Abh
Encyclopedia
The Abh are space-dwelling people in the fictional universe of Crest of the Stars
. They are the rulers of an interstellar civilization with feudal government and social structure.
The Abhs as a Race/Nation/Ethnic Group is the most commonly accepted definition amongst the citizens and subjects of the Frybarec (Abh Empire).
The Abhs as a Social Class, according to its definition in the story, any person, regardless of race, who is either of royalty, of nobility, or of the knighthood of the Frybarec is legally an Abh. Hence Rock Lin, Jinto Lin, Atosryac ssynec Atosr Lymh Raica Feubdash Srgumh, and Samsonn borgh Tiruser Tirusec are deemed Abhs though they may genetically be "grounders". Nonetheless, all their children must be genetically modified to become "natural" Abhs.
Such features include the froch—space sensory organ—which is a compound eye made up of a bundle of approximately 100 million smaller eyes found on Abh foreheads that, with the help of an almfac or tiara
connected to the ship, helps Abhs to sense the ship's directions and processes; such information is processed at a special section of the Abh brain called the rilbidoc or "voyage field" which allows them to make decisions that will make them navigate their ships with greater accuracy.
Other physical traits mark them different from other human beings, such as the requirement that all those who are born Abhs should possess blue hair, and from each other, the Abriel clan
are distinguished by, and are the only Abhs allowed to have elfen ears.
Physical growth and development of "Racial" Abhs
"Racial" Abhs generally have longer natural lives than other humans—they may live up to two hundred and fifty years. Their developmental cycle is also distinct: until the age of fifteen they physically develop just like other humans which they call the period of growth (zarhoth), but for the next 25 years after that they go through a period of maturation (féroth) where they physically age the equivalent of ten years worth of aging of a "normal" human; they stop aging (at least as seen on the surface of their bodies) after that, hence remaining youthful in appearance until the they reach natural death which is triggered by a special gene programmed to make a person's body slowly shut down when he reaches his 200th to 250th year thereby avoiding shameful senescence
.
ns (strongly implied to be Japanese
) trying to recreate a "purified" version of their culture in space. One group of these bonded explorers left their space metropolis
and chose not to return to their creators and instead form their own independent state. Unfortunately, their fear that their creators would send a punitive force to destroy them was too great and eventually these pioneering Abhs decided to launch a preemptive strike to destroy their creators' space metropolis. In the process they discovered that their former masters were not strong enough to put up sufficient resistance resulting in their destruction. This created a sense of collective guilt among the founding fathers of the Abhs which they try to ease through adopting, protecting, developing, and passing on to their descendants the culture of their metropolis of origin.
. The other independent states in the story know of their origin, but they use (and distort) this information to spread anti-Abh propaganda
. Baronh
(the Abh language) itself developed from the Japanese used by these ultra nationalists; an artificial form of Japanese devoid of foreign influence.
The Abh have no concept of marriage but that does not mean that they do not have families. They love each other but do not marry; though a couple may live together for a short period of time or even remain together "'Til death us do part". The basic Abh family is a single-parent household, though some Abh like to live with their relatives.
The Abhs gestate most often through the use of gestation
machines, though, contrary to the belief of most non-Abhs, they do often conceive "naturally". Those who conceive naturally most often remove the zygote
or embryo from their own wombs to have it transferred to gestation machine, though some more eccentric women would, after a having the embryo genetically examined and modified to ensure its biological integrity as an Abh along with the maintenance of clan traits, have these zygotes or embryos replaced into their own wombs in order to carry it to full term naturally.
Abhs sometimes ask sperm or egg donations from close relatives or even strangers, or the genetic material of people of their own gender or even clone themselves to reproduce. However, most Abhs have children out of heterosexual relationships with people whom they have fallen in love. The offspring of such a relationship is called a "son/daughter of love" ("Fryum/Fryuk Neg").
The Abh think that it is important to have and maintain unique clan or familial genetic/physical traits and traditions throughout the story. A clan may share physical features (Ūalitec) unique to themselves. For example, the Abriel, the imperial house, have elfish ears called Nuic Abriel (Ears of Abriel). Each clan has its own unique feature and it cannot be shared by other clans. In regard to clan traditions, it is important that a clan preserve and maintain the uniqueness and the practice of these traditions. It is indeed deemed a grave social offence in the story for one to publicly insult the traditions of other clans. It is for this reason that the Abhs take long "parenting" leaves to raise their children not only to personally supervise the primary education of their own children but to ensure that their traditions are passed on to their offspring. The hierarchy of Abh culture revolves around family status, or members of a nobility of magistrates. The Abh empire is socialist, where all ships and property is controlled by the empire, though some assets such as ships are loaned to private parties by the Emperor or Empress as evidenced in the prequel Crest of the Stars. Abhs celebrate and observe important life events and rites of passage
, like birthdays and death anniversaries. Since they spend most of their life in space, they always feel uneasy whenever they do go on land.
