Bioplotting

You see that knot of fur over there? Yeah, the one that looks like there’s about fifty kittens in a pile. That’s the Sigma family. I think there are five of them and Reisea is pregnant again. When she has those little ones (and they always have more than one) they’ll all pouch them, swapping them around like they all gave birth to them. None of them are related, by the way. It’s like a little love-fest when they get going and god only help you if you’re trying to get Tankau to fix something during rut.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Furry arboreal humanoids. Males stand approximately 3’6” while females average 3’3”. Fur is short, thick and dense over most of the body and ranges in color from sable brown to light russet. Fur patterns are commonly subtle in color range, can be lighter or darker than overall fur color, and include ringed tails, facial masks, and broken stripes or spots on back and sides. Eyes have wide irises which mostly fill the space between lids, leaving little or no sclera visible, and round pupils. Iris colors range from pale green to dark blue-green. Dominant eye color is blue; green is recessive and tied to lack of melanin.

• Sigmas have evolved to live in the upper branches of their forests by developing long, muscular, prehensile tails, a flexible membrane of skin which runs from inner forearm laterally to upper thigh which allows for gliding flight, dexterous gripping hands and feet, and marsupial childrearing.
• Childbearers have a nursing pouch which begins under the arms, runs horizontally across the chest and reaches to just above the navel. The skin of the pouch is as densely furred on the external side as the rest of the body, while the inside is lined with a fine, downy fur. The pouch possesses flexibility and contains an additional muscular layer as well as a layer of adipose tissue for insulation. As peak fertile years pass, the muscular layer tightens and the pouch loses much of its flexibility, making it difficult to fit anything larger than one hand inside. Two breasts similar in form to humans’ are located within the pouch; male breasts lactate as female’s, though are usually smaller and less efficient in milk production.
• Sigma tails are usually as long as the individual is tall. These immensely strong appendages evolved to stabilize Sigmas before and after jumping, as well as steering during flight and suspending their full weight to reach things on lower branches. The average individual can deadlift up to their own weight with their tails. Tails are also fully prehensile, able to coil and spiral to grip just about anything they can lift. The muscles of their tails are built for dead weight locomotion and stability, thus very few Sigmas have developed their tails for other purposes such as martial arts or fine detail work. They can, but most don’t bother.
• The gliding membrane is similar in construction to the marsupial pouch: thick, flexible skin with a fine covering of downy fur and an additional layer of adipose tissue. This skin falls in thick folds around the sides when relaxed and stretches out to support the Sigma’s gliding form of flight. The membrane stretches down from the inner forearm and expands out in response to body posture (arms extended to 45 degrees from neck, legs extended 45 degrees from body-line) and muscle flexing. When gliding, Sigmas can carry up to half their own body weight without losing altitude too quickly to compensate. Pouchlings ride within their parent’s pouch for the first six or seven months, then ride between the shoulders, allowing their parents more methods of landing and clinging to a new perch. Children start short flights on their own when they are old enough to ride outside of the pouch.
• Hands and feet both have long, dexterous digits with opposing thumbs. Four fingers and a thumb to hands, four toes with a stiff sole and a thumb to feet. Toes are flexible enough to grip almost as far as fingers, while still stable and strong enough to allow for erect, bipedal motion.
• Crepuscular in habit, which shows primarily in the large size and round shape of their eyes. Sigma society is built on a 22-hour, four-period day: three hours of sleep during the height of the midday heat, eight hours of activity around dusk, three hours of sleep during the darkest part of the night, eight hours of activity around dawn.
• Oculocutaneous albinism in Sigmas manifests as pale green eyes, white-pink unpatterned skin and white-gold fur. This condition is also marked by photophobia and acute, recurring depressive episodes. There is a higher instance of albinism in the Sigma population than in most humanoids; estimated frequency is one birth in 200.

Genetics and Reproduction

• Sexual anatomy: Sigmas have a doubled reproductive system. Females have two uteri, each connected to a single ovary in addition to two laterally placed vaginal passages and a central birth canal. Males have a single shafted penis which bifurcates at the glans. During penetration, the foreskin retracts and each individual glans lines up to a vaginal passage, allowing for optimal fertilization.
• Additional notes on sexual function: There has been no noted crossbreeding between Sigmas and other humanoid races, save one: their Uyakka cousins. Uyakka generally avoid contact with their Sigma cousins due to the races’ opposing sexual interest and involvement, but some overlap has occurred offworld. In such cases, offspring usually favor the Uyakka parent, though many show signs of heavier body hair, patterning on the skin, and green-blue eyes. Mixed offspring can show defining traits of both parents, such as both gliding membranes and a Tahlae crest, but this is rare. Mixed offspring often choose to present as Uyakka, since they usually bear the distinctive Tahlae crest and a blue cast to their skin. This decision is unpopular with the Uyakka homeworld, which maintains a strict taboo status on mixed offspring. Mixed offspring often manifest their Sigma parents’ sexual interest and preferences as well, which makes for awkward interactions with full-blooded, reproductively-minded Uyakka.

