PHYSIOLOGY
The Stellarmerian or Sjendari* in their language are a humanoid bipedal species with a wide range of genetic diversities, leading to a variety of racial differences but a commonality of the majority of the population is a propensity for a deep blue to purple skin tone often in a mild gradient, proportionally large forward-facing eyes with black cornea, flat noses, head hair, and most containing pointed ear lobes. Their bodies have a standard humanoid build with bipedal legs and two manipulator arms. There are a large number of variations in this including but not limited to skin tone lightness, differences in ears, eye coloring, facial structure, and overall body build.
* The Federation-coined name Stellarmerian came about from the first contact with Starfleet as a result of a particular Captain making something of a pun relating to how the Universal Translator rendered their progenitor species as “Stellarian” and claimed these people were only “merely Stellarian.” To the chagrin of some it stuck and eventually got adopted into the Federation database even after the origin was forgotten. Their own name is Saytisj Adjavk, usually simplified as Saytisjadji when referring to people from or living on the home planet of Saytisjin (Adjavk literally translates to People of [Location]). The species collectively are known as Sjendari (loosely translated as Illuminating Light) but the term was used less commonly before they were branched out more amongst the stars.
The most notable fact about the species is they are not originally naturally evolved. The modern species were created an unspecified number of millennia ago by the now-extinct enigmatic race known only to Federation records as Stellarians (locally known as Saytisj Nomya Tal) by taking genetic material, and possibly even actual living samples, of various humanoid races throughout the galaxy and genetically engineering them all with cross spliced genes and mixing in a heavy amount of Saytisj genetics.
Though exact details of Saytisj genetic data are hard to find, it is believed their propensity for blue shades of skin and black cornea are both dominant traits of the original Saytisj genetics. This is notable in that what little data there is on the Saytisj Nomya Tal confirms they were not entirely humanoid themselves, apparently not sharing the hypothesized common ancestor of most humanoid races (known as the Preservers). This required the theoretically much older Saytisj to heavily alter their genes to create the Sjendari. The reason for their creation is lost to history but it is widely believed to be a unique form of legacy since the Saytisj race itself has since died out and this was perhaps a method to leave something behind of themselves.
Due to the high amount of genetic engineering many Sjendari have an atypically high amount of adaptability to environments, which helps as their home world of Saytisjin is a tidally locked planet which presents only a thin band as comfortably habitable. It is notable that the species is not native to this world due to the fact their ancestors were created, and were likely deposited here, growing to adapt to it.
(Left: a female presenting Sjendari, Right: a male presenting Sjendari, not a wholly representative sample of racial and physical differences)
On the subject of genders, sexes, and reproduction: Sjendari reproduce sexually and can be compared to mammals. They have a unique physiology and can be said to have multiple sexes. Specifically, they appear to have been bioengineered to start life in a sort of neutral form, and as they mature a part of their form of puberty includes a gradual metamorphosis into the biological sex they end up with instead of it being genetically determined at random prior to birth. The exact mechanisms that determine their ultimate biological sex is unclear, but it does appear to be linked to their gender preference to some degree, suggesting a degree of psychological control. It could be said the gender spectrum is biologically matched. Once they mature it is typically not possible to change again, at least not without assistance. Due to the way their biology works it is rare that it happens, however it is not an unheard-of practice.
As a result of this unique aspect of the species biology, gender based stigma and inequalities have not followed paths very typical in other nominally bi-gendered species as there is some conscious choice involved. This does not mean no inequalities have ever existed and there are many examples in their history of efforts to influence the development of various groups for potential gains of various types. These kinds of practices are largely relegated to history now, but it would be wrong to imply the scars do not exist in the society of modern times.
BIOLOGY
The average lifespan of a Sjendari can be hard to determine. This is largely due to the fact that there are so many differences among individuals that some might be even longer lived than others to a radical degree. It has however been observed that members of the species can remain lively and vibrant up to the age of 200 Earth years. A census of a few confirmed geriatric Sjendari has confirmed some begin showing signs of age related issues as early as 250, and some don’t until almost 300.
The reason for this is due to a remarkable cellular structure that enables them to photosynthesize solar radiation much like plants, though they themselves are not plant based. They do not do this entirely unconsciously and need to dedicate a period of time in a day to this which requires a fair amount of skin exposure that is not often displayed in most situations. The tradeoff is they only need to eat food as little as once a week (thought they are perfectly capable of eating more often). This is to make sure they have a proper supply of nutrients they cannot get from sunlight. Early understanding was that this was some innate ability or perhaps part of the bioengineering of the species.
