World

Litta , the Littan homeworld has two suns, but it's not a desert. The suns only shine together two times during the year, otherwise, they're blocking each other. The atmosphere is thick to the point of blocking out harmful radiation from a dual sun system and at the same time, it actually blocks a lot more, keeping the planet at a mostly lush even green. It's a very ... green world, like a green house with streams, but no really large oceans. Large bodies of water are very uncommon. It does rain frequently as well. Nothing edible on Litta is solid - everything is liquid with a thick skin.

The first thing that strikes the eye upon seeing Litta for the first time, is that it is surprisingly cloudy. Having about 60% less ocean water means the water needs to be present somewhere in the planet; in this case, it is the very atmosphere itself. Not that this makes living in Litta horrible. Quite the contrary, this cloudy barrier is what is currently keeping Litta lush and green--the clouds reflect back enough sunlight to keep the planet from getting unbearably hot. Even though Litta is farther away from the sun (or in their case suns) than most planets, it's lack of large bodies of oceans brings it's average temperature up. On the bright side, the intensity of their suns is quite lessened. The clouds make up a vital part of the inner workings of the planet and are under constant surveillance for signs of instability (especially in periods where both suns shine separately, known as the Double Sun period).

Once you get past the actual clouds, you find that Litta is a world covered in green. Trees don't just dot the landscape, they tend to layer themselves in such a way to maximize the incoming light to it's fullest potential. With the constant rain and abundant CO2, the main limiting factor is sunlight, which is at a premium due to the cloud cover. Trees tend to react quicker to open spots of light with some vines and bushes growing so fast as to be visibly seen! This makes most of Litta very dense with foliage, and upkeep for trimming trees and other outside household chores is quite a bit more time consuming. Even though the extra upkeep can become a chore, sunny days are a good enough reason for the Littan come out to play.

Another unique trait that Litta has is its small axial tilt, which comes to less than 3°. Thus, seasons are practically non-existent for the Littan race. Even the temperature differences between the poles and the equator differ only about 10°C from each other. All this in context, it makes perfect sense as to why Litta is also known as the Greenhouse Planet: it stays green all the time, as well as keeps its temperatures precisely regulated. (Although, as of late, noticeable effects upon the environment are beginning to happen; fluctuations in temperatures are starting to get more varied. Scientists are still trying to pin down where the problems lay, but there is far too little clear data to support any one theory as of yet.)

With the sense or urgency the trees have to grow, one would expect that same urgency to show in the ability to procreate; the trees spend a great deal of energy to spread their seeds, but they have come up with a clever way to make their deliveries: other animals. Litannese fruit is ranked amongst the most nutritious that can be found, even scientists are baffled as to how it is able to pack so much punch into their fruit. It is so nutritious, the whole biosphere of Litta has become specifically adapted to survive solely off it. Litta has the highest ratio of herbivores to omnivores/carnivores; a staggering 97% of species on the planet lives solely off these trees—and this includes the native sentients of Litta as well.

Physiology

Like most of the bipedal sentients, the Prime Colonization Theory cannot explain how they came to live on the planet; the earliest Littan remains seem to dated either 40,000 years or 3.7 million years ago (depending on who's estimates you believe). No remains have been found outside Litta dated any earlier than 900 years. The Littan have been space-hopping for well over a thousand.

Littan tend to be anywhere from 5 to 7 feet in height (they're usually as tall as humans or a little shorter on average), with the average female being about half a foot taller than the average male. This height difference and their generally more aggressive behavior are considered to be the reasons the society is matriarchal in nature. While this is true, the Littan males are not content to be trodden over. They can be submissive in relatively unimportant arguments, but if they are mistreated, they have no qualms about leaving. The Littans are all very pale in complexion, almost white, and their skin tans relatively easily to compensate for the greater radiation, although studies show lighter skin tones tends to be more attractive to Littan, especially to the females. Their ears are rounded with a slight point backward which is noticeable, although this lack of pointedness seems not to hinder their hearing abilities greatly. All Littans are not blonde - their hair tends toward the blond, brown, and black hues with the infrequent platinum-blond occurring once out of every 10,000 newborns. Littans have excellent bifocal vision (human equivalent of 20/20) and their eyes vary from blue, green, brown, gray and any shade in between. The females have two sets of small breasts, since they have litters. They also have purple blood due to a low iron content.

Littans, however, have several unique characteristics: First of all would be their teeth. They have very prominent canines, four upper and two lower (though a pure-blooded littan may have anywhere from 4 to 16 teeth depending on age, though the majority lack molars), that are specialized for draining the juice out of the fruit; although this does make their jaws a bit weaker and more prone to breaking. (Littan babies are sometimes born with more teeth, flat teeth, a throwback, it is said, to more primitive times.) Their saliva also acts as an anesthetic. It is known that Littans have a natural immunity to their own saliva, so it may have been used by both the male and females to encourage each other to stay together as large families require great commitment not generally seen in most species. After a few thousand years the effect diminished with each successful generation gradually becoming immune to its effects as the society matured (other theories have come up, but this seems to be the one that makes the greatest sense).

