by Pitus The Broken

Appearance: The Amiel are roughly humanoid, save the large wings which give them a very angelic air. Their bone structure is mostly hollow, like an avian, making their bodies both lighter and longer than humans, although advanced medical technology has allowed the infusion of light, porous metals into their bone, increasing the tensile strength. They have little skin pigmentation, and their racial differences range from albino to Aryan (fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes, white to pale feathers) although a few genetic mutations cause unusual colour combinations. Hair growth is highly avian, with follicles that split resembling wispy feathers; body hair is faint almost nonexistent, and doubles as a second sensation (see Senses). The Amiel are on average very muscular, with males larger than females; if not for their religious taboos they would make an excellent "pleasure world" (see Religion). Amiel are capable of flight with the wings that extend from the their upper backs. Their disproportional musculature to control the wings, add to the Amiel "hump." Extended lung capacity and the added bone structure make many Amiel appear top-heavy compared to Humans. The genetic relationship to Humans is unknown. Genetic studies are extremely taboo (see Religion).

Size: The Amiel average two meters tall, and more Amiel tend to be slender, or emaciated, rather than the other side of the spectrum.

Sensation: Amiel have the basic senses of sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell, but they also have an odd mix of radar/sonar, the ability to see EM and gravitronic waves, or eddies in space, which are sensed by the aural orifices in the sides of the head. Genetic mutation renders a few Amiel without this "second sight," leaving them marked by empty white eyes rather than coloured eyes like their peers. Although the optical nerve is intact, they are very sensitive to light and colour. There is no correlation between this "second sight" and the real sense of sight, as many blind Amiel see better with the gravitronic sensations. The race on average has a low tolerance to pain, due to the advanced nerve structure lacing their bodies. The feathery hair acts as "feelers" (something like a cat's whiskers, or a bug's antennae). They can sense changes in temperature, air direction, etc., with the feathery hairs.

Respiration: Oxygen inhalation; CO₂ and water-vapour expiration.

Communication: The Amiel are capable of vocal communication similar to humans, although their vocals range both higher and lower than a human's. Singing is both an enjoyable recreation and mode of communication for the Amiel.

Aliment: The Amiel are omnivorous, and have a normal metabolism.

Thermality: Amiel prefer warmer extremes rather than colder; due to their body size, they get cold easily. Temperatures outside human tolerance are also intolerable to the Amiel.

Reproduction: The species has both male and female genders, and androgyns that range from masculine to feminine. This third sex has either male or female reproductive organs, but their "gender" can range from very feminine to very masculine. Such androgyns are rare, and their presence is looked down upon by the ChurchState (see Religion). Female Amiel give birth to live young. Cloning is banned within the Amiel community. Sexual intercourse is not usually practiced for pleasure, although they are extremely well endowed as sexual creatures (see Sensations and Religion).

Sexuality: Even with the sexual variations within the genders, Amielian homosexuality is extremely taboo, with perpetrators treated like criminals and blasphemers. Most Homosexuals and Bisexuals leave the Amiel community, due to the stigma, and life-threatening consequences of their personalities, imposed by the ChurchState. Masturbation, extra-relationship sexual activity, and pedophilia are also taboo.

Lifecycle: The average Amiel lives 40-50 Sol years. Maturity is reached at 20, and the female is fertile for 20 or 25 more years. Males and male androgyns reach their sexual peak at 20.

Cognition: The Amiel are very intelligent on average, although religious biases shape their educational facilities. Emotionally and congnitively, they seem more intense and aware than many humans.

Technology: Technology is all but banned by the ChurchState because of the influences it has on the Amiel society -- not that the Amiel are a pastoral race, but technology is kept secluded, to operate the society, and keep the people happy, healthy, and complacent. The ChurchState controls all research and development facilities. There is much secrecy about the Amiel's technological advances, within the Amiel themselves. Only certain sects are allowed to work with the technology that control their Arcologies. Nanotech, cybernetics, AI, and antigrav are used sparingly, and never fully explained to the people (again for religious reasons).

