Where We Live Notes
May. 16th, 2008 04:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thefroggOk, well, this is the notes post for Where We Live. As with the other 'verse posts, I will be adding to it as it develops.
Major major spoiler alert. If you don't want to be spoiled, DON'T READ.
If you don't mind or like spoilers, feel free to read, comment, and point out inconsistencies, either with other parts of the story 'bible' or with the actual fic.
Queens are simultaneously one of the most valuable and most expendable members of a Hive. They are valuable for two reasons: reproductive capability, and telepathic strength. In Hive-to-Hive battle, the main and often only target is the Hive queen; battle ends when one (or one and her immature daughter) is dead.
Queens rarely hibernate; they take on the role of Caretaker when the rest of their Hive hibernates.
Officers
A sub-class of warriors, officers are well, officers. They command groups of Wraith of various size and makeup, with Hive commander being the top rank, even if the Hive commander has more than one Hive under his control. The latter normally happens in the case of queenless Hives, or a queen who has defeated one or more enemy Hives but has not installed her own offspring in the conquered ships yet.
Warriors
A step up from soldiers, they generally form the elite guard of a Hive. They guard the most vulnerable and/or valuable targets within a Hive - queens, learning pillars, some major ship systems.
Soldiers
Drones
Technicians
Learning Pillars
The single most valuable caste in Hive society. They are the equivalent of a Goa'uld harcesis, possessing all the knowledge of their Hive, as well as that of any Hive they may have served in the past, and serve as the foundation for a Hive's telepathic mind. Each Hive normally has between four and twelve, depending on whether or not the Hive has an immature queen or not.
Members of this caste are eccentric and curious. Physically, they differ from other Wraith by not losing the ability to process solid food, and as a rule do not feed off humans as adults. Due to their increased individuality in comparison to other members of the Hive, they have a tendency to get attached to their human food.
As the center of a Hivemind, they are extremely powerful telepaths, capable of taking over the Hive if they feel it is in the Hive's best interest. They are the Hive's fail-safe; a queen or Hive commander cannot order the Hive into a suicidal mission/situation without its learning pillars' agreement. However, they are biologically/genetically predispositioned against ambition to lead; in a group, they will refuse to take charge, instead preferring to take orders from someone else.
Within the Hive, pillars are pampered and catered to; they have their own guards, their quarters are in the most protected part of the ship, etc. After Hive-to-Hive battle, the pillars of the defeated Hive are courted and most often join the conquering Hive voluntarily; there are strict conditions under which pillar integration occurs. Pillars who do not become part of the conquering Hive most often leave to engage in research, or allies of the old queen.
Pillars are the only caste that has free passage between Hives; in Hive-to-Hive battle, an invading commander would rather kill his own troops than risk the defending Hive's pillars. They sometimes serve as liaisons between Hives, and produce most of the Wraith's technological developments.
They are also the only caste capable of forming a Hive link with a non-member.
Traditionally (all-Wraith Hive), each member of a Hive has a telepathic bond with one of that Hive's learning pillars, which allows them access to the Hive's accumulated knowledge. If the pillar they are linked to dies, their links automatically revert to the next pillar in the Hive's heirarchy. This means that, inside the Hive, so long as at least one of the pillars survives, any member of the Hive could, theoretically, cover for any other member of the Hive. In reality, this sometimes occurs in extreme cases, although success in completing tasks is not guaranteed. Muscle memory still plays a part, particularly in combat and fine technical work.
Non-pillar members of the Hive are given only limited training, that which pertains to their caste and position. Warriors, soldiers, and drones are trained in combat (armed and unarmed); officers train tactics, strategy, leadership and related subjects depending on their level; technicians train in their particular systems (use, maintenance and repair), etc. This is both to increase efficiency and to limit access to sensitive information.
The normal Hive-bond serves as a two-way conduit: Members of the Hive can access Hive knowledge, and subconsciously sends new knowledge to the learning pillars.
Pillar Bonds
Learning pillars have a much stronger bond with each other than with other members of their Hive. These bonds serve as redundancy, to allow the pillars to exchange new knowledge sent by other members of the Hive, and to allow the 'snap' transfer of Hive bonds should one pillar die. It also allows new pillars to acquire the Hive's knowledge, or for captured pillars to trade Hive knowledge when integrated into their new Hive.
Pillars have stronger bonds with their commanders than other members of the Hive.
Other bonds between individual members of a Hive are made possible by membership in that Hive (in other words, they are based on the bond they share with the pillars of their Hive), but are independent of any other bond.
