Sciapod

Sciapod
Base Information
Classification
Status	Minor Race
Locomotion	Walker
Terrain
Body Form
Confluence	Non-humanoid
Bio-Identenoid	Alien
Size
Weight
Culture
Languages	Native Language
Social Structure	Oligarchy
Technological Epoch	TL:4-6
Psionic potential	Standard
Origin World
Homeworld location	Maia (Canopus 0227)
UWP	E655499-5 Starport E Frontier - no facilities Size 6 Medium (9,600 km, 0.60g - 0.81g) Atmosphere 5 Thin Hydrographics 5 Wet World 50% Population 4 Moderate (20 thousand) Government 9 Impersonal Bureaucracy Law 9 High Law (no weapons out of home) Tech Level 5 Industrial (mass production)
Primary Star	K2 V
Atmosphere	Thin
Off-world presence	No
Zoetic individuals	Yes
Source
Reference	T5 Second Survey - [T]
Canon	No
Also see

The Sciapods of Maia (Canopus 0227) are a technologically developing Minor Non-Human Race with a non-humanoid appearance.

Description (Specifications)

Sciapods are walkers. They are large, flexible, and physically strong. While the head, neck, and torso contain an articulated cartilaginous skeleton that acts as a semi-rigid support for the musculature and protects the brain and other internal organs, the limbs utilize fluid-filled sacs and groups of muscles in order to flex and move.

They have a bilateral symmetry with a wedge-shaped head, which contains the brain and mounts the primary sensory organs, located atop a thick neck. It sits at the front of a broadly cylindrical torso. They have two long manipulator tentacles that each branch into two long "fingers", and eight paired fleshy legs that project downward from the body.

General Psychology

Sciapods exhibit recognized characteristics of intelligence:

• Conceptual thought, including abstract language.
• Social structure, including social organization.
• Tool use, allowing environmental manipulation.

Sciapod 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).

Native Culture

• Heterogenity: 7 (discordant)
• Acceptance: 1 (extremely xenophobic)
• Strangeness: 5 (distinct)
• Symbols: 6 (somewhat concrete)

History & Background (Dossier)

The name "sciapod" is a Terran term translating as "shadow leg".

It has been speculated that mythical Terran creatures, called (among other names) Sciapods and chronicled in various pre-jump Terran literary works, were the inspiration for the name. The stories told that these creatures lived in the unexplored continental interiors of Terra and during the hottest times of the day held up their large foot to shade themselves from the heat of the sun. The Sciapod head, with its four protruding eyes, bears a passing resemblance to a human foot.

Terran image dating to circa -3030:

(Public Domain image)

Solomani Interest

A Solomani colonial pilot program has seen young Sciapods removed from their homes and raised under direct Human supervision.

Worlds & Sectors (Astrography)

This race is primarily located in the following areas:
Charted Space – Solomani Confederation:

• Canopus Sector
  • Aglaea Subsector

Homeworld

The homeworld of this race is:

• Maia (Canopus 0227)

World Listing

Comprehensive Second Survey data for all worlds that have populations of Sciapods is available.

• The primary source material for all data is Traveller Map.
• Other sources may differ: some elements of the data may be contradictory or incorrect.
• Data is occasionally updated as new information becomes available.

AAB library archives contain expanded data about the following systems:

1 of 1 World articles in Sciapod

Maia  •  

startbacknext(1 listed)

Note that some Second Survey data, though only 40 years old, may already be out of date.

• Scouting missions gathering reliable, verified data can receive substantial payment.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This article is missing content for one or more detailed sections. Additional details are required to complete the article. You can help the Traveller Wiki by expanding it.

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 Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• David L. Pulver. Solomani (Mongoose Publishing, 2012), page 28. (the Sciapods)
• Author & Contributor: Randy Dorman
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science