Military: Amiel are zealous people who believe in peace with other races, only because they could never defend themselves and their way of life against a stronger enemy. Much energy is spent by the ChurchState to patrol the people for Amiel who are disobeying the Covenants. Violence is controlled by policing the Arcologies, but a planet-wide military does not exist.

Politics: The Amiel live in Arcologies, large enclosed living spaces that protect them from the environmental ravages of their planet. The Arcologies each have a representative seat in the ChurchState. The ChurchState upholds the Covenants, holy laws written by the Amiel's god, and edited (frequently) by the ChurchState. Branches of the ChuchState infiltrate much of the Amiel culture, regulating economy, military, decency, etc. Sects within the Arcologies revolve around three basic classes: the rich, the poor, and everyone else. The Wingless form a fourth, despised class (see Religion). The Amiel are capitalists, but their commercial spirit is highly controlled by branches of the ChurchState.

Society: The Amiel are highly religious, verging on zealot. They limit contact with other races and remain "sheltered" because of their belief that they are their God's Chosen people. Amiel tend to be highly accepting, within their own culture, of people who are similar, and are very welcoming and nurturing. However, they are also on the whole very resentful of anyone who is different. Amiel are inherently very aggressive and control it by strict adherence to the Covenants. Expanding population on the Amiel homeworld has forced a resurgence of colonization. Individual ChurchStates have been established, as well as non-ChurchState governments. No trade is allowed with non-ChurchState Amielians.

Religion: Amiel believe in an ambiguous God paralleling the Human Judeo-Christian religion. The Amiel do not have a "history." They believe they were created suddenly by God only about 10 millennia ago. History tends to be highly edited (under the ChurchState's control) and the study of it is looked down upon as prying. Most Amiel attend a multitude of ChurchState sponsored services, as devotion to God would demand. The Amiel appear prideful, thick-headed, and zealous to other races, but do not understand why the other races don't understand their viewpoints. Deviating from the monotheistic views of the ChurchState can be deadly. Countless taboos abound in the Amiel Culture, and anyone who doesn't comply with the ChurchState's Covenants are a risk against the sanctity of the Amiel and are harshly punished. Criminals, deviants, and blasphemers are punished under the ChurchState Covenant to have their wings broken off. The Wingless have no social standing in the Amiel people, and rarely are given work -- or even pity -- by the Winged. Wingless are often exported off the planet, cast from the sight of God and the ChurchState.

Art & Culture: The Amiel love art and embrace beauty. But the artistic spirit of the people is very dominated. Amielian art is highly watched by the ChurchState. A resurgence of ungodly and blasphemous imagery in recent times has lead to a stigmatization of artisans. Art and theater all must be approved by a ChurchState branch before it can deemed godly and decent; due to this, there is a great underground art movement within the Amiel people. Architecture is a highly prestigious field, which is incorporated to make even their simple machines lovely and pleasing to God. Music is a great passion for all Amiel, due to their vocal dexterity. Their clothing is loose and surprisingly indecent by human standards (they pride themselves in self-control). Many males and females go shirtless, due to their cumbersome wings. Casual dress is widespread even in religious settings.

The Amielian Impact in the Universe: The Amiel were "created," as their scripture says, on the Planet Avisha ("a gift from God"). They have many ChurchState-founded colonies as well as renegade colonies. Few Amiel have ever visited the Lattice, although word has spread across Avisha of its discovery, despite the ChurchStates attempt to silence the rumors. Avisha was an Earth-like world, until the climate began to change in the last few hundred years, due to industrialization and the need in the early days of spaceflight for the siphioning or mining of a rare hydrogen-like compound found in the planet's atmosphere for the fueling of the blooming spaceport industry. Arcologies were built to protect the residents from the ravages of the exterior. The entire Amielian population is about 15 trillion, maintaining a space fleet of 500,000 military ships as well as about one million merchant/civil vessels.