They also have a chest plate (supposedly a throwback from the days in which they needed to climb tree after taller tree after even taller tree to obtain their fruit) - a layer of thin hard bone that wraps over the front of their ribs. Their back is actually MORE vulnerable than a humans would be, because of their rib structure. The main purpose of the shield is to protect the heart, because their heart is more centralized and they have larger lungs in comparison to a human. Because of the way the ribs curve and join in the front, if they were hit full in the chest and the ribs bent inward, they could pierce the heart. Their ribs are more loosely joined together and flatter. While they are very strong and fast, as well as have a fairly high pain threshold, sharp objects can easily pierce the plate. Their circulatory system has the ability to shut off within centimeters of a nasty wound to avoid excess blood loss. The only areas that won't shut off are between the brain and the heart. The lungs will actually shunt off in quarters if filled with fluids, blood or water. This does cause problems if a Littan contracts an illness that causes severe congestion and is actually a cause of deaths among young and elderly Littans. Ideally, the lungs shut down to slow down infection and the body concentrates on that area. Severe infection will cause all four lungs to close and then they suffocate.

Now.. in the case of mutations, Litta is actually free of the majority of mutations caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation, like... cancer. Cancer doesn't exist and there are far fewer mutations and a much higher life expectancy for a Littan and anyone who lives on Litta. A Littan can live for several hundred years and be healthy during all of it. Even though they have a short cycle for bearing children (10 - 15 years in the females), once that is done, they have a very long life in educating their kind and others on their planet. Age is a valued thing among them, as is the pursuit of knowledge and ... entertainment. Now... this does lead to a little bit about why when they were on Earth, they got the stigma about vampires only coming out at night. They did not want exposure to the sun. Riley is wearing a special sunblock, so he's not worried about it, plus, he's not out there for LONG. *And Riley loves the sun, even though he won't tan. Tanning is of course... destroying skin cells.

The most interesting difference of all, however, is their tendency for double-births. Apparently, it is more common to have two babies given birth to at once rather than one. As a matter of fact, having a single birth sounds an end to a particular female's relatively short period of fertility, being unable to conceive after that point. Reasons abound as to why this happens: abundance of food allows for double-births to be more reasonable than one at a time, a higher-than-average mortality rate at the beginning of the Littans' evolutionary period, perhaps it is just the entire planet's speed of proliferation that adds to the birthrate. Whatever the reason, multiple births are not uncommon. This is also the reason why Littan females have two pairs of breasts; (AD Day 11, strip 64) twice as many babies, twice as much milk must be produced. Triple births are second in commonness to twins, but four is very rare.

Feeding Habits

Nothing on Litta that was edible was solid. Every fruit, every animal, everything was composed of liquid with a tough skin. The result, razor sharp canines and fewer bothersome molars. It attributed to the unusual sunken in look of their cheeks where molars should have been in the jaw. They weren't used so they had gradually vanished.

They're omnivorous with a tendency to be predators. Littans lack the ability to digest large amounts of solid matter so they actually live on a primarily liquid diet. They can't chew and usually only eat liquids or very soft foods so they only have front teeth (no molars) and their jaw lines are high and pronounced more than the others. They have a pretty nasty set of fangs, two sets on the upper jaw (two fangs on each side, a large one and a smaller one), one pair on the bottom, that are fairly noticeable. It'd leave a very serious gash... plus they have jaws that can extend back in such a way that they can get a good hold. Their bite is very nasty and will leave a good sized scar if it doesn't kill whatever they're feeding on, and the design makes it quite easy to rip something's throat out. They do find feeding on living creatures acceptable, because that's the way they are, but the majority find it abhorrent to kill a sentient creature just to feed on it, and they will feed on their own kind as well,... which goes a direction that I'm not going to show because it's sick to me. *In some ways, they considering feeding on their own kind the same way most humans view really kinky sex, and well,.. it is kinky sex to them. *

Their saliva contains a chemical that acts as a anesthetic to whatever they bite and has the lingering affect of making the bit person/thing very obedient, and affects most sentient creatures.

If they're hit in the jaw it can easily be dislocated,.. that's because it's readily dis-locatable for a more secure bite/more area coverage, then the muscles lock and whatever they've bitten is in trouble. Of course, if they're not doing it themselves they can get severely injured.

