Outward Borne Read Free Page A

rapidly. From the past to the present, survival
has always depended on being part of a cooperative
group.
    Coordinated hunting is more
successful than any individual could manage and, when larger
animals are brought down, all would share before spoilage. They
lived in groups of twenty to thirty where they were able to spread
out over a substantial area in search of food, while still being
close enough to come together to capture and consume large
prey.
    ObLa is an ancient planet in which
the surviving animal species are highly evolved for success. The
leading species has overcome many survival challenges because of
its environmentally sensitive, hormonally controlled behavior and
reproduction. They do not have an identifiable gender until
reaching puberty, and there is no visible superficial difference
between the sexes even then. During the ever-interesting
reproductive act, they rub the designated orifices together,
hopefully with great pleasure, and exchange some bodily fluids,
among which they each have what amounts to a reproductive
half-cell. If the participants are male and female, these
half-cells may combine and produce a gender-neutral outcome. If
not, the act still had short-term rewards.
    There are few secondary sexual
characteristics, so little change is need switch genders, and the
number of males and females at any time is determined by the
situation and group’s apparent needs. If times are good, the female
hormones predominate, more individuals are transformed to nurturing
fertile female body forms, and a high birth rate naturally follows.
If times are difficult or threatening, females become infertile and
convert to male types. If aggressive males take things too far,
their hormones back off and they may be switched over to a
domestically inclined female mode.
    They are chemically driven to seek
what is best for their community for hormones control their
emotions, as well as their physiological functions. Personal glory,
rugged individualism, and individual success are physically
noxious, while providing for the tribe is a pleasurable occupation.
ObLa shaped these and all other successful species through the
relentless force of its constant uniform environment. The species
persisted largely unchanged in physical form while continuing to
develop a strengthening mental acuity.
    The Eureka event that enabled the
beings of the planet ObLa, the ObLaDas, to overcome and eventually
rise above their oppressive surroundings was the introduction of a
semi-automated prey-capturing device. Rather than waiting around
the edge of their designated pond for some not-too-alert wiggling
prey, the trap idea allowed the inventive ObLaDa to stake out
several ponds while sitting at ease upon the local rock. Initially,
they used a simple noose made from a coarse, barbed fiber that
firmly held the entrapped quarry. This advance led to a
simultaneous increase in food intake and leisure time, which
allowed this erstwhile slug to turn its now liberated mind to
higher thoughts. In spite of its lethargic appearance, the ObLa had
an active and fertile intellect. Over time, they developed advanced
capabilities in mathematics, the sciences, and engineering, and
eventually to some wizard technology in material handling and
fabrication. All the basic sciences, but none of the arts, it
seems.
    The ObLaDas never really adapted
to living in groups larger than about thirty. They grew physically
anxious and uncomfortable when in a crowd. As their civilization
developed to include advanced technologies and city living, they
still maintained small social units at the core of their daily
lives. Physical traits required by their ancient past persisted
even within a civilized culture as they were still prone to sit
motionless focused on some thought, unmoving for long periods,
undisturbed by the sameness of their surroundings, uninterested in
diversions, paintings, decorations, music, even so much as a
colored wall.
    All this happened in the dim