It was later learned however that they simply did not volunteer a number of known truths about their biology. All Sjendari have a natural symbiotic relationship with a colony of micro-organisms within their skin known colloquially as Solicytes. It is in fact the solicytes that are photosynthetic and absorb solar energy, in turn supplying their Sjendari host with produced sugars and various nutrients that both give the individual energy in absence of eating food as often, but also bolster their physicality, skin resilience, and depending on the type of light wavelengths fed to them can even promote others forms of physical reactions, both potentially beneficial and negative in the right circumstances. There is also a likelihood the solicytes are responsible for the deep blue and purple skin color. It has been said keeping these organisms properly nourished keeps the Sjendari skin and body in a self-correcting stable cellular structure that offsets long term cell damage and therefore delays aging. Thus, proper upkeep of the symbiotic relationship could theoretically mean their cells would never die of old age. Unfortunately, this makes them heavily dependent on the solicytes too, and the organisms are not wholly immune to their own damage or disease. Statistically the primary natural killer of Sjendari is when their body’s solicytes become damaged, mutated, or die off. Without them Sjendari bodies begin to rapidly age as if making up for lost time as their bodies cells begin multiply and decay faster, and the individuals need to increase food intake to make up for the loss of energy from solar intake. This is known as Star-Shading Syndrome, and the individuals are considered shaded.
Signs of aging due to genetic differences, likely another holdover of their Saytisj creators, cause their skin to slowly develop a crystal-like layer that gradually covers them restricting movement as the crystallization slowly encroaches inward on their internal organs. A late life Sjendari tends to be heavily movement restricted and their corpses take on a brittle rock-like appearance that easily crumbles. Due to their longevity, not many Sjendari die of old ages like this at common intervals, so such a passing is highly respected. Though some may go a long time before being afflicted of star-shading, it is considered an inevitability for anyone who lives long enough. The species is however not immune to diseases or death by injuries, and since growing old takes so much time it is actually more common for death to come via other means. Their large gene pool has been known to be a gateway to unique afflictions, though a full listing of diseases would be too difficult to list here.
Sjendari bodies are highly agile and it is common for them to be quick in movement with an ability to remarkably and accurately move about in ways similar to parkour. Their abilities are proportional to their energy intake however, and they can over intake on solar radiation as well as food and must be conscious of this. One theory for onset star-shading syndrome is that it is a response to the body taking in too much solar radiation, but this has not been proven. It should be noted Sjendari are not born able to fully photosynthesize but develop the capability gradually in adolescence starting from age 9 and going as long as to age 25 to 32 depending on the individual. It is believed that while solicytes naturally exist in their skin it takes this long for a maturing Sjendari body to build up enough of them to properly nourish themselves. Solar intake can be measured by scans and most report that can feel when their intake per unit of time has leveled out. Once this happens, they are considered adults. The rest of their biological growth happens in this range as well, in what can be called their form of puberty. The species reproduce sexually; however, it is unclear how active the drive to reproduce is considering their longevity.
Amusingly, for all of their engineered traits and adaptability, the Sjendari are examples of jack-of-all-trades, master of none in terms of genetics. They can do a lot more than most species typically seem capable of doing, but where some members of a species could be unusually talented or predisposed to a certain level of intelligence or physical ability a Sjendari will rarely if ever be specifically good at any one thing excepting capabilities brought on by racial genetic differences. Their ability to adapt to environments is also not fast, and takes a certain amount of time (on the scale of weeks) before their bodies become accustomed to a location, and they’d need as much time to re-adapt to the original environment.
CULTURE & SOCIETY
Socially, Sjendari have gotten used to depending on each other, likely from a history of growing into their existence and their ancestors learning what they are together. There is a natural unity among groups and a high degree of love and affection for those they know most. Though their society is unified now, it is something that only happened in the last 500 or so years and took heavy effort to do. In fact while Sjendari are social creatures and have very low amounts of personal space concerns, they are very ideologically and culturally distinct. The push to unify them under a singular government and civilization was in some ways forced into practice and received such heavy push back that it erupted into an incredibly violent war that lasted more than a century before unification was achieved. There are still questions if the price was too high and whether the ultimate end result was inevitable regardless or not.
