Rami is a "guest", taken from a human mining space colony during a raid funded by leaders of the Orion Territories; he "volunteered" to go in another doctor's place. He is a human nurse of exo-medicine, and a way for the Orions to gain insight into human culture/politics. His host is the child of one of the more powerful politicos who married into a landed family. He is estranged from his immediate family who are exophobic, closest to his foreign great-grandmother, a composer who taught him piano.
In comparison to humans, Orions have a narrower hearing range, a higher heat tolerance, more acute eyesight, and a vomeronasal organ that enhances both their senses of smell and taste (like a cat's flehmen response). Biochemistry is similar enough that some diseases have adapted to the other species, and escaped Orions are studying the possibility of creating hybrid children with humans - which would go much faster if they had access to the Orions' knowledge of genetic manipulation. Some Orions have borrowed gender pronouns instead of calling them "incomplete" (was used as a curse/insult, until they contacted species with binary sexes [still is in some places, especially amongst the Alliance]).
Escaped Alliance-slaves gleefully reappropriate and rebel against Orion culture at their whim, while Territory-slaves want to be integrated into society.
The Orion politicos organized the raid to study humans so as to know how to manage them; Rami's host is using him to "personise" humans to other Orions. Politicos are secretly trying to arrange rejoining the Alliance, despite most of the citizens actually wanting to realign with the Chilm and start relations with the Terrans as well.
Orion etiquette is very complexly subtle, even when compared to Chilm etiquette concerning their multiple personality aspects.
As a nurse specialized in treating Orions, Rami can speak a little of several Orion languages and knows bits and pieces of the cultures. However, he cannot read any Orion script, doesn't have a complete understanding of any one culture or their interacting histories, and very little of Orion etiquette, other than the personal space bubbles are big, only family allowed.
In comparison to humans, Orions have a narrower hearing range, a higher heat tolerance, more acute eyesight, and a vomeronasal organ that enhances both their senses of smell and taste (like a cat's flehmen response). Biochemistry is similar enough that some diseases have adapted to the other species, and escaped Orions are studying the possibility of creating hybrid children with humans - which would go much faster if they had access to the Orions' knowledge of genetic manipulation. Some Orions have borrowed gender pronouns instead of calling them "incomplete" (was used as a curse/insult, until they contacted species with binary sexes [still is in some places, especially amongst the Alliance]).
Escaped Alliance-slaves gleefully reappropriate and rebel against Orion culture at their whim, while Territory-slaves want to be integrated into society.
The Orion politicos organized the raid to study humans so as to know how to manage them; Rami's host is using him to "personise" humans to other Orions. Politicos are secretly trying to arrange rejoining the Alliance, despite most of the citizens actually wanting to realign with the Chilm and start relations with the Terrans as well.
Orion etiquette is very complexly subtle, even when compared to Chilm etiquette concerning their multiple personality aspects.
As a nurse specialized in treating Orions, Rami can speak a little of several Orion languages and knows bits and pieces of the cultures. However, he cannot read any Orion script, doesn't have a complete understanding of any one culture or their interacting histories, and very little of Orion etiquette, other than the personal space bubbles are big, only family allowed.
