This quick reading covers basic interactions with the Repali zithir that inhabit our colonies. It is intended that this guide be used to smooth interactions, or as a source of basic information, and it should not be taken as a full source of information for individual interactions.
Body Language and Communication
All Zithir, unless a victim of accidents or birth defects, are able to sense emotions, but are unable to sense factual thoughts, plans, or similar information as easily. In first encounters, some people find it disconcerting how easily Zithir can sense and react to moods, and sometimes react differently than expected to attempts to conceal emotions (for example, hiding disappointment or annoyance almost always leads to a different reaction than expected.) Thankfully, most Zithir, and Repali in particular, respond to this disconcertment, and adjust their interactions accordingly, so concistent interactions should become smoother over time.
On the flip side, Repali show very little body language compared to most humans of any origin, so can often prove hard to read. Most other types of zithir compensate by exagerrating movements somewhat, but Repali are said, by themselves and other Zithir groups, to be less expressive than most, so even the exaggerations can be difficult to read. It is recommended that people as for advice from the Repali themselves and others with more experience at reading the language. Repali body language among themselves is quite different than what thwey use around us; it seems body language among most Zithir exists instinctively, but is far less important than directly reading emotions, and most who interact with humans or Quental instinctively switch to the body language of the human culture they are interacting with.
Most Zithir who have lived with us a long time have learned a basic version of English or Arabic, however, the grammar and certain meanings of words are often confused. Classes and practice time for the Repali, twineg, and Rtingle language are also available. Most Zithir language, these three included, are much more sloopy than ours in exact grammar and word meanings. In mixed communication, human languages are generally preferred, as they can communicate more exact meanings and details, while Zithir emotion reading works whatever the language used, but adjustments can be made as the situation allows.
Physical Appearence/Physical Interaction
Almost all Zithir are shorter and smaller than most humans, the average Zithir is about 1/3 of a meter shorter, and 2/3 the weight, of an average person. Some sample pictures of Zithir are shown in the top of the above picture, and some Repali are shown in the picture below. Like in humans, Zithir can be told apart through faces and voices, in addition, the patterns and sizes, and sometimes the number, of brain antlers, stalks, and tentacles changes from person to person. Friction has occured at times as people have looked down at and/or acted dismissve of the shorter Zithir, do not be surprised, i this is your first time working with a zithir, if he or she stands on a deck or box to reach a similar height as you. As much as possible, you should get used to the height difference, as it can some times lead to more difficult interactions with Zithir.
Zithir bodies are far more fragile than human bodies. If a Zithir receives and injury that could be ignored or quickly treated in humans, such as a small cut or scrape, they should be given full attention to ensure more serious dam,age hasn't occurred. Injuries such as bruises or sprained ankles should be medically treated immediately, any broken bones, banged heads, or other conditions described below should be treated as a life threatening emergency. Zithir are also more sensitive to chemicals than huamns, although temperature changes are less severe. For this reason, Zithir do not take part in rough sports, and will avoid ack slaps or painful punches, or similar interactions. Avoid these is possible, and ensure that others avoid them as well, the Zithirs usually sense that no harm is intended, but will sense resenment, and be annoyed themselves, at having this problem ignored.
In most large colonies, medical workers specially trained to work with Zithir will treat them. In smaller colonies, some veterinary or human medical workers will be taught techniques for Zithir, and should be contacted instead. Information and emergency systems should be made as available as possible if emergencies occur.
Zithir biochemistry works in a number of different ways to humans, and therefore food for one species is often indigestible to another, and neither humans nor Zithir can survive on a diet of the other's food. Most Zithir food is not poisonous beyond this to humans, although eating large amounts of it can cause gas, bloating, and in extremely cases, problems with bowel movements. However, the foods witreg and Trareer contain toxins that are deadly in large amounts, and in smaller amounts cause various sicknesses, and Phentlu contains disease causing bacteria like organisms, that can cause dangerous infections all over a human body. Most Zithir food tastes quite poor, often with unexpected mistures of tastes, due to the different uses for chemicals in most Zithir organisms, although a couple of foods (Phentyo and Lalyaw) have extremely good tastes, which are not found in most food we have brought with us.
Zithir have a much harder time handling human foods, their own digestion having equivalent problems as the human system, but more severe to the more fragile Zithir, and more humans types of food are poisonous in some way. Sugary foods, such as honey or concentrated fruit, should in particular be avoided, as some types of sugars are used rarely by Zithir, high doses are toxic as a result.
Tasks and Learning
Species wide, Zithir have great difficulty seeing patterns, using skills in new combination or new ways, or understanding how and why certain things occur. However, they are naturally able to sense the future, through a process we don't yet understand, and sense the results of making certain decisions. Though we cannot explain all the different ways Zithir and humans can work together, a few common patterns are:
1. For longer term projects (farming, building, research), Zithir will describe whether an accident will occur, or whether a goal will be reached, while humans will determine how and why a result will occur, and what to change.
2. In situations requiring fast reactions, Zithir instinctively sense the results of fast decisions with little information, and make the fast decisions, while humans are more involved in preparation and learning.
3. In areas where the Zithir have accumulated lots of information in their archives, these archives are a far better source of information than what our own data can provide, allowing a great deal of learning when the information is analyzed. Medical and agricultural knoweldge for nearby Zithir has greatly advanced due to this type of analysis.
In mixed colonies, Zithir are most likely to work in areas with a lot of risk, where their sense of the future is of great assistance, while they work least in low risk, but highly structured, roles. For almost all tasks, some mixture of humans and zithir is best, and Zithir experienced in some sort of work are highly sought after..
