Zhr / Irosha fact sheet

This is going to be written from the POV of the Star Trek universe, but the concepts could easily be adapted to whatever fictional environment you need, as long as the idea of aliens who look like humans isn't completely absurd.

Species

The Irosha species (left) is native to the class M planet Iroshar III. The Irosha are practically identical to humans and visually indistinguishable.

The zhr species (center) is native to the class N planet Iroshar IV. A zhr looks like a large bug, and can fly and speak (including human languages.)

Both species have similar levels of intelligence.

Names

Both planets are in the Iroshar system. The name "Iroshar" without a numeric designation is taken to refer to Iroshar III, the larger and more populous of the two planets.

Iroshan refers to a person from the system, regardless of species, while Irosha refers to the humanoid species (singular or plural) regardless of place of origin.

"Zhr" can also be spelled "zher", and the plural is usually "zhrs" or "zhers". (Other languges have other spellings.) They generally prefer that the name of their species not be capitalized.

Symbiotics

It is believed that zhrs descend in part from a species native to another dimension. Zhrs can live independently or form a symbiotic relationship with a host organism.

In a symbiotic relationship, the zhr is transferred into the host's brain, where it appears to the host as some sort of sensation or thought. The host is generally aware of the symbiont's presence. Usually, this means that the host can see and/or hear the symbiont.

The mechanism is generally believed (even the zhrs themselves don't know exactly how it works) to be similar to the storage of a matter stream in a transporter's pattern buffer.

Zhrs can naturally join with animal host species native to Iroshar IV. Joining with an Irosha requires special equipment, which is easy to find. In either case, either the host or the symbiont can choose to break the link, which causes the symbiont to rematerialize.

Joined individuals

Once joined, a zhr and an Irosha should develop a shared identity as a single person, as their personalities and memories are combined. If this does not happen, they will choose to sever the link and try again with someone else. If a joined pair is split apart after spending a long time together, both organisms will identify as the same person and behave in the same way, although their behavior might drift apart over time.

Irosha who join with a zhr will often get artificial antennae implanted to provide additional sensory input to the symbiont. They might also wear tinted goggles to lower the intensity of green and blue light, bringing it closer to what the symbiont is accustomed to.

Society

Iroshans are generally distrustful of anyone outside their inner circle. (In fact, they often trust aliens more than they trust other Iroshans.)

Iroshan society is organized around business. All businesses are employee-owned, but it's almost impossible for an Iroshan to start their own company. Instead, smaller companies are spun off from larger ones as employees start to become suspicious and distrustful of each other. As a result, most companies have no more than 70 employees.

Larger projects are achieved through trade groups and joint ventures, where multiple companies will contribute their employees towards a particular effort. The largest example of such an organization is the Iroshan Chamber of Commerce.

Almost all Iroshans live and sleep in their offices. It is illegal for an Iroshan company to fire an employee unless they have a job elsewhere. However, unemployment can still occur if a company goes out of business. Suggesting that a company does not deserve to survive is one of the worst possible insults on Iroshar.

Technology

Iroshans have their own warp engines, but they're not very reliable, so they usually rent engines from other planets instead.

However, their impulse engines are incredibly reliable and very efficient, even at high speeds. This enables regular travel between Iroshar III and IV.

Foreign Relations

Zhrs and Irosha have been aware of each other, and thus the presence of extraterrestrial life, for thousands of years. The first aliens from outside the Iroshar system to make contact with Iroshans were Ferengi. Iroshans get along well with the Ferengi, but think that they take too many unnecessary risks for short-term gain.

Iroshar recently established formal diplomatic relations with the Federation. The Chamber of Commerce is technically the unified planetary government of Iroshar III and IV, but is largely powerless due to constant infighting, and does not have the authority or political capital to apply for Federation membership.