Go here for frequently asked questions asked by readers about the Mymar.
General Description : The Mymar are feline-like humanoids, most about 1.7 to 1.9 meters in height. Their bodies are covered with a short coat of fur, most commonly a light to medium brown, and a longer, thicker, mass of hair on their heads. The ears are triangular, and compared to a human are a couple inches higher on the head.
Mymars have a tail, about a meter long on an average adult, which is prehensile and can grasp objects. A small area on the underside of the tip has no fur. It is not usually very strong, and most mymars will have trouble lifting more than several kilograms with it for very long, but heavier weight can be dragged or dangled (an athletic lightweight could briefly hang from a pole or tree from it). It can move quickly enough to swat or slap. The base is highly flexible, enough for the tail to be curled around the waist or tucked down a pants leg if available clothes lack a flap for the tail.
Mymar, unlike some other felinoid races, are plandigrades, meaning they have heels and when walking the weight falls on the back of their feet. The feet somewhat resemble those of humans in structure but are longer, averaging 5 centimeters greater length.
Mymar do not have claws, but fingernails slightly darker and thicker than their human counterparts. A tiny few captivated by the Galaxy's perception of felinoids, have either had artificial claws surgically installed or use a special nutrient fluid to thicken and harden the nails and sharpen the points.
Differences in Appearance : Males are generally slightly taller and heavier than females, but on the average only by a few centimeters and kilograms. Like humans, mymar females have two mammary glands and wider hips than males. The former tend to be smaller than humans on the average.
Mymar whose ancestry is from Terryl's temperate areas, which includes those from Absolin, usually have straight or slightly wavy fur. While the coat is usually brown or tan, some do have reddish or blonde. Eye color is most commonly brown, but blue is also common. Small numbers have other colors, including golden yellow, purplish or green pupils. Albinism, always accompanied by blue eyes, and Melanism are rare.
In Terryl's equatorial areas, the hair and fur are almost always curled and a dark brown to black color. Here, only immigrants and visitors have anything other than brown eyes.
It should be noted that fur and hair can be dyed and sometimes is. It's usually for cosmetic reasons, but it also happens on some festivals. Modern fashions and techniques have allowed for some striking colors and patterns.
Diet : Unlike many other felinoids, mymar are omnivorous. The ideal diet consisting of some meat and some plant matter, though there should be more of the former. While a mymar could survive on a vegetarian diet, it's health would be quite poor without supplements, suffering from anemia and other ailments which could very well lead to death.
Absolin is the fourth of a system of 12 planets, and has a single moon. It gets it's name for an old Aglirian word meaning "refuge" or "safe place." It has one massive continent, and a number of smaller subcontinents and islands. The main continent has a variety of terrain, but is mostly temperate land. There are few features that discourage travel, the mountain ranges all have easily traversed valleys, and the system of rivers served to aid communication trade and travel rather than block it.
The population of Absolin is over five and a half billion. 90% of the people are mymar. Of the rest, about 9% are human, and the remainder a variety of other sapient races.
Government : Absolin's planetary government is that of a Federal Republic. Each province has its own local government, a provincial council made up of men and women elected by public ballot. Each province in turn elects representatives to a Grand Council which makes laws for the planet within guidelines set by the constitution. Provincial councils elect and are headed by governors, and the Grand Council elects and is headed by a Grand Minister.
During the Great Galactic War, the Grand Council was given emergency powers, and the authority of Grand Minister Bevron expanded. As the conflict neared an end, the emergency powers begun to come under question by both the public and politicians, and so were done away with. Currently there is a movement to have the representatives for the Grand Council elected by public ballot from each province and the Grand Minister elected by planetwide public ballot.
All citizens of Absolin may vote in elections, all native-born adults not convicted of serious crimes, Galactic Union citizens whom have moved to Absolin (and filled out the necessary paperwork), and non-Union immigrants who have been granted citizenship, which is after five years of residence and passing a test of knowledge of government. Naturalized citizens can run for public office and serve as judges. Compared to elections on most other advanced worlds, Absoloni races for office tend to be more polite and calmer with less rhetoric. Humans and other non-mymar have been elected to some provincial council seats, and one human, Esri Sylvian, currently sits on the Grand Council.
As a member of the Galactic Union, Absolin is represented in the Assembly with a voting representative.
