Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread

[Demarquis]

Question: Is the Warrior Culture thread supposed to be locked?

[Arioch]

Question: Is the Warrior Culture thread supposed to be locked?

No, thanks for pointing it out.

[Snoofman]

Since the Loroi have amplifiers that can increase the power of Teidars, do the Loroi have tech that can suppress sanzai or PK powers?

[Arioch]

Since the Loroi have amplifiers that can increase the power of Teidars, do the Loroi have tech that can suppress sanzai or PK powers?

As with the amplifiers, there are materials and shapes known to the Loroi that can dampen psionic abilities, but none (known) that can completely shut them down. These devices have limited usefulness, as they don't provide much defense against psionic attacks (like amplifiers, they must be on or around the attacker), and they don't mask telepathic signatures.

SpoilerShow

The only use case that I currently have for this technology is the concept that Fireblade has a capsule that she sleeps in to mitigate the telepathic "noise" that she generates when unconscious... but I'm not 100.0% sure that's actually going to be in the comic.

[Moon Moth]

SpoilerShow

The only use case that I currently have for this technology is the concept that Fireblade has a capsule that she sleeps in to mitigate the telepathic "noise" that she generates when unconscious... but I'm not 100.0% sure that's actually going to be in the comic.

SpoilerShow

Heh. I'm enjoying imagining Alex's reaction to finding out that Fireblade has to sleep in a special magic coffin...

[SaintofM]

SpoilerShow

The only use case that I currently have for this technology is the concept that Fireblade has a capsule that she sleeps in to mitigate the telepathic "noise" that she generates when unconscious... but I'm not 100.0% sure that's actually going to be in the comic.

SpoilerShow

Heh. I'm enjoying imagining Alex's reaction to finding out that Fireblade has to sleep in a special magic coffin...

SpoilerShow

Oh, I can Imagin it now. Jardin: Pychic powers, pointy ears, does not get out in the sun much [she's on a space ship] and she sleeps in a coffin. The moment I find out she drinks the blood of innocents, and I am looking for a wooden stake and space garlic!

[Moon Moth]

SpoilerShow

The only use case that I currently have for this technology is the concept that Fireblade has a capsule that she sleeps in to mitigate the telepathic "noise" that she generates when unconscious... but I'm not 100.0% sure that's actually going to be in the comic.

SpoilerShow

Heh. I'm enjoying imagining Alex's reaction to finding out that Fireblade has to sleep in a special magic coffin...

SpoilerShow

Oh, I can Imagin it now. Jardin: Pychic powers, pointy ears, does not get out in the sun much [she's on a space ship] and she sleeps in a coffin. The moment I find out she drinks the blood of innocents, and I am looking for a wooden stake and space garlic!

SpoilerShow

Or from a more romantic angle, their love is tragically constrained, for no matter how much fun they have in bed, they will never know the peaceful trust of going to sleep in their lover's arms. Alas!

[SaintofM]

SpoilerShow

Heh. I'm enjoying imagining Alex's reaction to finding out that Fireblade has to sleep in a special magic coffin...

SpoilerShow

Oh, I can Imagin it now. Jardin: Pychic powers, pointy ears, does not get out in the sun much [she's on a space ship] and she sleeps in a coffin. The moment I find out she drinks the blood of innocents, and I am looking for a wooden stake and space garlic!

SpoilerShow

Or from a more romantic angle, their love is tragically constrained, for no matter how much fun they have in bed, they will never know the peaceful trust of going to sleep in their lover's arms. Alas!

SpoilerShow

And he snores.

[Demarquis]

Since the Loroi have amplifiers that can increase the power of Teidars, do the Loroi have tech that can suppress sanzai or PK powers?

As with the amplifiers, there are materials and shapes known to the Loroi that can dampen psionic abilities, but none (known) that can completely shut them down. These devices have limited usefulness, as they don't provide much defense against psionic attacks (like amplifiers, they must be on or around the attacker), and they don't mask telepathic signatures.