Visually, Wraith is based on the Ancients' language. Its symbols and symbol combinations have adapted to fit the verbal form, which evolved from insect-based sounds, hisses, clicks, chirps, hard consonants, etc. The double-toned quality to their vocalizations, as well as some of the phonetics, guarantee that humans can not mimic them with 100% accuracy, but human attempts can be understandable with practice.
Wraith terms
turinhe'skedthe (approximate phonetic) - an honor given to a Hive commander from any/all of his crew/troops/pillars, signifying that he is served not out of duty and/or right of rank, but because of trust and respect. States that the commander realizes and more importantly understands that his troops are valuable in and of themselves, not just cannon fodder and not simply replaceable, as a queen often sees them - he serves his troops as much, or more than, they serve him. A handful of queenless Hives are led by such; they and their crews generally refuse the presence of a queen. Originates from an epic poem; the protagonist has become the leadership ideal.
Todd is a learning pillar. The only time he's ever killed a human by feeding is when another human has forced him (self defense, torture, or, in the case of Wallace, starvation).
Todd is extremely old, even for a learning pillar; he is approximately 11,200 years old. He has never hibernated. He has served on more than a dozen Hive ships, two of them queenless.
Currently suffering long-term effects of starvation/deprivation; requires large amounts of water.
Conditioned to read sarcasm as cruelty, particularly from people he does not know well.
Todd's Hive (current)
Todd's human Hive is, in Wraith terms, a hodge-podge of bonds based on friendship, loyalty, trust, respect, and/or in some cases, need, as with Dr. McKay.
Major Evan Lorne - Todd's turinhe'skedthe; has three bonds with Todd - Hive, commander, and pillar. Among Wraith, the latter two are never combined, but, as humans are not telepathic, Todd did so to deepen the weakened connection.
Dr. David Parrish - Hive bond, pillar bond
Lt. Webber - Hive bond
Lt. Miller - Hive bond
Dr. Rodney McKay - Hive bond, pillar bond
Todd's Hive (allied)
General Jack O'Neill - Dr. Jackson's turinhe'skedthe.
Dr. Daniel Jackson (future) - Hive bond, pillar bond
Major major spoiler alert. If you don't want to be spoiled, DON'T READ.
If you don't mind or like spoilers, feel free to read, comment, and point out inconsistencies, either with other parts of the story 'bible' or with the actual fic.
Hive structure
QueensQueens are simultaneously one of the most valuable and most expendable members of a Hive. They are valuable for two reasons: reproductive capability, and telepathic strength. In Hive-to-Hive battle, the main and often only target is the Hive queen; battle ends when one (or one and her immature daughter) is dead.
Queens rarely hibernate; they take on the role of Caretaker when the rest of their Hive hibernates.
Officers
A sub-class of warriors, officers are well, officers. They command groups of Wraith of various size and makeup, with Hive commander being the top rank, even if the Hive commander has more than one Hive under his control. The latter normally happens in the case of queenless Hives, or a queen who has defeated one or more enemy Hives but has not installed her own offspring in the conquered ships yet.
Warriors
A step up from soldiers, they generally form the elite guard of a Hive. They guard the most vulnerable and/or valuable targets within a Hive - queens, learning pillars, some major ship systems.
Soldiers
Drones
Technicians
Learning Pillars
The single most valuable caste in Hive society. They are the equivalent of a Goa'uld harcesis, possessing all the knowledge of their Hive, as well as that of any Hive they may have served in the past, and serve as the foundation for a Hive's telepathic mind. Each Hive normally has between four and twelve, depending on whether or not the Hive has an immature queen or not.
Members of this caste are eccentric and curious. Physically, they differ from other Wraith by not losing the ability to process solid food, and as a rule do not feed off humans as adults. Due to their increased individuality in comparison to other members of the Hive, they have a tendency to get attached to their human food.
As the center of a Hivemind, they are extremely powerful telepaths, capable of taking over the Hive if they feel it is in the Hive's best interest. They are the Hive's fail-safe; a queen or Hive commander cannot order the Hive into a suicidal mission/situation without its learning pillars' agreement. However, they are biologically/genetically predispositioned against ambition to lead; in a group, they will refuse to take charge, instead preferring to take orders from someone else.
Within the Hive, pillars are pampered and catered to; they have their own guards, their quarters are in the most protected part of the ship, etc. After Hive-to-Hive battle, the pillars of the defeated Hive are courted and most often join the conquering Hive voluntarily; there are strict conditions under which pillar integration occurs. Pillars who do not become part of the conquering Hive most often leave to engage in research, or allies of the old queen.
