Der Pappegaivolk von Venus

(The Parrotmen of Venus)

By Doctor Fritz Hammacher and Professor Heinrich Schlemmer

Imperial German Institute for Extra-Terrestrial Study

(das Deutsche Kaiserliche Institut fur AuBerirdische Gelehrten)

Introduction

The Parrotmen of Venus are a strange folk. Infinitely more civilized than their far more numerous ancient enemies, the various tribes of lizardmen, they are still quite savage by Earth standards. Consider them, perhaps, as you would the more savage tribes of natives in Equatorial Africa or the Amazonian Jungle, or indeed, the American West.

Anatomy and Biology

Physically, the Parrotmen are much taller than humans, but quite thin for their size, weighing much less than a human of comparable height would. Their skins are brightly colored, as are the feathers that they have in place of mammalian hair. These feathers appear on the limbs and both genders display a crest upon the back of the head. The body is bilaterally symmetrical, with two arms, two legs, et cetera. On the hands they have two fingers and two opposable thumbs to either side of the palm. The feet display four toes as well, but similarly to humans, without an opposing digit. All fingers and toes are taloned. A hump high on the back of the Parrotmen is thought to have once been an attachment point for wings, but today not even a vestigial wing (similar to the African ostrich) remains.

Facially, the Pappegaivolk have no mouth proper, but rather a large, very hard beak designed for tearing and crushing. Two eyes are set in the front of the head, indicating their role as omnivorous predators. Their diet consists primarily of meat and carrion, with both wild and cultivated plant matter added to provide nutrients and filler. As befits a sentient predator, their brains are relatively large, though not as developed as the human brain, of course. No external ears exist, but two small holes, one to either side of the head, allow the Parrotmen to have what seems to be an extremely acute sense of hearing. An interesting discovery in relation to the physiognomy of the head is that Parrotmen are capable of reproducing most sounds they hear, and are in fact excellent mimics. Unlike the lizardmen, Parrotmen are capable of human speech.

Internally, Parrotmen are quite distinct from humans. Their bones are not hollow, as a Terrestrial bird’s are, but they are porous, with millions of tiny bubbles in the structure of the bone. It is quite similar to a honeycomb, though obviously made from a hard, calcinated material rather than soft wax. The cardiovascular system differs in that Parrotmen have two three-chambered hearts, either one capable of sustaining life. The species also has two stomachs, although the first is more similar to a terrestrial bird’s gizzard. Finally, the kidneys are quite large, and are incredibly efficient at neutralizing toxins which would be nearly instantly fatal to humans.

Reproduction and Maturation

Reproductively speaking, the species has two genders, male and female. Parrotmen are oviparous. The fertility period for females begins on the first day of the Venusian spring, and lasts for only five days. The female will lay one egg each day. Fertilized eggs have a golden sheen to their thick shells; unfertilized eggs are a dull white. In olden days, the female would then care for the egg directly, ensuring its warmth and proper rotation within the nest. The Parrotmen have developed an artificial incubator, in which an entire tribe’s eggs can be placed. Gestation takes 126 days, at which point the infant will crack the shell using its beak. Infants are essentially helpless for the remainder of their first (Venusian) year¹, and are restricted to the tribe’s communal nesting area during that time. They are fed a paste containing both animal and vegetable products during this time, gradually working towards solid food.

By one year of age, the young Parrotman is able to walk and feed itself. It begins to learn the speech of its tribe at about the same time and will quickly gain fluency as a result of their incredible mimicking ability. As a juvenile, Parrotmen are allowed to exit the communal nursery but are kept within the arboreal tribal village area. They are expected to assist in chores around the village, including food preparation, assisting in the cultivation of various plants, and other tasks. This juvenile period lasts for three years.

Following the juvenile period, the young Parrotman develops into an adolescent. It is during this time period that the Parrotman matures sexually. In addition, it will grow rapidly, approaching its full adult height by the end of this two year period. During the adolescent phase, elders begin the instruction of the Parrotman’s particular caste (more on caste later). By the end of this phase, the Parrotman is ready to take its place as an adult in the tribe, following the caste-appropriate maturity rituals.

