Zunae (Zoo-Nah-Eh)

The Zunae are a short sentient species from planet Zuan. They are known as one of the best engineering species in the galaxy. They are also the creators of the always impressive series V-1 "Sentient" robots.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Zunae are a very short species that grow no larger that 3'9". They have long pointed ears and sleek horns on their heads. The feet of all the species have an odd shape, as if they were all wearing high heels. Interestingly, the eyelashes of the Zunae end in rounded tips, and work more as fins that actual hair, in a way similar to the Aveed's eyelashes. Zunae also have pointed "plates" on their middle knuckles of their fingers and sharp metallic nails.

Their bodies also grow a natural metal that passes through their skin as they mature. The older you are the more metal across your body you are likely to have. Their eyes also have very small pupils, giving them an intense stare. However each individual has a time when the metal in their bodies stops growing, and some may even grow more in earlier stages in their lives, this rate of growth and stopping point depends highly on the individual. Some individuals can even get an "armored" look to them, with wide plates being formed across their bodies. The metal can take on colors and compositions similar to many natural geographic metals throught the galaxy, from gold, silver, brass, copper, etc. These metallic parts of their bodies also seem to focus their limited control of magnetism. Regarding their coloration, much like the Xothian they have a dark skinned and light skinned variants. The dark skin variants have a gradient of 2 darker grays while the lighter variant have a gradient of 2 very light grays, from light to dark from top to bottom. The hair of all Zunae is a pretty bright red color, some have a smooth gradient in their hair and some don't, and while the hue of the red might shift more towards orange or towards pink most of the time it remains identifiable as bright red. Their sclera also share the same hue of their hair, if slightly darker. In contrast to their hair, their eyes, nipples and the tip of the penis share the same shade of bright blue. Much like the red of the hair, the blue can lean slightly towards green or more towards violet but in most cases its a bright electric blue.

Genetics and Reproduction

Zunae are only able to mate with other Zunae, any type of relations with other species will never give any children, no matter if the Zunae is the male or the female. However among Zunae, they are incredibly fertile, and the gestation period for children is only about 5 months. They are also a highly sexual species, having periods a month for both male and females where they could be considered to be "In heat". This has made it so that birth control means are easily accessible and incredibly reliable. One of the most common means is a simple cream that they apply under their belly buttons and it fades into the skin. Applying this once a week will make it impossible for the female to get pregnant for the remainder of the week. Sadly these methods are very specific to their physiology, and only have a 98% chance of protection if other species were to use them.

Ecology and Habitats

Zuan can be a very hostile environment to those outside the cities. The planet is largely devoid of sprawling mountains, instead they have huge fields of sand, rock and grass. These fields are home for low hunting insectoid predators. These use the planet's magnetic fields to hunt, detecting prey far away in every direction. Aside from that, since the planet doesn't often have large natural barriers, big storms are often able to affect wide spans of land, making it difficult to live in unprotected areas. Some forests do dot the planet, and even some chasms make way for safer habitation, but of course each has their own difficulties, whether it be because of fauna or even rare hostile flora. The small mountain the planet does have however, tend to play host to ancient ruins of a bygone civilization. These people used technological advancements and artifacts to create oasis like areas in and around these mountains, shielded from the devastation of the planet's weather and wildlife. It is here that Zunae life actually flourished, and now large cities crowd around these sites. The planet's underground is also a host to a great variety of minerals, many of which the Zunae use in their engineering. Because of this its not completely rare to see smaller city-settlements around chasms to facilitate mining, and some of these even serve as home for workers of many other species. These locations don't have the same care-free lifestyle as the Ruin Cities, but they do have tech intended to make life there considerably easier.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Zunae tend to eat mainly meat, thought they often prepare their plates with savory or sweet fruits to go along with the taste of the meat. In past times the meat came from small creatures found near ancient ruins, now they import various creatures from other planets for sustenance.

