Nenet

Dogmatic, yet reasonable. Ancient, yet modern. Dominant, yet cooperative. The Nenet are a species of contradiction. While they once ruled the galaxy, their dominance was dependent on predecessor technology, and upon first contact, their beliefs forced them to share space with other species. Primitive species they interacted with in the past revered them as gods, and those they uplifted bear the signature marks of their motherships. Species they live alongside now know them to be just as reverent of their own gods.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Nenet are ethereal creatures, their faces almost devoid of features which lends them a sort of universal beauty. Their skin is unusually pale, which makes their bioluminescence all the more apparent. Typically, they are tall and willowy, often reaching 3 meters and more. They are most often seen within environmental suits, however, as their frail forms need extra support to withstand the gravity of most environments. It is ironic, then, that the entirety of the species possess some level of Gravid power. The environmental suits are necessary, however, so that the species may operate unimpeded without the intense focus necessary to use these powers.
A curious trait of the Nenet is their lack of biologic sexes. Unlike other species within the galaxy, their appearance is genderless as well, though most Humans would describe their appearance as androgynous to vaguely feminine. This fails to accurately describe the Nenet, however, as they have no concept of gender.

Genetics and Reproduction

Nenet, being sexless, naturally do not reproduce sexually, at least in the same manner that other species do. A psychic link is formed between the two partners. The biologic process started here creates a viable embryo by converting a cell within their body, and the child grows as any other would within viviparous species. Despite not having sexual organs, the Nenet embryo grows without issue alongside the parent, but instead of exiting an orifice, the zygote instead "buds off" in a manner similar to mitosis in single-celled organisms. When the separation is complete, the newborn Nenet leaves the caul-like membrane, sometimes with assistance from the parents.
This quirk of reproduction also enables Nenet to reproduce with species other than their own. In such a case, the Nenet may still become pregnant, though other species may only become pregnant if their body is capable of facilitating it. For instance, a Human male could not bear a Nenet child, though a Human female could.

Growth Rate & Stages

Nenet are capable of upright walking and talking upon birth due to the psychic link between the parent and child. This psychic link is rudimentary at best, and though the child is capable of speech, they still must learn from the parent and education providers. Formal education within Nenet society begins very early as a result, typically within a year of birth.
Full sexual maturity occurs at the age of 15 years. Psychic connection similar to that found in their reproductive act is possible, but the biologic process of cell conversion does not occur. Members of the species report the connection feeling completely different, where in the reproductive act there is a certain bliss and joy that is not present in the mundane connection. Upon full sexual maturity, education has finished and the Nenet is granted permission to pursue whatver they desire.

Additional Information

Social Structure

The Nenet are a unified species like most others within the Milky Way Galaxy, though lead by an oligarchical group known as the Nebtawi. The Nebtawi are coveted seats occupied through succession at the judgment of the current seat holder. The Nebtawi hold power over every aspect of life within Nenet space, which would be problematic within other species, but the Nenet's psychic abilities prove them to be highly sympathetic to the people within their constituency. Below the Nebtawi are the Khefu, who serve as local leaders handling issues that need little deliberation. Other species would liken them to governors.

Facial characteristics

Nenet's faces feature smaller eyes, noses and mouths than most species.

Average Intelligence

Human level.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The entirety of the Nenet species is psychic by nature. These psychic abilities are the same as those present in other species, despite the rarity in other species.

Civilization and Culture

History

On Pain of Death

The Nenet grew on the planet Seba-Djai among two other sapient species whose names have been lost to history, as Nenet cultural zeitgeist at the time called for the lack of records of enemies. They had decided the world must be their's, and so, one by one, they annihilated any and all traces of their enemies and erased them from history. Only the Nenet were left, and their dominance of the homeworld ushered in a golden era for the Nenet. Finally free from war, civil works became the primary focus of their development. Monuments to their glory were constructed, as well as massive temples to their gods, but upon prayer and reflection, the weight of what they had done was finally realized.
The loss of so many lives had a devastating impact on the Nenet's psychic web, known as the Sahkett-Har. Now that the Nenet no longer focused on the survival of their species, but rather their glory, the Sahkett-Har expanded to encapsulate not only the psychic emanations of their own emotions, but those of the species they had exterminated. Suddenly dealing with not only their emotions but the emotions of billions of dead, a deep depression overcame them. They erected new monuments to mourn those they had destroyed. They prayed to their gods seeking some kind of repentance, some plan for forward motion, and for years the response was silence. One of their high priests, Nekhtet, sent out one last prayer. Feeling the gods had abandoned them, Nekhtet instead prayed for forgiveness. It was at this moment that an incredible sight filled the sky of the Nenet.
The birth of a star was a rare event by any means, so the sight of two stars being born was something the Nenet could not have foreseen. Even more auspicious was the fact that, when viewed from the steps of the Temple of Anuhar, the goddess of redemption, the stars aligned perfectly with the central obelisks in the monuments dedicated to the slain species. The priests deliberated over the possible meaning until it was decided the gods gave them a second chance by resurrecting the fallen. Two new vessels were created to facilitate the journey, and the Nenet expeditionaries set forth from Seba-Djai, knowing that it would be not them, but their far-flung descendants who investigated the new stars. The sacrifice made to redeem the Nenet was greater than any life, and as such, they were remembered as heroes. The impact would not be felt, however, for an immeasurable time.

