World Building

The Pandemic of 829 was the single greatest catastrophe to hit Galhaf in modern times. It began in the year 829 Odiran Era and the main phase lasted for some 2 years. The Pandemic spread throughout Galhaf rapidly, taking advantage of air travel and other forms of rapid transit.

By the time the Pandemic was finished, the world's population had fallen by some 15%, with some areas hit harder than others. Entire cities and provinces, and even small nations, were left largely empty.

The Pandemic was highly infectious, including during the asymptomatic phase, and had a lengthy incubation period, two factors that allowed it to infect virtually every human being by the time it had run its course.

It may never be known just how much of the population decline was due to the Pandemic itself and how much was due to the reactions of the population. In some areas, quarantine procedures blocked food shipments, inducing famine. The global economy collapsed as trade ground to a halt, and the huge numbers of deaths caused backlogs in the execution of wills and payments of survivors' benefits. Many insurance companies went bankrupt attempting to pay out benefits, or were caught up in lengthy lawsuits when they attempted to deny benefits. This collapse of the global economy further worsened conditions in many areas, especially the poorest regions.

Many farms went untended as their owners succumbed to the Plague, further worsening food shortages. The food shortages, in turn, weakened the population making them more vulnerable to both the Plague and other diseases.

Civil unrest broke out in many areas as governments struggling under the burden of dealing with the Pandemic weakened. All-out civil wars broke out in some regions.

The disruptions did not end with the Pandemic's end. Although a vaccine was belatedly discovered, and is currently given to all children to prevent a new outbreak (as many adult survivors remain carriers), the damage had already been done.

Furthermore, survivors were physically, as well as mentally, scarred. A syndrome known as Post-Pandemic Syndrome has been recognized as existing in many survivors. Among the symptoms of PPS are (not every person with PPS has all these symptoms):

Sterility or reduced fertility
High rates of birth defects in those who remain fertile
Physical weakness
Reduced intelligence

Between the Pandemic itself and the widespread Post-Pandemic Syndrome, and recurring fears of a new Pandemic, Galhafan societies have been strained to the breaking point. Plans have been developed for rapid response to new pandemics, including the creation of special Quarantine Districts in many nations, small regions that can be quickly closed off in the event of a new outbreak. Several panics have already resulted in the implementation of these Quarantine Districts, although, so far, none have proved to actually be dangerous.

The economy is nowhere near the pre-Pandemic level, with every nation suffering from high unemployment and low productivity. The real estate market is likely to take generations to recover, what with so many houses and so much property being abandoned. Ethnic and religious conflicts have been enflamed by the disruption and by Pandemic-era incidents where groups only helped out their ethnic and/or religious compatriots, and many nations have dissolved into civil war, or wars with their neighbors. Even several of the Great Powers are on the verge of collapse, leading to fears of a new global war in the resulting power vacuum.

Some areas were relatively unscarred, including some poor areas, who have become major sources of immigration to more heavily-hit areas. They have also become major centers of the controversial "baby trade", officially "international adoptions, with monetary compensation".

The other sentient species, the Pteranthropans (the natives of Galhaf, but now a tiny minority), were not directly affected by the Pandemic, but they did suffer indirect harm, both from the general economic collapse and from outright attacks on them by some hostile humans, envious of their relative well-being. They lost far fewer individuals than humans, however, and in at least one hard-hit country, became the majority.

Overall, however, their status improved in many nations. Being unaffected by the Pandemic, the Pteranthropans were able to help their human neighbors. The hospitals became temporarily dominated by Pteranthropans doctors and nurses. When it was proven that the virus could only be carried by humans, and could not survive long outside of the human body, Pteranthropans also came to play an important role in trading between quarantined regions and other areas, during the period when quarantines were still in use (they were abandoned once the Pandemic became worldwide, as EVERY place was no infected).

The Chihazh System has seen four different sentient races, one of whom (humanity) came from outside the system, and two of which are still alive.

The earliest is also the least known. They are referred to as simply the First Sentients, and lived on Galhaf some 820 million years ago (Chihazh is about a billion years older than our Sun). They seem to have existed for around 5 million years, and were wiped out in the mysterious Macrozoic Collapse, which exterminated nearly all macroscopic organisms. Before their demise, however, they terraformed two other planets in their system. The passage of so much time has destroyed nearly all traces of their existence, so nothing specific is known of them. A few mysterious artifacts have been found on Sasash, the larger of the two moons of Galhaf.

Some 12 million years ago, a second sentient race evolved, known as the Ancient Ones (Cosmonauta antiquus). The evolved on Khanda, one of the two planets (actually, a moon of a gas giant) terraformed by the First Sentients. The Ancient Ones appear to have attempted to colonize Galhaf and Ospendakh (the other of the two terraformed worlds), but any colony established failed. Several plants and animals brought by them from Khanda have survived to the present, and these species are what initially lead Scientists to hypothesize their existence (hence the scientific name "Ancient Astronauts"). Later exploration of Khanda found evidence of the species themselves.

The Ancient Ones destroyed themselves, and much of their planet's ecosystem, in a massive ecological catastrophe known as the Khandan Catastrophe. Biodiversity is still far below the pre-Ancient Ones level.