Growth Rate & Stages

• Infancy and Pouch-time: Gestation averages five months. Infants are born hairless, blind, and completely helpless and body weights are low in comparison to other humanoids. Once transferred to the pouch by the mother, who usually gives birth alone at home without medical assistance, pouchlings remain completely inside the pouch for at least six months before peeking out, at which time they are capable of surviving outside the pouch and the mother will allow others to handle them. Instances of twins are high, around 58% of all births being double. Mothers nurse and carry their infants until they are 18-22 months old; usually pouch-time ends when the children are fully weaned.
• Childhood: Sigma mothers raise their children in company with their peer groups who often have children the same age. While mothers work or are otherwise occupied, other mothers and pouched males from the group take care of the children. Sigma children are wild, energetic, and curious; most nurseries include sensory exploration toys, climbing and early gliding practice furniture, and building toys. Children often sleep tangled together in a pile with their group-mates regardless of biological connections, though siblings are more likely to play together exclusively. All children in the peer group will nurse from whatever mothers (or nursing males) are available until they are fully weaned around age two, supplemented by soft nutritional snacks, fresh fruit, nut butters, and shredded vegetables. It is rare for a Sigma mother to take an extended leave from her children in this stage of development, but those who work with hazardous materials or in high-risk professions will often stay away from their peer groups for up to a month at a time.
• Puberty: Male Sigmas reach sexual maturity before their female counterparts, around seven years old. Females mature closer to the middle of their eighth years. This period of time for Sigma children is extremely difficult as the males are reacting to increased testosterone that makes them more aggressive and impulsive, while females lag behind in childhood. Lifelong friends and even siblings sometimes become bitter enemies during puberty and never recover. As puberty continues, if males are unable to learn to control their impulses, they are separated from their female peers. Segregation based on aggression is an old-fashioned approach, only found in less progressive settlements. Modern society focuses on training and education specialized to help males control their impulses.
• Adulthood: Sigmas attend formal, specialized education shortly after puberty. These classes are designed to allow the young adults to step quickly into the workforce at their peak capabilities and are funded by the government. Continuing education may follow once secure employment is obtained, though, for many Sigmas, primary education is enough for their career aspirations. Males frequently stay within Sigma society, either on planet or in one of the larger Sigma settlements offworld, but females are encouraged to explore the galaxy and make contact with other races. Society has acknowledged a disparity between the cultural treatment of men vrs women, especially in the male stereotypes of blind aggression, rash decision making, and reactionary judgments that have encouraged Sigma men to stay close to home under the watchful eyes of more prudent women. Some of this prejudice is so extreme in some settlements as to require that pouchless men leaving the settlement have a female sponsor who will answer for their behavior. This is an extreme in viewpoint, though, and very old-fashioned.
• Advanced age: As Sigmas age, their skin loses its firmness and resilience, resulting in sagging gliding membranes and a gradual loss of flight control. By the time they are around 35 years old, most Sigmas cease attempting to glide for fear of injuring themselves or others. Their vision remains good, though their hearing tends to fade quickly after 35. One major issue in early Sigma life related to the elderly giving away their positions to predators through deafness-related communication volumes. When elderly female Sigmas become unable to take care of themselves, their daughters or the daughters of their peer groups will take them in and care for them at home. Government-run facilities for pouchless males’ end of life care were abolished approximately three generations ago.
• Death: The causes of death for most Sigmas range widely depending on location, gender, and occupation. Premature death is most often associated with liver or kidney failure or fall-related injury, down from several generations ago when the top killer was syphilis. As they age, Sigmas are prone to pneumonia, respiratory ailments, and heart conditions. Sigmas of all ages are at risk for depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and eating disorders, which are particularly noted in pouched males. Deaths relating to these causes are ranked at the top of all causes of death for adult Sigmas.

