Betazoids
Betazoid Physiology
Betazoids are naturally biological telepaths. Fully genetic Betazoids possess black irises. The race is otherwise externally similar to humans.
Betazoid gestation in utero is ten months in length.
Sleep studies have shown that Betazoids reach REM state at a different frequency as compared to human sleep cycles.
In middle age, Betazoid women go through “The Phase”, a time when they are said to experience as much as four times the amount of sexual interest as is considered baseline.
A notable illness among the Betazoid elderly is identified as Zanthi Fever; the Betazoid paracortex is affected in such a way as to lose projection control, causing others to share the emotional experiences of the affected Betazoid.
Telepathy
Natural telepathy is a defining feature of the Betazoid species. The anatomical organ most responsible for Betazoid telepathy is known to be the paracortex— a lobe of the Betazoid brain. The primary neurotransmitter is a hormone known as psilosynine. Changes in levels of psilosynine have a distinct impact on telepathic capacity. Lack of the hormone can restrict telepathy, while an over abundance can cause high sensitivity and overwhelm of the telepathic senses.
In average Betazoid development, telepathic skills present most markedly during adolescence.
Occasionally, a Betazoid has full telepathic awareness from time of birth or develops psionically as a very young child. These individuals are exceptionally gifted, but also very vulnerable as they do not have the training most Betazoids receive in advance of the setting in of full telepathic awareness. The constant input of other minds and the lack of filtering skills can cause great mental stress as well as undue harm.
On the other end of the spectrum of telepathic capacity, a minority of Betazoid children fail to develop the telepathic center of the paracortex. They may have an empathic sense, or no psionic sense at all.
Betazoid telepathic skills can range anywhere between those two extremes, however.
For individuals with mixed genetics involving other non-Betazoid races, the capacity for telepathy is almost always muted, most commonly considered to be expressed as active empathic sense limited to emotions and less so of distinct thoughts. The psionic skills of these mixed race Betazoid offspring can vary widely, depending on the contributing biology of the other parent’s race. It can even vary broadly from one sibling to the next.
Telepathic conversations can still be maintained between a full telepath and telepath or empath of more limited abilities. Telepaths can engage in mental conversation with any readable species, but the telepathic ‘channel’ relies on the telepath opening and maintaining it.
Betazoid telepaths and empaths have even shown telepathic and empathic awareness at some level for various non-corporal beings, as well as many creatures who do not possess a biological brain or nervous system in the most classic sense. If the creature or being has something like a mind of any kind, there is possibility of the Betazoid telepathy sensing it at one level or another; it doesn’t seem Betazoids are only limited to detecting mental capacities emitted strictly by nervous systems.
By contrast, other beings occasionally prove impervious to Betazoid mental detections. Races which evade the Betazoid telepathic sense are known to include (but not limited to) Ferengi, Changelings, Dopterians, Kalons, and Ullians. In the case of the Ferengi, it is specifically the anatomy of their four lobed brains that has been identified as the way in which the race is impervious to Betazoid telepathy.
When a Betazoid is unable to detect emotions or thoughts of another person, it can cause an emotional numbing toward that individual, who can feel less than real compared to those the Betazoid can psionically sense.
Betazoid Society
Culture
Honesty is one of the most upheld virtues of general Betazoid culture, as might be expected of a race of telepaths. Honest feedback is so common in Betazoid society that oftentimes cultures who value subtlety and restraint can appear to a Betazoid as being rude although the other culture may indeed be attempting to be respectful by showing restraint. Unrestrained openness to one another is practically expected.
In the 24th century some noted cultural behaviors included: ringing a chime at intervals during a formal dinner (to express thankfulness); holding and attending weddings in the nude (to demonstrate trust and honesty); incorporating live birds in tiny cages into one’s wigs or hats (to demonstrate wealth, although the practice was considered cruel and only fake or holographic birds are used now).
It was at one time a tradition to have Betazoid children bonded to one another for future marriage. This practice produced an innate feeling of love in the bonded pair as they later matured, and such pairs considered one another to be their ‘Imzadi’. Although child pair bonding is no longer a ubiquitous practice, the term remains one of endearment between lovers meaning ‘beloved’.
A Betazoid way to acknowledge the feelings of someone else is to say “RaBeem”, meaning ‘I understand’. This is an expression of respect for someone else’s feelings or perspective, whether agreed with or not.
Government
The Government of Betazed is officially a Matrilineal Parliamentary Oligarchy (although sometimes classed as a Matriarchal Bureaucracy), largely formed around Betazoid matriarchal birthrights and lines which adhere to a structure of Houses. Some of the language of these ruling houses retain references to religious orders and relics (ie ‘sacred’, ‘holy order’ etc), although the matters of faith or specific religious practices and beliefs have faded or been obscured from modern memory.