SpoilerShow

The only use case that I currently have for this technology is the concept that Fireblade has a capsule that she sleeps in to mitigate the telepathic "noise" that she generates when unconscious... but I'm not 100.0% sure that's actually going to be in the comic.

OMG! That's hilarious! Please put that in somewhere!

[CatColonist]

The Loroi sister worlds article talks about the major Listel academies being on Taben and Mezan with other research academies. How are the Listel involved in scientific research? Do they do research themselves, or do they mainly follow researchers around and record their findings, like how they memorize important conversations on a starship?

Who is doing a lot of the archaeology on Mezan and Taben? Are there special warrior castes involved in research? Do they research based on their jobs, such as Doranzer researching medical tech and Galen researching general technology? Or is research mainly something done by civilians? I'm mainly wondering what a Loroi scientist looks like.

[Arioch]

The Loroi sister worlds article talks about the major Listel academies being on Taben and Mezan with other research academies. How are the Listel involved in scientific research? Do they do research themselves, or do they mainly follow researchers around and record their findings, like how they memorize important conversations on a starship?

Who is doing a lot of the archaeology on Mezan and Taben? Are there special warrior castes involved in research? Do they research based on their jobs, such as Doranzer researching medical tech and Galen researching general technology? Or is research mainly something done by civilians? I'm mainly wondering what a Loroi scientist looks like.

It depends on the subject that's being researched. In a lot of cases, the Listel form the sort of "substrate" of academia (teaching, investigating records, managing organizations, analyzing data, writing reports), supporting or supported by specialists from other castes. In the case of "pure" research like archaeology (which has little or no direct application), the researchers would be mostly Listel, perhaps coordinating with specialists in history from Nedatan or other groups. In the case of researching artifacts with an eye toaward reverse-engineering them, there would usually be Soroin, Gallen and/or civilian engineers involved.

Ordinary commercial research is most often done by civilian groups, especially if there's no direct military application. What this looks like depends on the particular guild or civilian institution that's doing it. There are civilian Loroi with Listel-like capabilities, and they perform a similar role in research, although they aren't unified in a single caste like the military versions are.

[Snoofman]

What does the standard Union calendar look like? Do Loroi operate by weeks or months? If so what are some of their months called?

[Arioch]

What does the standard Union calendar look like? Do Loroi operate by weeks or months? If so what are some of their months called?

Calendars are mostly a local phenomenon that generally only have significance on a particular planet. There is a standard clock by which official times and dates are kept, but this is mainly for official recordkeeping. Each planet will have its own calendar, and how time is segmented up will often vary by local custom and subculture even within a planet.

The official clock is based on Perrein time and has days that are 26 Earth hours long and years that are 238 Perrein days long (about 257 Earth days). Perrein has no moons nor any significant axial tilt, so it has no months or even seasons. Starships are usually run on official time without much regard to local calendars.

A commonly used sub-segment of the year is called the nanapi (“transit”), based on the orbital period of the larger of Deinar's two small moons. It is about 10 Earth days (9 Perrein days or 12 Deinar days). Nanapi aren't individually named.

[Moon Moth]

The official clock is based on Perrein time

Why Perrein? Was this a compromise when making first contact with the other Loroi, or first setting up the Loroi Union, to convince everyone that Deinar culture wouldn't be completely dominant?

[Arioch]

The official clock is based on Perrein time

Why Perrein? Was this a compromise when making first contact with the other Loroi, or first setting up the Loroi Union, to convince everyone that Deinar culture wouldn't be completely dominant?

Yes.

[CatColonist]

The insider says that Listel act as telepathic archives, witnessing important conversations and committing them to memory. We also see them doing other jobs such as tactical analysis and scientific research. Do some Listel act purely as archives with the other jobs being separate specializations, or do all Listel act as archives in addition to doing other duties? If they do all act as archives, do they have shifts where they just focus on memorizing conversations, or are they expected to commit all conversations to memory while doing other tasks?

