Viwodia (V-woad-ee-a)
The viwodia were the first species to make contact with humanity upon emergence. They are thought likely to be the most powerful of those species in the society of contemporary races which operate within the bubble but humans remained uncertain of their exact status until the end of the limitation.
In the cover image a viowdian ambassador waits at the gates of an undersea embassy for an audience to begin. We see accompanying grissula and two clatterjaws whilst in the bottom foreground, the ambassador is flanked by a pair of small scuttlebots, robotic general purpose attendants which can act as translators and also provide some security services.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The viwodia are large undersea creatures, somewhat resembling whales (although they are pure underwater breathers) but with additional manipulative tentacles.
Ecology and Habitats
The viwodia originated in the subsurface oceans of an ice world, somewhere outside the bubble and they are capable of living in a variety of deep water environments provided the pressure, temperature and chemical composition fall within the wide limits they can tolerate. Viwodian space ships are egg shaped, metal and ice shielded, containing a pressurised liquid interior in which they travel with an accompanying ecosystem of smaller marine species who help to maintain their comfort.
Two of the more important of the species which are commonly found associated with the viwodia are grissula and clatterjaws, both of which are native to their home world. Grissula somewhat resemble giant earthly krill and serve as a food source but also a way to purify and perfume the waters. Clatterjaws are a carniverous species of sea dragon which have long been domesticated by the viwodia and are now treated in a similar manner to the way humans treat pet dogs.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Everyday communication between viwodian individuals usually takes place in subsonic languages, optimised for comprehension in deep water environments.
In close contact they are able to achieve a more rarely used type of one-to-one telepathy, mediated by a melding organ which accepts a connection with the "brain frond" (a specialist tentacle) of another individual. The individuals may appear to enter a trance like state when they are using this mechanism to communicate, which is known as a "mind flow".
Mind flow is not a commonly employed practice since it is restricted to two individuals and takes much longer than is practical when conducting social conversations, whilst also leaving both individuals vulnerable to any outside threat. It is therefore reserved for rare occasions when especially careful and accurate knowledge transfer is required.
Civilization and Culture
Major Language Groups and Dialects
The viwodia are recognised for their linguistic skills within the society of contemporary races and for this reason they seem to be tasked with the initial analysis of the languages of other species the society is monitoring and to hold a key role as official translators. It is also a likely reason why they were selected for first contact duties after emergence with the werm and with humanity.
Viwodian robotic agents will typically converse quite fluently in the language of their listeners so that other races will seldom need to understand the viwodian native languages.
Three major language families exist with a number of dialects within each one.
The Viwodian Air language is spoken between artificial agents and representitives operating in the atmospheres of terrestrial planetary types. It is understood to be an entirely artifical system which was invented to match more closely with the acoustic models for speech prevailing on those worlds. Viwodian Air is the most widely known of the viwodian languages. The viwodia are happy to teach it and appreciate efforts to communicate in this form.
Low Viwodian is a language family only spoken underwater and is the most commonly used within their starships, in their embassies and on many of their colonies. It is well adapted for low pressure zones (from which it gets its name) and it is associated with a culture of exploration and expansion.
High Viwodian is spoken in underwater regions of high pressure at great depth and whilst it is not confined to their home world, it is much less widely spread within their civilisation. It is considered to be a classical, erudite and aristocratic language and since it is almost never encountered by alien races it is the most poorly understood.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
The viwodia often choose to interact indirectly with other species through the mediation of small robotic agents which operate with a rather sophisticated artificial intelligence. Viwodian "sales things" are specialised trading robots coming in many physical designs. They seem to be a source of annoyance and amusement to the viwodians themselves, as well as to the species they interact with but they can be very effective.
History
The viwodians are a mature race in modern galactic terms. They joined the society of contemporary races in 365670 BCE, making them an even more venerable member of that organisation than the thinderin but not much is known of this long history on Earth.
The viowdians made first contact with both the werm (in 15122 BCE) and then humanity (in 2268 CE). They maintained an embassy on Earth under lake Vostok in the Antarctic for many years after humans emerged.
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
Related Technologies
Comments