Most Littans follow a rule of not biting and feeding off "sentient" lifeforms. To them, blood is an intoxicant, especially red blood. Something to do with the iron most likely. It's considered an abhorrent practice by the majority and one of those social taboos. Fortunately, they don't really 'thirst' for it, but it can become as addictive as alcohol. As for Earth, there was a group of Littans who went down for research unknowing that they had a few with them who wanted to try human blood. Things got out of hand, one of them did wind up encountering Vlad Dracul and is partially responsible for some of the killing. Once the Galactic Consul caught wind of what was going on and the Littan government, that's when a ban was put into place. While Earth isn't part of the 'GC', they are not to be bothered by other aliens in such a way. Littans are now not allowed to indulge on the planet. As long as they don't feed, they can go to the surface. *The main purpose for most to go there would be simply to eat, they aren't ALLOWED to eat on the world, so most don't go there.

Alcohol doesn't work on Littans. Any effect it has is extremely minimal, and it's mostly a source of empty carbs for them to eat.

Society

Littan society is very fast-paced. Adaptation is a key requirement in order to operate effectively within the society. Survival of the fittest takes on a whole new meaning when the trees sprawl into the developed areas, and not the urban areas sprawling into the trees. Not only does one need to be constantly alert of the state of your lawn on a daily basis, but the government regularly employs people to keep the green in line, going so far as to impose fines on yards that are 'hazardous to the passers-by'. In some of the more feisty forests, adventures can make a fairly good living from carving up the more carnivorous greenery, and even be able to sell some of the flora on the side as well (the government really doesn't care what you do with the refuse, so long as you don't rake it onto their lawn).

They're a 'nice' race overall in wanting to help out others, but also highly competitive and given to being carried away with excess and luxury ... and winning. They have a natural desire to bite when they feel threatened or angry, although most WILL bite and let go.

They're actually a matriarch based society as well, the females lead pretty much in everything, are more aggressive and in general... high strung. They consider themselves as equals, but the females can be highly demanding. Littan females tend to be possessive and aggressive, at least toward other people (Riley wouldn't get away with flirting. He'd have to find a Littan female who loves flirting as much as he does so they can flirt with each other). It is common for Littan females to smack someone across the face. (AD Day 11, strip 61) Most of the joined males will do whatever the female wants just to avoid any trouble. Most of them. There are always those exceptions on both sides. *So .. not much difference in human society in some respects even if they are female ruled. Single males are much more likely AND will stand up to any female and don't particularly like being dominated. Most single females are much nicer until they have their first litter, then they get very protective of their kids,... to the point of spoiling them nowadays. The females are more rash and hormonally driven in high tension situations and tend to overreact and overdo things. The males are usually a lot more stable and do handle the areas that require their mindset. They are by no means pushovers, although do come across as extremely laid back. However, it is considered perfectly acceptable for a Littan male to get physical with other males when they are angry. (AD Day 11, strip 90) Of course, with all the races, individuals can stray in any degree and there are laid back females and extremely aggressive males, but they balance each other out. Riley is a bit more aggressive than most overall, despite all of that and how .. horrible it could sound, they are a pleasant enough race to be around in general and helpful to the Rishan's. They consider them kids as a whole that need to be protected and helped and since there is a resemblance, they feel a need to help them when they can.

Littans are family-centered; and in such a hurried world, pretty much the only refuge one has amidst the prolific change - you couldn't expect less from a society where the woman is such an aggressor. Her children come first in everything and she will aggressively protect them to the death. This has not changed throughout the history of Litta, and often helps to keep the balance between males and females. Littan females are not content to only care for their children, but also to ensure that their father is also in the picture. There is no such thing as divorce among Littans; A pairing is literally until death do you part and females will often uphold that end of the bargain to the point that there is an underground network to relocate battered males. A very small percentage of Littan females are possessive to the point of enslaving their males. Occasionally, if a pair decides they do not work together well, they will simply avoid each other, but they remain a family unit in support of their children. Abandoning a child will lead to lengthy imprisonment. And orphans are normally quickly absorbed into neighboring families. Normally. Littans find it abominable for the ADC to take Littan children, or any children really. There are not any orphanages or halfway houses. The best thing about Litta is that basic, nutritious food is plentiful and freely available.

The strong desire to be a family is culturally ingrained within each Littan to the point that older Littans who do not have children or prospects often consider and attempt suicide. This has led to an undercurrent of movements to slightly alter the current culture to not maintain only the family as a viable unit, but also the individual. The families are led by the matriarchs, but the males generally have a fair amount of say in matters. Of course, one of the problems with being family-centric is that it can lead to a reduction in individualism and originality. There was a brief period when extreme individualism DID take a front seat in mainstream society (around time space exploration came about, although theorists debate whether this was the cause or ), but when a record-number of single-births, major increases of mental illness and a spike in suicides was tied to the loss of the the stability of the nuclear family, the society quickly reverted back and has been striving for a balance between the two extremes ever since. The current trend now seems to be that the family unit is once again squelching the individuality of the person and many sociologists predict another wave of 'individualistic outcry' to come within the next 15-20 years...some estimates suggest must sooner. Whether or not history will repeat itself is yet to be seen.

