Altair

Altair Appearance and Characteristic Behavior

The Altair are a race whose genetic heritage is distinctly reptilian. They range from 1 1/3 to 2 1/3 meters tall and tend towards an stockier build. Their skin color varies from bright green to darker reds and browns to black. Despite their reptilian background, Altair are actually warm-blooded.

The planet Altairn's habitable regions are mostly covered by swamps due to the high axial tilt of the planet that prevented the formation of polar ice caps. Though only about 10% of planet's surface is actually above the water line, another 25% is covered by no more than 2 meters of swamp.

The swamps are home to some of the most hostile and unforgiving flora and fauna on any of the civilized worlds. An unarmed, unprepared being is not likely to last more than 24hrs outside of the protection of a city and only that long with a great deal of luck. Before the advent matter transmitters, the safest way to travel from city to city was via a intercorporate high-speed trains. The trains, which still run (though mostly for tourists), travel on tracks protected by a crystalline polymer tunnel. For the more tenacious creatures, a electrical defense system engages does its best to discourage any assailants.

While most Altairn cities are centered on the above-water land mass, some enterprising corporations have developed livable areas where the swamps are shallowest. Even with this type of risky expansion, most Altairn cities are growing up more than they are growing out. This compressed urban lifestyle had made the Altair, as a species, very concious of personal space. Altair are not keen on public displays of affection and abhor the idea of making a public spectacle of themselves. This can often give the impression that Altair are reclusive, standoffish, or even downright snobby. However, from the Altair perspective, it is simply a matter of being polite when politeness is often the only way someone can find a little privacy.

Events that shaped Altair culture

Ancient Altair were very tribal by nature and by necessity. With the extremely aggressive environment, the only way to survive was by cunning and cooperation. By banding together and utilizing any advantage they could buy, borrow, or steal the Altair managed to become the dominant species. As civilization began to fill up the prime real estate, that is the land masses above water, these tribes banded into larger clans. Sometimes this was done cooperatively to mutual advantage and sometimes other clans were absorbed or even obliterated. Altair history is riddled with countless clan wars fought over who controlled the dry-land. This eventually led to a modern civilization comprised, not of nations, but of numerous City-States all governed by families who can trace their ancestors back several millenia.

Until the most recent millennium (by Altair calandars), each of the City-States was a law unto itself. Clans would band together for mutual defense against and towards the annihilation of enemies and would just as quickly abandon the alliance for larger gains. 'Success is everything' was the only universal law of the land. If one could get away with an action then one did, if one were caught, then one deserved to be punished for failure. Though there are many laws that are officially adheared to, it is rare for an Altair to reach adulthood not having broken many of them.

This type of legalized anarachy might seem counter-intuitive to the idea of a developed civilization, were it not for the deeply ingrained sense of personal responsibility. When an Altair is caught doing something illegal they are obligated to pay what amounts to a blood-price, or restitution, to the victim(s). Though there are arbitrators available to assist with the negotions for the amount of restitution, these services are costly and most perpetrators prefer to leave them out of the situation. This may seem, on the surface, to be honorable, but it has more to do with aggressive self-interest. Failure is not treated very kindly and anything that can be done to minimize a failure is considered worthwhile.

It is rare that an individual will fail to pay a restitution because the victims are then entitled to lay the issue before the head of the individuals family. In some cases, when the crime is severe enough, that the family must be involved because the restitution is too high for the individual to pay. When the families become involved the reputation of the family is now at stake. If the family is unable to pay and the family belongs to a clan, then the issue is escalated to the clan. Even though the family and clan are obligated to cover the blood-price of the individual if they can, the focus never drifts away from the individual. If the blood-price cannot be covered, the indivdual's life, including his or her net worth, is given to the victim(s) to do with as they see fit. The family's (or clan's) social status can be severely impacted if this happens.

