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(under heavy construction!) |
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The Szjna-cyvani (loosely: "gang of witches") are a lesser but distinctive clan of Chitin Queens that resembles anthropomorphic, androgynous gypsy moths. They are known as diligent engineers and charming but moody tricksters, with a design aesthetic which most other Chitins -- and many other Mess residents -- find pleasantly exotic. They are semi-nomadic and hiveless, a rare behavior among the Queens. Even more unusual, their migrations lead them to spend as much time in Downwarp as they do in Top. |
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The Szjna-cyvani (loosely: "gang of witches") are a lesser but distinctive clan of Chitin Queens that resembles anthropomorphic, androgynous gypsy moths. They are known as diligent engineers and charming tricksters, with a design aesthetic which most other Chitins -- and many other Mess residents -- find pleasantly exotic. They are semi-nomadic and hiveless, a rare behavior among the Queens. Even more unusual, their migrations lead them to spend as much time in Downwarp as they do in Top. |
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The "gypsies" are also non-hierarchical (at least amongst themselves) and very independent-minded by insectoid standards. Their society is better described as a "sisterhood." There are no workers nor drones, and its members are largely free to do as they please. There are few assigned social tasks or roles (though the race's nature leads most of them to pursue similar interests). |
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The "gypsies" are also non-hierarchical (at least amongst themselves) and very independent-minded by insectoid standards. Their society is better described as a "sisterhood." There are no workers nor drones, and its members are largely free to do as they please. There are few assigned social tasks or roles (though the race's nature leads most of them to pursue similar interests). Besides following the absurdly elaborate code of behavior one expects from all Chitin Queens, a Szjna member's only obligation -- a very strict one -- is to attend nightly communions in the forests of Top. In this matter, they lack the insidious subtlety of their cousins: intruders are never converted nor subverted, but simply wired to Sjzna psychosensory gadgetry, subjected to awful phantasmagoric torments, and let go. |
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Besides following the absurdly elaborate code of behavior one expects from all Chitin Queens, an adult Szjna's only obligation -- a very strict one -- is to attend nightly communions in the forests of Top. There are no more than 70 such adults at any given time, and the communions are said to be intensely enhanced with psychosensory gadgetry, so over the course of time the adult come to know one another very intimately. In the matter of security, they lack the insidious subtlety of their cousins: intruders are never converted nor subverted. They are simply wired to Sjzna stripsense devices, subjected to phantasmagoric torments while under total mental isolation, and let go. |
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However, they do share their more courtly cousins' fixations regarding matters of fashion, etiquette, and control. They borrow much of their unique sense of decorum from the rebellious youth cultures of other races. (note to self: to be expanded) |
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However, they do share their more courtly cousins' fixations regarding matters of fashion, etiquette, and control. They are not so snobbish as the more settled clans about the superiority of their own couture. They borrow freely from the modes of dress and expression of other societies, especially from their rebellious youth. Of course, these borrowings are usually near-unrecognizable once filtered through the many layers of mathematically precise social formulae and proprieties that govern Szjna culture. |
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The Szjna have a very peculiar reputation, upon which they pride themselves greatly. They are known as exceptionally precise, logical thinkers, with a remarkable gift for analyzing and modifying things that exhibit predictable behavior. It is not so unusual, then, that they are also thought of as incorrigible liars, social manipulators, and rakes. Amongst themselves and other Chitin Queens, they approach etiquette with a hacker's ingenuity, seeking to exploit loopholes and technicalities in a way that ultimately shows a deep respect for the underlying system. With simpler creatures like robots and mammals, they show no such restraint. |
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Szjna etiquette is more interested in precision of demeanor than in content of character or the "saving of face." Whether it's pheromonal, gestural, or verbal, language is treated as a precision tool and its clumsy use or abuse is frowned upon. Emotional outbursts are not necessarily an embarrassment among the Szjna -- they must simply be delivered in an appropriately expressive manner. It's all right for a moth sister to lose her cool, as long as she proceeds to swear skillfully. Even the vilest outburst can be smoothed over, if presented with a curse that offers exceptional insight into the source of vexation. |
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Gypsy moth larvae have reputations as spoiled, grasping enfants terribles who conduct their vandalism and slander with the utmost of style. The adults, though much less destructive, are perceived by most Queens as trapped in a romantic state of arrested adolescence (which inevitably leads them to some sort of awful fate in Neke morality plays). Actually, gypsy moth biology inclines adult bodies to die every couple of weeks. Perhaps the constant backups have contributed in some way to their eccentricities. |
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The Szjna have a very peculiar reputation, upon which they pride themselves greatly. They are known as precise, logical thinkers, with a remarkable gift for analyzing and modifying things that exhibit predictable behavior. It is not so unusual, then, that they are also thought of as incorrigible liars, social manipulators, and rakes. Amongst themselves and other Chitin Queens, they approach etiquette with a hacker's ingenuity, seeking to exploit loopholes and technicalities in a way that ultimately shows a deep respect for the underlying system. With simpler creatures like robots and mammals, they show no such restraint. |
