Kithenka

Kithenka
Distant Fringe Sophont
Base Information
Classification	Omnivore/hunter
Status	Minor Race
Locomotion	Walker
Terrain
Body Form
Confluence	Non-humanoid
Bio-Identenoid	Alien
Size	2.0 meters
Weight	128 kg
Culture
Languages	Native Language
Social Structure	Balkanization
Technological Epoch	TL:4-6
Psionic potential	Standard
Origin World
Homeworld location	Feluchar (Halcyon 0734)
UWP	C988878-4 Starport C Routine: No Construction, Major Repair, Unrefined fuel Size 9 Large (14,400 km, 1.03g - 1.33g) Atmosphere 8 Dense Hydrographics 8 Wet World 80% Population 8 Moderate (700 million) Government 7 Balkanization Law 8 High Law (controlled blades) Tech Level 4 Industrial (combustion)
Primary Star	A3 V K7 V
Atmosphere	Dense
Off-world presence	No
Zoetic individuals	Yes
Source
Reference	Adie Alegoric Stewart - Distant Fringe
Canon	No
Also see

The Kithenka of Feluchar (Halcyon 0734) are a technologically developing Minor Non-Human Race with a Non-humanoid appearance.

Description / Specifications

The Kithenka are a sophont species native to Feluchar in Halcyon Sector, one of two sophont species found on the world: their companion sophonts are the Orokath.

• The two species are closely related, sharing a common primal ancestor.

Image Repository

1. Kithenka.
   

Physiology

Kithenka are characterised as atmosphere-breathing clear terrain walkers descended from omnivorous hunters. They follow the body pattern Asymetrical HSB-T-AA-LN-T. They have a flat horseshoe-shaped head mounting the brain and sensory organs and a long serpentine vertical torso. Their anterior limbs consist of two paired, leaf-shaped dorsal signalling structures associated with reproduction and three grouped specialized manipulator tentacles. Their posterior limb group consists of five radiant locomotive tentacles. The rear third of their body consists of a thick tail that assists with movement and balance. They are supported by an internal cartilage structure that anchors the muscles and protects internal organs. They have scum internal fluids and are protected by a leathery hide that secretes a thick protective gel. They have no distinctive natural weapons.

Kithenka have a typical body mass of 128 kg. They are heavily built and immensely strong and are considered to be Oversize in relation to humans. Kithenka are thermophiles – their ideal temperature is around 37°C. The lower temperature limit for Kithenka tolerance is around 15°C and the lower limit for habitability is around 0°C. The upper limit for tolerance is 65°C and the upper limit for habitability is around 75°C. Kithenka have efficient internal mechanisms for regulating their body temperatures.

Senses

• Energy: V-14-PSU. Kithenka vision is broadly similar to that of humans, though human eyesight is slightly superior. Kithenka see most clearly towards the ultra-violet end of the spectrum.
• Vibration: H-20-9382. Kithenka aural perception is superior to that of humans. They can hear sounds at frequencies from about 20 Hz to 25,000 Hz.
• Volatiles: S-08-2. Kithenka have a similar sensitivity to odours as humans.
• Matter: T-04-2. Kithenka hides are less sensitive to texture and pressure than human skin.
• Fields: A-2-1. Kithenka are generally sensitive to magnetic fields.
• Auras: P-0 (oblivious).

Characteristics

A baseline Kithenka has the following characteristic ranges:

• Strength 5D (actual 12+3D)
• Dexterity 2D
• Stamina 3D
• Intelligence 2D
• Education 2D
• Social 2D

Reproduction

Kithenka are oviparous, with three genders: male egg activators (approximately 50% of the population), female egg producers (approximately 50% of the population), and matriarch egg bearers (less than 1% of the population). Males and females mate to produce fertilised eggs, which the females then transfer to matriarchs to incubate until hatching.