Reproduction and Child Care
Zithir have males and females, just as humans do, but instead of being split equally, about 2 males are alive for every 5 females. Zithir tend to live in extended families, with males and females in about this ration, although richer or larger groups usually have a larger fraction of females. Almost no Zithir cultures have an equivalent of marriage, and trouble has occurred with humans groups (In our colonies, mostly religious groups) attempting to enforce a more marriage like arrangement on the Zithir, or encouraging boycotts and other attacks on the aliens for their arrangements. Conversely, several Zithir have tried to get people to agree to a more mixed arrangement after sensing problems in marriages, without knowing the full history and reasons for arranging things the way we do.
Zithir reproduce using eggs. When females are fertilized, a small egg grows for a few weeks inside the female. When the egg is laid, the Zithir mother usually places it in a pouch she has, similar to a pouch on Kangaroos on Earth. The Egg does not need to stay in the pouch all the time, it can spend hours or days outside and still be fine under most conditions, but must spend a certain amount of time at a particular temperature that a mother Zithir provides, and most also prefer to keep their eggs protected.
Zithir who are generating or carrying eggs should, if in doubt, be treated similar to pregnant human women. While generating an egg, they will eat a great deal more than usual, and often be far more tired. Particularly demanding or dangerous situations should be avoided if possible. After the egg is laid, the mother Zithir's life largely goes back to normal, however, carrying a developing egg is tiring, and it is considered polite to help Zithir egg carriers, as carrying an egg can be physically tiring.
When doing something demanding or dangerous, Zithir mothers will typically remove eggs. Repali tend to give eggs to relatives to watch, who will store the egg in their own pouches for a time, however, they will sometimes leave eggs with us to watch, or simply place them in an area. If you are asked ot watch an egg, or keep track of an egg:
1. When carrying or moving an egg, never drop it, or hit it in any way. Unlike bird eggs, Zithir shells are leathery and softer, but the developing Zithir inside is still sensitive to injury. Younger Zithir can be disabled in a a number of ways if their egg is dropped, older developing Zithir easily die if an egg is dropped. If an egg is to be stored somewhere, make sure it is well supported, and will not roll around or fall.
2. For short periods of time, eggs can tolerate most conditions in our colonies with little harm, so can be left in any suitable location, however, potentially dangerous fumes should be avoided. For larger lengths of time (more than about 4 hours is a rule of thumb), they should be stored at the right temperature, in an area with good airflow and some protection. In larger colonies, we have produced incubation rooms to store Zithir eggs, in smaller colonies, living areas equipped with air filters and the right temperature usually do the job, although the Zithir who's eggs will be watched should be checked first before storing an egg somewhere for a long time.
3. In the rare cases where a Zithir mother dies, or is injured in a way where she can't watch the egg, it should be given to a close relative or family group as soon as possible. In Repali family groups, the usual tendency is to contact the family group to report the death or injury, and the family member who wishes to watch the egg will come to take it, other Zithir groups have different tendencies.
Zithir and human children should both be raised by their own species, but early exposure among both humans and Zithir to the other is helpful for learning. Zithir children learn to communicate quickly, but are far more fragile then adults, requiring constant exercise to build up toughness as they grow. For this reason, human and Zithir children should not be left along together until several months of interaction, as our own children can be quite physical when trying to play with Zithir.
Social Activities
Finding way to spend free time together has proven difficult with both types of aliens amongst all colonies, and Repali are no exception.
Sports: Zithir as a rule have great difficulty with most human sports, either due to the physical nature of the sports, or the complex rules which can be difficult to understand and frustrating. In competitive human sports that the Zithir have been able to play, they usually have a huge advantage from their future reading and emotion reading abilities. Zithir physical sports usually are groups doing something, the Repali in particular are known for group lifting, and group throwing. Contests, and Zithir group fun, are areas where we can spend time with Zithir and both enjoy it.
Meals: As mentioned, Zithir and Humans cannot eat each other's foods, however, with food separated meals are a good time for both species to interact.
Games: Zithir in general take poorly to human card or board games, as they often have difficulty understanding the rules. A few can play simple, more cooperative games, but most are too difficult to be enjoyable for the Zithir.
Art: As many of you have heard from other colonies, several Zithir have become famous as comedians, actors, and dancers. Zithir themselves do not enjoy movies or pictures as much, although do perform well when asked to.
Events; Large gatherings are an important part of most Zithir societies, and most enjoy and are enjoyed at events such as weddings, birthdays, parties, or other large gatherings. However, care should be taken in more formal events, Zithir attending should be told rules beforehand, and some acceptance of their difficulty understanding and remembering should be given. Humans at Zithir events have more trouble; in larger groups Zithir will respond to members of their own group more and loose track of humans, while mcuh Zithir communication simply is inaccessible to us.
Religious events may seem a good time to involve Zithir, but this is not recommended. Due to biological differences, some religious rules or expectations cannot be filled, or do not make sense for either alien species. both species also have trouble understanding mentally the rules, and the divisions, amongst most human religions (Zithir, in particular, often confuse Christians, Muslims, and Jews with each other. as well as confusing divisions within the religions). Zithir in particular place a high cultural important on contacting ancestors; this is a main source of information for their archives, and often make failed attempts to contact prophets. We are not sure why the Zithir constantly fail, the most common suggestion is that even the most blessed humans do not have the right biology to communicate across time with Zithir, although scientists and religious authorities disagree on this. Until religious leaders agree on a way for Zithir to join religions, and explain these differences, it is safer to avoid too much deep interaction.
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