Thaven

Thaven History

(The following information was sourced from first-generation NT Thaven, and parts of it may be speculation or otherwise unverifiable.)

The First Planet Era

To understand the history of Thavenkind, you must first know the history of Yahven kind.

The Yahven people began as humble Yahven Carp. A not-too-distant biological cousin to the Space Carp, but bound to water and ultimately harmless creatures.

Upon a planet far outside of any corporation’s operational zone, known today as ?-Y1, Yahven Carp lived. This planet was mostly ocean with one large land mass. Eventually, like most species, the Yahven Carp evolved to live on land. The natural cycle of evolution followed. Language is developed, then society, then science.

Eventually, the Yahven began making expeditions into nearby space. And within their solar system, they discover another planet. This planet, known today as ?-Y2 was mostly ocean with one large land mass, just like their own. And that planet was inhabited with Yahven Carp.

Having been aware that they too were once Yahven Carp, the idea of them evolving into Yahven as well was a common trend. Eventually, a team of scientists is formed to make this idea a reality.

Yahven Carp are collected and brought back to ?-Y1 and experiments are performed. After countless trials, the scientists create the Idealized Brain.

The Idealized Brain is a synthetic brain capable of being surgically transplanted into living creatures, and then replicated through that being’s offspring. And for the Yahven Carp, it increased their intelligence, and carefully selected which of their genes would pass down to their offspring to ensure the resulting species would be Yahven-like.

The Second Planet Era

Ten generations of Yahven Carp, or two generations of Yahven, later, are showing signs of approaching the early stages of evolution.

But then disaster strikes. A strong typhoon unlike anything seen before ravages ?-Y1. There are no survivors. (It is speculated that a single ship, that was offplanet at the time, may have survived, as when the planet was later discovered there was one less ship than total landing pads, but there have been no verifiable sightings of such a supposed ship.)

The ?-Y2 Yahven Carp evolve to live on land, and go through the same evolutionary cycle the ?-Y1 did, but at twice the rate. Eventually, they become an intelligent species, now of the name Thaven.

Eventually, in yet another parallel to their predecessors, the Thaven began making expeditions into nearby space. And within their solar system, they discover another planet. This planet, of course being ?-Y1, shows clear signs of ancient life.

More expeditions are sent to the planet. Amongst what is found are physical records, miraculously intact, that give the Thaven insight into what happened to this planet. (Of course, they weren’t written in a language the Thaven could recognize, but with enough studying of the language they were able to decode it.) They also learn the Yahven worshipped a deity called Yethna, a shapeshifter who changed forms and demands on a whim. Thaven would go on to worship and bring offerings to beings they believed to be Yethna, a practice that may still be seen subconsciously in some modern-day Thaven.

The Contact Era

At the same time, other Thaven ships are exploring further into the galaxy. One of these ships makes contact with a NanoTrasen station. Realizing they’ve missed out on a brand new work force, NT is quick to make offers. Mass emigrations to NT stations soon follow, (though some are intercepted by other companies, who make their own counter-offers) though after this initial wave, there would be very few Thaven to migrate off ?-Y2. To this day, NanoTrasen still cannot locate the planet. (Hence it only being identified as ?-Y2.)

Up until now, the effects of space had been unnoticed by Thaven, who were only around other Thaven who saw it as normal. But now, their new non-Thaven coworkers were quick to notice all their abnormalities. This led to common ostrachization of Thaven aboard NT stations. Relations and working experience soured for Thaven until mass protests were held. Records are hazy of this event, some describing it as a series of riots and others describing it as a full-on war lasting into the next century.

Modern Day

Nearly all Thaven who work for NT are second or third generation NT workers, and no real memory of their home planet remains. Despite their best efforts, NT was unable to locate ?-Y2, and gave up. There are still rumors of a Yahven ship somewhere in the galaxy, but seeing as how ?-Y1 was destroyed several centuries ago, that’d be impossible, right…?

Culture

Ideals

All Thaven care deeply about Ideals. These Ideals range from anything to accomplishments, ways to live life by, morals, values, etc. These Ideals are also typically the source of the Thaven's distinct names.

(There is some speculation that Ideals are a side-effect of the Idealized brain Thaven were made with, but there is no concrete evidence, especially consdering the "Idealized Brain" name is just a translation of Yahveyan into Thaven and cannot be verified.)

While some could describe Ideals as a religous practice, they are so ingrained into the minds of Thaven that they consider them fundamental aspects of life, and as such have no reason to ascribe religion to the concept.

Ideals are also speculated to be part of the reason Moods have such a strong impact on Thaven, making random, otherwise nonsensical concepts, become fundamental and undeniable aspects of a Thaven's life. No wonder it'd be so distressing to not go along with them.

Thaven Naming

Thaven are named after their most cherished Ideal, or in the event that it is simply too long, a shortened version of it. (These shortened versions also tend to be pretty long.)

When Thaven are born, they inherit the names of their parents, with specific sounds addended to the end of the name. Essentially, imagine if you were named Jonathan and you named your children Jonathan Alpha and Jonathan Bravo.When a Thaven comes of age, they are expected to choose their own name, of a specific Ideal most sacred to them. Name changes are common (nearly every single Thaven who migrated to work for NanoTrasen had their name changed at least once), and generally well accepted, depending on what the name is to. After all, you are supposed to take the name of your most cherished Ideal. If your former name was something like "Don't Be Evil," and you change your name to "Be The Best," that doesn't reflect well on your character.

In the event of two Thaven sharing a name, similar differentiators to naming offspring are used.