Life Stages

• 0 Infant (Hatchling): 2 years.
• 1 Child: 4 years.
• 2 Juvenile: 8 years.
  • Career starts at age 14.
• 3 Young adult: 3 terms (12 years).
• 4 Adult: 3 terms (12 years).
• 5 Peak: 4 terms (16 years).
  • Physical aging begins (54+ years).
• 6 Midlife: 3 terms (12 years).
• 7 Senior: 2 terms (8 years).
• 8 Elder: 2 terms (8 years).
• 9 Retirement: 2 terms (8 years).
  • Mental aging begins (90+ years).

Diet and Trophics

Omnivore Hunter.

Preference for small game.

Psychology & Philosophy

Primal Drives

Kithenka psychology is driven by factors common to many sophonts:

• Acquisition (stemming from the need to gather adequate nutrition),
• Preservation (derived from the need to continue their personal existence), and
• Perpetuation (the urge to continue the species).

Major Drives

Kithenka have other primal drives that influence their psychology:

• Stability
• Territory
• Curiosity

Minor Drives

• Xenophobia

Outlook

Philosophy: Connectivity. Everything is connected, nothing is disconnected.

Theology: Pantheism, many gods, and panantheism (everything is god)

Ethics: Inner relativism: in any given situation there is a right and a wrong. The individual must determine what that is.

Psychology: Co-effective consciousness, this is the concept that we are all inter-connected. My psychology is impacted by yours.

Demographics

Approximately 200 million, occupying the western parts of the supercontinent of Hyphaea.

These are divided between:

• Digger Kithenka, numbering some 130 million and principally inhabiting the western and north-western coastal ranges of Hyphaea.
• Outrider Kithenka, numbering some 70 million and principally inhabiting the central western areas of Hyphaea.

Society & Culture

• Homogenity: A (Discordant)
• Acceptance: 8 (Friendly)
• Strangeness: 8 (Unusual) The Kithenka are an alien culture with their own unique styles, customs and habits.
• Symbols 7: (Unfamiliar) A varied and vibrant culture with a rich heritage and many traditions and beliefs.

Language

The primary means of communication is through vocalisation.

A great many languages and dialects exist.

Calendar

The local day is 28.5 standard hours long: there are 2975 standard days in local year.

• there are 2505 local days in the local year.
• each season (warming, hot, cooling and chill) is 626 local days long.
• every fourth local year an additional day is added to the end of chill season.

History & Background / Dossier

The Kithenka are the minority species on their homeworld, numbering some 200 million compared to an estimated 500 million Orokath. They are generally smarter and are substantially more advanced than the Orokath, maintaining an overall tech level of 4. Kithenka are curious and inquisitive and thrive and prosper in a stable, calm environment. In dangerous situations they are prone to panic and aggression. They are territorial and defensive, relying on trained warriors to defend individuals and communities.

Kithenka frequently suffer raids from Orokath war-bands seeking supplies and new territory. Their fortified city-states, linked by telephone communications, maintain well-equipped standing armies, and a large percentage of the output of each city-state goes towards defense. Millennia of conflict with the Orokath have made Kithenka cautious of strangers to the point of xenophobia. Kithenka have poor relations with humans – they find natural human odours repellent and actively avoid contact outside of a sealed environment.

Homeworld

The Kithenka are native to Feluchar, a large warm world in the spinward-rimward quadrant of Halcyon Sector. Feluchar orbits a binary pair of stars once every eight standard years. The world has a high gravity and is 81% covered in oceans of liquid water. The majority of the land surface is concentrated into a single rugged, mountainous supercontinent called Hyphaea, which dominates much of the southern hemisphere. The rest of the globe is dotted with subcontinental islands and archipelagos. The shallow nature of the oceans creates vast wetland areas and tidal flats. The mean surface temperature is 37°C.

Feluchar has extensive and abundant native life, filling every possible ecological niche. Flora is fast-growing, with a tendency towards fleshy stems and clusters of gelatinous dome-shaped foliage that is predominantly greenish-white in colour: it displays many characteristics associated with fungi. The world is exotic and it is naturally beautiful: pastel-coloured mycelium grass plains merge into forests made up of chitin-barked and globe-leafed spine-trees. During some seasons, when the weather conditions are perfect, the air fills with floating translucent spheres that drift on the wind for hundreds of kilometers before bursting and spreading their cargo of spores.

References & Contributors / Sources

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science