Kaminoan

Taller on average than humans, Kaminoans tend to be slender, with an elongated neck and oblong head. Descended from an aquatic species, they retain the flowing, graceful movements of their ancestors as well as the ability to see into the ultraviolet spectrum with their large eyes. Although Kaminoans seem to favor white as a design aesthetic, they are able to discern a vast range of patterns and colors that appear simply as white to other species.

Unlike most species, Kaminoans utilize their knowledge of genetic engineering on themselves. Whether their current physical presentation is as much a product of that engineering as it is “natural” is a matter of some debate. Kaminoans enjoy an extended but healthy old age without the usual physical debility or mental degradation. Gender is considered an aesthetic choice, the only difference being that male Kaminoans sport a headcrest, while female Kaminoans do not.

Kaminoans generally maintain an air of polite impassiveness. As a result, outsiders consider them emotionless and identical. It doesn’t help that Kaminoans choose similar clothing, although many impor￾tant individuals wear a large, pale collar around their neck. In reality, Kaminoans express a more relaxed emotional attitude with each other.

As a genetically and socially engineered society, the Kaminoans remain isolationist and culturally naive. Their caste structure assigns each Kaminoan to a specific duty based on genetic and intellectual predisposition. Outliers do exist, and though they are not shunned, they tend to become curiosities as others try to determine how the deviation occurred.

The thawing at the end of its last ice age dramatically changed Kamino. The world, now covered in a global ocean, suffers from constant storms and massive winds. Cities provide shelter from the wind, rain, and water, rising high above the ocean surface on stilted anchors. The cities harness electricity from the storms, while the warm ocean provides plenty of rich nutrients and biodiversity. Kaminoan trade in genetic samples means that several offworld creatures, such as the aiwha, now also live there.

Of particular note is that many stellar databases don’t contain Kamino’s location, beyond the Outer Rim near the Rishi Maze. When they developed the cloning program for the Republic, the Kaminoans asked to have the location of their planet redacted to protect their privacy. Since the Clone Wars ended, that information has trickled back sporadically.

While Kaminoans speak their native language, those who choose to deal with outsiders learn Basic. Conversely, very few outsiders speak Kaminoan, and those who do are reluctant to teach others. Kaminoans guard their written language carefully, relying on written Basic in their communications with other species.

Kaminoans have a difficult relationship with the Rebel Alliance. Their species not only developed and supplied the clone army for the Republic, but also joined the Galactic Senate to fight against the Separatists. Some have joined the Alliance as engineers, biogeneticists, and physicians. Their amorality in medical matters and others’ general distrust of them due to their role in the Empire’s ascendency puts these Kaminoans under scrutiny.

Kaminoans are unusual in that widespread genetic engineering of their species is as much a part of life as it is a business. Outsiders can find their casual amorality over such things disturbing, whereas Kaminoans believe the practice to be as innocuous as weaving and as sublime as art. When Kaminoans develop a new genome and sell the pattern, they view it the same way they view writing a book and selling the copies.

Currently, Kaminoan society has reached a crossroads. Do they bioengineer a generation more pliable and servile in order to work with the Empire, or do they alter their genetics toward independence and rebellion? In either case, the Galactic Civil War threatens to radically transform Kaminoan culture once more.