Military and Police : As a member of the Galactic Union, Absolin falls under it's military jurisdiction and protection, and has a Union military starbase between the planet and the moon. There are also a few smaller bases around the system for it's several police frigates. Crime is less common on Absolin than the majority of places in the galaxy. Violent crime is particularly rare.
Family Life : The nuclear family has been traditional on Absolin. When possible couples will have homes of their own, although financial problems or other hardship may result in a poor family invited to stay with a friend or relative. For most of their history, the majority of Absoloni families had several children. Lately, urbanization and increasing education have resulted in fewer children being born.
Society : All mymar on Absolin are descendants of a group brought from Terryl from the territory of Aglir. They still speak Aglirian, but virtually all Absoloni know enough Galactic Standard to carry on a conversation.
For years, heavy industry was discouraged, and as a result the majority of the people lived in farms, or small towns close to them. Recently, industrialization has meant more jobs in the cities, and the population began moving to them. Now the majority live in urban and suburban cities, in increasing numbers every year. Most cities have housing shortages, with most newer residents living in apartment complexes. For the most part, the cities have been able to keep services up with the growth, although problems have come up, mostly in the form of traffic jams and occasional power outages.
The Absoloni diet consists of more non-meats than many tourists unfamiliar with them often expect, although most still prefer a mainly meat diet. Traditional meals consist of roasted poultry or a sizable section of red meat, with a smaller portion of bread and cooked vegetables. Fruit dishes are a favorite traditional desert.
Traditional Absoloni drinks are weak in alcoholic content compared to those on human worlds. Needless to say, mymar outside Absolin tend to be careful when ordering beverages.
Many Absoloni adults, especially those in smaller towns, spend their free time in local pubs or cafes, socializing with others. They also enjoy ball games, holo-movies, and holovision. Music concerts and plays can attract large crowds. Sports have always been popular with children, and more recently video games are being played by many. Absolin has several holidays a year, and celebrations in rural areas and small towns can be particularly colorful, along with those of local festivals.
Arts : Absolin has produced a variety of arts and artists, from paintings to sculpture to architecture to theater, etc., but in galactic society the art that has received most attention is music. The world has always had a rich tradition of music, and recently a few Absoloni singers have managed to obtain some following in the galactic scene.
Education : Practically everyone on Absolin can read and write. Children are required to attend school from 6 to 12, and unless they have permission from their parents must continue on to 18. Absolin has a number of colleges and universities, the largest and most prestigious being in the capital - the University of Mixinar.
Religion : Most Absoloni mymar are of a monotheistic religion called Ivera or "The Path," although only about half attend services. This religion focuses around an ethical code of conduct and praise to the Creator of the Universe. Compared to most others on Terryl, it is simpler and much shorter on dogma. Priests and priestesses can marry, but those who do seldom achieve top leadership position in the church hierarchy. In the past, religion had a much larger role in the lives of the people, with priests and priestesses often seen as leaders and judges. But secularization has reduced its influence. Absolin's laws and public opinion have always guaranteed religious freedom, and those in other religions or following none at all are not harassed. Although the religion is technically open to all and has accepted a small number of non-mymar, there have been few efforts to convert outsiders.
Other Worlds : Minmir, the closest terrestrial world to Absolin, is the first and largest of Absolin's colonies. It was founded several decades ago as a small trading base. Since the Great Galactic War, the population has grown to about 20 million (50% mymar, 45% human, 5% other).
Mymar from Absolin have also established and helped established a number of colonies since the end of the Great Galactic War, with more every year.
The planet itself was uninhabited, until an incident on the mymar homeworld of Terryl. A human tradeship found the system by accident due to a freak navigation computer malfunction, and touched down in a Terrlyian country called Agliria for repairs. While there, they came in contact with a group of refugees who were trying to get away from brutal warlords. Somehow, they were able to communicate (legend has it a psionic used her powers to talk to them), and the spacers agreed to help them out. After a planet was found, not only was the initial group of refugees transported, but some other ships were secretly contacted and they helped in the evacuation. It's estimated about one hundred thousand mymar refuges were evacuated from their war-torn home. The spacers left behind some medical and agricultural technology, as well as some domesticated animals, then left promising not to tell anyone of them. They didn't, and the planet was left alone for centuries.
