Bodas

The Bodas, also known as Rigelians were one of the many races native to the Rigel-system. They were a grey-furred and prehensile-tailed species inhabiting Rigel IV. They had a reputation as master traders, and controlled much of the trade within the Rigel system through the Rigellian Trade Authority.

Biology
Resembling the rat of Earth, the Rigelians were a humanoid species with fur, snouts, pointed ears and small, perceptive eyes. They also possessed long, prehensile tails.

Formerly a species of intelligent near-humanoid creatures which had been kept as house pets by the race known only as the Masters of Rigel. The Bodas were hastily genetically advanced into a humanoid form with an upright posture, while their skulls were enlarged to enable full intelligence, sentience and the capability for speech.

The Rigelians bore the signs of this crude genetic manipulation, appearing as hybrid creatures barely evolved from animals. Their legs were too short, causing them to stoop and walk with a shambling gait. Their speech was harsh, lacking the capacity for labial sounds (those formed with the lips) such as 'b', 'm', 'p' and 'v', while giving most vowels a buzzing inflection. By the Masters' dubious standards, they also suffered imperfect reasoning and faulty morals. In addition, the race was plagued by muscle and bone problems, a deliberate artifact of the genetic engineering that could not be cured.

These bone problems may be related to the Rigelian bone-stress condition.

Their population was estimated to be less than a million.

CultureEdit PsychologyEdit With a million-year-old culture, the Rigellians were known for longevity, and they had a reputation for wisdom and restraint. However, their ancient history had also left them reclusive, cynical and complacent. At the core of Rigellian beliefs was a strong sense of humility, which found the arrogant self-glorification of the Masters to be abhorrent and utterly offensive and led them to destroy all trace of them. Even after millions of years, they never became comfortable with their genetic alterations, not even intelligence and language. They saw themselves as a living testimony to pride overwhelming dignity and purpose.

The Rigellians possessed complete records of the history of the Rigel system and the Masters, the identity of the Preservers, the true origins of the Orions and so on—and kept this knowledge secret from everyone, even the Orions. (FASA RPG module: The Orions: Book of Deep Knowledge)

Society
Rigellians managed the Trade Halls of Rigel IV and the Rigellian Trade Authority, and through these they controlled the majority of trade within the Rigel-system. However, they preferred to stay out of sight, while their Orion employees managed operations.

On Rigel IV, Rigel Space Control hailed an approaching vessel and asked it the Sixty Questions, regarding the ship, its cargo, crew, and place of origin. These also include some rather strange topics, probably added because of events and disasters in the distant past, but later almost forgotten. In orbit, the ship was visited by a robe-wearing and regalia-wielding Inspection Party, who performed purification rites alongside a thorough and more practical examination of the ship, from official papers to crew quarters. Once passed and after a quaint ceremony, the ship was granted the Certificate of Performance and access to Rigel IV. Those who failed the inspections, didn't stick to the ceremony and procedure or angered the party might be forced to endure an even more complicated and probing purification rite and another inspection. The very worst offenders could be ordered to leave the system immediately, and forbidden from ever visiting Rigel IV again.

Successful applicants were directed to land at the Port of P'nam, though if this was once a real place, it no longer existed by modern times, effectively become wherever on Rigel IV that a ship was sent to. Under the stern control of the Sutler and his retinue, more rituals followed, covering the unloading of cargo, the connection of water, power and sewage lines, and the granting of liberty to the crew. These officials were by tradition all Orions. Finally, merchants were permitted to visit the Trade Halls and begin their trade.

Though Rigelians are dominant on Rigel IV, they employed Orions for these tasks. Thus it is not clear if these quasi-mystical trade procedures are Rigelian or Orion. Both seem likely given their depictions in the source. This article assumes they are Rigelian.

Orion legends told of faithful Orion servants being allowed into the depths of Rigel IV to meet with ancient and wizened Rigelian elders. They would be gifted with wisdom and knowledge: mainly financial advice or confused accounts of Rigel's history, which would form the tenets of various Orion religions.

Fashion
They decorated their tails with silver ornaments (TOS novel: The Final Reflection).

Language
The Rigelian language was adapted by the Rigelians from some older tongue (probably that of the Masters) to suit their needs and speech difficulties. It was often mistaken for an Orion language. 'Discount goods' was the translation of the Rigellian word for things that did not work or were non-functional.

A simplified form of the Rigelian language was Rigelian Trade Lingo. It was used by all merchants dealing in the Rigel-system. A simple tongue that was easy to learn and use, hard to misunderstand, and quick to communicate, it had a large number of adjectives and adverbs designed for describing cargoes, and each word had a single, unmistakable meaning). It was also called Rigelian Trade Dialect.

Rigellian Trade Lingo even absorbed the word 'okay' from Earth's English language, with the word spreading to worlds a thousand parsecs from Earth. It also used the suffix "-ese" to turn a nation's name into its language, e.g., "Klingonese".

Relations
Orions tended to revere and hold in awe the Rigelians, due to the subtle aid that they gave them during their long slavery, and by never trading in them and passing up a potential fortune. Some Orion religions thought of the Rigelians as their Makers.

"The Rigelian Question" was a matter of great interest for archaeologists and anthropologists who sought to explain their development and history. Meanwhile, popular legends claimed that they'd evolved from the pets of the race that paved over Rigel IV. The puzzle went on to cover the discrepancies between the apparent ages of the star Rigel and its worlds. For all these things, the Rigelians knew the real truth but refused to share it.