Gorn Confederacy
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- INFORMATION CLASSIFICATION: SECRET
- RELIABILITY CLASSIFICATION: A (allied power)
INTRODUCTION
More than a century ago, the Gorn Confederacy was engulfed by the expanding Romulan Star Empire. It was assumed until the Hegemony appeared that the Romulans had wiped all other Gorn people from existence.
With the warming of relationships with the Romulan Star Empire since their assistance in battling the Dominion in 2407, they have allowed the Gorn Confederacy renewed access to the former Romulan-Federation Neutral Zone.
In RP
The Gorn Confederacy is a Gold Fleet ally. Most relations with either the Confederacy or Hegemony have been dealt with by the Krima Expeditionary Force Area of Operations. There has been continual development of the Gorn since the re-establishment of Gold Fleet in 1999/2411 and the subsequent opening of Krima.
CULTURAL/HISTORICAL PROFILE
The Gorn race has always been staunch allies of the Federation, and hated enemies of the Romulans. Since the first time humans and Gorn met to discuss their differences peacefully, the Federation has had a powerful ally. The Gorn have always hated the Romulans however, and the two races have been at war since they first discovered the existence of the other. It should be noted that the Romulans seem to hate the Gorn just as much. The recent Cease Fire Agreement, which is not a peace treaty or even a non-aggressions pact, is the first instance of any form of peaceful negotiation of any sort between the two races.
The Gorn species actually started on three separate planets in three different star systems. Shortly after one of these three subspecies of the Gorn race discovered interstellar travel, they also found two extremely similar races living in nearby solar systems. Peaceful interaction ensued between all three neighboring Gorn races. With the sharing of knowledge between the three planets, each became stronger and more technologically advanced. They soon signed a peace agreement forming an alliance amongst their three worlds, and this eventually evolved into the Gorn Confederacy. Although there exist minor differences between the three types of Gorn, the race as a whole does not acknowledge them (all members of the race are considered to be one species, Gorn).
Supporters of the Federation during both the First and Second General Wars, the Gorn had their borders with the Federation overrun by the Romulans approximately 100 years after the Second General War. This provided the Romulans with the opportunity to completely encircle the Gorn Confederacy, which they proceeded to accomplish. The Romulan Empire devoted significant resources to the total obliteration of the entire Gorn race. This would have been occurring during the long period in which the Federation heard nothing from the Romulans Empire, and no Romulan ships were seen in the Quadrant. Unfortunately for the Romulans, their venture into genocide did not succeed. Although the Gorn Confederacy shrank in size over the course of the most brutal and bloody war the two races have engaged in, the Gorn survived by expanding to other worlds in the Star Systems that were left to them.
With the war at a stand still, and the death toll rising, the Romulan Empire finally turned its attention to other areas. Eventually the Gorn managed to recapture some star systems, and more recently with the Borg and Dominion situation, they have found the Romulans vulnerable. Apparently the Romulans arrived at the same conclusion. Shortly after their initial agreement to join the Federation in the war against the Dominion, the Romulans opened negotiations with the Gorn to end hostilities between their respective peoples. Although the negotiations took over four years, and the implementation of the agreement took even longer, the two races finally agreed on the following: the Romulans would give back to the Gorn specific planets (not developed) that would restore their border with both the Federation and the rest of the Beta Quadrant (i.e. the Romulans would no longer encircle the Gorn.) The Gorn would give up certain planets (terra formed already) to the Romulans to compensate for the planets that the Romulans were giving up, a Gorn-Romulan Neutral Zone would be established between the two races respective spaces, and all hostilities would cease (for the moment).
Now that the Gorn-Romulan Neutral Zone has been established and the Gorn have not only taken possession of their new worlds but also terraformed and fortified them, the Gorn race has reappeared in force in the Beta Quadrant. Quickly reaffirming their association with the Federation, the Gorn rapidly moved to also re-establish their previous ties with other races and solidify the relationships they had made during their exile by the Romulans. Although the true return of the race to the Beta Quadrant only occurred in 2409, with the startlingly swift recovery the species has made, it almost seems that they were never gone. In recent months they have also finally begun to deploy ships in concert with Federation forces, signifying their full support of Star Fleet and thus the United Federation of Planets.
