The Kirandi are a space fearing species from the planet Kirand.

Location

Kirand is the second planet of a red dwarf star in the Sagittarius Arm of our galaxy 3,500 lightyears from Earth. The planet is 6 billion years old.

Biology

The Kirandi are descended from a herd animal that roamed the plains of the great continents of Kirand and still retain a herd instinct. Like all higher life on Kirand the Kirandi have three sexes, female, hijra and male. All Kirandi are born neuter and take on a sex upon reaching puberty after 16 years. In order to reproduce the hijra and the male must impregnate the female. After gestation (about 7 months) the female gives birth and releases pheromones that cause the male to become female and the hijra to become male, she herself becomes hijra. After each birth the cycle continues. The life expectancy for a Kirandi is approximately 100 years.

Appearance

Kirandi are green skinned humanoids about 4’ 6” in height. They have large ears and large eyes and are usually naked. The male and female appear almost identical – the male reproductive organ is located where a human navel woud be but is usually retracted inside to abdomen and can't be seen, the female birth canal is in the same location, humans often mistake this structure for a navel – the hijra has breasts, often causing humans to mistake hijras for females. The normal colour for a Kirandi is green, but when frightened they turn blue, when sexualy aroused they turn yellow. Because of the low level of illumination on Kirand the Kirandi have developed large eyes and find Earth levels of illumination painful.

Religion

The Kirandi worship a God Thiran whose name literally means the one who is three and is believed to embody all three sexes at once. Although highly scientific the Kirandi have no difficulty in believing in a God and believe that science and religion compliment each other.

Society

The Kirandi government is a form of commonwealth. All property is held in common and is distributed as needed. Because of their nature the Kirandi don't have laws as such, but they do have a number of very strict taboos. Any Kirandi breaking a taboo is deemed insane and treated as such. Because the Kirandi are a very nervous species most prefere to stay at home on Kirand and only the most foolhardy and reckless venture out into space. A Kirandi family – called a circle – consists of three adults, one of each sex, and children. Kirandi are mildly telepathic and can reach into the minds of others, both Kirandi and non-Kirandi, they can also adjust memories, although to enter the mind of a none circle member without permission is strictly taboo.

History

The Kirandi first came into contact with humans in 1645 when a Kirandi scout ship the What is the Question crashed on Earth. All previous contacts with alien species had been peaceful and the Kirandi were not really familiar with the concept of war. The violent nature of the humans appaled the Kirandi and they rapidly developed the Kirandi Defence Force. After going into stasis for a couple of hundred years the crew of the What is the Question were rescued and returned to Earth at the beginning of the 21st century in a new ship, the What is the Answer, with a mission to keep an eye on the humans. The current crew of the What is the Answer consists of the adults Huzlarg, Kiran and Junzil and the children Paul and Zeg.

Units of Time

Zenti	88 Gens	235 Days
Gen	32 Jlonds	30 Hours
Jlond	12 Niluhs	56.25 Minutes
Niluh	12 Sijals	4.69 Minutes
Sijal		23.5 Second

Units of Distance

Lang	.207 feet	2.48 inches
Leng	9.9 yards
Ling	6.5 furlongs
Lightzenti	.65 Lightyears