.Chix'alk

 .Chix'alk 

The .Chix'alk are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species, created and developed by Kenn Simons (the author of this article), to be used in a role-playing game (RPG). 

Contents 

Development 2

Biology 3

Physical characteristics 3

Eyes 3

Horns 4

Psychology 6

Emotion 6

Telepathy 6

Culture 6

Language 6

Communication Symbols 8

Conceptual Unit Categories 8

Time 8

Date 10

Direction 11

Distance 11

Speed 11

Names 12

Family Units 12

Fighting and self-defense 13

Homeworld 13

History 13

Backstory 13

References 13

Development 

The .Chix'alk, and an individual character, Okieek'Droga Hani'hermoncipi, were introduced by the author on June 4th, 2018 for use in the United Space Federation (Sector001: The United Space Federation Star Trek SIM/Role Playing Group/) RPG group aboard the USS Aldrin, and subsequently on the USS Odyssey. 

A specific person, known as Usskik'Gemi Gahi'Posento, is currently in use aboard the USS Deliverance, which is actively simming using the Nova platform, aboard the USS Deliverance server. 

Biology 

Physical characteristics 

.Chix'alk are depicted as being similar in appearance to humans, except as follows: The .Chix'alk consists of four sexes: 

• Virtrempi: Analogous to a Human Male, with the following differences: A Virtrempi produces two type of sperm: X and Y, which, along with the Hermoncipi ovum, determine the sex of the resulting embryo. The Virtrempi impregnates the Hermoncipi to produce the embryo.

• Hermoncipi: Analogous to a Human Hermaphrodite, with the following differences: A Hermoncipi produces two types of ovum: W and Z, which, along with the sperm from the Virtrempi, determine the sex of the resulting embryo. Once the embryo reaches a certain stage of growth (around 10 days), it is passed along to the Inestado. 

• Inestado: Analogous to a Human Female, with the following differences: An Inestado receives the embryo from the Hermoncipi, and carries it for around 60 days, then passes it to the posento. 

• Posento : Analogous to a Humanoid marsupial, with the following differences: The posento carries the infant for around 6 months in a pouch-like environment, where it is nourished until such time that it is large enough to emerge from the pouch. 

Lifespan

The typical lifespan of a .Chix'alk is around 300 of their solar cycles, called Deksonato. This is roughly equivalent to 420.8 Earth years. 

Eyes   

The eyes of the .Chix'alk vary in color, depending on the sex. Each eye is also independently polychromatic, in that they change colors during communication (both auditory and telepathic). The polychromatic changes are listed in the tables below: 

Eye Left: Emotion/Concept 

1 Used when the Lower Horn/Right Eye indicates a Unit Category 

Right Eye: Statement Type 

Horns 

Usskik'Gemi Gahi'Posento (used in an RPG) 

The horns of the .Chix'alk vary in color, depending on the sex. Each horn is also independently polychromatic, in that they change colors during communication (both auditory and telepathy). The polychromatic changes are listed in the tables below: 

Upper horn: Emotion/Concept 

Lower Horn: Statement Type 

Psychology

Emotion 

.Chix'alk express emotions in a unique manner, mainly through changes in color of their eyes and their horns. 

Telepathy 

.Chix'alk are minimally telepathic, but only between the family units. An interesting note about .Chix'alk telepathy: although there is no verbal communication, the eyes continue to change colors as they do when accompanied by verbal speech, but the horns do not change colors, indicating that there may be a physical connection between the vocal muscles and the horns. 

Physiology

Emotion 

.Chix'alk express emotions in a unique manner, mainly through changes in color of their eyes and their horns. 

Telepathy 

.Chix'alk are minimally telepathic, but only between the family units. An interesting note about .Chix'alk telepathy: although there is no verbal communication, the eyes continue to change colors as they do when accompanied by verbal speech, but the horns do not change colors, indicating that there may be a physical connection between the vocal muscles and the horns. 

Culture 

Language 

The fictional language used by the .Chix'alk consists of two symbolic communication parts: 

Verbal: The verbal part of the language is spoken in a monotone voice, as well as communicated telepathically among members of the family unit. 

Visual: The visual part of the communication acts as a paralanguage and is provided by the visual cues provided by the changes in the coloration of the eyes and the horns. This is analogous to facial coloration of humans, and, in some instances, seems to mimic some of the human color implications. Interpretation of the various colors are shown in the table below. 

