Ornaran
| Intelligent Lifeform Index |
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| Ornaran | |
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| Four Letter Code | ORNA |
| Federation Status | Allied |
| Planet of Origin | Ornara / Delos III in the Delos system |
| Encountered | By the USS Enterprise-D (TNG: Symbiosis) |
| T/E Rating | T0/E0 |
| Current Tech Level | N |
| List of Named Ornarans | |
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Almost identical to Terrans except for a extra cartlidge bridge on the nose and the unique ability to provide a limited electical discharge from the hands, while produced at great strain to the Ornaran, it can incapacitate the unwary. This race was kept in virtual addiction to felicium, a native drug, by the neighboring world of Brekka supposedly to fight off ongoing effects of a plague that was long ago cured. Originally, the Ornarans had long outpaced the Brekkian economy. Upon the failure of the last felicium supply freighter in 2364, the entire planet has entered a painful detox process.
Home World
- Proper Name: Ornara
- Class: M
- Quadrant: Alpha
- Primary Star: Delos
- Level of Technology: The Ornarans achieved space travel 200 years ago. Although some ships remain functional, the knowledge of how to build them has been lost.
- Atmosphere: Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide
- Climate: Usually warm. Does get windy on occasion, and rains a lot.
The Delos system contains two inhabited planets: Ornara, the third planet from the sun, and its outer neighbor, Brekka. Both planets are inhabited by a race that is humanoid in appearance. The Delos system's sun is relatively unstable and is prone to periodic violent magnetic field changes producing gigantic and intense solar flares. It is speculated that the proximity of the unstable magnetic field is responsible for the innate ability of the Brekkians and the Ornarans to generate powerful electrical charges. These charges are easily capable of stunning humans, although races with similar abilitys seem better able to withstand the effects.
History
The recent history of the Ornarans and the Brekkians has been intertwined, but for centuries, the two cultures developed independently.
At one time, the Ornarans were more advanced society, diverging from the development of Brekka approximately 2000 years ago. Two centuries ago, the Ornarans technology reached the point of progressing space travel. Technologically, Brekka lagged behind Ornara, but the potentially devastating effect of a plague on both cultures in the 22nd century provided the means for the Brekkians to achieve dominance over their neighbors.
A cure was discovered on Brekka through the refinement of felicium; this was rapidly used as a curitiave for the entire Brekkian population, and space travel permitted the felicium to be passed on to the Ornaran population. Unfortunately, the plant resisted all attempts at cultivation on Ornana.
In addition to its curative effect, felicium also has highly addictive properites. The Brekkians avoided consumption once all traces of the plague had been eradicated on Brekka, but, fully cognizant of its narcotic qualities, they were quite happy to continue supplying the felicium to the inhabitants of Ornara, who believe themselves dependent on regular supplies of the drug to prevent a recurrence of the plague.
The Brekkians modified and improbed the refining process, and also developed a device that transforms the pill into a substance that enables it to be administered by injection. The euphoric and soporific effects were almost instantaneous, causing a mental laxity as the Ornarans interact on a detached basis. The placidity can have dangerous consequences. For instance, and Ornaran under the influence of felicium is incapable of maintaining control during difficult situations. The lack of felicium is even worse; a desperate desire for the drug, coupled with a belief that without it they will die from the plague, renders the Ornarans incapable of almost any act.
The advent of the plague has shifted the balance of culture and technology between Brekka and Ornara. Brekka's entire scientific and technological rescources are geared to producing felicium pills, which are then traded with Ornara for all necessities and the additional comfort that allow the Brekkians to live a pampered life.
While this comfortable standard of living gives the Brekkians a veneer of sophistication and refinement, it barely masks the arrogance and contempt they have for the people they exploit. It has also resulted in a stagnant society, where they is no reason to progress from a situation where all their requirements and wishes are provided by others.
The Federation sent observers during the 22nd century, but there is little subsequent contact between either planet and the Federation until 2364, when two Brekkians and two Ornarans, along with a cargo of felicium, are beamed aboard the USS Enterprise D from a destructing freighter craft orbiting Brekka.
The relationhip between the Brekkians and their neighbors is forever altered by Captain Jean-Luc Picard as he applies a strict definition of Starfleet's Prime Directive, forbidding interference in other cultures. Knowing that they only craft capable of transportation between the planets are badly in need of repair and will son be unusable, he refuses to donate the necessary components, leaving no means of transporting the felicium.
Soon after the Enterprise-D left, the Ornarans went through a painful withdrawal period.
Religion
Due to the effects of the felicium, the Ornarans dropped all religious concerns. It's unknown whether or not they are religious.
Physical Description
Ornarans are distinguished from humans by a distinctive nasal bridge that contains no dip, remaining flat between the eyes. As children, they can be a lot shorter than the adverage height for a human child, growing a little faster once they've hit puberty. Ornarans are exactly the same as humans from the waist down. They are exactly the same as Brekkians, except for a few minor things.
Notes
Most of this article comes from Star Trek Fact Files, File 18, Card 92.