Malacandran
From Star Trek Online Geekipedia
Malacandrans are a green skinned, telepathic, humanoid species with distinctive glowing red eyes. They originate on Mars, the fourth planet in the Sol system. Their existence and continued survival was unknown to Starfleet until 2393.
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History and Politics
The origins of civilization on Mars are still a mystery. The earliest known Malacandran writings date from approximately 7000 B.C. The Malacandrans developed from a tribal system into a series of city states which varied in population from as few as twenty to over one hundred thousand. Each city was governed by a council of elders, each responsible for overseeing one area of government such as education or agriculture. In larger cities, there were District Councils, each with a representative on the City Council. A planet-wide council was formed in 4000 B.C., though it only met when needed until a permanent central government was deemed necessary in 2000 B.C. Malacandrans were a peaceful people and disputes were usually settled through discussion and diplomacy. On rare occasions, when no settlement could be reached, they would engage in ceremonial combat.
While Malacandrans were fascinated by the sciences, their rate of technological development was comparatively slow. They had developed a clear understanding of warp theory by 3000 B.C.; however they did not build warp capable vessels beyond unmanned probes for over 1500 years. This is, in part, due to the fact that Malacandrans viewed their home world as sacred and had little desire to be away from it for long.
Decline
In about 800 B.C., there was a growing unrest about the pacifist nature of the Malacandrans. Many began to see the nearby world of Earth as being wasted on its savage natives and began to covet its resources for themselves. Some were banished from Mars or imprisoned for trying to take parts of Earth for themselves; others went to Earth in secrecy, forming their own societies. This culminated in 79 B.C. in a plot to overthrow the Malacandran government using biological weapons developed on Earth and produced using human slaves. The conspiracy was discovered and the ensuing conflict led to the near extinction of the Malacandrans, save a small number who were able to make it into stasis.
Society
Malacandrans lived in familial clans, with a number of clans forming a city state. Each clan would have a head, who could be male or female and often a separate council representative who was often either the spouse or sibling of the clan head. These positions were generally decided by the clan after informally discussing the suitability of potential candidates.
Marriage was an institution highly regarded by the Malacandrans. They were monogamous and for life. Potential partners were generally sought out off neighbouring clans within a city, though nearby cities would be considered if the population of the home city was small. The couple would then share their deeper thoughts and desires with each other to gauge compatibility. After this courtship, usually lasting a few weeks, the couple would inform their elders of their desire to marry. The ceremony itself was generally overseen by a respected Malacandran of the bride’s choosing and involved days of celebration with fine food and dancing.
Their society was focussed on learning and research, most Malacandrans prized knowledge and wisdom above most things. This included scientific knowledge as well as the historical, spiritual and artistic.
Physiology
Malacandrans are a humanoid species. Their skin is generally green; however, there are rare cases of pale white, red or blue skinned individuals. Most are completely hairless, though some individuals can grow hair on their heads which is usually black, though shades of grey and even white are common.
Martian Vision
Despite their unusual glowing red eyes, Malacandrans have eyesight similar to most humanoid species. They do have much better night vision, due to Mars’ comparative darkness with other worlds.
Telepathy
The Malacandran brain has a telepathic lobe located beneath the sensory cortex. They are born with rudimentary telepathic abilities and usually slowly begin to absorb information on language and culture directly from their parents. By adulthood, Malacandran telepathic abilities extend beyond communication of thoughts and feelings to sharing complex information such as scientific principles, languages or stories. Through this process, Malacandrans are able to relive the experiences of long dead ancestors. During more intense use of their telepathic abilities, their eyes will begin to glow blue. While they are capable of sharing this information with other species, care must be taken by the Malacandran not to overload the mind of the recipient.
Life Span
Malacandrans generally live for about 700 years. Childhood lasted for approximately 35 to 50 years, though children in Malacandran society are more independent than in most other sentient species. Their telepathic abilities increase for the next century until reaching a plateau at about 140. Once they reach about 600, they begin to slow physically while their mind begins to occasionally leave their body and explore their environment. As they near the end of their lives, their mind spends less and less time in their body until they eventually never return.
Religion
The Malacandrans’ main system of belief revolves around the worship of an omnipotent creator known as Maleldil. They believe that Mars was inhabited by a enigmatic species of thin, white giants called the Seroni or Pious Ones who revealed Maleldil’s commandments and wisdom to them. Tales of the Seroni’s exploits as well as their relationship with the Malacandrans form a large part of their sacred texts. The rare white skinned Malacandrans are believed to be the descendants of the Seroni, though this has never been scientifically verified.