Abhs generally group social roles to three types: their role as soldiers of the empire, their role as businessmen of the empire, and, most important to them, their role as parents.
is well defined within the Frybarec (Abh Empire). There are three general groupings: there are the Abhs (as a class), the Imperial citizens, and the subjects of the different feudal domains. The Abhs are legally defined as the titled aristocracy of the empire. The Imperial citizens are non-Abhs who are under the direct jurisdiction of the Empire. On the other hand, feudal subjects are those who are controlled by the Empire through the Lord of their planet or stellar system.
The Abhs themselves are classified into three. On the pinnacle is the monarch
(speunaigh) in the person of an emperor
or an empress. The premier class is that of royalty
(fasanzœrh) . This class is exclusively occupied by one clan or gens
with the nomen gentile of Abriel. This clan is composed of eight families, each with an inherited cognomen and each headed by a king or queen (larth). The monarch of the Abh Empire is chosen from a candidate from one of these families. Military service
is compulsory amongst royalty; they are required to serve only under Flying (i.e., fighting) section of the Laburec. It is through a royal's track record and promotions within the Flying section that will eventually allow him or her to become the heir-apparent to the imperial throne.
Ranking below royalty in stature is the nobility
(simh). The nobility is subdivided into two: the great lords or princes (bhodac) and the minor nobility. There are four ranks amongst the great lords. From the greatest, this would be the Grand Dukes or Grand Duchesses (nimh), the Dukes
or Duchesses (laicer), the Marquises or Marchionesses (lœbh), and the Counts or Countesses (dreuc). They are deemed great lords because they are territorial magnates of inhabited planets. The possession of a single lordship of at least a single inhabited planet in a stellar system populated by less than one hundred million inhabitants automatically makes that domain a county
. Higher status can be attained through an increase of population or other means. The minor nobility have two ranks, that of a viscount
or viscountess (bœrh) and that of a Baron
or Baroness
(lymh). An uninhabited stellar system containing a planet that can be terraformed is deemed a viscountcy
. A viscount is automatically promoted to become a count once he successfully terraforms and populates that planet. A barony on the other hand has no such planet within his domain. Like royalty, military service is also compulsory, it being a prerequisite to inheriting his domain and title; however, nobles are given the option serve in any section they wish.
The third and lowest general rank amongst the Abhs are the knights or dame
s (reucec). Unlike nobles, they are not territorial magnates. Also, military service is not compulsory to them, though most serve anyway due to the salary and pension and also due to the prestige of distinguishing oneself there.
Crest of the Stars
is a three-volume space opera science fiction novel written by Hiroyuki Morioka with cover illustrations by Toshihiro Ono. Beginning in 1999, the novels were adapted into anime series, the first of which ran for 13 episodes on WOWOW...
. They are the rulers of an interstellar civilization with feudal government and social structure.
Definition
According to the Seikai novels of Morioka Hiroyuki, there are six ways that define a person as an Abh:The Abhs as a Race/Nation/Ethnic Group is the most commonly accepted definition amongst the citizens and subjects of the Frybarec (Abh Empire).
The Abhs as a Social Class, according to its definition in the story, any person, regardless of race, who is either of royalty, of nobility, or of the knighthood of the Frybarec is legally an Abh. Hence Rock Lin, Jinto Lin, Atosryac ssynec Atosr Lymh Raica Feubdash Srgumh, and Samsonn borgh Tiruser Tirusec are deemed Abhs though they may genetically be "grounders". Nonetheless, all their children must be genetically modified to become "natural" Abhs.
Attributes
Though they are not considered as such by those not under Frybarec and a large percentage of its own subjects and citizens, the Abhs are human beings who practice genetic engineering so as to maintain physical features that allows for better adaptation for living in space.Such features include the froch—space sensory organ—which is a compound eye made up of a bundle of approximately 100 million smaller eyes found on Abh foreheads that, with the help of an almfac or tiara
Tiara
A tiara is a form of crown. There are two possible types of crown that this word can refer to.Traditionally, the word "tiara" refers to a high crown, often with the shape of a cylinder narrowed at its top, made of fabric or leather, and richly ornamented. It was used by the kings and emperors of...
connected to the ship, helps Abhs to sense the ship's directions and processes; such information is processed at a special section of the Abh brain called the rilbidoc or "voyage field" which allows them to make decisions that will make them navigate their ships with greater accuracy.
