What sort of rank structure, if any, do the Umiak have?

Also how quickly do Tanuki reproduce? Right now for the sake of making an interesting subset of MTG cards I have a provisional answer not dissimilar to "like goblins or rabbits", and I have no idea on the correctness of that.

Umiak job titles are very specific; they have no trouble remembering the exact command hierarchy of all 500 individuals on a ship, and so don't need abstracted ranks such as we use.

I haven't thought in any detail about the Tanuki reproductive practices.

Well, damn. There goes my idea to make the Umiak cards in the set be based on rank like the Loroi ones

Does the Umiak have a hivemind, or a Queen, like ants, or can they breed and think freely amongst themselves?

Do the Umiak enforce their caste system onto other species, or do they just leave them as is?

And, a big one, do the Umiak possess a technology equivalent of the Loroi's far-sensing abilities? Or is it just a war of quantity versus quality?

As far as the comic timeline is: NO, the Umiak don't have a "far-sensing" ability, however by the end of the chapter 1 they may have found a counter measure ( or someone else)

Umiak society emphasizes duty to the whole rather than individuality, but they do not have a literal "hive mind." Some strains of Umiak appear to be reproductively viable, but the details of their reproductive practices are not clear (those Umiak captured by the Loroi did not know anything about the subject). Loroi intelligence speculates that most Umiak are birthed through artificial processes.

The Umiak as occupiers do not appear to interfere with the internal affairs of subject nations, as long as they are able to meet their tribute demands.

As Tempo mentions on page 66, the Loroi long-range detection capability is not shared by the Umiak.

Do the Umiak have any sort of recreational urges (not PROcreational urges)? Do they have sports or games or anything like that? Or are they all work and no play?

Umiak do have recreational activities, though Umiak military crews often don't have much in the way of personal time. One "recreational" activity that Umiak crews engage in while on duty, even and especially in times of action and stress, is "singing." It's a group call-and-response chant kind of thing, sometimes accompanied by percussion, with words and rhythm but no melody (dare we call it... group rapping?).

I'm now imagining an umiak on stage with a microphone, having a rap battle with a Loroi, both of them are all tatted out and are wearing sagging pants and flak vests.

thanks for that mental image.

I'm suddenly imaging the Mando battle chants, from the Republic Commando series of books.

There's a lot more punching in that version, though. If you missed your timing, someone would wind up with a lot less teeth than they started with

Some warrior-cultures are more of the warriors-in-culture type than the culture-in-warriors style, what else can we say :shrug: .

can someone draw a picture of an umiak and a loroi rapping, for some odd reason i want to see tthat. Dont ask we me why i just fo.

Wait you only just started having those dreams? I thought it was a normal side effect! Am I really that crazy?

What's the population of the umiak compared to lorii populations? How much are the lorii outnumbered?

eeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

STILLSTORM!

VERSUS!

KIKITIK-27!

BEGIN


Nobody knows. The Loroi do not know the extent of Umiak territory, and (as is the case with many subjects) the Umiak they capture don't know either.

Lol I knew someone was going to reference ERBOH

So, the Umiak don't even alter the industrious sections of planets for creating Umiak technology? Or is Umiak tech more of a conglomeration of all of the species they've taken over?

Or, do the Umiak have mobile stations that, after conquering a species, they fly it in, set it up, and start pumping out Umiak ships/troops?

Are we gonna see that umiak ultra heavy ship? If so is it going to be as cool as it sounds?

I can see it now: "Our diplomats don't seem to know that we're at war, so I'm afraid that negotiations are impossible. It's a bureaucratic thing."

"Hello, I'd like to discuss reparations-"
"That's a matter of the Planetary Control Disputation Department"
"Yes, I talked to-"
"In that case, please find your local representative of the Intraplanetary Disputation Department"
"Isn't-"
"No, they are not the same department. One handles case-by-case disputes, the other discusses disputes in a holistic fashion."
"Which-"
"I'm sorry, that's all the time I have for you today. NEXT!"

And, of course, neither hand can agree as to which hand they are, and even if they could, the only person authorized to file the paperwork died at their desk last week, just as the entire HR staff and the only janitor authorized to move dead bodies (not remove, that has to be authorized by paperwork filed by you-know-who first) died the day before (don't eat the tuna salad).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044741/

It lags pretty bad in the middle, but I recommend it still.

We are the bug, your technological and cultural distinctiveness will be weld randomly on our ship for cool unique ship design, resistance is... 2500 ohm... whu?

If the Umiak are believed to be created via an artificial process (and, since they're akin to insects, and therefore have a natural exoskeleton) does that mean that the Umiak don't have to wear a space suit, just some kind of breathing apparatus? Or, can they modify themselves to the point of making a cybernetic Umiak that doesn't require an atmosphere to breathe?

Also, are the Historians partly based on Larry Niven's Pierson Puppeteers? Both of them are highly reclusive, and the Puppeteers were known for interfering in the development of other species (including helping 'domesticate' one species, to better preserve the peace). However, they are fearful of other species, going so far as to limit interactions through robots, or through insane members of their society (the insane ones are the only Puppeteers who have ever left their homeworld).

No.


Yes. The cyborg still requires oxygen, but the system can be sealed.


No. The "high-tech race" archetype often has recognizable characteristics.