On their own, the mymar of Absolin set up a council to help govern the world. Although it had somewhat theocratic leanings, it was much fairer to the common man than the feudal systems they had lived under. Small towns and rural provinces pretty much ran themselves under what might be described as "government by town meeting" where the major decisions were made by the majority vote of all adults at public meetings. Although some changes were made over the years, notably the process of the council becoming more democratic, the system of government survived intact.
As time went on the people prospered, increasing both in numbers and the area of the planet they settled. For several reasons, including the lack of hunger, the people speaking the same language and lack of ethnic tension (the populace came from mostly the same area), and perhaps a distaste for warfare that was kept alive by numerous retellings of the war that brought their ancestors here, the people continued to get along fairly well. There was little fighting, and only one war that could be compared to the conflicts on Terryl:
The Dark Time was started by some powerful men greedy for control, supposedly strong psionics, who managed to seize control of some provinces, then tried to conquer the planet. Fortunately, they quarreled among themselves, and the "Dark Lords" were soon beaten. The war either killed or bankrupted what little nobility there was on Absolin. It also installed a fear of psionics among the people, even though some of the heroes were also supposedly psionics, that persists somewhat to this day. Those claiming to have these abilities found themselves shunned, and after a while went underground. As science came to play a greater role among the intellectuals, psionics were seen as just superstition.
With peace restored, the people prospered again. Eventually came the beginnings of an Industrial Revolution, and the development of railways led to faster trade and communication. This lead to the planet being more unified, but also led to debates about how much power the Council should have. In the meantime, the population continued to grow, and soon passed one billion.
Contact : Shortly after Absolin reached one billion people, it's isolation came to an end when human refuges stumbled across the world. It was a particularly violent time in Galactic history. Nearby sections of the Galaxy were in turmoil, and as ruthless despots and warlords swept across systems, those who couldn't fight fled. Mindful of the humans who had helped their ancestors, the mymar of Absolin quickly agreed to give the refugees a home. The planet became a "Safe World," it's location kept secret from all but a very few in the Galaxy out of fear hostile forces would come looking for those who escaped them. The development of a modern economy was kept minimal out of fear a large energy output from the planet would be detected by the probes of warlord forces, all too willing to plunder or conquer a newly-found rich world.
For decades Absolin remained a Safe World, accepting more and more refugees (mostly human). Then the factions of the known galaxy came together in order to fight the Vorrin insectoid invasion. A few mymar fought in the war, saying nothing about their planet of origin. When it was over, some refugees began to return to their old homes. But in the atmosphere of xenophobia and fear that remained after the merciless aliens' massacres, and the formation of the Prusslyn Empire, most returned, with friends.
The Great Galactic War When the Prusslyn Empire began taking over it's neighbors, worlds began to ally to stop them. The Prusslyns responded with a major invasion, and the Great Galactic War began. Far from the fighting and still mostly unknown, Absolin did not initially get involved. Then it was contacted from officials of the Galactic Union, whom had been told about the place by a former refugee who joined the Union's military. Absolin was requested to join the cause, but as a harbor for refugees, its location to be kept secret and classified while it housed them. Absolin accepted. Not only did the planet accept numbers of refugees, many who were families of Union military, but Absolin also contributed sizable amounts of food for the war effort. Some mymar also signed up for the military. None were ever taken by the Prusslyns alive.
During the war, the Prusslyns made an offensive in Absolin's sector. As a result, most of the worlds with heavy industry found themselves under attack, and experienced much devastation. Absolin, which remained unknown to the Prusslyns, was untouched.
Recent Events Following the defeat of the Prusslyn Empire, Absolin experienced an economic boom, being one of the largest worlds in the sector not to suffer any damage and with enough cash to finance expansion. Trade and industry, free of the choking security restrictions (but still under some minor environmental controls) expanded, and many mymar who dreamed about the galaxy outside their world for so long began venturing outward as traders, tourists, colonists, and other kinds of folk looking for adventure in the stars.
The Gambler and the Psi (Science Fiction/Space-Age - novel) The adventures of two felinoid women as they find themselves on the run from an interstellar mob.
In the Cards (Science Fiction/Space-Age - short story) A mymar gambler runs into an opponent whom just might be her match.
In Progress The Hunt (Science Fiction/Space-Age - short novel/novella) A freelance journalist, her alien felinoid partner, and a powerful bounty hunter wind up in the adventure of their lives.