Many of them also eat synthetic foods, created with the nutrients they need to eat on a daily basis and flavored to give the feeling of a fully cooked meal even if they only eat a small bite. These "Synth meals" or "packs" tend to be soft cuboids with a consistency similar to rice balls. They sometimes also come with a jelly pack to spread on top to add even more flavor, these are enough to satiate hunger for half a day, and are very easily transportable, making it easier to focus on their work and not lose any time.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Many Zunae live in "Ruin Cities" which have grown out from an artificial oasis found around ancient ruins from an old civilization, which is where they get the name. Ruin Cities are large and heavily occupied by companies and engineering labs for further study and development. Each city has a "Prime Zunae" who stands above every company and organization in his city. Economy and government are very closely tied together in Zuan, and each prime makes sure that companies don't overstep their boundaries. Under him is a circle of the "Ruin Council" of the city. These are made up 2/3 parts of high standing company CEOs of each city and the rest are community leaders. Each Prime Zunae in turn answers to the "Regius three", a trio of wise and powerful Zunae that live in an orbital station right above the capital city of the planet. Zunae arent really a highly militaristic society, but they do have a guardian force that protects citizens called the "Synth-Guard" These are mostly formed by armored Zunae, whose metallic pieces have grown greatly over their bodies. They are some of the best at magnetic control and use it in heightened ways to both attack and traverse the cities, looking as if they fly over short distances.

Average Intelligence

Zunae are in average some of the most intelligent and technologically savvy species in the Therea galaxy. Most of their focus revolves around the invention of robots, and in that group they focus greatly on humanoid robots with goals to reach true synthetic sentience.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Zunae have a small control of magnetism that seems to be generated by the natural metal that grows from their bodies. While skill with this ability grows with practice, it tends to stay within the confines of drawing small metallic items to themselves in a telekinetic way. Highly skilled individuals can repel the metal in their bodies from the magnetic field of the planet and make themselves levitate for a handful of seconds, but this is considered a very rare ability.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Typically members of a Ruin City have the first letter in their name be the same one. For example in the capital city of Zuan, that is the letter "Z", so every person born there has a name that starts with "Z"

Beauty Ideals

Zunae in general are pretty proud of their looks, they tend to take good care of their looks if they're not hyperfixating on a current project, most of all they are really proud of the metal in their bodies. To that end they dress in clothing that is designed to show off their metal parts and draw the eye.

Gender Ideals

while there are no strict rules regarding gender amongst the Zunae, it has to be noted that males like more the side of software development and programing, while females are more outgoing, often fabricating the hardware, working on the manufacturing and the actual building of new tech. Transitionary operations between gender are also somewhat commonplace in Zuan, with the scars of them solidifying and growing into metal pieces much like the normally producing ones in their bodies but sometimes thinner. Metal like this under the breast, butt, and over or around the genitals are good signs of this; and while some chose to hide these thinner pieces of metal others leave space for them in their clothing like they do with the other metal segments. Aside from this, intersex members can be born and are easily accepted into society, though this happening is extremely rare for Zunae.

Relationship Ideals

Zunae who marry do so with the intent to collaborate in a joint project, a master project that will take the remainder of their lives together. While this does not necessarily start with the couple being in love, it can and often does lead to love.

Average Technological Level

Zunae are some of the most technologically savvy species in the galaxy. Like many other species, they are a space fairing bunch with trade agreements with many systems. Their main expertise however tends to stay with robots and artificial intelligence. They use certain special elements traded with them from the core systems to enhance their constructs. Currently the main focus of many Zunae is the further development of pseudo-sentience in robots. The current version, the V-1 is the first series they have deemed "sentient" however questionable that conclusion may be. The Zunae have even helped this series build their own self sustaining cities in normally inhospitable areas of their planet. Many off-worlders see this as incredibly optimistic and somewhat foolhardy, but their skill in robotics does make fully disproving their sentience to be challenging at best, so they leave them to their own devices.

Common Etiquette Rules

Zunae are always welcoming upon new encounters, no matter the species. In many cases, if there are robots fully capable of communication, the will also introduce themselves to them as if they were another member of the party, something not many species do.

Common Dress Code

Zunae use sleek clothing that tends to be of red, white, black, or gray colors with some glowing detailing or lines. Most of the time their clothing is made of a low gloss latex like material and sometimes they can even add some sheer to be a bit more extravagant. Many times they also wear clothing that exposes their bodies and accentuates their shapes.

