Rodulan

			Intelligent Lifeform Index

Rodulan
Four Letter Code	RODU
Federation Status	Neutral
Planet of Origin	Basul Rodul
Encountered	TNG: The Most Toys
T/E Rating	T0/E0
Current Tech Level	N
List of Named Rodulans
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A civilization of artisans and farmers (Though mostly farmers) with craftsmanship second to none, the Rodulans are best known for their sculptures erroneously called Basotile by outsiders though Basotile is actually the name of the unique and incredible material Rodulans use in the creation of these highly sought after works of art. What makes Basotile so valuable is that it is pure thought given physical form and the Basotile itself molds like clay in the hands of the telepathic Rodulans. These sculptures also contain the thought that shaped them and it is this combination of the seen and unseen that makes Basotile so valued off their homeworld of Basul-Rodul. in 2134 the Rodulans broke the Warp 2 barrier and encountered a Freighter limping towards their system for a place to gather resources and repair. The Freighter crew were the first to export Rodulan art in the form of a few early and inferior pieces that are currently found on places such as Deep Space Nine, Trill and elsewhere. Eventually others picked up on the location of Basul-Rodul and started to export their own Rodulan art in the form of the more aesthetically pleasing and mentally stimulating pieces though these later pieces lack the standardized style of early Basotile works and no two are the same. Also a civilization of agriculturalists and ecologists, the few Rodulans to leave their homeworld have become highly valued in the Terraforming business.

However in the 24th Century the Rodulan's previously unimportant region of space the Betreka Nebula became a war zone between the Cardassian Union and the Klingon Empire. Basul Rodul was occupied and contested between the two powers for most of the 18 year conflict and further occupied for another three years before the Federation forced a Klingon withdrawal. Many priceless Rodulan pieces of art were either lost or destroyed in this occupation of their world and the Rodulans have begun an effort to recover some of these pieces of art in the wake of the Dominion War.

Politically the Rodulans are neutral, though they have formed with several other species of the Betreka Nebula to create the Betreka League, an alliance of species within the Nebula to ensure that they are able to enforce their own neutrality. Other members of the League see the Rodulans as freeloaders as they offer very few things to the League besides food and agricultural technology but the Rodulan's invest more of their GDP in the League than any other species. The Rodulan's also purchased several damaged Warships from Ferengi Salvage crews as a gift to the League for their defense fleet. The Rodulans themselves lack the ability (Or more likely the will) to repair these ships but the ships themselves were seen as a great gift by some of the League members.

Today the Rodulans have returned to their quiet lives as farmers and unusually adept artists in their free time though more and more young Rodulans are leaving their homeworld for the Stars above, something the rest of the Rodulans are unsure of what to do about.

Name

• Proper Name: Rodulan
• Pronunciation:

Home System

• Quadrant: Alpha
• Location: Betreka Sector (coordinates A27-0002-1300??)
• Proper Name: Basul Rodul
• Pronunciation:
• Star: It orbits a class F (Yellow-White) star
• Distance from Star: it's orbit is approximately 398 million km
• Companions: It is the 2nd planet of 4 in the system

Home World

• Proper Name: Basul Rodul
• Pronunciation:
• Diameter: 11,866 km (7,373 miles)
• Gravity: 0.93 standard gravity with a density of 5.5
• Axial Tilt: 12.8%, with normal terran seasonal changes
• Orbital Period: 428 days
• Rotational Period: 29 hours
• Classification: M
  • Surface Water: 62%
  • Atmosphere: 1.13% is a standard pressure with 71% nitrogen, 28% oxygen, 1% trace chemicals
  • Climate: Mainly a temperate planet with a couple large islands.
  • Population: Just over 800 million

History

The Rodulans are a species that became well known because of their complex art form called basotile. Before and after this they were a quiet artistic people. They are not interested in leaving their world normally and it was not them who initiated first contact.

A damaged freighter strayed off the beaten path and managed to establish a safe orbit over their world. The crew needed raw materials in order to make repairs and since the inhabitants seemed peaceful and had plenty of the required materials they made contact.

During the 2 weeks it took to affect the repairs the crew saw and realized the potential profit to be made by selling some of the fantastic art pieces they saw all around them. A deal was made, a few of what the Rodulans felt were inferior pieces were traded off and the freighter soon left.

It soon returned and over the next 7 years they were able to maintain a monopoly on the trade. Every member of the crew became fabulously wealthy and the Rodulans went from an agrarian society with solar, water and wind powered equipment to one with access to advanced technology including a number of small warp powered shuttles and ships.

Surprisingly enough their culture and society has not changed much. They still live quiet agrarian lives and spend their free time in creating artistic masterpieces.

Kivas Fajo owned the first one ever created, commenting in 2366 that it was centuries old. After his arrest and conviction his collection was broken up and sold off.

By the 2370s, the Rodulans were keen to retrieve their earlier basotiles and were offering significant amounts of money to do so. Many had been lost and were known to have been sold again and again. In fact it was a well known fact that some were known to now be in the Gamma Quadrant.

In 2376, when Jake Sisko was traveling with Zin Dezavrim and the crew of the Even Odds, he read about the Rodulans and their art in files that Neane Tee gave him. Eventually, the Even Odds had to cancel a contract with the Rodulans to meet and make an exchange to get to the Idran system.

For a while a basotile was kept in storage in Deep Space 9's assay office in the early 2370’s. Another basotile was on display in the Symbiosis Commission building on the Trill homeworld. Station superintendent Bahrat kept a basotile in his office aboard the space station close to the Nekrit Expanse.

Technology

At the time of their first contact they were an agrarian society. They used water, wind and solar power. Now they have access to just about any technology they want. However they are only interested in technology that will enrich their lives while leaving their world, communities and environment unaltered.

They do have a number of smaller warp capable ships but have no idea how to build them. These are seldom used anyway.

Economy

They sell various artistic works, the most popular and well know are called basotile. Other than this they do not usually sell anything else. As for what they purchase in exchange. That is usually advanced technology, raw materials, exotic foods and art supplies and various examples of different alien art forms. Nothing else really interests them.

Military

None. Their home world is in an out of the way location that has no strategic or tactical value. It is also far enough away from any aggressive species that none have ever even considered attacking it.

Federation Intelligence Files

Unknown at this time.

Notes

Information for this article was obtained from Memory Alpha and Beta as well as the TV episodes TNG: the Most Toys, DS9: Necessary Evil, DS9: Equilibrium and VOY: Fair Trade. The novel DS9: Rising Son was also used.

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

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