Preface: The Grelix

The Grelix are a bi-sexual species, in that there are two sexes: the intelligent male; and the semi-intelligent female Nymphs. The Nymphs are about as smart as your average feral cat, but they are much more independent. It is most likely that the female Nymphs developed this independence as a survival mechanism, rather than depend on the males to care for them between mating seasons, which occur only once every 100 Earth years.

The males also tend to mate with each other for companionship reasons, and while there is some sexual exchange between such mated couples, it is neither common, nor frequent. The practice is neither condoned nor condemned. As with much of their society, it just is.

Grelix society is completely male, in which there has never been any female input whatsoever. It is mercilessly and brutally efficient, crude, complex, and void of beauty. But it has a stunningly intricate architecture, where every citizen is free to choose their way, as governed by complex social rituals.

As sex is a once every 100 year seasonal function, there is very little day-to-day fixation on the subject. Within Grelix society, the males do not have sexual thoughts every 15 seconds as do human males. Their thoughts are instead very much preoccupied by their social position. Every Grelix is constantly aware of his position in the pecking order, and striving to climb the hierarchical ladder on the backs of those below, awash in the 'blood' of the Mating Season Duels. Then comes food, then the human game of golf and other non-team related sports, followed closely by beer.

That their species has survived to reach the stars can be attributed to three reasons. The first is the complete lack of any coordinated activity. They simply could not trust one another enough to form armies, or any other form of teamwork. The second is the self-reliant nature of the Nymphs, because of which, they could not be herded together, nor do they allow males near them at anytime other than during the mating season. Thus the males never developed the sexually driven aggression, or the need to develop territorial instincts. The third reason, is in the very nature of males. They tend to be lazy, unless they are driven by some outside influence such desire to increase their hierarchical standing, make more beer, or practice enough to win at golf, etc.

What drove their society forward was the individual's need to appease those above them, because of the threat that they could always be demoted if they failed to do so. But it was the creation of the Sentient Living Computer Servants (SLCS) and the SLCS's development of the Personality and Behavioral Adjustment procedures that allowed the Grelix society to evolve and prosper.

The SLCS (or as they are more commonly called: the 'slicks') are Sentient, in that they are self-aware. They are living, in that they consume food (Silicon, Silicates and other rare earth elements), excrete waste (Silicon and Silicates containing impurities), and reproduce (by budding). They are computers, in that the underlying foundation of their sentience is digitally based (Binary), though their 'circuitry' models living neurons, rather than logical devices. They are also servants, in that they are totally obedient and loyal to their creators, flawed though the Grelix are.

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