Caitian: Difference between revisions

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====Vision====
====Vision====
Caitian eyes are golden in pigmentation, and function extremely well in low light. Their vision is panoramic, and their retinas contain a high ratio of rods to cones, allowing for an extremely developed ability to see movement, but a slightly reduced ability to see colour.
Caitian eyes are golden in pigmentation, and function extremely well in low light. Their vision is panoramic, and their retinas contain a high ratio of rods to cones, allowing for an extremely developed ability to see movement.


====Hearing====
====Hearing====
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==Religion==
==Religion==
Very few Caitians still practise their religious beliefs, the abandonment of which started soon after the Kodom invasion. Faced with considerably advanced technology, much of the populace embraced a more scientific outlook on their existence.
Those who still follow their now ancient religion worship the Goddess, who created the universe and holds all of nature in balance. She is opposed by the Dark Ones, whose goal is to coerce the faithful into making their own lives miserable. Worship is conducted in private at personal shrines. These are kept in the home, and contain intricately carved statues in the image of the Goddess.


==Mythology==
==Mythology==
Ancient Caitian legends also tell of a White Caitian, but no such Caitian has been born in recorded history.
There are few notable Caitian legends, other than that of the White Caitian. No Caitians have been born with white fur in recorded history, and while it is possible the genetic likelihood is infinitessimally small. Stories and books about the White Caitian are now available within the Federation database, and are read to children on Cait as bedtime stories.


==Society==
==Society==
Initially, Caitians were a hunting people, wild predators on the savannah. However, what farming did to the humans, ranching did to the Caitians. The domestication of local wildlife turned the nomadic people into more sedentary people. As a result, culture soon flourished and in a few thousand years, civilization, based around the ranch principle.  
In the pre-civilized stages of their development, Caitians were a hunting people who lived within the forests of their homeworld in small tribes. Their tribal nature remained even after their civilization was born, and grew into a system of ranches, which made use of domesticated wildlife. Eventually, tribes were amalgamated into clans, that spanned a number of ranches, and so were born early Caitian towns. The need for hunting was now gone, although families still engage in ritual hunts to remind them of their feral origins.
Caitian culture has been peaceful for nearly two eons after their early history was marked by savage wars that nearly decimated the species. The remaining link to their violent past is through the familial hunts.
 
Caitian cities are small by Federation standards, although many are regarded for their beauty. The Caitian people also insist on preserving their ecology. These factors, combined with their need for open spaces, has led to the colonisation of a large number of other words. Notable Caitian colonies include 15 Lyncis III, Regulus III (which is home to a prominent Federation Science Academy), Havelind, Hochlor IV, Kirisha, Macadarna and Narval. Around 85% of Caitian-colonised worlds are Federation members.
 
Caitian society allows for equal rights for both sexes, and has done for as long as the people can remember. Even names have no gender-specific application, the only differentiating factor being an honorific prefix: S' for males and M' for females. Other honorifics exist that are non-gender specific however, and in some colonies one are used at all, resulting in much variation in Caitian names.


==Culture==
==Culture==
Claws
The Caitian people have a reputation Federation-wide for the co-operative approach to their relationships with other member worlds, and their service within Starfleet. To a Caitian, loyalty is something to be highly prized, either in regard to an organisation or a particular individual. This has evolved from their clan-based society, in which loyalty plays a big part due to physical dispersion across the Caitian landscape.
 
===Art===
The most prominent form of art in Caitian culture is sculpture. Caitians are a sensual people who particularly enjoy the stimulation of their eyesight and sense of smell, and as such physical art is considered to be the pinnacle of aesthetic pleasure. Other forms of art are considered little more than a passtime. Dance, for instance, is considered to be more of a sport by Caitians, and music is a valuable distraction, but little more.
 
Caitian sculpture differs from that of other cultures in one key aspect: it is designed not only to be visually appealing, but also to stimulate the sense of smell. ''Strovothra'', as this form of art is named, most usually includes the sculpting of a form of organic matter, and an examples of this have been displayed in exhibitions on other worlds. The exhibit that was created for the Parisian exhibition on Earth was a 60-meter column of twisted fruit-bearing vines, bonded by damp clay.
 
===Attire===
Most fully grown Caitians wear a one piece outfit, designed to be as cool as possible in their jungle environment. These can be produced in a variety of colours to suit the individual. Children occasionally wear these robes, but it is not uncommon for them to remain unclothed until they reach puberty, given that their thick fur covers their modesty. All Caitians wear a collar in public, as their neck is considered to be a sensitive area. Starfleet uniforms cater well for this need as the coloured undergarment that displays their department serves the same purpose.
 
Beauty is revered by Caitian artists along with the general populace. Every colour holds a different meaning for a Caitian, and their fashion is often individually tailored to reflect their personality. Alien fashions may appear strange, obsurd or unfashionable by Caitians, or in extreme cases offensive to the eye. However, the nature of the species is to avoid confrontation rather than create it, and any comments a Caitian may make on this matter is always worded exceptionally carefully.
 
===Claws===
Day-to-day life necessitates the blunting of a Caitian's claws, a custom that sits well with their non-violent outlook on life. However, no Caitian will ever intentially trim their claws to the point at which they are completely useless, neither will they voluntarily have them removed. Many Caitians would rather die than endure such humiliation, and an attempt to forcibly remove a Caitian's claws is one of the few occurences that is likely to produce a violent response.