The Ancient Ones were eusocial, like ants or bees. Their colonies were structured a bit differently, however, and were based on alternation of generations, which all paleoanimals (the term used for the animals native to Galhaf, and, by extension, those planets terraformed by the First Sentients) exhibit to some extent. In the Ancient Ones, this was modified into an interesting form. Diploids were sterile, with only the haploids being fertile. Haploids are capable of reproducing both asexually and sexually. When reproducing sexually, they produced genetically-identical gametes. Colonies were established by a "King" and "Queen". All their offspring are genetically identical, creating a colony of clones. As the colony grows larger, the royal pair may reproduce asexually to produce haploid clones of themselves. A long-established colony may, therefore, have many kings and queens constantly producing new members (Of course, after a while, the individual haploids may accumulate mutations, creating slight variations within the colony).

Periodically, a fertilized zygote may, instead of developing into a new diploid member, instead divide by meiosis into two kings and two queens, who will leave the colony to find mates from other colonies, and establishing a new colony. In the later days of the Ancient Ones' existence, new colonies were rarely established (any meiosis-produced haploids were destroyed immediately), and, in fact, colonies were sometimes destroyed in wars, leading to a gradual decline in the number of distinct colonies, while their average populations grew. The colony was the basic unit of political organization among them, with only temporary alliances uniting colonies. Haploids had very little intelligence, and were controlled by the diploid members. Diploids, on the other hand, were intelligent (to varying degrees, depending on caste), and possessed individual minds (not some kind of swarm mentality). However, being genetically identical, they tended to be very similar to each other. Also, due to the fact that the diploids are sterile and rely on the haploids to produce clones of themselves, they developed a strong group-mentality. Individual survival instincts don't exist. A diploid would willingly sacrifice itself for the good of the colony, making wars between colonies extremely brutal, as they neither sought mercy nor gave it. Conquest was not a goal. Outsiders were worse than useless for the colony. Instead, the goal was to take land, wiping out non-colony-members on that land.

The final, and only extant native sentient, are the Pteranthropans ("pterries" for short). They are an avioid amphibious species, reproducing by external fertilization. The larvae develop with no parental investment, save for an initial investment - by both parents - of nutrients, and the long-term investment in producing sheltered environments. In the pteranthropans, the haploid stage is reduced to only a few large nutrient-bearing nurse cells, in both sexes. In the female, the second polar body is not lost, but develops into a second ovum, genetically identical to the first. As both are often fertilized by sperm from the same male, this creates semi-identical twins, sharing ¾ of their genes, and sharing a tight bond with each other. Sometimes one is lost during the larval stage, but more often, either both survive or both die.

They exist as larvae for 5 or 6 Galhafan years (c. 3½ or 4¼ Earth years). During this time, they have simple nervous systems and are largely driven by instincts, seeking food and avoiding danger, growing rapidly. After their larval stage is over, they emerge onto land, metamorphosing into terrestrial animals, and undergoing a rapid increase in brain size. They instinctively seek out close relatives, especially their parents, using pheromones to identify them. Pterries do not practice monogamy, but there is a bond between those who have mated, a sort of polyamory. They emerge from water in the spring, at around the same time as the mating season. They integrate into the tribe, and, during this period, most of the development is in their brains. They reach near-adult size during the larval period. It generally takes around 20 years for their brains to mature. At this point, their external appearance changes moderately, as they enter the pre-sexual adult phase. Sexual maturity has become disconnected with physical maturity. Pre-sexual adults often help their parents raise their siblings. After another 15-20 years, they finally reach sexual maturity. Both sexes develop external secondary sexual characteristics (in pre-sexual adults, the distinction between the sexes is small, although pterries can usually identify sex correctly). They are generally around 40-45 years of age before they begin mating. Their total life span is quite long, however. It is common to pass the century mark, especially in modern times. Senility generally sets in around 160 or so. 200 is an unusual age to reach, but not unheard of.

Pterries are pacifistic, except during the mating season. Their population is low, limited by the availability of breeding grounds. Their intelligence and early mastery of agriculture permitted a carrying capacity far in excess of what their birth rate could reach, eliminating conflict over resources, with the notable exception of breeding grounds. Social conventions evolved to limit the violence during that period, but there is still a fair amount of aggression during that period, although it rarely results in deaths. All other periods of the year, they are peaceful beings. Conflicts (except in the aforementioned case) between pterry groups is *never* settled with violence.

When humans first arrived, the pterries helped them survive, especially after their colony fell apart, and they lost their technology. Unfortunately for them, human gratitude tends to be short-lived, and as soon as the humans had grown in numbers, they began to dominate the pterries. Human cultures would often seize control of breeding grounds, and force pterry tribes to perform labor in exchange for being permitted to use those breeding grounds, and full-scale chattel slavery also existed. In modern times, the pterries have gained, at least on paper, full legal equality. They are still discriminated against, however, and they've lost many of their breeding grounds to industry, ports and the like. As well as to pollution (larvae are sensitive to water pollution). This has lead to a decrease in their population, which, however, has recently been halted by the development of artificial breeding grounds, massive enclosed aquatic environments.