The Id-Thum (id-thoom) are the dominant intelligent race of planet Ka-Mar. Having aquired inter-galactic space travel over six millenia ago, their ancient knowledgebase and collective experience with the universe is vast. This knowledge is what the Id-Thum are most known for.
Due to long lifecycles and the rarity of child-birth, their population has maintained a steady two billion for the last millenium. Because the vast majority of the Id-Thum remain on their homeworld it is a rarity to see an Id-Thun outside its solar system.
Article is a work in progress.
Languages
The primary language of the Id-Thum is Par-San. Other races have spent their entire adult lives attempting to learn, but its complexities make it very difficult to master without being born within Id-Thun society.
Within their own conversation, the Id-Thum are incredibly detailed in their speech. When one Id-Thun makes a statement to another, there is never any doubt as to what information the receiving Id-Thun was supposed to understand. This is because every word which directly translates into an English noun, adjective, adverb, or pronoun is accompanied by a categorization sub-word. For example, in the word "Id-Thun", "Id" is the descriptive term for an Id-Thun, while "Thun" is the singular categorization of a high functioning race (Id-Thum is the plural categorization of a high functioning race).
Par-San is so difficult to learn because of the sheer number of categorical sub-words, many of which have no direct translation in any other language. In addition to the number of categorical sub-words, they must be relayed in a very specific order following the descriptive term to give the listener the best possible understanding of the conversation. While one would imagine this would increase the amount of time a conversation takes substantially, Id-Thum speak extraordinarilly fast (yet another barrier to learning Par-San). In reality, the average Id-Thun conversation takes no longer than any other.
It is uncommon to find any Id-Thun who is not multi-lingual. Young Id-Thum are expected to start learning a second and third language almost from birth, and any parent who does not take it upon themselves to teach those languages is considered a societal failure. Despite this early adoption of other languages, however, it is not uncommon for Id-Thum to prefer Par-San to their simpler secondary languages. Many Id-Thum cannot help but add their categorical sub-words to those of other languages while they speak. Few can tell what exactly causes them to do this, and fewer Id-Thum could describe it themselves, but it is hypothesized that it's caused by an innate discomfort with lack of specificity in conversation.
There are those among the Id-Thum who do not speak using categorical sub-words, but it is considered the most vile use of slang and the Id-Thun who practices such language quickly becomes a social pariah.
Culture
Id-Thun culture is deeply rooted in a few key points; the maintenance of the strict, accurate recording of historical events; maintaining a peaceful academic society; and the preservation of the species.
Accurate Historical Record
The fervent, near zealous need to accurately record historical events can be easily linked back to the events following the 1,000 solar year Kaolun-Idsutaolum (rough trans: End Wars). In the wake of the massive information leak following the final days of the End Wars, and the resulting government coup, the Id-Thum made a promise to their species to never again let politicians keep secrets or warp historical facts to their benefit.
For the last four millenia every Id-Thun has had its individual experiences "uploaded" to a network of collected and shared memories called the Id-Thumlidin (rough trans: Sky Mind of the Id-Thum). The Sky Mind, a massive bio-cybernetic organism, then sorts, categorizes, and generates a 100% factual summary of any event free from bias. The Sky Mind can be accessed telepathically at any time by any Id-Thun on Ka-Mar. Unfortunately there does not appear to be a way for a non-Id-Thun to view the contents of The Sky Mind because, as the native name they've given it would imply, the Sky Mind is partially Id-Thun in both mental and biological traits. The Id-Thum, however, have been known to translate and transcribe specific content from the Sky Mind for races they consider friends.
Through the Id-Thumlidin and its protectors, the highly trained Id-Thane, the Id-Thum have the luxury of a near perfect index of historical accounts for the last four thousand years. As expected, this has had a dramatic effect on their culture. It is not a stretch to say the Sky Mind is the pride of their race, with countless visual, auditory, and extrasensoral artworks created with the Sky Mind as inspiration or the direct topic. The Thumlidin-yasarsoni (rough trans: Celebration of the Sky Mind) is a major 6 solar day celebration of the creation of the Sky Mind, during which work is forbidden. Approximately 3 of the solar days are spent combing through the events the Sky Mind has recorded, during which time Id-Thum are expected to learn from their past so they might create a better future. The remaining time is spent eating, drinking, gift giving, and generally having a good time.