One well known hereditary title of nobelesse is that of Lwaxana Troi, "Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed."
Both men and women are equals and serve in Betazoid leadership roles, but both do so representing their historical matriarchal houses.
Citizens of Betazed can petition their government through the channels of their own Ruling House to which they are born a member, or to which they have married, been adopted to, or have transferred or immigrated to (according to the citizenship laws of the individual Ruling Houses).
Betazoid History
Pre-Warp History
In the ancient mythologies, demonic forces were repelled via development of empathic awareness. This is counted as having been “The Great Spiritual War” and it is uncertain if it actually involved animated demonic forces, or if it was simply fought between different tribal sects of Early Betazoid peoples who uncharitably characterized their enemies as being influenced by demons, or if it ever happened at all.
Betazed has a very peaceful modern history. The empathy the populace experiences has historically deterred any popular interest in violent warfare.
Ruling Houses came to the forefront after regional tribes established settlements and then cities and have remained the primary unit of Betazed governance (similar to nation-states). Leaders of the Ruling Houses carry titles that reference ancient rites, relics, or figures as a way of articulating rightful authority handed down.
In the years preceding warp travel, Betazed formed a global parliamentary government and established the planet’s Capitol as Rixx. Although undergoing reforms through the millennia, the structure of Ruling Houses and a global parliament has remained relatively stable.
Upon achieving sub-light spaceflight, Betazoids established settlements on the planet’s three moons, and research bases throughout the home system.
Post-Warp History
Betazed first became warp capable in 2139, with the test flight of the Avandar.
At the time the United Federation of Planets was founded in 2161, the Betazoids had no knowledge yet of Humans or Vulcans.
Betazed encountered the Federation and began the process to become a Federation member world in the mid 23rd century; Betazed’s UFP membership was fully realized in 2294 with induction as a member world with representation on the Federation Council.
Betazoids were represented among the Federation delegations at the Treaty of Algeron in 2311 and the Second Khitomer Accords (c. 2345).
By the turn of the 24th century, Betazed’s census counted 5.6 Billion Betazoids, plus a population of over 17 million Humans (emigrated primarily from Sol and Alpha Centauri). It can be safely assumed other member races of the UFP were represented in like or fewer numbers as humans (and that Betazoids also migrated to other Federation worlds including Earth). By the 24th Century interspecies marriage and offspring with peoples from other Federation worlds was largely accepted.
While Betazoids individually or in small collectives may have moved to other worlds and settlements, Betazed was not known for establishing any colonization under its own rule, having no colonies outside of the home system as of the 24th century.
Dominion Occupation
The relatively peaceful state of the Betazoid homeworld was severely disrupted on September 7th, 2374, when Betazed fell to Dominion invasion forces. Due to millennia of peace and philosophies that eschewed violence, Betazed did not have a strong enough planetary defense to repel the invasion. The Dominion occupied Betazed for over four months.
Tens of thousands of Betazoids went unaccounted for, the most telepathically gifted were taken by Jem’Hadar soldiers and delivered to Cardassian scientists for experimentation. The lead scientist directing the horrific research was Cardassian exobiologist Crell Moset. Through the suffering and death of many Betazoid subjects, he attempted to graft Betazoid telepathy onto Jem’Hadar test subjects, but the Jem’Hadar biology proved incapable of controlling the psionic skill, causing fatal seizures in the soldiers.
These experiments were carried out aboard Sentok Nor: a Cardassian orbital base built with Betazoid slave labor and used to breed Jem’Hadar soldiers; the station was destroyed in 2375. (the station’s name implies that the Cardassian name for the Betazed star system is Sentok).
Although it fell to the Dominion quickly, the Betazoid populace mounted their own resistance and many hid from Jem’Hadar occupation forces. There were many casualties in the resistance during the occupation.
With the insight leaked to the resistance about the failure of the Jem’Hadar to adapt to telepathic skills in Moset’s experimentation, the telepathic Betazoids learned to disorient the Jem’Hadar with projected emotions, making the soldiers more vulnerable to physical attack and restraint. The Jem’Hadar, unaccustomed to feelings of any kind, turned catatonic and a minority went berserk on their fellows.
The level of offensive psionic force necessary to repel the Jem’Hadar exhausted the telepath such that four of every ten who defended the planet in this manner died in the effort. But the success on the ground crippled the Jem’Hadar forces, causing the Dominion’s withdrawal from the system.
Although Betazed was saved, the death toll (about 15%) and suffering experienced by the surviving populace left an indelible mark on the collective Beatazoid psyche; the Dominion occupation of Betazed is likely to deeply affect future generations and lead to adaptation of cultural values or fissures in philosophical branches of thought.
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