NEBARI
The Nebari are Sebaceanoid in form, though not in pigmentation. Their dermis tends to be colored in limited shades of pale gray. The female Nebari we have encountered have had white hair; the males had black hair. I do not know if this is true of all Nebari; I keep meaning to ask Chiana more about this, but she has a tendency to change the subject whenever I inquire about her people.
Chiana, our Nebari crewmate, is passionate, impulsive and proudly individualistic. ![[ NEBARI ]](images/nebari_main.gif) The typical Nebari is exactly the opposite: logical, meticulous and disturbingly conformist. The few we actually have met were coolly arrogant, highly competent, and not so much cruel as simply determined to further the interests of their ruling body, the Establishment.
The Establishment controls the entire population of Nebari Prime. It requires utter conformity from all citizens, resulting — theoretically — in a completely peaceful society. All Nebari are tested at a relatively young age to determine their lifetime work assignment, guaranteeing — again, theoretically — that the innate talents of each person are used most effectively.
To ensure conformity, the Nebari often resort to stabilization, or mind-cleansing: a brainwashing procedure that results in blind obedience and contentment. Some Nebari, however, are incapable of conforming. For example, genderless androgens occasionally are born. They usually are turned over at birth to Conformity Control and never seen again. We may hope that they are merely imprisoned for life in nonconformist colonies, but we do not know for certain.
The Nebari possess highly advanced weaponry. They incapacitated a supposedly indestructible Peacekeeper Command Carrier, the Zelbinion. Chiana insists that Nebari weapons scientists once opened a hole to another dimension, causing the destruction of four populated planets. The Nebari and the Peacekeepers have faced off infrequently in military skirmishes, but the two powers have not yet engaged in a formal conflict.
That could change. The Nebari want to extend their version of peace to the rest of the region. To that end, they have developed a virus, transmitted through carnal contact, that renders its victims highly susceptible to mind-cleansing. Unknowingly infected, many nonconformists — including Chiana and her brother, Nerri — have been allowed to leave Nebari Prime and spread the virus. The Establishment hopes that by clandestinely spreading the virus, resistance to "stabilization" will be minimal when the Establishment begins its conquests.
Chiana and Nerri learned of the virus and obtained an antidote through the Nebari Resistance. The Resistance, with its highly placed sympathizers and secret agents, is a growing threat to the Establishment, and Nerri has become one of its leaders. Chiana longs to join him, but seeking him out is dangerous: if the two siblings were reunited, it would increase the risk that the Establishment might recapture them both.
JOURNEY LOG REFERENCES
Durka Returns
A Clockwork Nebari
STARBURST TO ANY LIFEFORM
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