Noophian

			Intelligent Lifeform Index

Noophian
Four Letter Code	NOPH
Federation Status	Member
Planet of Origin	Dium IV
Encountered	TNG: "Brothers"
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	N
List of Named Noophians
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" If you brought a Noophian to Earth he'd look around and say, 'Tear that old village down. It's hanging in rags. Build me something new, something efficient.' But to a Human, that ancient wall, that old house, is a shrine, something to cherish."

According to Noonian Soong.

The Noophian are a humanoid species that is well known for its complete lack of historical appreciation. They are also considered to be a bit unusual in that the thrill of the hunt is their greatest love and at the same time they may be the most law abiding species in the Federation.

Home System

• Quadrant: Alpha
• Location: Argus Sector (coordinates A26-0002-1301)
• Proper Name: Cevius Dium system
• Star: It orbits a class K (Orange) star
• Distance from Star: its orbit is approximately 43 million km
• Companions: It is the 4th of 13 planets in the system
• Moons: it has 1 moon.

Home World

• Proper Name: Dium IV
• Diameter: 14,904 km (9,261 miles)
• Gravity: 0.96 standard gravity with a density of 4.6
• Axial Tilt: 7.7%, with minimal seasonal changes
• Orbital Period: 416 days
• Rotational Period: 24.8 hours
• Classification: M
  • Surface Water: 58%
  • Atmosphere: 1.09% is a standard pressure with 74% nitrogen, 23% oxygen, 3% trace chemicals
  • Climate: Mainly a temperate planet with massive dense forests scattered over rocky, hilly terrain.
  • Population: Just over 8 billion

History

They are descended from hunters who could travel enormous distances on foot without ever needing to stop. Their sense of hearing and smell allowed them to follow their quarry with an efficiency not normally seen outside of certain predatory animals. That and their ability to work together in groups allowed them to become the most efficient and deadly predator on the planet.

Over time they established settled communities, most often on the shores of fresh water rivers or lakes but even then a portion of the male population remained hunters. Even those communities that developed on the shores of the various salt water seas and oceans had a large proportion of their male population either dedicated to hunting or with the passing of time to the need to fish and hunt the various large and dangerous sea creatures that filled their oceans.

Strangely enough, other than a few minor border skirmishes there were no real conflicts between communities and even among the many bands of hunters there was more co-operation and assistance than their ever was antagonism. On those occasions when hunters did clash they solved their differences in competition against one another and not in futile combat.

Eventually their communities grew, more advanced technology was discovered and they entered into an industrial period. Even then most males would take time away from their jobs to go on extended hunts. Only now they were only a couple times a year instead of back to back.

As they continued to develop more advanced technology and grow in population they continued the age old tradition of tearing down any old inefficient buildings, facilities, structures and replacing them with newer, more modern ones.

Even after they had advanced to the point where space travel was now not only a possibility but a reality most of their male population would take time off work a couple times a year to go hunting. Due to this large areas of land have always been left untouched, preserved as hunting grounds and frequently restocked with game of all kinds.

Now that they were exploring space they came into contact with other species. The first few encounters were peaceful, then they started to lose ships. They investigated and discovered that pirates had attacked and captured their ships. This added to the knowledge that some species were not only aggressive but prone to violence made them adopt a new philosophy when it came to ship design and production.

More effort was put into the importance of technology, science and engineering and they were able to produce a fast, highly maneuverable frigate equipped with excellent defensive systems and better than expected offensive systems.

Then they went hunting for the pirates. This combat and the thrill of the chase resulted in them driving the pirates off but that was not good enough the Noophians followed them and kept up the attacks until all of the pirates had been defeated or destroyed. It was during this that they came into contact with the USS Cairo which was on a similar mission.

As a result of the co-operation between them the Federation sent a fact finding team to their world and two years later it was replaced with a Federation Embassy. In 2182 they became members of the Federation.

Government

Strangely enough they do not have a unified central government. What they do have are 11 districts, each with a major city and a massive nature preserve. Within this district will be a large number of smaller communities. The major city will have 5 councilors, 3 men and 2 women and all of the other communities will have 2 men and 1 woman. They all work together to ensure that their district is run as efficiently as possible.

When it comes to matters that affect their entire population as a world and as a species, such as the vote to join the Federation they trust each district to do what is best for all of them. In this case one district made the decision and all of the rest accepted it and agreed without needing to debate or consider the issues because the first district had already done so.

