Culture

Vari culture has been shaped by a fear of fire – the planet’s high-oxygen atmosphere can turn a spark into a raging inferno, and much of their technology developed around the need to control heat. Without mastery of fire for most of their history (and therefore without access to the advanced metallurgy that defines industrial advancement for many other species), the Vari adapted by relying on organic materials instead. The dense armour of Chetom’s fauna and the flexible cords of its fungi make adequate substitutes for steel and cable, and there has been some research into using these materials as sustainable low-energy alternatives to standard FABREP production.

Many Vari choose to adorn themselves with small garments spun from silk – originally  taken from Silseradi as trophies of a hunt, and passed down over the generations. Scarfs, arm wraps and other silken accessories are worn in memory and in mourning of the lost Apharid flocks, who died trusting the Vari to protect them.

The underpinning of Vari society since the Muster is a philosophy called “redundantism”. In brief, this is the idea that any member of a community needs to be able to take over the duties of any other member if needed – a useful cultural tenet, in hard times when the loss of a skilled hunter could mean the starvation of their kin. All adult Vari raised on Chetom are trained to be able to take on as many responsibilities as possible, so that any gap in the workforce can be filled by any individual; some Vari raised in this system find it difficult to adjust to the specialisation preferred by Alliance work crews.

Species that are contacted by the Alliance typically undergo a trial period in which they are gradually introduced to new technologies and other lifeforms. For the Vari, the process was fast-tracked: it was deemed that the conditions of their homeworld were such that it would be unethical to restrain them there for longer than necessary. The Vari have returned the favour by throwing themselves into Alliance endeavours, embracing the culture and technology of others with curiosity and fervour. Things that were once unthinkable, miraculous, are now commonplace, and the Vari look ahead to a sun-bright future.