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 Old Ways (Circa 9,000 Years Ago):

Rodulan recorded history (Officially) begins 9,067 years ago with the founding of the city of Etaje on the island of Killudoran, though as modern scholars have pointed out, recorded history extends about another 1500 years before Etaje was founded though in considerably less detail. So regardless, with the founding of Etaje began the Ancient Era of the Rodulans where their incredible artistic qualities were first displayed. In this millennia long period of growth from the Bronze Age to the Steel Age, the Rodulans would map much of the surface of their paradisiac ocean world and eventually by the end of the Ancient Era, most of the major islands had established contact with one another. This era of increased contact and trade would lead to the Rodulan’s first attempt at a unified government spanning most of the planet’s surface.

The Rise and Fall of the Esharan Hegemony (Circa 8,500 Years Ago) Etaje would become the focal point of the Esharan Hegemony, the first of the major Empires in the long history of the Rodulans. This government was a unification of all of the major islands in the north of Basul-Rodul that later encompassed most of the world. It was during this time that the Rodulans first experimented with their unique form of art, “Telepathic Visualization”. Telepathic Visualization is the most basic form of Rodulan art similar to paints for most other cultures. Telepathic Visualization is thought given physical form in the image of a sculpture. Eventually Telepathic Visualization led to the lost school of Basotile in the late 70th Age.

However ambitious the Hegemony’s plans were, as the name implies, the Esharani didn’t simply govern other islands, they dominated them. This system of Etaje dominating the Hegemony in a near brutal fashion, combined with the very slow means of communication between Etaje and other member states made the Hegemony unsustainable. Though the Hegemony enjoyed a short 30 year period of reform on Etaje’s part during the reign of Archon Dreddica the Gone Too Soon, her successor Archon Heddila the Last, proved a ruler bent on establishing an Empire based on Etaje’s control of the league, however her wars backfired and the Hegemony collapsed upon itself…

The Great Reformation and the Dawn of the 1st Age: (Circa 8,000 Years Ago)

After the collapse of the Esharan Hegemony the different Islands also warred with one another and Basul Rodul descended into a Dark Age. Many priceless works of art would be lost during this time and this era of warfare also marked the first instances of Rodulan telepathy being used as a weapon.

But the teachings of an important philosopher survived the wars (At least in part) and this spectre from the Past lead to the Great Reformation that lead to the development of modern Rodulan society based upon the principle that each individual community was entitled to self-rule and all should unite for the common good. While the latter part of the Reformation took many years to implement, the Autonomous Islands gradually grew into the Rodulan League made up of independent Islands banding together to promote shared ideals of Federalism and Direct Democracy.

The first island to implement these ideals was Killudoran and it is the formation of the Killudoran Canton 8,492 years ago that marks the start of the Rodulan Calendar. The calendar states that every hundred years is an Age, and that every ten Ages is an Era.

For Example… Year 10 of the 3rd Age of the 4th Era would be represented as 4:3:10: Each Age and Era is also given a creative name by the Collective of Chrono-Guardians in Etaje, this name is based upon signs and portents reviewed in the 99th year of the Age and the 999th year of the Era.

For Example… Year 10 of the 3rd Age of the 4th Era would also be known formally as Year 10 of the Towers Age in the Divine Era. Another less formal example primarily used by the vast majority of the Rodulan population simply recognizes the year and age. For example, 3:10 Towers would represent the 10th year of the third age named Towers.

The First Era/Glory Era: (Circa 7,900 Years Ago)

The Glory Era reaped the benefits of the Great Reformation and the spreading of these ideas and the formations of different Cantons across Rodulan. The Rodulans also started to form scattered rural agrarian communities versus the City States of the Ancient Era and the Esharan League. There is however a deep sense of unity among these communities and many form grand Federalist leagues with some major economic centers. The rural communities providing the cities with food and crafted goods and the cities providing the agrarian villages with protection, technology and a better standard of living later became the basic foundation of the Rodulan concept of the Island State.

The Second Era/The Black Era: (Circa 6,900 Years Ago)

To call the second Era the ‘Black Era’ is a bit of a misnomer considering it’s extremely peaceful history and it is universally accepted among the Rodulan population that the Chrono-Guardians made a very serious error in their reading of the signs.

The Black Era is also known as the ‘Dull Era’ since not much happened in the way of technological advancement. Not even further spreading of the Great Reformation occurred until the end of the Era. Around the time of the third Era, the Rodulans held a technological level similar to the High Middle Ages though as the Rodulans will fiercely point out, the Second Era was more hygienic, safer and just plain happier than Europe was at the time.

The Third Era/The Blessed Era: (Circa 5,900 Years Ago)

The Third Era is commonly considered the most significant of the early Era’s post the Great Reformation and involved a sudden burst of the teachings of the Reformation and a series of (Relatively) rapid technological advancements that propelled the Rodulans into an era of technological development similar to Earth of the early 1700’s.

A new series of Religious sects developed on Basul Rodul as well and it is from this renewed sense of religious interest that the Era takes its name from. These religions all stemmed from a common source in the form of the Prophetess Dikken and quickly spread across the islands. These religions are noted for their non-existent Dogma and though these various sects differ in their interpretations of Drikken’s prophecies and teachings, they rarely quarrel with one another. In the cases where this did happen it was found that Religions themselves fought with one another and the sane masses of religious Rodulans refused to take part in holy war. A mirror of what happened on Earth where religious followers fought one another but not religions themselves.

