From "Notes on the Obet" by Sivak Drossman

alexp01

May 30

Obets hail from the world of Nahen IV, a warm, moist environment with a thick atmosphere and many shallow seas with few oceans. They have sometimes been compared to Earth amphibians, but this comparison is relatively inaccurate, as Obets do not have a larval form and do not undergo metamorphosis. While they do appear slimy, generally speaking this is a sheen or texture, and Obets can retain moisture as well as any other sapients. They are, however, excellent swimmers with an innate spatial sense which makes navigating the cloudy waters of their homeworld easier.

One of the key differences between the other Star Confederation sapients and the Obet is that the Obet do not have genders of any sort, a trait they share with relatively few others. Indeed, Obets are by far the most numerous genderless sapients in the Star Confederation, and often assume a protective or nurturing attitude toward any others of the same ilk. It is sometimes said that the Obet are mono-gendered or even all-female, but this is not true either; they are non-binary in the truest sense of the word, and all Obet are capable of both producing unfertilized eggs and fertilizing them as they wish, though self-fertilization is not possible.

Traditional Obet culture demands that hatchlings be left to find for themselves for the first 1-2 months of life, ensuring that only the fittest survive in the crucible of the birthing pits. Any "defective" hatchlings with obvious departures from the Obet breed standard that survived were then sacrificed in a variety of rituals. Only a minority of Obet follow these practices in the modern day, relying instead on modern techniques to ensure that a mating does not produce 1000 surviving offspring. Still, many Obet traditionalists regard emerging from a crucible as a major point of pride, and the intense privation of their earliest days goes a long way to explaining why many Obets and much of their culture favors safety, security, and comfort.

Obet family trees tend to be very convoluted, and they place a great deal of importance on family ties, with the eldest and most respected Obet of any family group or clan being acclaimed as Parriarch. This fierce loyalty has unfortunately led a number of Obet crime families to gain notable stature in the Star Confederation's underworld, as an organization comprised of traditional Obet family members would never consider turning on one another. Rifuo Neffe, Irax M'Deed...Confederation media is full of lurid tales of Obet gangsters, and it has led to an unfortunate stereotype of Obets being inveterate, habitual criminals.

Another notorious stereotype in the galactic community is that Obets' control over their reproduction, being fully and consciously able to decide if they wish to lay or fertilize eggs and able to withhold either indefinitely, results in them being hyper-sexualized. While it is true that some Obet work in that field, their reputation is greatly exaggerated in this area too. The only kernel of truth to the rumors and legends is that it is, in fact, nigh-impossible for an Obet to produce offspring with a non-Obet sapient due to their vastly different genetic makeup and life cycle. While some cutting-edge and highly controversial options are available, it is generally out of reach for all but the wealthiest multi-sapient couples.