GOVERNMENT
The government of the Gorn Confederacy is a democratic ruling body of nine elected representatives that sit on the Council. Three representatives are elected from each of the three sectors of Gorn space. All decisions, political or otherwise, are voted upon by the Council. Every member must vote, either for or against, on every proposal brought before the Council, there is no abstaining. Each Council member has a team of Advisors that comprises three elected individuals from each Ring within their Sector, or nine total Advisors. These Advisors are also responsible for Governing the Ring from which they were elected. Each zone within the Rings has a ruling body of three elected representatives which facilitate the implementation of the decisions passed down from the Council through the Advisors. The Zone Leaders may also make suggestions and provide recommendations to the Advisors. Each section of the Zones also has a ruling body of three elected individuals, and this structure of an elected ruling body of three Gorns is continued throughout the rest of the political structure of the entire Gorn Star System. In other words, every city and even each Government owned company is administered by three elected representatives.
SOCIETY
GEOGRAPHY
The Gorn Confederacy covers multiple Star Systems. Originally positioned just above the Romulan Empire, and bordering both the Federation and the Empire, the Gorn Confederacy lost direct contact with it's ally, the Federation, some 100 years after the Second General War. Its borders with the United Federation of Planets taken over by the Romulan Empire, trade and communication were maintained through third parties. A recent cease fire agreement with the Romulan Empire has now seen the restoration of the Gorn/Federation border, and conveniently adds a new buffering Neutral Zone between Starfleet and the Romulans. This places the star systems that make up the Gorn Confederacy in their previous location just above the Romulan Empire, and bordering the United Federation of Planets. The Gorn Star Cluster is broken into three sectors, each with roughly the same number of star systems contained within. Each sector is then subdivided into three rings (inner, outer, and center), each ring is broken up into three zones, each zone into sections (which are groupings of specific planets that either share a close proximity in space or similar political, military, or economic purpose), and then finally into specific planets and/or moons themselves. Each of the three sectors of the Gorn Star Cluster has a single capital planet which is considered the center of government for the particular sector that the planet resides within. Every three years the entire Gorn Confederacy is run from one of these three sector Capital Planets, and during its tenure as the bastion of the Gorn Government, that planet is titled the Capital of the Gorn Confederacy. The designations of these planets, in Federation Standard, are: Sal'Yskoz, Vraneen Yskoz, and Thizarus Yskoz. The Gorn race is very advanced in the technology of terra forming, and commonly over half of the planets in most of the Star Systems that they occupy are inhabited. Usually every moon of each planet is also settled. Despite the smaller size of the Gorn Star Cluster, a higher percentage of inhabited planets per Star System has allowed them to maintain a higher population per Star System than the Federation while actually having fewer people per planet. The types of planets themselves, as well as the types of Star Systems, vary as widely in the Gorn Confederacy as they do in either the Federation or Romulan/Klikngon Empires. Additionally, there are no other species present in any of the Star Systems that are inhabited by the Gorn race.