The last child is the favored one, they usually end up inheriting everything from the parents as well. They tend to have 2-3 kids at a birthing, while a single birth is called a solo, and is very rare. They tend not to have any more kids after a solo because children born after a solo are considered cursed. Another solo birthed one year later on the exact day is considered a soul twin of the first, and the two look out for each other.

Littans don't look down on crossbreeds, even though they are discouraged since many times they ARE born solo and solos that remain solo are looked upon in two ways. In some religious circles, a solo without even a soul twin is marked for the priesthood. In others, a solo is VERY unlucky and doomed to always be alone. This is how a lot of Littan children have ended up with the ADC.

Littans also have a prejudice against those born with defects. By law, someone born with birth defects cannot hide the deformities, nor be equipped with prosthetics for use in day to day work (it's fine if one lost it in an accident, but not if born that way). Those with birth defects are prevented from serving in some capacities, such as working upon an official ship, and will likely never have kids of their own due to no Littan giving a second look at a Littan with birth defects as a potential mate. (AD Day 19, strip 75)

They have a law that when a Littan woman dies in childbirth, if any children live, their upbringing is to be done by the mother's parents, overriding the father's claim to the children... especially if the couple is unmarried. (AD Day 18, strip 80)

Littan males actually have a preference for full bodied women to thin tall athletic ones, with breasts that are near the same size. Actual size doesn't matter so much. For the male Littans who 'drink', they will normally seek out Rishan or Kourwine females of a fuller body to overweight body type. They tend to go for the opposite sex since it's considered somewhat of an intimate act, only you don't REALLY want to be on the receiving end of affection of this type. Littans are very NON-PROMISCUOUS as a general rule.

Littan's are Matriarchal in family matters. But family holdings are FAMILY residences and are always shared. Most of it's just that the females are viciously family oriented to a point that they tend to handle things related to the family. Who gets to control what is typically up to the eldest female – and they tend to get less violent as they get older.

Though not always the case, arranged marriages do occur. Basically, they reach a certain age and then parents intervene, unless they state they aren't interested in marriage. Littan females have a very limited number of childbearing years due to multiple births. (In Riley's family, this generation was actually big even by their standards... they were hoping for some more girly girls) The children aren't bargaining chips in the arranged marriages - they typically know each other, get along, and don't want to be bothered with a 'dating' process. Either one has the choice to say NO. Try again. There are no forced arranged marriages.

Government

The government follows this same style as well. Although still democratic, there is a strong tendency for hierarchy. This materializes as a sort of Prime Minister at the top, followed by a set of five to seven senators to whom he is directly responsible. The senators are directly responsible to ten representatives, who are directly elected by the people. This structure requires that support must be generated from the bottom up, which leaves a lot of power within the hands of the people. It is not fool-proof though, as an increasing amount of corruption is happening within the Senatorial seats, and the usual non-partisan government is starting to form concrete coalitions.

Business

Due to the fast-paced nature of the planet, the speed of business is only that much faster. Technological innovation is the forte of the Littan, as they can keep up with the rapid changes this implies. Virtually every day brings a new invention or concept that makes work cheaper, faster, and better with the rest of the world being forced to keep up. This causes a great deal of stress for the whole of Litta as opposed to other worlds, but this also keeps them highly competitive.

Tilt Sickness

Some Littans develop what is known as 'Tilt Sickness' when they are on some planets with a high degree of tilt to them - anywhere between 27 and 45° (remembering that Litta has a 3° tilt). Symptoms can be one or more of the following: feelings of unbalance, nausea, dry mouth, bouts of depression, irritability, lowered mental concentration, increased appetite, decreased appetite, impairment of one or more senses, temporary loss of one or more senses, digestive problems, and sexual side effects and tend to get more intense the further skewed the tilt is from their norm. Some rare cases have had previously-thought unaffected Littan fall into sudden comas or bouts of epilepsy, even complete hysteria that range from paranoia to berserk rage (all of which occurred within 37°- 45° of tilt). As of yet, the reasons why Tilt Sickness happen are unknown. Littans are cautioned about it's occurrence when they travel off-planet.

Miscellaneous

Sairah and Kourwine were different races, but there was some speculation that at one time they had been one race. There was a also a general theory that they had also come from another even older race that had spawned the Littans. It was thought that they had remarkable adaptational abilities and changed abruptly depending on their environments over generations. Some might call it evolution, but there was evidence of something else, a kind of cell that was self aware of the environment and changed DNA on its own, gradually. This was what all three races had in common. (AD Day 7, strip 22)

They have the belief that dreams are the purest reflection of a person's soul. (AD Day 20 strip 36)

Littans never cut their hair short. (AD Day 6, strip 28)