Biology & Diet
Andoians are genetically nearly identical to Humans from Earth. This is because Andoians are a genetic fork from the Human race which originated during their lengthy 600 year space travel to colonize the planet of Ando. During this journey, the Andoian ship would analyze and gather data on Ando while the crew underwent several generations' genetic editing and monitoring in order to make the climate of an alien world endurable.

Contemporary Andoians are mostly humanoid in appearance, with dark slate-colored skin and ears which have developed into tall fin-like flaps commonly referred to as "frolls." Andoian hair is generally a shade close to gray or silver. They are slightly shorter and usually stockier than an Earth Human. Full spectrum sunlight can cause "star blindness" retina damage for Andoians.

The Andoian body is built to fit the life of their desert home. Sunlight and radiation on the hot surface are deflected and the body is kept cool. Their eyes have better low-light vision than Humans and are able to note similarly colored shape outlines at a distance with ease. Their lungs flourish in the thin air of the planet, and they can consume modified plant life and native proteins now with equal ease. Like Humans, Andoians are opportunistic omnivores.

Earlier generations of Andoians may prefer a vegan of vegetarian diet of genetically modified crops brought along on the journey - data on native animals was only available shortly before landing and so only generations born on Ando's surface have no trouble at all with native meat consumption.

Sexual Dimorphism & Reproduction
Andoian reproduction remains the same as Human reproduction. Some Andoians prefer to have medically assisted impregnation or the development of the fetus done outside of utero. This is quite normalized, as it was necessary for the healthy development of children on the trip from Earth to Ando and all parties involved in the multi-generational interstellar voyage agreed to undergo genetic modification and monitoring. Thanks to these changes, Andoians born on the planet's surface have substantially fewer environmental risk factors in their lives.

The young are live-born and follow an infant development pattern like that of Earth babies. They must nurse, they learn to crawl, they mimic language etc. Infants generally are nursed by a parent, but may also be nursed on powdered nutrient milk mixes. Andoian milk is one of the primary vectors through which infants can be doctored as the parent undergoes genetic work.

Most Andoians tend to identify as female or feminine-aligned. This may have occurred naturally, as Human females tend to be longer lived than their masculine counterparts and are born more frequently- or it may have been a side effect of genetic modification. It is not considered possible for it to have been intentional, as penis-owning women are also common in Andoian society and it is not possible to genetically edit someone's sense of self. There are just not many Andoians left who consider themselves masculine, for whatever reason. While some Andoians do have humanoid mammary glands, some are flat-chested. The mammaries are typically smaller than Human mammaries, but the Earth genetics still express themselves sometimes. Facial hair is not uncommon with Andoians, though seldom dense. Many Andoians prefer to present as clean-shaven simply to keep the dust of the mines out of their beards.

Andoian courtship is simple and lacks grandiosity, as life on the mining planet originally left little room for luxury or ostentatious presentation. While on their journey, couples were encouraged as a part of the multi-generational plan, and to feel supported as they set out into the unknown. Not all parents were parts of couples, and records were retained on board to ensure enough infants were still being born for the next generation to be raised, trained and work towards colonizing Ando. Now on the surface, there is no longer a need to push to keep population numbers under such control.

Partners and family groups typically dwell together and many will work together in the nearest mine. With the dangers of mining the planet, it is important to know you can trust your fellow workers as you could a family member, and so many family groups develop within work environments. Home life is often a group of adults sharing one large building, with most adults having at least a room of their own for privacy.

Children are typically raised by the grandparents of their family group, as most able-bodied parents choose to work in the mines. While this means that once a child is weaned they are absent from much of their day to day life, it does mean that elderly and infirm Andoians are still essential to the family.

Language & Culture
The Andoian language of Annish is a diversion from Uni and two or three Earth languages. Most Andoians speak Uni with little difficulty, and Annish only when there are no other aliens present. Being raised multilingual allows modern Andoians the freedom to interact with most aliens in most major alien cities.

The journey to Ando was driven by the need to access its natural resources of crystal, ore and mineral in order to build one of two enormous and experimental Jump Gates which would enable faster than light travel. Mining Ando was the solution proposed by Earth to gamble on a second Gate's construction. If the project worked, the Andoian project declared, then export of further materials to other star systems wanting to build their own Jump Gates to stimulate trade or alien interaction would be greatly simplified and highly profitable. The gamble paid off, but it should be noted that the shaping of Andoian society was always inspired by this goal - several generations' hard work and labor for a much delayed enormous profit.

Because of this goal and the high risks of colonist life on an alien world, there was no need to form any military or policing force. It proved to be extraordinarily rare that an individual would cause an issue that the community could not sort through itself. This has led to the reputation the modern Andoian has for taking a "non-military" stance in spite of their connections to Rulerism.

After the first established mine opened, it took several generations of work before enough material was harvested to begin construction. At the completion of the working Jump Gate, alien investment began flowing in. Andoian cities became boom towns. New mines were opened. Wages were raised so much so that an ambitious young Andoian could work through their late teens, 20s and 30s and retire in luxury to travel the stars. This did not change the fact that mining was still dangerous and life for Andoian colonists was still a balancing act against a hostile world. Cities such as Dock Six, however, became almost as lively and colorful as any major alien port elsewhere, with most material goods and thrills one could imagine being made available for a fee. It is easy for a young Andoian flush with cash to make some poor choices.

Ando itself is still largely unsettled, with most of the planet being classified as desert. Society values being frugal with your resources and cautious with your surroundings. Patches of aquafer located near the poles were piped to settlement areas and used to irrigate the lower scrub lands, but the only surface water on Ando is a shallow salt sea in its Western hemisphere known for freezing. Travel between Andoian settlements is by rail, using recycled scrap from the original colonial ship to construct engines, cars and tracks as well. Haste is not a virtue in Andoian society, or at least not nearly as much of a virtue as was dedication.

