketplace of the galaxy and the chantar put relatively few restrictions on what locals or aliens see fit to sell or buy. The densely populated regions of the planet are well manicured and expertly planned, and the industrial zones (those not located in orbital facilities) are remarkably modular, advanced and efficient. Any complicated piece of modern technology likely has multiple chantar components worked into the design, and this market penetration has brought overwhelming prosperity to Eo.