[Arioch]

The insider says that Listel act as telepathic archives, witnessing important conversations and committing them to memory. We also see them doing other jobs such as tactical analysis and scientific research. Do some Listel act purely as archives with the other jobs being separate specializations, or do all Listel act as archives in addition to doing other duties? If they do all act as archives, do they have shifts where they just focus on memorizing conversations, or are they expected to commit all conversations to memory while doing other tasks?

It depends. The baseline (lowest-ranking) Listel will often be assigned specifically as an observer, similar to a court reporter, though depending on the situation they may have secondary functions. More specialized (higher-ranking) Listel will have primary roles like analysis or research which benefit from their accurate memory, and being an observer to local events will be a secondary function for them. For an important official proceeding there will be dedicated observers, but for something like the everyday goings-on aboard ship, the on-duty tactical analyst is usually sufficient.

[Tamren]

Couple things I've been wondering about Listels:

1. Do all Listels have perfect memory from birth or is it a combination of genetics and training?
2. Do Listels suffer more than other Loroi from traumatic experiences they can't forget?
3. How many Listels would typically be assigned to a starship of each class, do smaller ships like destroyers and frigates have Listels at all?

[GeoModder]

The insider says that Listel act as telepathic archives, witnessing important conversations and committing them to memory. We also see them doing other jobs such as tactical analysis and scientific research. Do some Listel act purely as archives with the other jobs being separate specializations, or do all Listel act as archives in addition to doing other duties? If they do all act as archives, do they have shifts where they just focus on memorizing conversations, or are they expected to commit all conversations to memory while doing other tasks?

It depends. The baseline (lowest-ranking) Listel will often be assigned specifically as an observer, similar to a court reporter, though depending on the situation they may have secondary functions. More specialized (higher-ranking) Listel will have primary roles like analysis or research which benefit from their accurate memory, and being an observer to local events will be a secondary function for them. For an important official proceeding there will be dedicated observers, but for something like the everyday goings-on aboard ship, the on-duty tactical analyst is usually sufficient.

Is there a requirement-by-law for Listels (or perhaps their civilian counterparts if such a caste exist) to be present on all occasions of sufficient importance? Where is the line drawn? Especially for the civilian aspect of Loroi society?
For instance, would there be a Listel (or their civilian counterpart) present on say a shift-change where information is required to be "Sanzaid" to the next team performing the job?

[Arioch]

1. Do all Listels have perfect memory from birth or is it a combination of genetics and training?

Eidetic memory is hereditary, though I expect there is training that can improve one's use of it, especially as regards organization and recall.

2. Do Listels suffer more than other Loroi from traumatic experiences they can't forget?

Probably not; traumatic memory probably operates the same as or similar to eidetic memory. I don't think people forget traumatic memories, but rather learn to remember them without reliving them.

I can imagine that other psychological issues like obsessive-compulsive disorder might be a common problem, though.

3. How many Listels would typically be assigned to a starship of each class, do smaller ships like destroyers and frigates have Listels at all?

Most ships will probably have at least four or five. They'll have three to stand watch in the command center (one for each watch), but I can imagine a variety of other tasks in which it would be useful to have a Listel; for example, ideally you'd like to have one in the records department. Listel are a limited resource, but they're more common than something like Teidar or Mizol.

Is there a requirement-by-law for Listels (or perhaps their civilian counterparts if such a caste exist) to be present on all occasions of sufficient importance? Where is the line drawn? Especially for the civilian aspect of Loroi society?
For instance, would there be a Listel (or their civilian counterpart) present on say a shift-change where information is required to be "Sanzaid" to the next team performing the job?

It would be normal procedure to have a Listel observer in court or at government or diplomatic functions, but I doubt it's a legal requirement. Loroi try to avoid legal roadblocks; they wouldn't want to be prohibited from doing something important just because there wasn't a Listel available.

Listel observers aren't required for trivial activities; Loroi can and do write things down.