Special Feature: Meet
the Avianars!
These "bird men" are from the planet Stratia. They are capable of flight and are reported to have excellent vision. They are tall and muscular, but surprisingly light weight for their size. They also have strong talon-like hands.
From what little we know of them, they seem to be a peaceful people, somewhat pacifistic although not unwilling to defend themselves. The Avianars live in a completely egalitarian society but they don’t seem to have a government as we would recognize it. Each member of the society is expected to do his or her part in maintaining order, stopping crime, and defending the whole. The lack of a central authority has made any sort of formal relations between Earth and Stratia difficult to establish.
The Avianars seem to be a highly traditional people, indoctrinated in the ethic of service to Stratia from birth. This rigidness has seemed to cause a creative stagnation in their people, as no significant technological advances have been made for hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years. Still, that level is impressive and surpasses Earth’s in some ways. The Avianars seemed to have advanced medical technology (at least for their own species), small flying high speed craft capable of levitation, and staff-like instruments that seem to serve multiple purposes, including a ray weapon of some type. There don’t seem to be many other sophisticated machines and no robots to speak of. Although they seem to have mastered atomic power, for some reason the Avianars do not seem interested in venturing off of their planet and no Stratian space vehicles have been seen to date.
Avianars have no law-making bodies but they do have many laws. It seems they all live by laws which were established centuries ago and have been unchanged ever since. Earth anthropologists on the first contact mission believed that the Avianars’ history goes back perhaps as much as 130,000 years, and that over this long period of time the Avianars eventually "perfected" their laws to a point where no further changes were deemed necessary. These laws seem to have taken on a sacredness to the Avianars, although they do seem to provide the Avianars with a peaceful, compassionate, just, and pleasant society.
Stratia is a world of high sheer cliffs, crags, and deep canyons. Like Earth it has its variety of herbivores, carnivores, predators, and prey. There are no vast oceans on Stratia but it seems to have as much water, strewn throughout the surface in smaller lakes and rivers, fed by underground springs. Most plant life on Stratia is no larger than a bush, as tall trees do not seem to be an advantage since most plants find themselves in the shadows or peak of cliffs.
The Avianars make their settlements into the sides of the cliff faces, usually at high altitudes. These settlements are adorned with magnificent sculptures carved out of the cliff faces. Many other works of art, fountains, and beautiful high altitude perching spots adorn the planet.
Because of the altitudes, getting from settlement to settlement requires flight (something that comes naturally to the Avianars) or tedious climbing. The Avianars have many flying vehicles, but it is nevertheless recommended that teams sent to Stratia be equipped with climbing gear, or perhaps jet packs if available.