G'ahnli

G'ahnli Information Scientific Name: Manipiscis avarii Classification: Psionic piscinoid Average Height 9'6" / 290cm (nose-to-tailtip length) Average Weight 300lbs / 136kg Average Lifespan 80 Years Native Language G'ahnlese Homeworld G'ahnlo

Overview

G'ahnli are fish-like telepaths that delight in commerce and distant cousins of the Ydahri. They can be found as merchants at every large port in the Independent Worlds. They require mobile water containment vessels when outside their ocean environment. They keep no family ties, and believe in a completely unrestricted free market.

Physical Data

G'ahnli are roughly dolphin-shaped, but have longer pectoral fins, and large, willowy flukes. They are covered completely in small, plate-like scales, which come in colors ranging from dark brown to bright purples and oranges. They have gills on each side of their body, and their fins end in hook-like digits. These digits are capable of grasping objects, but are not nearly as dexterous as human fingers. Their eyes are starbursts of many colors, and can see nearly the same spectrum as humans, though they see stronger in the low frequencies, such as reds, oranges and yellows. Their snouts are slightly elongated, and covered by large, fleshy lips. They have numerous cone-shaped teeth, and live on a diet of small fish, which are always eaten raw.

Lifestyle

The life of a G'ahnli begins when a fry hatches from a soft, fist-sized egg. At this time, a G'ahnli is only about seven inches long, but will grow rapidly, and reach a meter in length by the end of its first year. The fry are raised in huge schools by community funded educators. The education lasts seven G'ahnli years, and focuses mainly on economic theory and business skills. There are some applied sciences taught, but very little fine arts training. After the seven year education, the fry are distributed to local businesses as unskilled labor. Those businesses which have most heavily contributed to the educators funding get first selection of the fry. Fry are expected to work for one year for the business that selects them, and are paid just enough to survive. After this time, they are free to leave and seek employment elsewhere, but most remain with the business and earn standard pay.

G'ahnli reach physical maturity around their 10th year, and are about 2.1 meters in length at this point. A G'ahnli will normally participate in its first spawning season in its twelth year. During this two week period, all mature G'ahnli are overcome by a sexual frenzy that drowns out all reason. Most of the planet shuts down, and those critical businesses which must remain in operation are left to the most responsible young G'ahnli. Outside of the spawning season, G'ahnli are essentially non-sexual, and males and females are nearly identical in both appearance and personality. G'ahnli do not take mates out of spawning season, and tend to keep all relationships on a professional level.

The life of a G'ahnli revolves around the search for profit. G'ahnli take great pleasure in working, as long as it is something that is creating value. G'ahnli have a special love for trade, as they believe it is the best way to increase the wealth of the universe. Both parties in a trade, the G'ahnli believe, become more wealthy through the trade. Only when both parties are trying their hardest to get the best deal will the net increase in wealth be highest. Thus, while they are in constant search of more money, the G'ahnli are not necessarily a greedy race. They see their individual search for profit as increasing the overall wealth of the universe. The G'ahnli believe such economic idealisms as strongly as many creatures believe in religions. The G'ahnli view any restriction on trade as an obsticle to the increasing wealth of the universe. Unlike many races, the G'ahnli work not to make possible those things they like to do, but work because it IS what they like to do. The idea of vacation, or time off, is rather incomprehensible to most G'ahnli, as they would much rather work than do anything else. G'ahnli almost never retire, and work in whatever capacity they are physically capable of until they die.

Hovertanks

When outside the oceans that are their natural environment, the G'ahnli must use mobile water containment vessels to move about. These vessels vary greatly in size, function, model, and equipment, but the standard version is a hovering cylinder tank. Filled with seawater, such tanks have temperature and salinity regulators, water filtration, and motion controls. Also standard on most tanks are data storage, long range com units, small food storage, translation devices, air-lock style drawers that allow items to be moved in and out of the tank, and weak manipulator arms for working with objects outside the vessel. A G'ahnli can live for about a week in such a tank without worry, but most G'ahnli find the tanks rather cramped, and try not to spend more than a day at a time in them before returning to seas.

Culture

Community

The G'ahnli social life is not separable from the G'ahnli business life. The two are one in the same for the G'ahnli. Perhaps the most important aspect of a G'ahnli's life his or her profession. Every relationship is viewed from a business prospective, and kept on a professional level. G'ahnli do not have 'significant others,' nor do they have family ties. G'ahnli never know who their parents are, nor their offspring. Those fry that a G'ahnli is raised with are the closest thing they have (or care to have) to a family. G'ahnli societies all have completely free markets, with no restrictions to trade. The G'ahnli manage to avoid many of the pitfalls of such an economy (e.g., stratification of classes, extremes of wealth and poverty) due to the lack of inheritance. All G'ahnli are raised in schools of their peers, without knowledge of their parents. All G'ahnli start equal, and must earn any special treatment they receive.

Language, Phrases, and Naming Conventions

G'ahnli have two mode of communication. The first, G'ahnlese, is a spoken language the involves the blowing and popping of tiny bubbles inside the lips of the speaker. It is essentially impossible for airbreathing races to master, and likewise, G'ahnli have no luck with airbreather tongues. Verbal communication between G'ahnli and others requires the use of translating devices, which are standard to most G'ahnli hovertanks. These translating devices are quirky, however, and a good understanding of the language is required before a G'ahnli will be able to decipher what the translator spits out (i.e., you still need skill in a language to use it). The second way G'ahnli communicate is direct mind-to-mind contact. Telepathy does not use an actual language, but rather the manipulation of thought patterns. Thus, G'ahnli are able to overcome language barriers by using their psionic powers. A telepath can emit broadband messages to all around him, or narrowband messages to a single person. They can also, with effort, receive the thought patterns of a willing non-telepath. Many non-psionic races, however, are made rather uncomfortable by the use of telepathy.

G'ahnli names are part of the bubbly G'ahnlese language, and thus have a rather bubble-like sound. Names resemble the popping of tiny bubbles. O's, L's, U's, B's and P's are very common. Examples include: Tolobo, Borono, Pobolal, Nubblar, and Blubnabar.

Roleplaying tips

When roleplaying a G'ahnli there are a few things to keep in mind that will make your character more believable. First, remember at all times that you are a fish. You have no hands, nor feet, nor shoulders. You have fins, and gills, and live in water. Don't say things that refer to such body parts, such as "Give me a hand" or "watch your step." G'ahnli wouldn't normally think in such terms. Better to use fish-related to expressions, such as "swimming against the current." Also, you have no family. Don't refer to your mother or father or brother or whoever. You might speak of some fry in the school you were raised in, or of your educator, but not family members. Also, G'ahnli keep relationships on a business level. G'ahnli don't have significant others, nor do they look for them. Finally, G'ahnli are pure capitalists. They are always thinking about business and profits. Color your poses with allusions to economics and commerce. G'ahnli say things like, "By the profits!" or greet each other with "How is business?" If you keep such things in mind when you play your G'ahnli, you will seem much less like a human that looks like a fish, and much more like a believable member of an alien culture.