Society and Culture

The culture of Earth can be summed up as having been shaped by loss. Earthlings are acutely aware of their history, and pains are taken to teach new generations about the failures – and triumphs – of their forebears. On Earth, caring for what you have and improving it for future generations is as or more important than acquiring it in the first place; stability and preservation always outweigh personal pride.

Earthlings value history and the natural environment very highly, and this manifests in overt ways – a preference for earthenware in home decor here, the use of rough gemstones as naturalistic design elements there – and in a more subtle and sensitive fashion. For example, many festivals and holidays of ancient Earth cultures are still celebrated on the planet and have been shared further afield – keeping the “old ways” alive in as close to their original forms as possible.

Earth is a notable pilgrimage site for humans and Anthroids across the galaxy, who come for as many reasons as there are pilgrims. To tread the soil from which they sprang; to visit preserved or reconstructed cultural sites; to seek enlightenment; to mourn; to understand. The practice has given rise to a new role of record-keeper – one who tracks interactions between Earth and these returning children. There is much emphasis in Earthling education on history not as settled fact, but as a continuous flow leading directly to the present day.

Earth’s contemporary exports are diplomatic processes and legal advice. Cultures with less tolerance for paperwork might perceive Earthlings as smooth-talkers and fence-sitters, overly focussed on procedure and rhetoric. It must be said that many of Earth’s finest are married to their jobs, but their long history (and their efforts to preserve it) gives them much to draw upon – in the forms of art, dance, food, music – whenever they do clock off.

The noun used for people from Earth (of any species) is “Earthlings”.