User:Misterandersen/Sebacean

Sebaceans are a fictional alien race in the Farscape universe.

Physiology

Sebaceans are externally identical to humans, and by inference are actually a genetic offshoot of humans artificially created some 27 millennia prior to the events of the Farscape series; as a result of this genetic enhancement, Sebacean biology has several notable differences. Amongst the known advantages granted by their creators, is eyesight significantly keener than that of humans, and average lifespans at least twice that of a human from the 20th Century.

However, whether as a direct side effect of the process or a result of millennia of genetic drift, the changes from root human stock haven't all been positive. The function of the human kidneys as a means of toxin removal has been replaced by a single organ named the paraphoral nerve. Lacking the redundancy of the human equivalent, up until the time period of the Farscape series damage to the organ could only be healed using a graft from a compatible donor; by the end of the 1st season a synthetic treatment has been developed, though its availability outside the ranks of the Peacekeepers is unknown. By far the biggest biological drawback is their inability to deal with extreme temperatures: overheating leads to a state known as the Heat Delirium, a brain fever that leads to a permanent coma-state referred to as the Living Death. Until the onset of the final stage the condition may be halted or even reversed, either by altering the sufferer's environment or the use of cool suit technology.

Reproduction

As a result of their shared genetic lineage, Sebaceans and Humans are capable of interbreeding with no assistance. Sebaceans have also shown the ability to interbreed with other humanoid species. The degree to which such pairings require external intervention is unknown - for example out of a sample of 91 matings with Scarrans, only one produced a viable offspring. The reproductive biology of Sebacean women differs from their human forebears in that after the 2nd cellular division following conception the pregnancy enters a state of stasis that can last for up to 7 years; within this period the pregnancy can only continue through medical intervention, though whether foetal development naturally restarts or aborts after the stasis period is unknown. Peacekeeper women experience a massively accelerated pregnancy that lasts only a few weeks rather than months.

Related Species

Evidence uncovered towards the end of the Farscape series suggeest that it is likely Sebeceans are the end result of a long development process rather than springing wholecloth from the genetic labs of their creators. This would explain the genetic similarity between humans and Interions, as well as the existence of what Sebeceans term "cousin species" such as the Sykarans - hardy Sebecean like labourers that do not suffer from the signature vulnerability to heat of their Peacekeeper oppressors. Whether the evolution of such species were an intermediate step to the creation of Sebeceans, or simply nature taking its course remains unknown.

Culture

Sebeceans, though primarily associated with the Peacekeepers by the galaxy at large, maintain a number of diverse cultural groups ranging from simple farming worlds to a sovereign imperial state - known as the Breakaway Colonies - powerful enough to give both the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans enough reason to pause for thought before attempting to cross them. It is reasonable to conjecture that the establishment of Sebecean civil societies may have arisen with the disappearance of the Eidelons as the onus for the existence of the Peacekeeper military, though by the time of the series it has become established practice for the Peacekeepers to forcibly recruit from worlds such as these.

Religion

Though engineered as an acolyte species, some Sebeceans developed an unrelated religious mythology focusing on the worship of an ultimately capricious goddess named Djancaz-Bru, famed for eradicating six entire worlds of worshippers simply because she could. Though active worship of Djancaz-Bru has apparantly ceased by the time period of the Farscape series, knowledge of sect's place in Sebecean history is at least maintained by the Peacekeepers. It is not clear at what point in the race's history this development took place, that it may reasonably be conjectured as having arisen following the disappearance of the Eidelons.

Those Sebeceans born within the ranks of the Peacekeepers are raised as atheists with no belief in an afterlife and the related spirituality. This philosophical approach is implied to be the default position of the larger Sebecean society by the use of the secular wedding ceremony employed by the royal family of the Breakaway Colonies.