Other physical traits mark them different from other human beings, such as the requirement that all those who are born Abhs should possess blue hair, and from each other, the Abriel clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
are distinguished by, and are the only Abhs allowed to have elfen ears.
Physical growth and development of "Racial" Abhs
"Racial" Abhs generally have longer natural lives than other humans—they may live up to two hundred and fifty years. Their developmental cycle is also distinct: until the age of fifteen they physically develop just like other humans which they call the period of growth (zarhoth), but for the next 25 years after that they go through a period of maturation (féroth) where they physically age the equivalent of ten years worth of aging of a "normal" human; they stop aging (at least as seen on the surface of their bodies) after that, hence remaining youthful in appearance until the they reach natural death which is triggered by a special gene programmed to make a person's body slowly shut down when he reaches his 200th to 250th year thereby avoiding shameful senescence
Senescence
Senescence or biological aging is the change in the biology of an organism as it ages after its maturity. Such changes range from those affecting its cells and their function to those affecting the whole organism...
.
History
In the story it is revealed that the Abhs were originally engineered to be slaves (bioroids), meant to be used for deep space exploration. Their creators were a group of ultranationalistic East AsiaEast Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
ns (strongly implied to be Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
) trying to recreate a "purified" version of their culture in space. One group of these bonded explorers left their space metropolis
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
and chose not to return to their creators and instead form their own independent state. Unfortunately, their fear that their creators would send a punitive force to destroy them was too great and eventually these pioneering Abhs decided to launch a preemptive strike to destroy their creators' space metropolis. In the process they discovered that their former masters were not strong enough to put up sufficient resistance resulting in their destruction. This created a sense of collective guilt among the founding fathers of the Abhs which they try to ease through adopting, protecting, developing, and passing on to their descendants the culture of their metropolis of origin.
Culture
The space metropolis where the Abhs originated from was created to keep and reconstruct the culture of a certain land on Earth. In Crest of the Stars, this land is referred to as "islands in East Asia" and strongly implied that it is far-future Japan. Due to their feelings of collective guilt, the Abh founding fathers vowed to base their new culture on this "unadulterated" Japanese culture; but just like any living culture, it eventually changed, developed, and evolved as it is being transmitted from generation to generation. Nonetheless, even if they do not openly discuss it or write it down during the story, the Abhs do not deny the history of their "Volk" and "Kultur", transmitting it instead as oral historyOral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
. The other independent states in the story know of their origin, but they use (and distort) this information to spread anti-Abh propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
. Baronh
Baronh
Baronh is a fictional language created by Japanese science fiction author Morioka Hiroyuki and used in Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars...
(the Abh language) itself developed from the Japanese used by these ultra nationalists; an artificial form of Japanese devoid of foreign influence.
The Abh have no concept of marriage but that does not mean that they do not have families. They love each other but do not marry; though a couple may live together for a short period of time or even remain together "'Til death us do part". The basic Abh family is a single-parent household, though some Abh like to live with their relatives.
The Abhs gestate most often through the use of gestation
Gestation
Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
machines, though, contrary to the belief of most non-Abhs, they do often conceive "naturally". Those who conceive naturally most often remove the zygote
Zygote
A zygote , or zygocyte, is the initial cell formed when two gamete cells are joined by means of sexual reproduction. In multicellular organisms, it is the earliest developmental stage of the embryo...
or embryo from their own wombs to have it transferred to gestation machine, though some more eccentric women would, after a having the embryo genetically examined and modified to ensure its biological integrity as an Abh along with the maintenance of clan traits, have these zygotes or embryos replaced into their own wombs in order to carry it to full term naturally.
Abhs sometimes ask sperm or egg donations from close relatives or even strangers, or the genetic material of people of their own gender or even clone themselves to reproduce. However, most Abhs have children out of heterosexual relationships with people whom they have fallen in love. The offspring of such a relationship is called a "son/daughter of love" ("Fryum/Fryuk Neg").