Religion & Rulerism
The original group of colonists leaving Earth and their subsequent generations on board the ship did not consider themselves to be of any particular religious unity. Rulerism itself was not even invented until Ando had been colonized and Jump Gates enabled. However it was not long after Ando's Jump Gate came online that Rulerism began to gain what is now a strong hold on Andoian society.

As towns gained prosperity and individual families became affluent, the luxuries of boom-town life and the lack of policing lead to issues. An entire generation appeared to become infected with affluenza, thinking of all problems as something that could be solved if you just threw enough money at it - and they certainly had enough. Communities struggled to come up with a solutions and people grew afraid of one another, thinking everyone was only out for themselves. In spite of all the thrills offered, in spite of all the luxuries acquired, this cultural disquiet could not be ignored. Something was missing from Andoian life. Into the void stepped Rulerism.

Rulerism offered not only a sense of communal structure, but also policing. The Rulerist military force offered to handle all legal disputes in their church tribunal. They provided their morality doctrine as a skeleton framework for Andoian legal development. They provided counseling for troubled citizens. They provided upkeep where there was neglect. All they were asking in exchange was devotion - not even a cut of the mine profits. The Andoians, unmoored after generations of toiling in the mines only to abruptly be thrust into the galactic stage in such a manner, considered it a good deal. This lead us to the modern Ando of today.

As church became a regular part of the modern Andoian life, the historically anti-military species found that some were interested in paying the church back with even more than worship. These individuals joined or were encouraged by family to join the Rulerist military force, both on their world and in intergalactic ports. This is the capacity in which many aliens will see young Andoians outside of Ando. Those encouraged to join by family have a higher rate of discharge than those who join of their own free will.

Rulerism also provided the Andoian colonies with something sorely lacking in their mining towns - medicine. Until the Jump Gates, Andoians simply survived with what medicine they had brought or developed themselves. Hospitals were simple and not designed to hold many patients. But mine production was increasing, aliens always posed a risk of new disease, and it seemed to Andoians like just another act of Rulerist charity. Hospitals were constructed with Rulerist funding and staffed with an eye towards training the Andoians to transition into the jobs in the future. While the vast majority of these hospitals were located near mining facilities and settlements, a few were placed seemingly at random, deep in the desert and a long march away from train lines on unmarked trails. The consensus from Andoians was that they were simply planning to construct more mines in the future... or perhaps get some kind of tax write-off.

As the conflicts from Rulerism began to heat on other worlds, many of the staff of these hospitals were pulled before their time was up to work elsewhere, and supply lines to these locations were cut. Patients were moved to other facilities and doctors were moved around, records becoming lost and inferior substitutions being made. Though some Andoians protested, the vast majority seem to feel that the presence of the underfunded and understaffed hospitals are simply the result of a short-term crisis. Why critique the Rulerist hospitals when loss of life from job related accidents was at an all time low?

Of course there is a concern that the loss of life due to mining accidents has not actually declined- it has merely been hidden from public view as communities increase mining production and depend on Rulerist leaders to tell the truth...

Technology & Alien Cultures
The first aliens to reach out to the colonists we now know as Andoians were the Tresh. On their ship's journey through the Tresh star system, hydrogen skimmers were deployed to harvest the gas from Draco-eye 9's atmosphere and power the Andoian colonial vessel. As they approached, it became clear that there were intelligent radio waves coming from the target planet. The two species relayed a series greetings to one another and communicated amicably until the Andoian ship was no longer in range. The two species have a great fondness for one another to this day. Tresh biologists are regularly invited to Ando to perform ecological surveys and examine the impact of mining on the natural ecosystem's balance.

During the period of time in which they needed to be self sufficient colonists, technology stalled in its development outside the targeted areas of genetic engineering and mining. Once the Gates were constructed, this technology deficit vanished. Because of their ready access to materials and proximity to a Jump Gate, modern Andoians can develop and use nanotech with as much skill and ease as any lab on Contura. Shipyards are becoming a more common sight on Ando now than ever before, and Myches especially seem to have a fondness for their design.

Myches are a welcome friend of the Andoians, though the Myches themselves often find the surface of Ando too warm for their own comfort and prefer to interact while in orbit or aboard the station connected to the Andoian Jump Gate. The first group of Myches to contact Andoians were nomadic and living aboard a self sufficient spaceship which arrived in their star system shortly after the mines were producing enough material to develop a gate. They offered their assistance in the gate's construction and design, which the Andoians welcomed.

Humans are considered by Andoians to be a cousin species, though it is rare for Andoians to travel back to Earth themselves. The politics and climates seem foreign to them, and the light from Earth's sun is painful to the Andoian eye. Humans occasionally visit Ando, but like Myches find the climate exceeds their comfort zones. Additionally, Andoians expect Humans to be able to keep up with them physically, which modern Humans simply can not do. This humbling of the Human species by Andoians tends to make most Humans who are not involved in the Rulerist clergy view Ando as a planet for visitation and not habitation.

Since their connection with the Rulerists, the Andoians have spread to other worlds nearby (Hekshano) as well as worlds on the other end of Jump Gates (Contura) where they are generally welcomed provided their allegiances to Rulerism do not cause conflict with locals.

Obviously the Andoians also have relations with aliens to whom they sell the product of their mining. In order of resource consumption, these include: Humans, Rogers, Chuians, Myches, Nikitaks and Rakwulvs. As it stands, the mines have a good several hundred years left before they are projected to run dry, and so these species' relationships with Andoians remain generally positive from a capitalistic point of view. However, were the mines to suddenly be shut down, it is suspected that several of these aliens - notably Rogers- would sour relations with Ando very rapidly.

08/2020