Clothing for them is most of the time made up of different segments that stick to the body. These are made to flow around the metal in their bodies, using it as a natural accent to their outfits. Because of this, all clothing is tailored and custom made per the individual, however this process is sped up with their own inventions. Briefly, this works by scanning their bodies and using is as a "mold" to quickly generate clothing automatically with the specifications of the user.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Most Zunae are a welcoming and very outgoing people. They love showing off their newest inventions and have many festivals and conventions to do precisely that. Overall they are a proud species and will stand up to defend their work on any planet. Because of this they know the worth of their work, and will demand fair treatment and proper pay for it, they are also quick to criticize shabby and badly made machinery, which leads them to be perceived as annoying by some people. Witty and self reliant, they are considered a headache to make deals with, and their own personalities have made several beneficial agreements slip through their fingers. Aside from these quirks, coming from an age of desperation and danger has marked each and every one in a deep way, and they are quick to lend a helping hand to those in need. Among the important cities of the Zunae, there are 5 main ones that stand out as the most impressive ones.

Zevren is the capitol city of Zuan. It's the largest metropolis in the planet and its located in the oasis between three different artifact ruins, the only city in the planet that has that particular advantage. It also serves as the center of economy, hosting important center buildings of prominent Zuan companies. Zunae born here have their names starting with the letter "Z" Noroan is the second largest city in Zuan. Noroan is very close to Zevren in power, itself hosting 2 artifact ruins, but unlike it highly active sister, this city is much more focused on introspection and study. Noroan is the center of artificial intelligence, and it is here where the "Sentient programing" for the V-1 robots was developed. It also hosts one of the largest academies focused on AI development. Zunae born here have their names starting with the letter "N" Lorobal is one of the largest centers of manufacturing in Zuan. This city is filled with large production lines and factories making hardware for shipping to other cities for further use. The city also hosts competitions to show the inventions created by it's people annually, with a secondary division dedicated to visitors both from other cities and off world. Zunae born here have their names starting with the letter "L" Casnas, unlike it's sister cities, does not play host to an artifact ruin, and is instead a mining city found in and around the largest chasm mine in the planet. A metropolis all on it's own, the city has a slightly more rustic touch to its architecture, less sleek like the capitol but with it's own charm. This city is also the main producer of raw metals and materials needed for many manufacturing cities. Zunae born here have their names starting with the letter "C" Kayde is a city of luxury. It being one of the few coastal cities in all of Zuan, its a place for retreat for relaxation and retreat to many, but also a place to show the quality of their work. Kayde is host to private mansions, clear waters and expensive machinery, as well as it being one of the few cities where latest tech can be seen first hand, including the latest V-1 series robots. Zunae born here have their names starting with the letter "K"

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Its to be noted that while Zunae have a great variety of markets, both in their homeworld and off, and they do have standardized prices, in their home world they do tend to engage more in bartering for a price. They seem to find this fun and often encourage visitors to barter with them.

Common Taboos

Zunae believe that machines have hearts, and they work hard to make one that self evidently demonstrated this. Because of this, mistreatment of a good working machine tends to annoy them, if not infuriate them. They respect the engineering of their people and other species, and any offense to another person's mechanical work will rile them up.

History

In the beginning of the Zunae's history, their planet was very hostile to them, making them constantly move from spot to spot, working mainly for survival. They stayed living like this for hundreds if not thousands of years, but their situation drastically changed once they found ancient ruins in the farthest reaches of Zuan.

These ruins were technological marvels, left here by an ancient space fairing civilization. The places they found were synthetic oasis created by those ancient beings. These locations provided the security, safety and food they needed not only to survive, but thrive. Under these conditions the Zunae multiplied and learned, studying the artifacts surrounding them. Soon they were able to replicate some of the tech, and parties were sent off into the distance to find more sites like this, which they indeed found. Ages passed and now the Zunae are a beacon of technology for the galaxy, having learned much from the remnants of that old civilization. Now the artifacts are held in city centers, still fountains of unknown advances, but this served as the boost they needed to develop themselves. They managed to convert more of their planet into comfortable, livable areas and focus more on trade and creation, leaving the times of dire need and wasted death behind them.

Common Myths and Legends

They are not really a religious people, but they do strongly believe that intelligent enough machines are alive. While they chose to keep their beliefs to themselves, it seems to have something to do with the ancient ruins they built their cities arround.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Zunae can be found in many core of mid galactic systems, they are a highly sought after species , and not just for their intellect since many people across the galaxy think of them as beautiful. While they may be witty to a fault at times and quick to talk without thinking of a proper or polite way to express themselves, it has not stopped them from creating strong lasting bonds with influential species such as the Nirien and Nocir