The Abh think that it is important to have and maintain unique clan or familial genetic/physical traits and traditions throughout the story. A clan may share physical features (Ūalitec) unique to themselves. For example, the Abriel, the imperial house, have elfish ears called Nuic Abriel (Ears of Abriel). Each clan has its own unique feature and it cannot be shared by other clans. In regard to clan traditions, it is important that a clan preserve and maintain the uniqueness and the practice of these traditions. It is indeed deemed a grave social offence in the story for one to publicly insult the traditions of other clans. It is for this reason that the Abhs take long "parenting" leaves to raise their children not only to personally supervise the primary education of their own children but to ensure that their traditions are passed on to their offspring. The hierarchy of Abh culture revolves around family status, or members of a nobility of magistrates. The Abh empire is socialist, where all ships and property is controlled by the empire, though some assets such as ships are loaned to private parties by the Emperor or Empress as evidenced in the prequel Crest of the Stars. Abhs celebrate and observe important life events and rites of passage
Rites of Passage
Rites of Passage is an African American History program sponsored by the Stamford, Connecticut US public schools. The program consists of an extra day of schooling on Saturday for 12 weeks, service projects, and a culminating educational trip to Gambia and Senegal. Gambia and Senegal are the...
, like birthdays and death anniversaries. Since they spend most of their life in space, they always feel uneasy whenever they do go on land.
Abhs generally group social roles to three types: their role as soldiers of the empire, their role as businessmen of the empire, and, most important to them, their role as parents.
Social stratification
Social stratificationSocial stratification
In sociology the social stratification is a concept of class, involving the "classification of persons into groups based on shared socio-economic conditions ... a relational set of inequalities with economic, social, political and ideological dimensions."...
is well defined within the Frybarec (Abh Empire). There are three general groupings: there are the Abhs (as a class), the Imperial citizens, and the subjects of the different feudal domains. The Abhs are legally defined as the titled aristocracy of the empire. The Imperial citizens are non-Abhs who are under the direct jurisdiction of the Empire. On the other hand, feudal subjects are those who are controlled by the Empire through the Lord of their planet or stellar system.
The Abhs themselves are classified into three. On the pinnacle is the monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
(speunaigh) in the person of an emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
or an empress. The premier class is that of royalty
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
(fasanzœrh) . This class is exclusively occupied by one clan or gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
with the nomen gentile of Abriel. This clan is composed of eight families, each with an inherited cognomen and each headed by a king or queen (larth). The monarch of the Abh Empire is chosen from a candidate from one of these families. Military service
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
is compulsory amongst royalty; they are required to serve only under Flying (i.e., fighting) section of the Laburec. It is through a royal's track record and promotions within the Flying section that will eventually allow him or her to become the heir-apparent to the imperial throne.
Ranking below royalty in stature is the nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
(simh). The nobility is subdivided into two: the great lords or princes (bhodac) and the minor nobility. There are four ranks amongst the great lords. From the greatest, this would be the Grand Dukes or Grand Duchesses (nimh), the Dukes
Dukes
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or Duchesses (laicer), the Marquises or Marchionesses (lœbh), and the Counts or Countesses (dreuc). They are deemed great lords because they are territorial magnates of inhabited planets. The possession of a single lordship of at least a single inhabited planet in a stellar system populated by less than one hundred million inhabitants automatically makes that domain a county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
. Higher status can be attained through an increase of population or other means. The minor nobility have two ranks, that of a viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
or viscountess (bœrh) and that of a Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
or Baroness
Baroness
Baroness is the female equivalent of the nobility title Baron.Baroness or The Baroness may also refer to:* Baroness , a metal band from Savannah, Georgia* Baroness , a fictional villain in the G.I...
(lymh). An uninhabited stellar system containing a planet that can be terraformed is deemed a viscountcy
Viscountcy
Viscountcy may refer to:* The office or title of a Viscount* Viscountcy of Béarn...
. A viscount is automatically promoted to become a count once he successfully terraforms and populates that planet. A barony on the other hand has no such planet within his domain. Like royalty, military service is also compulsory, it being a prerequisite to inheriting his domain and title; however, nobles are given the option serve in any section they wish.
The third and lowest general rank amongst the Abhs are the knights or dame
Dame (title)
The title of Dame is the female equivalent of the honour of knighthood in the British honours system . It is also the equivalent form address to 'Sir' for a knight...
s (reucec). Unlike nobles, they are not territorial magnates. Also, military service is not compulsory to them, though most serve anyway due to the salary and pension and also due to the prestige of distinguishing oneself there.