Upper Horn/Left Eye: Emotion/Concept 

Lower Horn/Right Eye: Statement Type 

The syntax of the .Chix'alk language is somewhat difficult to comprehend, due to the ambiguity of the sentence structure of their language. The language is basically noun/pronoun/object oriented, with verb action being inferred by the position of the objects in the sentence, and inflection and sentence type indicated by the various color changes of the eyes and horns. 

Examples: 

The meaning of the .Chix'alk phrase "Person door turbolift engineering" depends on the colors of the eyes and horns, and each word, or group of words, could be accompanied by different color combinations: 

1. Accompanied by a black upper horn/left eye color, along with an orange right eye/lower horn color, the above phrase could be translated as "(A) person will (be happy) to leave the area and take the turbolift to engineering." 

2. Accompanied by a white upper horn/left eye color, along with a yellow right eye/lower horn color, the phrase could be translated as "(A) person is afraid to leave the area and take the turbolift to engineering!" 

The meaning of the .Chix'alk phrase "Person food mouth", along with a red upper horn/left eye color, and a green lower horn/right eye color, could be translated as "I need to eat now!", or "I am starving!" 

Pronouns 

To facilitate easier communications with the .Chix'alk, pronouns (which were not a concept of the .Chix’alk) were developed when communication was being established with their species. They were developed with their cooperation: 

Communication Symbols 

The symbols used by the .Chix'alk consists of 32 characters:

Communication Symbols 

The 32 characters are used interchangeably for words and numbers. 

Conceptual Unit Categories 

When the .Chix'alk needs to refer to a concept other than a noun/pronoun/object, both the verbal and the visual paralanguage change the way they are represented. The meaning of the Upper Horn/Left Eye combination shifts to a conceptual meaning, and the Lower Horn/Right Eye combination changes to various shades of purple, with the lighter shades representing a minimal quantity, or intensity, and the darker shades representing a maximum quantity, or intensity. 

The known Conceptual Categories are listed below. 

Time 

The .Chix'alk concept of time, as it relates to planetary events (and other similar events), is not constrained to finite units of measurement; rather, it seems to be a fluid concept of time measurement. For example, on Earth, time is measured in fixed amounts, (such as seconds, minutes, hours, etc.), and can be measured with instruments and visual aids. However, for the .Chix'alk, time is measured relative to discrete events. 

For example, for a typical day on Chertan I, daily terminators (such as sunrise, noon, etc.) are fixed, but the time measurement between the terminators is elastic. When the major sun rises, that is the beginning of their day, known as Sulevor. Noon, or Sutagal, occurs when the sun is at its apex, and is designated, in .Chix'alk terms, as e.y.y.y. If the elapsed duration between Sulevor and Sutagal is shorter or longer due to seasons, the time is compressed or expanded accordingly. This results in the number of Time Units being consistent for every planet in their solar system; Sutagal on any planet occurs at precisely e.y.y.y (high noon). 

There are 32 hours in a day, 32 minutes in an hour, 32 seconds in a minute, and 32 split-seconds in a second. Dividing time into smaller units is accomplished by appending a decimal point, followed by an appropriate symbol The basic day/night concepts are shown in the table below: 

Day Divisions 

Date 

The .Chix'alk concept of dates, as it relates to solar events, is not constrained to finite units of measurement; rather, like time, dates seem to be an elastic concept of measurement. For example, on Earth, dates are measured in fixed amounts, (such as days, years, centuries, etc.), and can be measured with instruments and visual aids. However, for the .Chix'alk, dates are measured relative to discrete events. 

Calendar: 

Direction 

Direction: Similar to compass points:

Direction 

Distance 

Distance: 

Speed 

Speed (Displacement): 

Names 

The naming convention of the .Chix'alk provides more information than the normal naming conventions of the typical Earth names. Using Usskik'Gemi Gahi'Posento as an example, the parts can be broken down as shown in the tables below: 

Usskik'Gemi Gahi'Posento 

The first part of the name designates the Tribe (Middle) and Given (First) names of the person, much like the Clan and Given name of many humans. Thus, Usskik'Gemi is broken down as follows: 

Usskik'Gemi 

The second part of the name designates the Family (Last) and Sex of the person, much like the Sir-name and sex of many humans. However, the second part also designates two other functions, namely Family Rank and avocation of the individual. Thus, Gahi'Posento is broken down as follows: 

Gahi'hermoncipi 

The following table lists the various Family Ranks and Avocations by sex:

Family Ranks and Avocations 

Family Units 

The .Chix'alk family unit consists of all four sexes in the unit. Marriages are pre-arranged, with each sex coming from a different family unit. 