Society

Parrotman society is divided into castes. Each of these castes defines the Parrotman’s role in society. Castes do not interbreed, but a juvenile’s caste is not decided at hatching, and their parents have little direct say in the caste selection for the offspring. In fact, the shamans of the tribe assign caste to the juveniles in a ritual held at the beginning of the adolescent period. While a child is usually assigned the same caste as its parents, this is more due to an inherited suitability (by way of selective breeding) for that caste rather than as a result of a political or dynastic inheritance.

The highest (and smallest) caste is der Magier [shaman] caste. The shamans supervise all the rituals of Parrotman society. One of their most important duties is to pronounce caste for each of the tribe’s young. Shamans are very rarely seen by those not a part of a particular tribe. They are the most protected of all the tribe, as if all a tribe’s shamans are lost through war, famine, or disease, the tribe falls apart.

The next most prominent caste is der Blutbefleckt [bloodstained] caste, the warriors and hunters of the tribe, those who spill blood. Much more numerous than the shamans, the warrior caste includes both males and females – as, indeed, all the castes do. The members of this caste are trained in the use of weapons, including the unique firearm of the Pappegaivolk, the Venus Rifle. Warriors and hunters are the most commonly encountered caste of Parrotmen, as they are the most likely to travel any distance from the arboreal villages. Males dominate the warrior aspect of the caste, females tend toward the hunter or butcher roles, although there are apparently unprejudiced exceptions to this general guideline.

Der Herstelleren [maker] caste comprises the craftsmen and artisans of the tribe. It is the second-smallest of all the castes. All of the metalworkers, potters, tanners, weavers, and builders of the tribe are members of this caste. These craftsmen make the tools and equipment for all the other castes, and have the secret of the Venus Rifle’s manufacture.

The lowest caste is die Hausmeisterin [caretakers]. It is the largest caste, and is roughly analogous to European peasantry. These Parrotmen raise the crops, prepare the meals, care for the young, ad clean the nests for all the castes. While they rank low in their society, that society would cease to function without their presence.

Culture

Parrotmen enjoy a variety of cultural pursuits. Functionality dominates the design of their tools and weapons, yet these same objects often have decorative engraving or are adorned with feathers and ribbons of bright colors. Tattooing is considered a high art form. Pottery is often brightly colored, as are woven fabrics and tanned leathers.

The mimicry of Parrotmen lends itself strongly to a musical tradition. One of the reasons Pappegaivolk get along well with the Venusstadt colonial government involves the gift of a phonograph player and selection of phonographs of classical music to the first tribal elders met by the original German expedition’s leader. The complexity of the melodies appealed to the Parrotmen, and at times you can hear a rendition of Mozart’s Ein Kleine Nachtmusik filter through the trees of the great forests. Efforts to record the native music of the Parrotmen has been hampered by the destructive nature of the extreme heat and humidity of the Venusstadt colony. What few recordings have been made command excellent prices in Berlin, creating a potential secondary source of much-needed export income for the colony.

Unlike the lizardmen, Pappegeivolk do not build rude huts upon the surface of the planet unless there is a specific reason for the placement at ground level. Parrotmen build their homes in the trees of the cooler highlands, connected by rope bridges suspended dozens of feet above the jungle floor to create their villages. Some buildings, such as the tanneries, animal pens, and tool sheds are located at the base of the trees. The tree houses of Venus swing gently in the boughs of the massive gulunga trees. At the center of each village lies a gunga galunga tree. The shamans of the tribe maintain and protect the tribal shrine in this sacred tree. Were it to be destroyed, the village would be abandoned, and the tribe disintegrated. Naturally, a strong taboo prevents anyone but the shaman caste and certain invited others from approaching the gunga galunga. To do so without permission would be cause for immediate execution.

Politics

The political situation of the Parrotmen is quite simple, really. They hate the lizardmen, the lizardmen hate them, and they will do their best to exterminate one another at any opportunity. The preferred fletching for a lizardman’s arrows is the feathers of a young Pappegaivolk. In return, Parrotmen enjoy eating the tadpole-like young found in the sacred and hidden spawning temples of the lizardfolk. This enmity predates the evolution of writing on Earth, and is unlikely to be changed with the coming of a new dominant sentient species to the planet.