Frequently when the family becomes involved, and almost always if the clan becomes involved in an individual's restitution, it is no longer an issue about the money. Even if the invididual had the ability to eventually repay the money, the loss of respect in the community results in the individual being disowned. For an Altair to lose the respect of family and clan is the worst fate of all. Without respect, without support, an individual has nothing of value to offer society. Even the poorest family has more social status than an individual who has been disowned. Though some Altair live without family, they rarely are allowed to do more than menial jobs. It is almost unheard of for a disowned individual to be adopted to another family. As a result, most prefer to die rather than face a life cut off from their support. Those who suicide before being formally turned out are considered as having paid proper restitution to the clan and are not actually disowned.

The politics of the Altair people

As Altairn became more industrialized the Clans began to focus on developing business opportunities and not just on expanding their territory. Today, the Clans are just as much a corporation as they are a family. This is not to say that the corporations consist entirely of relatives. As the business side began to develop, it became apparent that not everyone within a clan had the necessary skills. Thus, the corporations began to hire outside the clan. These outsiders were typically from the unaffiliated families, but it was not unheard of to lure individuals away from their clans. Since most corporations were based within the territory belonging to the clan, this outside hiring led to the clans opening up land for their employees to purchase and build homes. This of course required support services, such as grocery stores, utilities, restaurants, etc.

This urbanization forced the clans to expand their role beyond that of families, and employers to governors. The clan lands became city-states that are reesponsible for keeping the peace, taxing the inhabitants, maintaining the roads, and all the other functions of a government. Laws can vary from city-state to city-state, but over the years the governments have found that adopting a certain standard set of laws has made it easier on everyone.

Each clan has an 'executive directorate'. This directorate is comprised of the retired leaders of the clan. Each clan has its own size limitations and admission guidelines, though it almost universal that the executive retired while still succesful and that the executive have a good number of years of successful leadership. The executive directorate is charged with appointing individuals to each of the leadership positions and as an oversight comittee to make sure that these leaders either do well or get removed from power. There are four positions: the clan leader, the governor, the corporate executive, and the representative.

The clan leader is the only one who is also a member of the executive directorate. Those appointed to this role are typically the ones who have been the most successful and earned the respect of everyone within the clan. The role is largely symbolic, but the clan leader functions as a figurehead and 'public face' of the clan. Within the executive directorate they typically do not vote on issues unless the directorate itself is divided.

The governor is in charge of managing the day-to-day operations of the city-state. They are responsible for collecting taxes, managing the utilities, and handling any of the many issues that arise with the local populace. The local security forces report to the governor who is also responsible for supporting and coordinating with the local representatives of the Independant Business Agency.

The corporate executive is responsible for the success of the clan corporation. The corporate executive position has the most turnover of the four because his or her position is only secure as long as the corporation continues to be profitable. An unprofitable quarter puts extreme pressure on the executivee and rarely does a executive remain in power if the profitability continues to fall for the entire year.

The representative is the voice of the clan in the United Corporate Council. The United Corporate Council (UCC) is the governing body in charge of representing all Clans for the purposes of interstellar relations. There are over a thousand representatives on the council and each representative's vote on an issue is weighted by their corporation's annual revenues. The logic being that the larger corporations have more to loose and therefore should have more of a say. The leader of the UCC is the Chief Representative who is elected from among the representatives for one-year terms. There is no term limits, but it requires only a simple majority to remove a Chief Representative from office.

when a replacement for one of these four roles is required, it will always be someone from within the clan. It is much easier to attain this position if the individual is related by blood, but it is not uncommon for someone related by marriage to be selected if their succcess is good enough. It is not unheard of for someone who started out at an entry level position within the company to make it all the way to the top. Altair society rewards those who are successful.

There is one other governing body that is of major importance to Altair society, the Independant Business Agency (IBA). The IBA is actually two agencies with one mandate, to keep the economy running with the least amount of open warfare as possible. The first agency is the Investigations Division. Investigations takes care of any criminal investigation that involves more than one corporation. They arbitrate any restitution and assess fines to cover the costs of the investigation. The Investigations Division does not favor any one clan so their determinations are considered the final word. The second agency is the Treasury Division. The Treasury Division is responsible for the entire banking and monetary system. They provide loans to any business regardless of clan/corporate affiliation and regulate the currency so that inflation is controlled.