Ecology and Habitats

While most of the Sigma planetary settlements are arboreal, they have built communities into the walls of deep canyons and other high places of the worlds they have colonized.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Omnivorous; major on-planet diet consists of small arboreal animals hunted in nets, insects cultivated in nests, gathered fruit and plant foliage. Off-planet, Sigmas will eat just about anything, including many things most species consider inedible. They are partial to nuts, legumes, fried insects, dried fruit, and various forms of jerky. Sigmas are also prone to alcoholism.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

• Defense Mechanisms/Strategies: Escape is the primary strategy through climbing trees, jumping between trees or jumping from high cliffs to glide away. If unable to flee, Sigmas will fight with vicious bites and strong claws, both hands and feet. Males are more likely to physically fight, often distracting enemies so females can escape.
• Abilities: Gliding flight given enough height and distance, limited species empathy, nimble, dexterous fingers have gained them a reputation off-planet as pickpockets and performers. Climbing abilities and natural grace make them favored off-planet for pole dancing and other sex work. Frequently found in circuses and strip clubs.
• Locomotion: Erect bipedal when on solid ground. In trees, a mix of quadrupedal climbing stabilized by tails and gliding between branches. Sigmas prefer to go without any form of foot covering to allow them to more easily use their feet manipulatively.

Civilization and Culture

Average Technological Level

In the process of escaping their predators, the Sigma developed intelligence rapidly. Their civilization became centered on securing their offspring in social groups and increasing their ability to gather goods and defend themselves. Natural tool-users and intensely curious, they quickly began experimenting with inventions and exploration, achieving a level of advanced technology within the first twenty generations after they escaped to the trees. The Sigma are a peaceful, matriarchal, scientifically-minded community whose best known contributions to galaxy-wide science centers on their understanding and treatment of cross-lifeform disease. They build space-faring ships which tend to mimic their gliding movements and make use of solar sails for both power and locomotion.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Native language is subvocal and augmented with fluid body language and hand signs. They are capable of elevated volumes, but only scream under extreme duress. When speaking Space Common, they are often soft-spoken and are easily irritated by loud noises or people who speak loudly.

Common Etiquette Rules

Standard Greetings: Within Sigma culture, greetings are frequently sexually oriented and can be confusing for outsiders. Consider this an outsider’s phrasebook to navigate Sigma socio-sexual communication. **note**: These are between Sigmas only. Political and social contact has reduced the race’s assumption of like-minded greetings. Siana’s attempts to use these greetings show her backwardness and her eagerness to discomfort non-Sigmas.

• First contact: The first communication between leaders of equal rank. Ranking females approach, hands extended with palms out. Hands touch, palm to palm, then each reaches down to stroke the other’s clitoris, usually only once and firmly. A neutral greeting.
• Polite contact: greeting between known individuals of equal rank. Arms extended, brief embrace, clitorial stroke, once to twice depending on social closeness. Friendly greeting.
• Family contact: greeting between family or peer group members. Eager, extended embrace, often with multiple manual-genital contacts. Friendly greeting.
• Quelling: a female neutralizing an aggressive male, usually with derisive or undermining social commentary. Female pins the male against a surface, strokes his penis twice, then inserts it once before walking away. Ten years ago, the homeworld council deemed quelling an act of rape and outlawed the practice, though it still occurs in less progressive settlements.
• Polite reconciliation (female): Between two acquainted females, after a conflict. Brief embrace, cheek-to-cheek press, single (usually right side) breast caress.
• Polite reconciliation (male): Between two acquainted males after a conflict. Turn away, standing back to back, palms pressed back. Shows trust in each other.
• Family reconciliation: between family or peer group members after a conflict. Extended snuggling embrace, mouth-to-mouth kisses, genital stimulation. Depending on the severity of the conflict, may continue into sexual stimulation.
• Male/Male communication: Many Sigma men feel kinship with others of their gender, regardless of pouched statusShow spoiler. Greetings involving penis stroking are common. Male/male reconciliation is based on an older custom of scrotal contact which is considered outmoded now.Show spoilerMale/male quelling was abandoned when the female/male practice was outlawed.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Funerary rites are usually private affairs limited to peer groups, family members, and important members of society who may have known the deceased. These funerals are times of comfort and mourning characterized by Sigmas of all genders and ages collecting in child-like piles to cuddle and soothe each other. Bodies of deceased Sigmas are usually moved into a fetal position if they were not already in such a position at death. Gliding membranes are arranged carefully to wrap around arms and legs and faces are turned down towards knees. Bodies are then wrapped in soft leather or plant-based fabric such as linen or cotton and then either buried at the base of an existing tree or buried and then a new tree is planted over the grave. Some families will bury their dead encircling a central tree or deliberately form a funeral grove around an important matriarch. Such ritualistic embalming and burial are the only remnants of religion in Sigma society.