GLOSSARY NOTES |
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The Szjna passion for freedom and independence really only applies to themselves. The only reason they don't indulge in the same elaborate dominance and submission games with other races that their cousin clans do is that they don't like the commitment. After all, if they had the burden of slaves and servants, where would they put them? But they have no qualms about "borrowing" an outsider to serve a particular task. Their fascination with engineering challenges most certainly extends to the sensual, so even it doesn't fulfill a major role in their society, the Szjna have because quite talented in means of physical and mental restraint. Gypsy moth larvae have reputations as spoiled, grasping enfants terribles who conduct their vandalism and slander with the utmost of style. The adults, though much less destructive, are perceived by most Queens as trapped in a romantic state of arrested adolescence (which inevitably leads them to some sort of awful fate in Neke morality plays). Actually, gypsy moth biology inclines adult bodies to die of old age every couple of weeks. (Perhaps the constant backups have contributed in some way to their eccentricities, like those of certain other notorious insects.) An adult who completes the mj-ryth is expected to opt out of the backup system, to their great honor. Their fate from that point is not known, though it would be most unlike the Szjna to let their clan's greatest expertise go to waste. GLOSSARY |
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*bhxt: many meanings including "etiquette," "fate," "predestination," "natural progression" and "favor owed"; usually prefixed or suffixed |
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*byxt: many meanings including "etiquette," "fate," "predestination," "natural progression" and "favor owed"; usually prefixed or suffixed *dr-eyth: A facetious expression of deep sisterhood, applied to xi-th'xy; a private joke among Szjna, including false promises of revealed secrets, but usually backed up with some degree of real affection *eyth-dr: An expression of true affection, of sisterhood even beyond the usual boundaries; applied ONLY to Szjna *iyth: poetry; speech; code; script; scripture; program; a large body of information that fails its purpose if altered beyond certain rules |
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::(among the Szjna, unlike most clans, it is considered more polite to be witty than to be discreet) |
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::(among the Szjna, unlike most clans, it is considered more polite to be witty and insightful than to be discreet) *jr-eyth: a x'v-nha who has been conscripted into short-term bondage *n'v-glyth: one who refuses to forgive an indecorous act which might have otherwise passed harmlessly; one who cannot tell a pun from a mistake; "a spoilsport" *mj-rym:</b> impure, of "incorrigible blood", usually applied teasingly *mj-ryth: a ritualized checklist of skillful feats; "bragging rights" *ox'n-xyth: "Brilliant hack, dude!" Just like the translation, often spoken ironically. *szj-kyth: a friend who has asked too few questions to receive the "honor" of being called dr-eyth *szj-mi: "tap-boots," traditional spiked footwear used to tap the processing power of a vi-don-kyth *szj-syth-tha: a jr-eyth who has chosen to serve the Szjna habitually (a rarity) |
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*vi-don-kyth: a species of tree bio-engineered as a very powerful, very slow mainframe; native to Downwarp but cultivated in Top by the Szjna; grey-barked, extremely hardy, tends to grow in eldritch gnarls |
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*v'ch-myx: either a respected coder or an expert in the very finest points of Szjna etiquette (these two fields of knowledge converge), consulted for the process of v'ch-pyth; not a formal or permanent title or station *v'ch-pyth: a process of rendering an exile in capable of revealing secrets; ask no further |
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*v'ch-myth: either a respected coder or an expert in the very finest points of Szjna etiquette (these two fields of knowledge converge), consulted for the process of v'ch-pyth; not a permanent or particularly desirable title *v'ch-dr-dyth: the cycle of backup and restoration, or the forgetfulness attendant thereto; the Szjna insist that ALL beings experience this from backup and restore, and are just unattuned to it *v'ch-pyth: a process of rendering an exile incapable of revealing secrets; ask no further *xi-dr-syth: a several-day frenzy of creative energy, marked by a trancelike detachment and an overpowering scent which Szjna find deeply erotic; only one adult Szjna experiences this at a time *xi-myth: a pleasant or useful biological secretion, particularly the exchange of "hacks" by scent-language rubbing at a conclave |
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*xu'um: scent marks that indicate a customary habitation; by extension, a "hangout" |
NOTEPOOLAlongside the stereotypical Chitin Queen obsessions of fashion, etiquette, and control, they possess a somewhat single-minded (and thus merged with their other fixations) fascination with gadgetry. Unlike hive-dwelling, courtly Chitin clans, the Szjna-cyvani hierarchy is organized along somewhat cabalistic lines and has only three ranks: insiders, other Queens, and non-Queens. The natural biological tendency of Szjna-cyvani is to die after a week. This implies almost constant restoration from backup and can lead to certain eccentricies in behavior. Those who compare these eccentricities to certain other well-known eccentric insects are not welcome. |
The "gypsies" are also non-hierarchical (at least amongst themselves) and very independent-minded by insectoid standards. Their society is better described as a "sisterhood." There are no workers nor drones, and its members are largely free to do as they please. There are few assigned social tasks or roles (though the race's nature leads most of them to pursue similar interests).