ECONOMY
The United Federation of Planets and the Gorn Confederacy are most similar in their economic situations. There is no form of currency in the Gorn Star Cluster, every citizen is provided for equally. Foreign trade is performed with a variety of currencies and precious gems/metals, including Latinum, that are mined and/or created within the Confederacy itself. The Gorn race is completely capable of sustaining itself with the natural and Gorn-made resources that exist within the Confederacy. However trade is maintained with a variety of imports/exports in order to solidify relations with the other species that exist within the quadrant. Ferengi, Breen, Klingons, Lyrans, Humans, Tholians, Nausicaans, and Bajorans comprise the bulk of their trading partners, but there are a host of other races that they trade with on an infrequent basis. Until the recent cease fire with the Romulan Empire, all transactions were performed via third party shipping and subspace business dealings. However the products being traded were severely limited by the [Romulan Star Empire|Romulan Empire]], which searched every ship entering Gorn space. The [Romulan Star Empire|Romulans]] and Gorn have never opened trade negotiations between their two peoples in their entire history as neighbors, and this situation will not change in the foreseeable future. Of the various raw materials and finished products exported out of Gorn Space, the service most in demand from the Gorn is their expertise in terra forming. Being completely surrounded on all sides for a few hundred years by their blood enemies the Romulans, and thereby enclosed into a limited slice of space, the Gorn race rapidly developed the technology to expand settlements to the other worlds within the Star Systems that they already populated. Although aided by the robustness of their own species, which allowed them to survive in harsher climates and required less terra forming, their continued advancements in this field has left the Gorn as the most technologically advanced species in either the Alpha or Beta quadrants, with regards to this process. Prior to the cease fire with the [Romulan Star Empire|Romulan Empire]], the Gorn were limited to exporting information on the topic of terra forming. With their active return to the Alpha Quadrant, now that they can freely move throughout the area, the Gorn have begun offering their highly advanced teams and equipment for terra forming contracts. Technologically speaking, the Gorns are on an equivalent to slightly more advanced level than the Federation. Centuries of war with the Romulans has caused the development of weapons (personal and otherwise), armor (personal and otherwise),ship design, power, defensive capabilities, and propulsion to be slightly ahead of the Federation in certain areas. On a larger scale however, they are just short of being the military equivalent of their Federation allies. Medical technology is considerably behind the capabilities of the Federation, most likely due to the regenerative abilities of the species, but Genetic Engineering is noticeably more advanced within the Gorn Star Cluster. This is most likely the direct result of the goal of Gorn Medicine being to help the body heal itself naturally, as opposed to surgical procedures and drugs. With the previously noted exception of Terra forming, the level of technology in all other areas is about 30 years behind the Federation.
SOCIETY/CULTURE
The sociological structure of the Gorn race is very diverse. Similar to human culture in most respects, there are some notable differences. The Gorn race deeply respects the individuality of its people, and strives to provide everyone with ample opportunity to pursue their respective dreams, goals, desires, and abilities. Their educational facilities are highly advanced, and promote the exploration of a persons environment and self with equal regard. Education commences at birth with tutors that are supervised by the parents, often times one of the parents actually is the tutor. Even before a child is capable of speech, teachers read to the infant and provide external stimuli in the form of pictures and movies. Topics covered range the entire spectrum of knowledge, and this attitude toward teaching is prevalent throughout the entire educational system. The idea is to provide access to every known form of information, in order to provide the individual a chance to find what sparks their interest. Once a student has shown an aptitude for a particular skill, or interest in an area, they are moved to an institution that specializes in that field (often enough the same institution provides specialized classes, preventing the need to move the individual to a new school). The teaching does not get limited to a specific topic at this time, or any other time in the students education. Instruction on a wide variety of other subjects continues, with the focus on how those topics relate to the subjects particular field. Aptitude and interest is continually monitored while this varied plethora of information is being supplied, and students are reassigned to appropriate classes as the need arises. Another key difference of the Gorn species, is the prevalence of the number three throughout all aspects of life. The government is based on the number three, the Gorns have a trinary numbering system, children have three parents (the closest description to this would be to label them Mother, Father, and Nanny), and their religion is based on the three elements of Earth, Air, and Water (the Gorns do not recognize fire as a naturally occurring element, but rather a creation of combining two elements, namely Air and Earth). It is also interesting that although individual Gorns will sometimes follow the edicts of different religions, the only religion formally practised within the Gorn Confederacy is Vra'Suth (the religion mentioned above based on three elements). Although the species prizes individualism, there is a strong sense of familial connections to their entire race. It is not known if this derives from their religion or education, but the Gorn race vehemently believes that, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one or the few." Each persons abilities are emphasized on a personal basis, but those abilities are incorporated into a greater whole for the benefit of the entire race and the individual.
PHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILE
The Gorn are reptillian creatures, resembling small Terran dinosaurs. They are bipedal and carnivorous, and, despite their reptillian appearence, are warm-blooded and have lungs with which they breath a nitrogen/oxygen mixture. Many Federation and Terran scientists point to the Gorn as proof that, if not for the Terran Ice Age, the Terran dinosaur may have eventually developed sentience and continued as the dominant life form on Earth.
