CALENGIL PEOPLES

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• SPECIES: Calengil
• SYSTEMS/PLANETS:
• STATUS: Independent Polity, at war with the Chrysoari Protectorate

The Calengil are a highly-populated, expansive species, ruled by an oligarchic central assembly (the Dominion Assembly) overseeing an ever-fluctuating number of Dominions, each of which are their own semi-autonomous political entities. The entire power is collectively referred to as the "Calengil Dominion." According to reports from both the Calengil Dominion and Chrysoari Protectorate, the two powers have been in conflict for the last twenty-three years, due to Calengil settlement of a world claimed, but not inhabited, by the Chrysoari as part of their Protectorate. The Calengil have a lower occurrence rate of magical and psionic ability than humanity, but their high birthrate puts the numbers of these individuals roughly on par with the Terran Alliance's. For the last fifteen Calengil years, military service has been mandated for individuals with magical and psionc ability, failure to comply is punished with vivisection followed by resource reclamation of the remaining materials.

Biology

The Calengil are similar to the Strepsirrhini primates of Earth, such as Madagascan lemurs or Asian lorises, although they have a significantly greater brain to mass ratio. They stand between 0.9 and 1.2 meters tall, with an equally long tail. Their bodies are very slender and while capable of fast motion, appear to be somewhat lacking in terms of physical strength and endurance. The Calengil are primarily a nocturnal species, their sense of smell significantly greater than their limited vision. Although culturally and medically restrained, the Calengil reproduce at an extremely fast rate. Even with this cultural and medical restraint, the Calengil are perpetually on the cusp of a full-blown Malthusian catastrophe. Lacking any form of natural predation from a very early stage in their evolution, Calengil biologically lack any real form of a fight-or-flight response, having seemingly no biological concept of 'fear.' Calengil can be said to be 'without fear' not because they have eliminated fear as a matter of training or culture, but instead because they simply lack the capacity for fear. Consequently, Calengil have an innate urge to constantly push the boundaries - be they physical limits or social limits. Calengil are equally as likely to become explorers due to their lack of fear of the unknown as they are to become insurgents due to their lack of fear of reprisal.

Government

The Calengil Dominion's government is a complex, ever-shifting entity. At the top level there is an oligarchical central assembly, the Dominion Assembly, which is made up of two representatives appointed by the leaders of each Dominion. These representatives serve for life. However, all representatives can be dismissed if the Assembly is disassembled by a supermajority (75%) vote of the leaders of the Dominions. This has happened 26 times in the history of the Calengil Dominion, and occurs on an average of every 56 Calengil years. The reasons for this are numerous, ranging from mass corruption in the Assembly (both perceived and legitimate), civilization-wide turmoil, paradigm shifts in political theory, and - most recently - the outbreak of hostilities with the Chrysoari Protectorate. If a new Dominion is formed while the Assembly is in-session, then the new Dominion will immediately appoint two representatives to add to the Assembly.

Currently there are 40 Dominions, representing a wide range of political theories and ideologies. Most Dominions control a single world themselves, though a few of the larger Dominions control several worlds. The smaller Dominions are found on shared worlds and these worlds often contain closely-allied Dominions. The Calengil homeworld (Anatala) contains the most Dominions of any world, with eight distinct polities scattered over its surface.

The Dominion Assembly meets on the second moon of the homeworld, which is a small body under the direct control of the Assembly.

Stratocratic Dominion of Service

Military hegemony, 'service guarantees citizenship'

Most Serene Harmonius Dominion

Theocracy, 'space buddhists'

Culture

Calengil society is strictly hierarchical, with distinct castes and enforced birth rates for each Dominion. Birth rates limits are determined by the Dominion Assembly, and each Dominion has its own set of castes (though there tend to be common themes). However, even with the attempts the Calengil have taken to reduce the number of children born each year, they have experienced a population crisis for a significant period of time, expanding into space for resources and territory to support their always increasing population. The current Calengil-Chrysoari conflict began due to Calengil settlement of worlds claimed by the Chrysoari, and the Calengil have repeatedly refused all peace offers that make any restriction on their expansion.

Due to their high population, the Calengil are in constant need of resources, and their vessels and planets recycle all material, including the dead. Their high numbers and social focus on the caste and species over the individual, especially in the military castes, have allowed them to fight a technologically superior foe through sheer numbers. Although these battles have a high cost in Calengil life, this does not appear to be a problem to them.

Calengil mark the passage of time in the following format (with characters translated to Roman letters): "12EO27" -> "12th Year of the Era of the 27th Dominion Assembly". This far no Dominion Assembly has lasted longer than 70 years, so a third digit for the year has never been necessary.

Military Forces

Due to their ongoing conflict with the Chrysoari, the Calengil military is currently at its height. Calengil vessels are small and modular, able to be deployed in large numbers and quickly refitted to suit various roles. Over a period of two months, one Calengil vessel was observed with four different loadouts. Faced with a technologically superior foe, Calengil tactics focus heavily on ambush and numerical superiority, focusing heavy fire on individual targets. Calengil vessels, although small, mount weaponry primarily consisting of solid projectile weapons powered by explosive propellant along with a staggeringly diverse array of missile systems. Defense-wise, they tend to go for lighter ships that focus more on agility than actual defenses, though their hulls tend to be sturdier than other species due to their lack of well-developed shielding systems.

Economy

Imports

Raw materials, foodstuffs, weapons systems

Exports

Information about Chrysoari technology and shipbuilding, weapons systems