The Fourth Era/The Divine Era: (Circa 4,900 Years Ago)

Where the rest of Basul Rodul progressed slowly in their technological development, the Krzexxi Islands of the South-West of the planet progressed in a similar fashion to Earth (Albeit more slowly) and fully embraced industrialization and did not cling to remnants of Agrarian life. As such, by the time of the Divine Era the Krzexxi were already past their industrial revolution and had ironclad warships, advanced medicines and a technological level of mid-19th century Europe while the rest of the Rodulans slowly advanced towards the industrial revolution. Their caution and slow development as to not affect their highly agrarian culture would later prove to be their undoing…

The Kzrexxi began a long two and a half ages of conquest of the rest of Basul Rodul and though they proceeded to conquer much of Tikan (The largest continent) they were eventually driven back by Iddanii Continental forces utilizing telepathic abilities. So for the next four thousand years the two groups of Rodulans, the Tikan and the Iddanii to the East and the Krzexxi to the West, remained polarized to the point of a millennia long cold war.

In the last Age of the Era a series of Ozaras (The female religious head of the main sect of Dikkenism) were elected that united the various factions of Dikkenism under one banner and contributed to the religious cohesiveness the Rodulans exhibit today. It is believed that this is where the 4th Age received its name within the signs.

The Fifth Era/The Storm Era: (3,900 Years Ago)

An age marked by rapid industrial development in the East and the complete overturn of standard life in the Fourth Era, the Fifth Era is commonly seen as the first major turning point in Rodulan history as the entire species progressed rapidly towards a technological level of 21st century Earth. This Era also marked a decrease in traditional Agrarian lifestyle and increased urbanization in the East. A less mutually beneficial and advanced form of capitalism also evolved in the East that for the first time in thousands of years, some Rodulans found themselves incredibly poor and unable to provide for themselves with the collapse of their Agrarian society.

The Storm Era ended with Revolution brewing on the Horizon as the gap between the poor farmers and the rich industrialists became greater and greater.

The Sixth & Seventh Eras: (2,900 years ago to 998 Years Ago)

A great time of upheaval, the Sixth and Seventh Eras were marked by constant and vicious war, both internally and externally. This period was a violent one in Rodulan history and is quite thoroughly documented thanks to a system of “Telepathic Historians” like the Ullians though it is rarely spoken of. The Rodulans maintained a peak technological level similar to that of early 21st century Earth but the technological level only remained constant on some parts of the planet.

Civilizations fell and were rebuilt again and again in the fires of non-nuclear war and it wouldn’t be till the mid Seventh Era that things would even begin to return to normal as the Krzexxi reached out to the East in a surprising gesture of goodwill to stabilize the region.

The telepathically sensitive compound Basotile was first discovered during this time of the aftermath of global war and the first Basotile works were created. While it is impossible to really know which one was the first, Kivas Fajo believed he had the first one ever created.

The Eighth Era/The Exalted Era

The beginning of the Eight Era was characterized by the growing Unity brought about by the last half of the Seventh Era and technological development that lead to a return to peaceful agrarian life. Green Technology was embraced and while the Rodulans took several centuries to turn their heads to the stars, the Rodulans sustained a technological level slightly more advanced than Earth of the 22nd century.

Rodulans returned to the arts during this time as farming became easier and easier and they had more and more time to devote to other disciplines. Rodulan society also evolved during this time to a more cerebral and introspective one and while rural life was still the focus of their society, it became steadily less agrarian and geared more towards serenity and living one with nature. Rodulans have shifted to being artists and scientists as their main focus and being farmers second, a reverse of their old philosophy.

This slow but steady turn towards science eventually lead to Rodulan warp capability in 2130 and their breaking of the Warp 2 barrier four years later. It was during one of these early warp flights that the Rodulans discovered a damaged freighter limping towards their system and brought it back to make repairs. The crew of the freighter instantly thought of the value of Rodulan art (Especially Basotile pieces) and began steady exportation of what the Rodulans considered early and inferior pieces. One of these early pieces would later be sold to Kivas Fajo under the assumption that it was the first Basotile piece ever created. That information is of course impossible to know but the piece was early enough to be in the running for the title and he displayed it proudly.

However in 2328 the Betreka Nebula became a war zone between the Cardassian Union and the Klingon Empire. Basul Rodul was occupied for 23 years from two years before the conflict began to three years after it ended and the Klingons were forced to withdraw. The Occupation of Basul Rodul lacked the brutality of the Occupation of Bajor but the effects on both respective peoples and cultures were the same. The Rodulans were now keenly aware that they were part of a dangerous galaxy and without a means to defend themselves. A few years later the Rodulans and several other species from the Betreka Nebula formed an Alliance to keep themselves neutral through their own armed forces. The Rodulans contribute little militarily to this Alliance but have donated considerable sums of money towards the Betreka Nebula League in order for the defense fleet to be maintained.

During the Occupation a great many Rodulan pieces of art were either stolen, lost or destroyed and since the Dominion War the Rodulans have been offering hefty sums of money to whoever returns these works of art to them. They are especially interested in recovering the lost Basotile pieces from two centuries ago.

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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