Description

This humanoid species has deep sunk eyes and large pointed ears that point towards the back of their head more than towards the top. Their skin is tough and thick with the constancy of tanned leather. They have sharp teeth and a narrow nose. Their hair is a dark brown to ebony black and high up on their heads. It is normally worn long, typically well down past the shoulders. Men and women normally keep it tied back with a braided leather cord.

Physiology

As with most intelligent humanoid species they have a very complex system with specialized organs, and unique hormones, chemicals and enzymes. They are typical humanoids with most of the physical, mental and biological medical problems that seem to plague most humanoids.

They are sturdy, fit and have lots of stamina. They can run for hours over incredibly rough terrain. Their sense of smell and hearing are enhanced and allow them to track just about anything across just about any terrain type.

Psychology

As a species they tend to be strong willed, determined and willing to accept the need to push themselves past exhaustion, pain and fear in order to succeed in the hunt as well as in life. Few of their people ever seem to develop mental health issues and those that do usually select to go hunting extremely dangerous predators by themselves. Everyone knows it is suicide but no one would ever think to interfere as it felt to be their right to determine when and how they die.

Religion

They believe in a trio of deities called the Warriors of the Hunt. Basurian the Elder is an older male and he represents the experienced hunter, the one who teaches the young and knows all the tricks to a successful hunt. Khunada the Younger is a young man, one going on his first hunt. He is brash, proud and eager to prove his worth. Last of all is Sevisava the Provider. She is a woman of middle age, one who understands the need to provide food and balance the risks with the gain while on the hunt.

Mythology

They have a massive collection of tales, legends and myths regarding not only the Warriors of the Hunt but about numerous famous hunters or many of the equally famous hunts. In some cases the prey is the victor and even then given the honor his victory over the hunters deserves.

Society

Their cities are modern with all out of date structures being torn down to make room for newer and more efficient structures. They pride themselves on having the most efficient facilities possible and an infrastructure that is constantly being upgraded as needed in order to provide for their entire population.

They have no crime of any kind and visitors to their world are warned that any criminal action will result in extreme punishment in the form of being sent on a hunt with no weapons to defend themselves.

Culture

Hunting is their passion, the thrill of the chase, the challenge of the hunt and the more dangerous the prey the better. They maintain numerous breeding programs so they can constantly keep their vast nature preserves stoked with all kinds of beasts.

Since joining the Federation they have even imported some of the most dangerous predators to be found anywhere in the Federation. However these beasts are only released on Dium III which has been terrafromed and converted into an enormous hunting preserve with many different terrain types.

Most other forms of artistic expression seem pointless to them. How can music or any form of visual artistic expression even hope to compare to the majesty and thrill of the hunt.

Customs

They have a number of customs but the majority of them seem to revolve around one aspect or another of their greatest love as a species, the hunt. Also about 1/3 of their female population seem to enjoy the hunt as much as the men do. Those women who do take part in the hunt enjoy the same privileges and risks as the men.

Technology

While they may not be as competitive as most species when it comes to technology, between what they can trade for as members of the Federation and what they discover on their own they are able to easily keep up and maintain a position within the lower third of all Federation member worlds.

Economy

They have a strong economy but as a species really do not have much use for or need of most luxury goods or items. They maintain friendly relations and conduct business, trade over a wide area and with many different species.

They also offer their services as bounty hunters or their ships as protection for transport corridors or freighters. They are also willing to hunt down pirates and raiders. They will almost always get the co-operation of local authorities before moving into a new area to operate.

Military

While they never had any need for military forces before they developed space travel they quickly developed a number of progressively faster frigates that were specifically designed to hunt down raiders, pirates and smugglers.

After joining the Federation they continued to hunt down pirates and raiders but expanded their area of operations to include the entire Federation.

Most of their people that enlist do so in the Marines, usually becoming scouts or members of highly trained specialist teams that are dropped behind enemy lines or inserted into hostile conditions while those that do join Starfleet normally become tactical or security officers.

Federation Intelligence Files

This humanoid race prefers efficiency and modernism over any need for history or reverence for older artifacts. A Noophian on Earth would question why so much history had been preserved.

In 2182 they became members of the Federation.

Sources

Both Memory Alpha and Memory Beta were used as references as well as the TV episode TNG: Brothers.

Content from this article may have
come partially, or entirely from
 Memory Alpha

		SPECIES PROFILE UPDATED This profile was revised by the Species Development Committee.		REV 239112.24
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