Peaceful Academic Society
Another devlopment resulting from the End Wars, Id-Thum dedicate their entire lives to the study of a topic chosen between the ages of 20 and 25 solar years. As a result of the Sky Mind's vast database of information the most popular topic of study among Id-Thum is history, followed closely by alien culture, medicine, and mathematics. All Id-Thum are expected to contribute to society in some way regardless of whether or not their chosen research topic is put to use, but it is also expected that each Id-Thun is and remains an expert on their topic for life. For the most part, Id-Thum are content to learn and explore.
Strangely enough a large number of Id-Thum dedicate their lives to the study of warfare, though many of those studying it will go their lifespan without ever using a weapon. If an Id-Thun dedicated to this research were asked why a peaceful race would have need of such knowledge, the answer would be a simple, "To avoid war at all costs one must understand why it occurs, how it progresses and – if necessary – how to end it."
Id-Thum deeply enjoy conversation with (and this is encouraged) other Id-Thum who do not share the same field of research. They believe that it is by becoming well-rounded individuals with an understanding of many topics that society can be prosperous and peaceful.
Preservation of the Species
The End Wars left the Id-Thum population devastated. Over the thousand solar-year civil war billions of lives were lost and, when the dust had settled and sanity regained control of the populace, a civilization of 10.25 billion was reduced to 2 billion. It is no wonder following the aftermath of the End Wars and its resulting fertility problems that preservation of their species has become a focal point for the Id-Thum and their culture.
The first goal of the surviving Id-Thum was to create a medical system which quickly and efficiently dealt with not only disease, but also physical injury. In the thousand years following the End Wars great medical strides were acheived to preserve the current population and extend its lifespan to procreate as much as possible. Unfortunately there has yet to be a cure for the Id-Thum fertility problem, which they have come to call Zartok-Ligtharum (rough trans: Pestilence of Our Folly, colloquially The Pestilence).
While most females appear to be fertile, it is very difficult to find fertile males. The Pestilence shuts down the nerve endings and cripples neurons in the reproduction center of the Id-Thun male brain, making the id-lignaros (rough trans: mind meld) responsible for conception absolutely impossible. Not only does the Pestilence remove the ability for male Id-Thun to begin the mind meld, but the crippled neurons completely remove the desire to do so. Medical experiments to repair or replace the nerves and neurons have so far failed to achieve positive results. While replacement of both has been successful and mind melding has been acheived, there has yet to be actual conception. This is further complicated by the fact that afflicted males born post-End Wars aren't aware of what a successful mind meld is supposed to feel like, and cannot elaborate on what might be going wrong.
As a result of the Pestilence, fertile males are well guarded and held in very high esteem. It is not uncommon for them to mind meld with many females over their lifetime because, although they are fertile, the Pestilence has made it possible for the offspring of even a fully fertile couple to be infertile. While Id-Thum mate for life, it has become common practice since the End Wars for fertile males to impregnate the females while the female's infertile mate takes a strictly parental role in the relationship. Unlike many species, the act of conception for the Id-Thum is not a symbol of love or trust, nor is it practiced recreationally. It is meant purely for procreation and the preservation of the species.
In order to save any possible fertile males from a wasteful death, it is against Id-Thun law for them to enlist in the military. The all-female Id-Thun standing army, while very effective, is very small and not well suited for large scale war. See Id-Thun military.
Social Structure
Id-Thum social structure is, like Par-San, very complicated. It is rare for any Id-Thun to be able to describe their social rank and political leanings without a minimum of seven categorical sub-words. Outlined below are the main political houses, races, communities, and titles of Id-Thun social structure.
Political Houses
Id-Thum society has five prime political houses: Kiaga-Mokagé, Razza-Mosana, Fro-Mozantha, Jun-Morathu, and Gru-Molyani. Each prime house is allotted five leaders to serve on a law making tribunal (Mosolkap), regardless of the number of Id-Thum who actually belong to the houses.
When the Mosolkap was established at the conclusion of the End Wars it was decided that each prime house was responsible for the laws upholding one major pillar of Id-Thun society, and without those five pillars society would fall. Should too many Id-Thun stray from the beliefs of one pillar, the five officials of the house responsible would still exist to ensure those values were upheld. The five pillars are, roughly translated, Protection of Life, Protection of Mind, Protection of Assets, Protection of Speech, and Protection of Joy.
Article is a work in progress.