===Language===
===Language===
The Caitian language consists of multiple soft tones, spoken with a deep, purring resonance; this style of communication makes it difficult for the Caitians to adapt to phonetic languages.
The Caitian language is made up mainly of silky vowel sounds, which are pronounced with a resonance of the tongue that strongly resembles purring. When speaking Federation Standard as a second language, Caitians will notably extend and roll 'r' sounds, and elongate 's' sounds. This may sound like purring and hissing respectively.


==Customs==  
==Customs==  
===Bonding===
Once every six months, and three months after shedding, a Caitian female is fertile and ready to reproduce. At this time many Caitians go through a process referred to as ''bonding''. This process entails a physical and psychological bond governed by hormones that leads to selecting a mate for life.
Once a Caitian has undergone puberty they begin to give off a pheromone that attracts other unbonded Caitians. Once the bonding has occurred this pheromone is altered, indicating to other members of the species that they have already taken a mate. When two unbonded Caitians meet there is a chance that they can become addicted to each other's pheromones, which manifests as a strong physical attraction: they will both feel the urge to be close to one another. The addiction occurs on a subconscious level, and leaves the individual with very little choice about how they feel. Initially this is not an emotional response, but in nearly every case of bonding, the two Caitians involved have eventually fallen in love and wed.
Bonding lasts until the death of one of its members, whatever its cause may be, which is invariably extremely traumatic for the survivor. While it is possible for a Caitian to mate without being bonded, such behaviour is considered to be shallow and unfulfilling, even by the those who pursue such actions. A bonded Caitian may sometimes wear an ankle bracelet to indicate their involvement. This bracelet is never removed, even after death.
On occasion a Caitian may bond with a member of another species. The first recorded case of this occurred in 2278, but many more instances have been recorded since.


==Technology==
==Technology==
The relatively unique means by which the Caitians possessed their technology accelerated their development at quite a rate. By the time they joined Starfleet in 2234, the main technological development of note had been the improvement of their warp technology, but their progression is now in line with the rest of the Federation.


==Economy==
==Economy==
The Regulan bloodworm (Regulani vermis) is a parasitic life form native to Cait
Exports from Cait include the Regulan Bloodworm, which has some medical applications. In addition, the asteroid belt between Regulus III and Regulus IV contains many rich deposits of Dilithium, which is a valuable resource for the Federation.
Cait would have remained a small, insignifigant planet had not it?s system been rich in a rare element: Dilithium. This brought it to the attention of the local powers, including the Federation. Cait was admitted to the Federation in 2234 and has been a great asset since.  


==Military==
==Military==
The Caitian Sky Navy was absorbed into Starfleet when Cait was accepted into the Federation. All Caitian military operations are now administered by Starfleet.


==Federation Intelligence Files==
==Federation Intelligence Files==
• Korax, a Klingon lieutenant, once insultingly compared Humans to Regulan bloodworms on Deep Space Station K-7 in a conversation which immediately preceded a barroom brawl. (TOS episode: "The Trouble with Tribbles")
* A brawl on Deep Space Station K-7 was precipitated by a Klingon referring to a Starfleet Officer as a Regulan Bloodworm.
* In 2363 the Caitian colony of Kirisha declared war on the Carnellians due to a misunderstanding over their stance within the Carnellian heirarchy, believing that they had been declared slaves of the Carnellian Regnancy. The situation was quickly resolved.
* In 2370 a party of Caitains visited Deep Space 9 to witness the Illumination of The Prodigal, the outermost Bajoran moon.
 
===Contributions to Starfleet===
Caitian Officers are found throughout Starfleet, in each of the different branches. However, the Caitians have made many notable contributions to Starfleet, including:
 
* Service as Communications Officers, and Science Officers specialising in sonic science.
* The Sethessa Project, which was responsible for much of the advanced programming currently included in the Universal Translator.
* Service as Diplomatic Officers and First Contact Specialists, due to their species-wide ability of deploying tact, understanding and personal warmth in such situations.
 
==References==
(TNG novel: The Buried Age)
(DS9 novel: Devil in the Sky)
 
==Sources==
*Star Trek: The Animated Series (Various episodes)
*[http://www.memory-alpha.org Memory Alpha]
*[http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Memory Beta]
*Star Trek RPG: Starfleet Operations Manual (Decipher Inc., 2003)
*Bennett, C. L.: ''Star Trek the Next Generation: The Buried Age'' (Pocket Books, 2007)
*Cox, G. & Betancourt, J. G. ''Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Devil in the Sky'' (Pocket Books, 1995)
*[http://www.star-fleet.com/library/bookshelf/rm/species-caitian.html]
*[database.obsidianfleet.net/wiki/index.php/Caitian]
*[http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/trek/races/caitian.html]
*[http://www.io.com/~sjohn/regulans.htm]
 
==Caitians: A Rationale==
Author's note: Due to the lack of canon information on the Caitians and the conflicting nature of the non-canon articles and resources, this article is an attempt to reconcile this array of disparate information. The link between the Cait and Regulus V has been drawn for three reasons: the inclusion of Regulus V as the Caitian homeworld in Decipher's Star Trek RPG (See references); the reference to Regulus V in the non-canon audio novel "Passage to Moauv"; and the copyright dispute that caused the Last Unicorn RPG books to name the Caitians as Regulans.


==Notes==  
==Notes==  
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