Chiss

Background and History

The Chiss were a near-Human species distinguished by their blue skin and glowing red eyes, which grew darker depending on the oxygen content of their surroundings. The more oxygen present, the more intense the color of their eyes and skin tone. While their hair was typically jet black, it did on rare occasions go gray with age (most Chiss believed that the development of gray hair was an indication of the siring of exceptional children). Their physical form led to some speculation on whether they were an offshoot of humanity's ancient expansions into the galaxy or whether their physical form coincidentally matched that of Humans. However, genetic analysis indicated that they were an offshoot of humanity, and it was believed that moving underground led to a divergence between them and baseline Humans. Furthermore, this analysis indicated that their unique skin tone was the result of exposure to glacial minerals. Their blue skin, jet black hair and red eyes generally commanded attention once they were in a crowd of regular humanoids, and these features made them physically striking and instantly recognizable. Male and female Chiss tend to be more powerfully built when compared to Humans but exhibit the same variances as Humanoid sexes. A Chiss stood between either 1.6 to 2.1 meters in height though an average height of an adult was believed to be 1.7 meters.

The University of Sanbra concluded that the fact that all Chiss often appeared in very good physical shape was an indication that the species possessed an active metabolism which was responsible for their trim figure and lower body temperature. Thus, this was believed to be responsible for preventing obesity that was commonly found within more sedentary humanoids. While the report concluded that they were indeed near-Humans, they had not determined a specific point of evolutionary divergence. There was, in fact, a Human sleeper ship colony established on Csilla around 27,500 BBY, though records of this were virtually nonexistent and it remained unknown how a remote area of the galaxy could have been trailblazed so far back. They did display, physiologically, very few signs of evolutionary adaptations to their icy environment with even their skin pigmentation not providing any apparent benefit. Beyond the obvious physical features, physiologically, the Chiss were similar to Humans to the point that they possessed a comparable circulatory, neurological, digestive and reproductive systems. The Chiss vocal mechanism was noted for being similar to Humans but there were apparent differences which was evident in their capacity to speak their native language.

In addition, they experienced a greatly accelerated growth rate compared to Humans, which contributed to their reaching maturity faster than Humans. Thus a Chiss at the age of 10-years held the physical maturity of a 20-year old Human. This in turn resulted in a culturally-imprinted emotional maturity that was many times above that of their Human counterparts. They were capable of living up to 80 years old, at which point a Chiss was considered venerable; children were between ages 1-10, and they experienced a rapid adolescence from 11-12 and were considered full adults by 13-14. Middle-age followed between the ages of 51-62, and those aged 63-79 were considered old.