Pillars are the only caste that has free passage between Hives; in Hive-to-Hive battle, an invading commander would rather kill his own troops than risk the defending Hive's pillars. They sometimes serve as liaisons between Hives, and produce most of the Wraith's technological developments.
They are also the only caste capable of forming a Hive link with a non-member.
Telepathic Bonds and Their Effects on Training
Traditionally (all-Wraith Hive), each member of a Hive has a telepathic bond with one of that Hive's learning pillars, which allows them access to the Hive's accumulated knowledge. If the pillar they are linked to dies, their links automatically revert to the next pillar in the Hive's heirarchy. This means that, inside the Hive, so long as at least one of the pillars survives, any member of the Hive could, theoretically, cover for any other member of the Hive. In reality, this sometimes occurs in extreme cases, although success in completing tasks is not guaranteed. Muscle memory still plays a part, particularly in combat and fine technical work.
Non-pillar members of the Hive are given only limited training, that which pertains to their caste and position. Warriors, soldiers, and drones are trained in combat (armed and unarmed); officers train tactics, strategy, leadership and related subjects depending on their level; technicians train in their particular systems (use, maintenance and repair), etc. This is both to increase efficiency and to limit access to sensitive information.
The normal Hive-bond serves as a two-way conduit: Members of the Hive can access Hive knowledge, and subconsciously sends new knowledge to the learning pillars.
Pillar Bonds
Learning pillars have a much stronger bond with each other than with other members of their Hive. These bonds serve as redundancy, to allow the pillars to exchange new knowledge sent by other members of the Hive, and to allow the 'snap' transfer of Hive bonds should one pillar die. It also allows new pillars to acquire the Hive's knowledge, or for captured pillars to trade Hive knowledge when integrated into their new Hive.
Pillars have stronger bonds with their commanders than other members of the Hive.
Other bonds between individual members of a Hive are made possible by membership in that Hive (in other words, they are based on the bond they share with the pillars of their Hive), but are independent of any other bond.
Language
Visually, Wraith is based on the Ancients' language. Its symbols and symbol combinations have adapted to fit the verbal form, which evolved from insect-based sounds, hisses, clicks, chirps, hard consonants, etc. The double-toned quality to their vocalizations, as well as some of the phonetics, guarantee that humans can not mimic them with 100% accuracy, but human attempts can be understandable with practice.
Wraith terms
turinhe'skedthe (approximate phonetic) - an honor given to a Hive commander from any/all of his crew/troops/pillars, signifying that he is served not out of duty and/or right of rank, but because of trust and respect. States that the commander realizes and more importantly understands that his troops are valuable in and of themselves, not just cannon fodder and not simply replaceable, as a queen often sees them - he serves his troops as much, or more than, they serve him. A handful of queenless Hives are led by such; they and their crews generally refuse the presence of a queen. Originates from an epic poem; the protagonist has become the leadership ideal.
Todd
Todd is a learning pillar. The only time he's ever killed a human by feeding is when another human has forced him (self defense, torture, or, in the case of Wallace, starvation).
Todd is extremely old, even for a learning pillar; he is approximately 11,200 years old. He has never hibernated. He has served on more than a dozen Hive ships, two of them queenless.
Currently suffering long-term effects of starvation/deprivation; requires large amounts of water.
Conditioned to read sarcasm as cruelty, particularly from people he does not know well.
Todd's Hive (current)
Todd's human Hive is, in Wraith terms, a hodge-podge of bonds based on friendship, loyalty, trust, respect, and/or in some cases, need, as with Dr. McKay.
Major Evan Lorne - Todd's turinhe'skedthe; has three bonds with Todd - Hive, commander, and pillar. Among Wraith, the latter two are never combined, but, as humans are not telepathic, Todd did so to deepen the weakened connection.
Dr. David Parrish - Hive bond, pillar bond
Lt. Webber - Hive bond
Lt. Miller - Hive bond
Dr. Rodney McKay - Hive bond, pillar bond
Todd's Hive (allied)
General Jack O'Neill - Dr. Jackson's turinhe'skedthe.
Dr. Daniel Jackson (future) - Hive bond, pillar bond
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-17 02:12 pm (UTC)This'll be a useful reference to come back to. Perhaps you should put up another on Wraith biology - I'm already composing notes on my version of it as well as language and culture so I don't mix things up :)
no subject
Date: 2008-05-17 04:34 pm (UTC)I'm actually planning on just using this post to have all my notes; I haven't done a whole lot on biology yet.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-16 09:37 pm (UTC)Where We Live Update
Date: 2010-09-27 03:13 am (UTC)Re: Where We Live Update
Date: 2010-09-29 12:35 am (UTC)