Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Sathut (Counselor) in An off-duty visit - Tag Sural
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Sathut listened to the Vulcan’s words. He was curious as to where these suppositions had arisen from. “You are accurate about the community-based lives. We live in the trees, in villages and cities carved into the trees which support us and give us our food. Families tend to have five to nine children, often with many twins. Twins are more common than single births. We don’t place particular emphasis on food, although we do quite enjoy eating it. Loyalty to the family is expected, but we do not particularly favour females over males, or vice versa. The Raka do not have much, as you say, sexual dimorphism. Our noses and other senses tell us far more than the eyes. It is better for a tree-dwelling species to be all equally lithe and strong, would you not agree? I have been amused by some humans who confuse is male and female before learning the more subtle differences that set us apart. Voice, coarseness of the fur, cheekbone shape… We do not play exceedingly much, although as with all children, our young ones are very playful. The Raka tend to be a little more focused on the idea of artistic expression, we leave the sports to the larger folk like the Lareri. When we have games, we prefer those which challenge the mind over those which challenge the body. Strategies are our strong point,” he explained.

Sathut

bump to get it back on the board
OOC: Thank you

All this information was intriguing, and he dipped his head in affirmation at the ‘question’ of strength needed for the trees, however, what caught his attention more was the ‘family’. No Vulcan in recent centuries could boast that amount of children. He paused to take more tea and ten inquired. “The numbers in your family - the children - are staggering. What are the family dynamics like? Logic, like most things, is taught as well as ‘caught’. It is a philosophy that Vulcans believe to be necessary - so much so that it is strictly followed by the vast majority of the population. At an early age it brings a discipline to life including family life. How is life among … so many?”
- Sural

Sathut thought for a moment upon the question, then a moment longer on his answer. “The numbers have never seemed staggering for me. I suppose it is because the Raka have a low heterosexual marriage rate. Most individuals either stay single their whole life and do not have offspring, or they find love with one of the same sex as they are. Or perhaps it is the other way around and the rate of child-bearing bonds is a result of the number of offspring from a single pairing…” he said thoughtfully, thinking for a moment before continuing.

“Life in a large family, as mine was, is quite fun. One is never lonely or in need of a friend, for there is always siblings nearby to harass or assist. The home was somewhat crowded when Umva visited after Res was born,” he chuckled, smiling in reminiscence. “I love my family, and still visit them whenever I am home. I think that familial bonds are one of the more important things to my culture.”

Sathut

What an unusual little being, Sural thought to himself. And part of an equally unusual and perplexing, if intriguing, species. “Large family groupings are highly unusual for Vulcans. As such Vulcans as a group take the perpetuation of the species seriously and .. logically. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” He pondered more of what Sathut said. “How is it that in one statement you say that familial bonds are important when you also say that there are very few families in your society? I admit that is perplexing.” And, to a Vulcan as Sural, self serving, in quite opposition to the Vulcan values. However, that being said, Vulcans subscribed to the IDIC values, and felt that the universe had room for many divergent viewpoints.

He had noticed that Suthat had looked at his family photos and the chess board. Logically he considered that this was casual interest mixed with the eye of a counselor. Behind them the holopaper generated a hollow sound of wind in the wooden and bone chimes outside of the ‘window’.

Sural

“We believe that family - more than just parents and children, but also siblings - is important for proper emotional growth. That is achieved by having few families, but those few families are large. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few… Yes, I’ve heard that phrase before…” He said thoughtfully.

“Different species have different family groupings. Arwan live in three-generational family groupings, so their “siblings” turns out to be their cousins. The Laleri have a structure similar to the ‘Nuclear’ family of Earth society. The Pipini do not track parenthood, they simply enjoy time in their pods until they reach maturity. The Hatriku are strange to us in that they strictly track motherhood and fatherhood, but the biological parents are not very invested in the raising of their own children. Sometimes a Hatriku will never meet their own Biological mother”

Sathut

Sural had to think about that one. It was a perplexing society, to him. There was a great deal of variation within it and, by all appearances, while it appeared to work, it was far from logical. His fingertips came together as he thought. “Was was the most poignant memory of your growing up?” he asked.
- Sural