 July 16, 2011 - 5:35am | RE: Heliopes racial description: http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/5538 The heliopes on starmist suffered a mind wipe and abandonment by their klikk masters, thus their culture and society is not a proper reflection of the heliope society under Klikk control or the culture of any heliopes that still linger in some corner of the galaxy on the fringe of the Frontier or Rim. However, I think there are points in the racial description that can let us build a picture of heliope society under the clikks. They had a mind wipe but I think that was really just about their memories and they would have had impulses that resulted in the culture that evolved and these impulses whether genetic or subconscious would have been present in the heliopes before the mind wipe. The basic social structure is the family. Marriage ties cause complex relationships. Government is a simple system of chiefs and subchiefs chosen for ability in combat and leadership. Priest have great influence on the tribe but no official power. All heliopes enjoy color and collect gem stones, pollished rock crystals and similar baubles. They are superberb sculptor and do intricate detailed work on wood and bone. They paint and decorate their tails and mandibles in patterns that differ from trible to tribe. 1. family groups and complex relationships- delete the reference to marriage and simply say they mate for life. This pattern probably runs deep and exists in heliopes under the klikks. 2. Government is a system of chiefs and subchiefs chosen for combat ability and leadership- this probably stems from the military nature of their purpose on the klikk star ship- looking at their racial description it seems to me that they were a ground pounding melee troop and considered expendable. I think the practice of choosing officers and squad leaders survived in the starmist heliopes as the practice of choosing the best fighters and leaders as chiefs and subchiefs. 3. Collecting stones, baubles and similar gems- could be a natural genetic impulse or a vestige of a method or control and motivation by the klikk- good performance was rewared with similar awards and the abandoned heliopes were left with their "awards" and have continued to collect and trade them. Under klikk society they could be viewed as a combination award/currency. Or again it could be something that heliopes feel a compulsion to collect and the klikk took little or no heed of it. 4. Paintin their tails and mandibles- Easily could have evolved out of the past practice of unit designation or an identification of rank or job. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
