Here's a chunk of text from the "History" page. The rest of the
page contains detailed history from the present day to about 2
million years ago.
I wanted to point out that these folks are not like human beings
covered with fur or scales. Many of our habits and activities are
very dissimilar from theirs. Think of blending the social
activities/actions of an animal with those of a human, with about a
50/50 split. That's about the best way I can think of to explain it
(I'm tired, spent almost 3 hours on IM talking to a friend of mine,
and I have to leave for St. Louis this afternoon for a really fun
procedure I'm really looking forward to. That last part was sarcasm).
"There are many differences in the societies on this world, and
the ones we live in on ours. In many ways, our world is harsher, and
in many ways, far too lax.
In this world, essentially, everyone is armed. Most species
have claws or sharp teeth. Some have unique deterrents (Skunks or
Porcupines, for example). Those not gifted with claws or sharp teeth
may have powerful legs to kick with, wings to fly with, or hooves to
render attackers unconscious. For the most part, the various species
are tolerant of one another and care is taken to ensure no one is
threatened or offended.
Body language plays a big part in communication. The movement
of a tail, the position of the ears and eyes, even the scent given
off by an individual, all play a huge role in conveying intent.
Smiles are generally not regarded as threatening, unless the other
body language says otherwise.
In this world, it is not illegal to kill in self-defense. As
long as it can be proven that injury or death was sustained as a
result of self-defense, no charges are ever filed and the case is
dismissed.
Some species will allow certain courtesies. For example, both
birds and bats will refrain from flying if they are in the company of
a species which does not have the ability to fly. Many other species
do similar things.
The species in this world mature faster than we do. Children
start school at the age of 4, and graduate high school by the age of
16. In nearly every nation, you must be 16 to drive a motor vehicle
or get married, 18 to drink alcohol or vote (funny how those two are
together like that), and you must be at least 19 years old in order
to obtain a pilot's license.
Most species are sexually mature while in their early teens
(perhaps a throwback to the rapid sexual maturity evident in most non-
sentient animals), and many will experiment with sex at this stage in
their life (although many times, the parents may disapprove of this).
Heinous crimes, once proven, are punishable by death. Generally
speaking, an inmate will rarely have to wait more than a month on
Death Row once he/she has been proven guilty of a particularly
horrible crime.
Religions are still followed by various cultures, but they are
not the mind-numbing mental blocks present in our world. Citizens
are free to congregate and worship whichever deity they so choose, so
long as they do not try to push their views on anyone else.
As a result of there being no "main religion", many of the
holidays we celebrate have different meanings or origins in this
world. For example, there is no "Christmas" holiday. But, there is
a "Winter" holiday, which allows groups of people to get together
when the weather turns bitter, and enjoy food, drinks and company
with one another. The only three holidays which bear any similarity
to our own are Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, and New Year's Day.
As you can see from the information listed above, these people
are both more advanced and in some ways, more primitive than we are.
It is not known what would happen if our paths were to ever cross,
but one would hope history would not repeat itself..."
The last part refers to the archeological digs which unearthed
primitive human and ape remains, dating back to the same era as the
other anthropomorphic species. Events occurred which led to the
destruction (or extinction) of those primitive species, but
scientists still aren't sure what those events were.
--JMH, calling it quits for the night...
Received on Mon Feb 04 2008 - 05:11:50 CST