Blaran

Blaran (disambiguation)
Blaran might refer to: - The fifth book of Andrew Hindle's science-fiction series The Final Fall of Man. Available in e-book and paperback.

- A Molranoid species belonging to the Six Species.

''"One of the best books I've read this year and just as great as all the others in his infinitely fun series. I love the character development and utilization. I look forward to the next installment in the Final Fall of Man." - John P on Amazon''

''While walking along a path, three Molranoids encounter a piece of shit. The Molran steps around it and carries on. The Bonshoon steps right in it and carries on. And the Blaran dances in it. - Molran kadane (proverb / allegory)''

Blaran (species)
''Your average Blaran stood between seven feet five inches and seven feet seven inches in height. That’s not to say there weren’t seven-foot-two and seven-foot-ten Blaren, but they were rare and extremely distinctive, usually accompanied by other variations. An average, for Blaren, was far more specific than it was for humans. Decay, at seven-foot-five, was right on the cusp of ‘short for a Blaran’, but managed to be merely on ‘the short side of average’.''

''Like all the Molranoids, Blaren had broad, flat-topped skulls and naturally up-curved mouths that made it look to humans like they were smiling all the time. A pair of elongated incisors in their upper jaws made this ‘smile’ far less reassuring, but this was only vestigial primate instinct on humanity’s part. A Blaran was, after all, approximately one hundred percent less ancestrally terrifying than an aki’Drednanth, let alone a Fergunakil. Blaran ears were intricate and mobile and highly sensitive, webbed extensions on either side of the head like the wings of a small pink bat. Blaren were bipedal but had four arms, which was what accounted for most of the height difference between Molranoid and humanoid. - Eejit''

Species origin
The Blaran species separated from the Molran root an unspecified number of millennia ago, an estimated 30,000 years before the First Feast. While this is only a matter of six Molranoid lifetimes, extensive joint programmes of selective breeding, medical and genetic alteration, and artificial augmentation have made the legal separation all but a biological reality.

The initial separation of Molran from Blaran occurred at the formation of the Molran Fleet, where the original Molran species boarded the Worldships Enna Midzis, Grandix and Bonshoo as either administration/crew, civilian/passenger, or sleeper/cargo. The division in the waking travellers soon formed the foundation of the Twin Species, and the Twin Species Social Code outlining its precepts. For this reason, it was accepted that Blaren could not become officers, or even true members of starship crews.

Over time, Molran became synonymous with the pure form of the species, defined by its adherence to Worldship law and custom and practice, and its preservation of the species; Blaran became synonymous with the dissidents, the questioners, the malcontents and the criminal elements of society. Both, it was believed, were vital for a civilisation to thrive and to avoid generation-ship stagnation. The Molren kept the Fleet on course, and the Blaren kept the Twin Species flexible.

Blaren are practically indistinguishable from Molren at birth, aside from minor genetic markers.

Skinswitching
He hated that expression, skinswitch. ''As if you were physically changing clothes – as if the only difference between a Molran and a Blaran was cosmetic, and all that was changing was your image. Your appearance. - Blaran

"Skinswitching is for small sins, like reading the wrong book or copulating with the wrong partner. The true measure of a Molran lies in the aki’Drednanth decision that he remain a Molran." - ''Mos Karturi, 3351 YM, Molran

Molren and Blaren can interbreed, but rarely do so - indeed, the act of breeding with a Blaran is cause for a Molran to be dismissed from the species and reassigned as a Blaran him- or herself.

The Twin Species Social Code outlines numerous other cultural, social and evolutionary transgressions Molren may commit to warrant relegation to Blaranity. The historical root of the conversion was a dismissal of a Molran from a position of crewmember responsibility.

Fleet Separatists
Main article: Separatist Fleet.

In the post-Damorakind days of the Molran Fleet, several large Blaran-dominant Twin Species cultures banded together to take over several Fleet Worldships and redefine them as Separatists. While this union was still officially Twin Species and therefore the ships were classified as Molran Fleet Separatist rather than Blaran outlaw, the group has since diversified further and many Separatist Worldships are now entirely Blaran.

The transition was largely peaceful and seen as an extension of the Twin Species division.

While the Twin Species Social Code defines Blaren as crewmembers and otherwise non-officers in contexts including Molran members, there is a distinction drawn for Separatist vessels and other cases of Blaran self-determination in a Molran-free context. In short, when there are no Molren around, Blaren can call themselves whatever they like and run their vessels as they see fit.

The Molren, as formularised in the Six Species charter, do not interfere in the actions of the Fleet Separatists and do not attempt to impose the letter of Six Species law denying Blaren the right to crew and command starships.

The main division of Molran Fleet from Fleet Separatist occurred during the events preceding and immediately following Margan's Leap.

Blaran tribes and body modifications
Blaren commonly, but not invariably, perform body modifications on themselves to distinguish them from the Molran norm. They refer to Molren as ghone (clones), or sourcats in reference to their bland physical characteristics.

Blaran augmentations can take any form, from something as mild as a subtle skin decoration (for example the bioluminescent gang-markings of General Moral Decay (Alcohol), which can be activated or concealed at will) to an almost-complete restructuring of the body (for example the extreme enhancements of Grendel's Grief or the near-complete replacement of flesh with biomachinery performed by the Adluminal). They can be entirely individual, or themed in such a way as to distinguish a certain crew, tribe, gang or larger cultural grouping.

Blaran corsairs
While Blaren are technically not by definition criminals, the Twin Species Social Code and general Molran law defines them this way in opposition to the Molran standard. This, however, is closer to the human-culture distinction between lawmaker and civilian rather than law-abiding civilian and law-breaker. Blaren are not defined as dangerous criminals in and of themselves.

There are, however, large numbers of so-called Hyperseparatist Blaren who have adopted their own command structure, groupings and territories. Many of these are mobile in starships of various kinds, and prey upon civilian, commercial, and even small AstroCorps and Fleet vessels and caravans.

''This entry is a stub. To be continued. Hur hur hur, stub.''