The Gorn reproduce in the same manner as humans sexually as most humanoid species. Although very rare, there have been instances of a Gorn marrying outside of their race. On average they are 7 to 8 feet tall, and weigh between 500 and 900 pounds. Extremely strong, they are usually capable of lifting up to 3 or four times their own body weight. Similar to a humanoid version of a lizard, they vary in color but are most commonly a dark green that lightens towards the extremities. Their eyesight is not as keen as a normal human, but they have a much wider area over which they see giving them comparatively remarkable peripheral vision. Although hearing is roughly equivalent to human norms, their sense of smell is markedly more sensitive.
The Gorn body is designed for hardship. Covered in a thick epidermal layer, the skin is very close to being a hide that is difficult to penetrate. The nerves are deeper under the skin than a normal human, lending to their resilience to pain and phaser stuns. Except in the very tips of the fingers and the tongue, which harbor small nerve bundles for better tactile sensation, the Gorn have a very poor sense of touch. Their thick hide also acts as a natural insulator keeping extreme temperatures at bay. This enables them to live comfortably in temperatures ranging from -30 C to 40 C, and survive in much harsher climes.
Three separate hearts provide the constant flow of blood to their massive frames. Despite this it is uncommon to see a Gorn bleed more than slightly, unless cut very deeply. This is due to the lack of capillaries in their system. instead blood is carried to small sacks buried well under the skin. These sacks periodically open multiple tiny valves, similar to a heart, and release blood into the surrounding tissue. From there it is carried to the upper layers of the skin through microscopic channels that exist in the tissue itself. Although capable of surviving in colder weather, the race prefers much warmer climates. Temperatures below freezing slow the flow of the blood to the outer layers of skin, which causes the hide to harden and severely impair mobility.
In addition to multiple hearts, the race is blessed with three spines and the brain is composed of three hemispheres instead of two. The third section of the brain seems to only function as a backup, and usually is not active until needed. This same redundancy in systems is repeated throughout their physiology including the bone and muscle structure. The protection around the chest area is a prime example of this. Beneath the skin and muscle of a Gorn chest are two sets of bone plates that run horizontally across the body. These are spaced evenly to the left and right, and also vertically. Although the two separate sets of plates are independent, each plate within a set is connected by a similar plate of cartilidge interspersed between the plates of bone. Under these bone plates is another set of muscles that perform the exact same duties as the ones beneath the skin, and just beneath these muscles is another set of bone plates. This second dual pair of plates line up with the set above to place the bone plates under the cartilidge of the upper layer. Finally there exists a third muscle structure under this second set of plates, and then the ribs. A similar arrangement protects the head with a solid bone plate that protects the nose and upper area of the skull, a series of plates interconnected by cartilidge and sinew beneath it, and finally the skull itself.
All these factors combined would make a species very difficult to kill. When combined with the races ability of slow. natural regeneration, they are nearly impervious to anything besides total annihilation. Although the natural ability of regeneration would seem to make them completely indestructible, this is not the case. At least one hemisphere of the brain must be active and connected to the body, in order for this function to work. Additionally the process is very slow, requiring fourteen months to regrow a hand. This regenerative process also interferes with non-natural healing attempts such as surgery or dermal regenerators, as the body will still try to heal a damaged area even after it has been repaired by a procedure other than its own. This can cause horrible disfigurement, and the eventual loss of the ability as the body starts to assume that something else will heal it.
TECHNOLOGICAL PROFILE
Since their very existence depended on a stand and fight philosophy as they defended their territory from the Romulans, strength and size have been favored over mobility, the Confederacy Navy has incorporated this ideal into its shipbuilding. Like their Hegemony cousins, Confederacy ships tend to be very large and very durable- much more so than most Star Fleet vessels. However, they are slow and lumbering machines, just as their creators are- faster ships can easily outflank them and punish from the sides. However, as heavier vessels, they possess a sturdier superstructure than their Star Fleet counterparts, able to take more punishment on its bare hull for a longer period of time- which is good for the Hegemony, since their deflector shield technology is not up to Star Fleet standards.
Notes
- The Gorn Confederacy pages were developed communally by the crew of the USS Leviathan and compiled by Gary Dickison.
- Edited by Jeffrey Jenkins and Scott Lusby.