Sjendari family units are very atypical for a humanoid culture. They practice a form of social and romantic polyamory and do not form binding social contracts like marriages for family units. It is very common for individuals to have several romantic partners and these groupings to intersect. It is observed by researchers that the species can be described as panromantic and nominally heterosexual since they do seek to procreate. This being said it is hard to say if there are any predispositions to preferred sexuality as they by and large seem to act pansexual. As a result of not having strict family units and no social or legal system for joining of families, which are not considered a particularly legal unit in and of themselves in society, the structures of homes, neighborhoods, and even whole cities can come across as very foreign in operation. Living arrangements can often look like large interconnected homes and shared spaces among many individuals and genetic family partners living near, with, and mixed into others based on their local social and cultural groups. Whereas many other species youths first mingle and interact beyond families in schooling, to Sjendari there is no real difference as they are practically raised among their peers and in fact the concept of school as an educational institution is itself somewhat unknown as education is something of a group effort.
As a result of this family structures can become quite complex and confusing to the outside observer, often existing rather loosely. Frequency of children is low due to longevity, but it is normal for each pairing to only produce one child each. This can mean a female could have several children from different fathers, or only just one child despite her various partners. Mothers are the primary caregivers of infants, but fathers will tend to oversee adolescent raising, regardless of child gender. Though genetic siblings are rare due to low birth rates and lack of monogamy, this means half siblings spend a lot of time growing up together under both patriarchal raising and being among the same social community. It is extremely rare for siblings to have both a common mother and father, but it is certainly not impossible. Some consider the act to be wasteful for a variety of personal and social reasons not worth delving into, but for the most part full siblings are generally taken to be an accidental occurrence more than deliberate.
One would think the above makes Sjendari very friendly and trusting. This is nominally true, as stated they are socially and culturally very dependent on each other. This does not mean they don’t form cultural groupings which can have distinct identities and viewpoints. Distinct city-states, tribal villages, and philosophical ideologies that clashed across the planet were once exceedingly common. Most of these cultural distinctions exist still in some form but have been pressed into cooperation through extreme difficulty and the mediation of people who give their entire livelihood to enable it. It would make sense that the knowledge of alien life in the galaxy and their interactions with it, including the Federation, would spur them to be more united. Ironically the Federation may have nearly caused the most division since their Great Unification War nearly 500 years prior to meeting them. Amusingly, the Sjendari were spacefaring and capable of FTL that far back, though limited in their stellar range and did not have mixing with the interstellar community before they began infighting. They did, despite this, know other species existed in the universe before Humanity had spaceflight.
All of this results in Sjendari being heavily pragmatic, valuing practical ideas over idealistic philosophies. This is because they simply cannot agree of a unifying singular philosophy that enough people can agree on. To work together they had to brute force compromises, and they had to do this so much that it ultimately became, ironically in some respects, one of the most common aspects of their culture. Their technological development has been done in a way to support their civilization and to actively defend it from others. Before they had concerns of external threats, they were doing this amongst each other against different nation states. It could be said their capability in both defensive and offensive technologies is something of a calling they found, to a point the bulk of their spaceflight before the last century were almost entirely military craft. Though they did have civilian spaceflight before and since, the ratio is still notable.
POLITICS
The Sjendari political system is described on the surface as a form of Constitutional Monarchy. That being said it operates in several distinct ways. The current government is known by the name of the New Unity Constellate, often times informally referred to the Starlight Constellate after the original Unity government that first attempted to merge the disparate nation states under one banner before facing heavy opposition. Officially the Constellate is a unification of the original nation states of Saytisjin under a single planetary state (with the exception of the Autonomously Governed city-state of Saytisjek), which puts it in a union with a myriad of space-based colonies serving as interstellar states in the Constellate. Most of the states are actually space colonies with artificially built environments on massive mobile ships or built out of asteroids or small planetoids. There is one fully colonized planet outside of Saytisjin known as Saytisjnal, but most spaceborne Sjendari seem happy to form their collectives on artificial worlds, or spreading out and joining other species in the many melting pot worlds of the Alpha Quadrant. The Constellate states exist in a form of decentralized autonomy due in large part to their spread out nature and the logistics of Sjendari subspace folding technology making centralized control more difficult than the original Unity government attempted. Lessoned learned in the Great War included that unity need not exist with total control.