Besides following the absurdly elaborate code of behavior one expects from all Chitin Queens, an adult Szjna's only obligation -- a very strict one -- is to attend nightly communions in the forests of Top. There are no more than 70 such adults at any given time, and the communions are said to be intensely enhanced with psychosensory gadgetry, so over the course of time the adult come to know one another very intimately. In the matter of security, they lack the insidious subtlety of their cousins: intruders are never converted nor subverted. They are simply wired to Sjzna stripsense devices, subjected to phantasmagoric torments while under total mental isolation, and let go.
However, they do share their more courtly cousins' fixations regarding matters of fashion, etiquette, and control. They are not so snobbish as the more settled clans about the superiority of their own couture. They borrow freely from the modes of dress and expression of other societies, especially from their rebellious youth. Of course, these borrowings are usually near-unrecognizable once filtered through the many layers of mathematically precise social formulae and proprieties that govern Szjna culture.
Szjna etiquette is more interested in precision of demeanor than in content of character or the "saving of face." Whether it's pheromonal, gestural, or verbal, language is treated as a precision tool and its clumsy use or abuse is frowned upon. Emotional outbursts are not necessarily an embarrassment among the Szjna -- they must simply be delivered in an appropriately expressive manner. It's all right for a moth sister to lose her cool, as long as she proceeds to swear skillfully. Even the vilest outburst can be smoothed over, if presented with a curse that offers exceptional insight into the source of vexation.
The Szjna have a very peculiar reputation, upon which they pride themselves greatly. They are known as precise, logical thinkers, with a remarkable gift for analyzing and modifying things that exhibit predictable behavior. It is not so unusual, then, that they are also thought of as incorrigible liars, social manipulators, and rakes. Amongst themselves and other Chitin Queens, they approach etiquette with a hacker's ingenuity, seeking to exploit loopholes and technicalities in a way that ultimately shows a deep respect for the underlying system. With simpler creatures like robots and mammals, they show no such restraint.
The Szjna passion for freedom and independence really only applies to themselves. The only reason they don't indulge in the same elaborate dominance and submission games with other races that their cousin clans do is that they don't like the commitment. After all, if they had the burden of slaves and servants, where would they put them? But they have no qualms about "borrowing" an outsider to serve a particular task. Their fascination with engineering challenges most certainly extends to the sensual, so even it doesn't fulfill a major role in their society, the Szjna have because quite talented in means of physical and mental restraint.
Gypsy moth larvae have reputations as spoiled, grasping enfants terribles who conduct their vandalism and slander with the utmost of style. The adults, though much less destructive, are perceived by most Queens as trapped in a romantic state of arrested adolescence (which inevitably leads them to some sort of awful fate in Neke morality plays).
Actually, gypsy moth biology inclines adult bodies to die of old age every couple of weeks. (Perhaps the constant backups have contributed in some way to their eccentricities, like those of certain other notorious insects.) An adult who completes the mj-ryth is expected to opt out of the backup system, to their great honor. Their fate from that point is not known, though it would be most unlike the Szjna to let their clan's greatest expertise go to waste.
see http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/3698/rom.htm for cheat sheet