Fighting and self-defense 

The .Chix'alk, for the most part, are a non-violent species. 

Prior to their discovery of "modern" technology, the .Chix'alk were a non-space faring species, and used typical firearms and bows and arrows for basic survival purposes. 

Upon the discovery of "modern" technology (details in "Back story" below), the .Chix'alk mimicked the technology of a space faring species. 

Homeworld 

The fictional .Chix'alk homeworld, named Chertan I, was visited several times in the United Space Federation (http://www.sector001.com/) RPG group. 

History 

Backstory 

First Encounter

The first encounter with the .Chix’alk was by the USS Federation. On 02 Jun 2159, the USS Federation, under the Command of Acting Captain Floyd Calvin, was assigned the task of establishing an observational station near the homeworld of a non-space-faring species. On 21 July 2159, the ship arrived at their destination, only to be hit with a sonic pulse, causing only minor damage. To avoid being hit with the continuing wave of sonic pulses, the ship was moved behind the second moon of the first planet, and a shuttle was dispatched to the second planet. However, while the shuttle was en route to the planet, it encountered a spatial anomaly, which caused the occupants to be thrown into the future, while the shuttle itself landed in the middle of a lake on the second planet, Chertan II. The shuttle quickly sank into the muddy water, eventually settling on the lake bottom where it was covered in mud.

The shuttle was eventually discovered by the .Chix’alk and, due to the nature of their species, they were able to quickly discern the technology of the shuttle, and eventually were able to power up the engines. However, once the engines were online, the planet was bombarded with sonic pulses. Not knowing that the shuttle was causing the sun to emit the sonic pulses, the .Chix’alk, using the transporter technology from the shuttle, were able to transport most of the inhabitants of the planet to the moon of the planet, where they established underground colonies. The few inhabitants that remained on the planet abandoned the shuttle, where it eventually lost power, resulting in the cessation of the pulses. However, the transporter no longer functioned, so the lunar inhabitants were cut off from their home world.

Second Encounter

The second encounter with the .Chix’alk was initiated by the .Chix’alk species themselves. On Stardate 2114.03 (02/11/2325, some 165 years, 8 months after the Federation Incident) the USS Aldrin, under the command of FltCpt Cersei Naal, was given the assignment to a First Contact mission that included the investigation into how the Chix’alk civilization, once believed to be pre-warp, had used old Federation communication channels to send a message. During an officer's meeting, the Aldrin was again contacted by the .Chix'alk, repeating the same simple message as the original. However, there were little bits of static in the message. The message was: "[Bk]Request[Or] to [Wh]promptly[Gn] exchange [Bk]experience[Yl] and [Bk]information[Yl]." (The letters in brackets "[]" were the "static" that was received. Each one ([Bk] for example), was a certain burst of "static."). 

At the request of the .Chix’alk, a cultural exchange was initiated where a familial unit of the .Chix’alk was exchanged with a particular group of the USS Aldrin, in hopes of understanding the differences and similarities of the species. The structure of the .Chix’alk paralanguage was uncovered by joint effort of several of the Aldrin crew working in concert.

Third Encounter

The third association with the .Chix’alk was with the USS Odyssey, Stardate 75024.1 (01/09/2398, some 72 years, 11 months after the Aldrin contact, and 238 years, 7 months after the Federation event), commanded by the same person that inadvertently provided the .Chix’alk with the means to achieve warp technology. A familial unit of the .Chix’alk, headed by Usskik'Gemi Gahi'Posento, has been assigned to the Odyssey, with Usskik being assigned the Chef position. Several advances in communication have allowed virtually seamless communication between the .Chix’alk and the Universal Translator, providing almost instantaneous translation between the languages.

Fourth Encounter

The fourth association with the .Chix’alk is with the USS Deliverance, Stardate 75024.1, commanded by the same person that inadvertently provided the .Chix’alk with the means to achieve warp technology. A familial unit of the .Chix’alk, headed by Usskik'Gemi Gahi'Posento, has been assigned to the Odyssey, with Usskik being assigned the Chef position. Several advances in communication have allowed virtually seamless communication between the .Chix’alk and the Universal Translator, providing almost instantaneous translation between the languages.

References 

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Chix%27alk&oldid=986469207", which no longer exists; hence, this “wiki”