As far as leadership, each Constellate state has their own worked out government system, often some variation of democratic republic or parliament, a model the central Saytisjin government endorses. They have their own leaders and representatives in the Starlight Council on Saytisjin. There is one position that only exists on Saytisjin however and is considered a Constellate-wide presence: a figure similar to a monarch called the Kesjierad (roughly translatable to Emperor/Empress or King/Queen). They are not lineage based or divined in any way, but in fact selected by the populace.
In the original Constellate, the Kesjierad was a far more authoritarian figure and was something of a compromise of the many ruling classes of the nation states that originally banded together to create the Unity Government. This compromise was however rejected by several other nation states at the time, and led to the Unity government forcing the transition under the banner of unification for the betterment of a new space faring era. This led to detractors of the original Unity government to refer to it as little more than an Autocratic Empire and supporters and military figures in it were often labeled derisively as ‘Imperials’ despite no Constellate official ever using such terminology internally. There was however, a grain of truth to the matter. Following the Great War between the Starlight Constellate and the Alliance of Liberty States, which nominally saw the latter defeated, the resultant true unification saw a sweeping series of reforms across several revs in order to properly incorporate the once warring factions. As a part of this the role of the Kesjierad changed from being a political leader and head of state to something of a near universally respected cultural icon with a degree of remaining political power, but no longer the capability to make total executive actions on their own. The process for how they were chosen was also changed with a focus on selecting people who met the approval of the masses as much as possible.
Despite a degree of democratization of the role, the process is a bit more complex than a simple vote and no one runs for the title. First a sub-council works out the best qualities and skills needed in a leader of the people and watches the standard aptitude tests for youths across the planet to find candidates that meet the qualifications, and make a short list to approach. These individuals have a choice to consider the option of becoming the next leader. Though most consider it a civic duty they wouldn’t want to turn away, there is a degree of respect to people to abdicate the chance and the screening intentionally selects people who may do this as candidates that would accept automatically are considered potentially problematic. The public meets these candidates (sometimes informally called Princes and Princesses, though these are not proper titles and there is no official bearing to them) through a series of tours and ultimately decide which they approve of the most. That person becomes the Viskesjierad (sort of a Leader in Waiting) until the current Kesjierad abdicates the position or dies. The current serving people’s leader is intended to serve for life or until such point where they or the public agree they can no longer fulfill the role. The selection council has the job of being proactive to decide when to start scouting potential replacements, and often keeps their short list for decades before making them public.
The Kesjierad has no direct control over any government matters as they are technically not in a governmental position. Their job is to represent the people’s will to the government. The actual government itself is something of a Parliament where councilor seats are voted in by the people, but the specific government positions are decided by internal council votes to run efficiently. This includes positions like Defense Minister, Chancellor, and so on. The people get some say in who can be in these positions through the Kesjierad who can cast two votes in any internal election, one for them and one for the people. These votes need not be the same, and in many historical cases, are not the same. There is no specific mechanism to combat corruption on this beyond the simple concept that the kind of people selected for their capability to take the role are the sort of people who would not abuse their power in such a way. While this specific form of government is relatively recent (a post-war reform of the original Unity government), it hasn’t had any specific systemic failures yet.
The governing council is a group based on locality from different cities and towns across the planet. They are elected locally to serve the government more than then the people, who are again represented by the Kesjierad more than anything else. Though it seems the people’s will and interests are represented primarily by a single person, the Kesjierad has a worldwide support network of appointed and employed persons and outreach offices. Sometimes this includes unselected Kesjierad candidates, who go on to be public figures in their own right while supporting their former opposition (as, again, the type of people selected are the kind who would be graceful in defeat rather than bitter).
It should not be underestimated how important the Kesjierad is to the people. They serve an important role that is in no way a figurehead, and due to how they are picked it is typical that they are very well liked by the populace at large. Distinct leaders operate differently, but it is common for them to try their best to be down to earth and very active in the community, rather than acting above the general populace. They don’t even reside in a particularly flashy home, though it is a well-kept and secured. While the Kesjierad does the best to represent the people’s will to the government, this doesn’t always result in desired actions. As long as they do the best, they can to push for the people’s will however, the people rarely blame them so much as the other members of the government. This can easily influence council elections later when councilors start being out of touch with the transitive influence of the people.