A race of unknown origin, most commonly found in peripheral Terran provinces.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Reptilian, with small smooth scales and a saurian body type. Atri tend to stand 90-120 cm in height when fully grown, and measure 150-180 cm nose to tail.
Large clawed and padded feet but comparatively short legs, with a pronounced digitigrade stance. A narrow body, with limbs branching out from a slim, round-chested torso and quite long, flexible tail that terminates in a small arrowhead-shaped crest. Slightly short, stubby arms with deceptively dextrous 3-clawed hands. A rounded head shape with a short muzzle, unusually large roughly triangular eyes, and large, backward-swept ears that tend to tilt or flop downwards (depending on the precise breed).
The hide of an Atri is notably thick and resistant to piercing, crushing or shearing forces, allowing an Atri to shrug off physical harm that would incpacitate a human in similar circumstances. This has led to an ongoing reduction in safety measures around Atri workers, as it is simply expected the critters will walk it off... until they don't.
To the average human's perception, an Atri will appear childlike in proportions and so are often protrayed as innocent and pure by those sympathetic to the reptiles' plight.
Genetics and Reproduction
Atri are, genetically speaking, unusually stable. Their genetic code is naturally self-correcting via checksum proteins, and shows clear evidence of tampering by means far more sophisticated and deliberate than custom genovials are capable of. This, needless to say, raises countless questions surrounding their origins and purpose.
The reptiles' origins are theorised as two distinct camps. Some, especially the palace bureaucracy and senior atistocrats of the Terrans, insist that the Atri were designed one deliberate nucleic acid at a time for the purpose of serving their more intellectually capable human masters in the dangerous and menial tasks that make up the engineering needs of modern society. Others, mostly outside the realms of respectable Imperial society, claim that they were extensively modified from an alien or animal base by extensive retroviral and selective gene-editing process for purposes unknown.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Atri tend to put on a show of sorts when around Terrans - much as many races have professions where the 'customer service voice' is nmecessary, an Atri will quite quickly learn to mask their understanding of the world around them and play dumb in order to avoid undue suspicion or close attention. By appearing dumb and clumsy but cheery and always willing to help, a raptor can be taken for granted by humans and maybe eke out a little sympathy from the naturally xeophobic Terrans.
Of course, Atri are more than likely to be just as hapless on their own, so the whole show is not quite the deception the average Atri worker thinks it is...
Domestication
While working around heavy machinery is the norm for their kind, safer work for Atri comes in the form of household servants - the diminuitive raptors are considered easthetically pleasing to some and the optimistic, helpful temperament they are known for is welcome in the backrooms of high society. An Atri might well be employed to clean or aid with cooking in a warm, clean town house while their brothers and sisters swing hull segments in orbital foundries above.
Average Intelligence
The average intelligence level of an Atri is quite low for a sapient species - good enough to read, write and speak English, but not quite enough to do so with any elegance. Atri are often treated with some disdain due to their limited capacity for rational thought.
The exception, however, is in the realms of technical and mechanical knowledge. Atri have been shown to grasp the workings of machinery with a speed and accuracy that puts Terran trained engineers to shame. They are therefore usually funnelled into careers where they can be left to fix things as they break, and only later would a foreman or officer be required to try to explain what actually went wrong...
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Their own culture almost entirely absorbed by that of their human masters, Atri typically take human names of their own. preferring 2-3 names depending on their relative status and capabilities.
If hatched into service or brought in at a young age, an Atri will tend to have a pet's name or something that fits their intended job or station. One of the most common Atri names in Tifatholon's capital complexes is simply 'Helper'.
Servant race of the Terran Empire
Origin/Ancestry
Theorised (officially) to be a genetically crafted helper species by a long-dead human polity.
Conservation Status
Atri are wholly found in Terran society, forming loosely knit communal societies in the lee of human settlements when left alone. More often, however, they are employed as servants, technicians and junior engineers in high-risk environments such as construction, military damage control teams, fission or fusion reactor maintenance, and so on. Wherever Terran industry goes, there are always Atri travelling the ducts or mending the pipework.
Geographic Distribution
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