Redemption

The two vessels arrived countless generations later, trained for this very moment, and they divided to attend both star systems, Alpha Centauri and Sol. Initial recordings and readings were taken before they brought their vessels down into civilizations on, coincidentally enough, the third planet of each system (Earth and Amisus), both of which were life-bearing. While the Nenet had no scientific nor logical reason to believe life existed on either of these planets, such was their spiritual belief, and it had paid off. On Earth, the Nenet discovered the Human race. They appeared to be somewhat primitive, barely creating civilization at this point in their development (at least on the scale the Nenet had always known), but the question came of intervention.
After some deliberation with the vessel in Alpha Centauri via psychic communication, the Earth delegation decided not to intervene on their behalf and instead observe, where the Amisus delegation would intervene. The first civilization they observed was that of a desert dwelling people in what would eventually become recognized as the Human Middle East. Their ships flew visible to them, but never did they descend upon them. Smaller child vessels also appeared in different areas on the planet above other Human civilizations, which Humans now call Egypt, Peru, Mexico, the United States, and China. A bizarre development occurred when the Nenet noted Humans built constructions remarkably similar to their own (a geometric pyramid in shape). None of the Nenet recorded intervention with Humans, further mystifying them. Drone based observation noted that the pyramid constructions in Egypt were built with profound astronomical knowledge (notably, that the slopes of the largest pyramid matched a 10:9 ratio, and that the height of the pyramid multiplied by 10⁹ equaled roughly the distance from the planet to Sol), which suggested the Humans were further developed than they had initially thought.
Amisus, strangely, did not have any natural predators, which meant they were much more advanced than the Humans. They were also shocked to find Humans and Syracs looked nearly identical in appearance. Even more strangely, when comparing carbon dating samples to establish the beginning of both species, the Amisus delegation discovered that both species started at roughly the same time. It was decided that somehow, a single breeding colony of some creature common to the evolutionary ancestry of both species somehow migrated from one planet to the other, but how this could possibly be was a mystery.
The delegation orbiting Amisus did intervene on behalf of the Syrac, as was agreed upon. They were inspired by a myth spread through the Humans, namely the story of Adam and Eve within the Abrahamic religions of Earth. The Nenet told the Syrac to tend to their garden world, but not to exploit it. In return, the Nenet would give them the gift of some primitive forms of their technology. After several centuries of observation, it was decided the Syrac had fulfilled their end of the bargain, and the building blocks of modern technology was bequeathed to them in the form of metallurgy and forging. It bears note that this was the last point in which Humans surpassed the Syrac technologically.
With both missions complete, the Nenet were more than relieved to see their prior mistakes had been corrected by their gods and that the species they exterminated were reincarnated (albeit several thousand lightyears away), at least as they saw it. The scientific portions of their thought marveled at the curiosities displayed in this portion of space and between the two species, but the faithful portion held that this is what their gods promised them. The Humans and Syrac lifted the curse on the Sahkett-Har despite their ignorance of such a thing existing, and their emotions, whether positive or negative, filled a void the Nenet had dealt with for countless eons. This emotion stirred the Nenet into their next great work.

1420 MHz

Starting with the two vessels light years away, the Nenet began colonization of other systems in an effort to prepare the galaxy for the arrival of alien sapient life.With the discovery of both Humans and Syrac, it only stood to logic there would soon be more, and if not, then at least those two could reap the benefits. The mission was very simple; seek out intelligent life. If none were found, colonization efforts began. Massive fleets departed Seba-Djai and built colonies throughout the stars, though with over 200 billion individual stars to explore, they knew they were unlikely to encounter other sapient species without divine intervention as they had before.
During these colonization efforts, the Nenet intercepted a strange signal from a region they had yet to explore. Near the star Rigel, a microwave radio burst was transmitted at 1420 megahertz, which, being not only within a relatively quiet portion of the radio spectrum and the radio emission frequency of Hydrogen, the Nenet long theorized would be used by sapient life as a communications frequency. The Nenet responded with a similar transmission, and silently, they hoped. While this signal did not come from Humans, the incident did spark excitement on Earth when it was received in 1977. When the response came to Rigel, however, the Nenet were not prepared for what happened next.
Within hours of the message reaching Rigel, vessels suddenly appeared near Seba-Djai, which had originally sent the response transmission. The vessels were transmitting a signal at 1420 MHz, ostensibly to indicate they were the original sender. In response, the Nenet sent an emissary vessel, as well as a detachment of warships in the event of hostilities. After making a full orbit of the planet with the alien vessels following, room was made for all vessels involved to land near the Temple of Se'het, the God of Alien Life, which seemed fitting enough. The Nenet held their breath as the alien ambassadors left their vessel, only to find that it was the Syrac, the very species they uplifted. A gift from the Syrac was made, the now ubiquitous Aineto device, and within seconds, their language was translated by the Aineto's powerful on-board AI. Now able to speak to one another, an agreement was struck, and an allegiance between the two was formed. Aineto devices were distributed among the Nenet and now the two species could work as one. Various other technologies were gifted to the Nenet, to include the revolutionary Hypatia Drive which the Syrac used to reach the Nenet.
To celebrate the new allegiance, and in anticipation of more arrivals of sapient species, a space station was constructed over the course of several decades to house diplomacy, discuss interstellar law, and to provide a common ground for all to coexist. Thus the Galactic Senate was formed. Many from both the Syrac and the Nenet took residence in the new space station, and now fully operational, both species left markers in spaces they estimated other sapient species would soon occupy, and in regions between stars that were useful for travel. These markers included a single Aineto device as well as instructions to reach the Galactic Senate, written and recorded in Syrac and in a manner strikingly similar to that of the Human's Gold Disc aboard the Voyager probe. Soon, the Legati found their way to the Senate, and the two became three.
Having previously encountered both Humans and Syrac, the Nenet were at odds with themselves on whether or not to disclose the existence of Humans and their similarity to the Syrac. In the end, a decision did not have to be made, as in 2077, one hundred years after they received the signal from the Nenet, the Humans found the Galactic Senate.

Lifespan

~3,500 years

Average Height

2 to 3 m

Average Weight

30 to 50 kg