Tenctonese
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In the Alien Nation television series and earlier film, the Tenctonese, also known as Newcomers, are a humanoid species from the planet Tencton. They are distinguished by the fact that the majority of the race are slaves. According to the show, more than a quarter of a million Tenctonese reside on Earth in the United States, mostly in the Los Angeles area.
Tenctonese are taken from their parents as children at the age of ten and their tasks are allotted to them. Some of these children are chosen to be "Kleezantsun" or overseers and are specially conditioned. There are several levels of overseers, from lowly slave group leaders, to vessel commanders, with the highest Tenctonese seen (so far) being a Fleet Commander with subordinate commanders addressed as "Excellency". Whether there is a master race to the Tenctonese, or if a small segment of the Tenctonese themselves rule the slaves under them, has never been made exactly clear.
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[edit] History
On October 19, 1988, a spacecraft from the planet Tencton crash-landed in California's Mojave Desert just outside of Los Angeles. The six mile long slave ship Gruza was transporting 250,000 Tenctonese especially bred and genetically engineered for hard labor in any environment. The slave ship overseers, identified by jagged wrist tattoos on their arms, used hallucinogenic nerve gases to induce fear and keep the slaves submissive.
Initially the U.S. government quarantined the aliens for several months and with the assistance of the Immigration and Naturalization Service each slave was given a human name. Most of the first Tenctonese to be processed, received "normal" human names. However, as the aliens continued to pour in, INS workers became bored and overworked, and at times chose whimsical names, reflecting historical or literary characters and geographic settings. Some examples: Albert Einstein, Wyatt Earp, Betsy Ross, Emma Bovary, Silas Marner, Kenny Bunkport, Norman Conquest, May O'Naise, and Paul Bearer.
After being released from quarantine, the majority of the Tenctonese settled in an area of Los Angeles that became known as Little Tencton (or, abusively, Slagtown). They assimilated into American culture, becoming known as "Newcomers", taking jobs wherever their individual talents might lie and becoming just another minority in the city.
The Newcomers are hated by some humans, self-proclaimed "Purists" who fear the alien presence on the planet. These folks use the pejorative term "slags" or "spongeheads" or "rubberheads" when referring to these interstellar refugees, who in turn derogatorily call humans "terts". Like any other minority group, the Newcomers face a daily battle just to maintain their civil rights.
[edit] Physiology
The Tenctonese look generally similar to humans, but have bulbous craniums and no hair. Instead they have large spot like markings on their heads and down their spines. These Potniki spots are an erogenous zone and will identify the individual and family. These markings will fade with the loss of mental faculties due to drunkenness, age, or drugs. This effect is similar to a human's eyes losing focus and glazing over.
Since they had been bred as slaves, the Newcomers are 30% stronger and 20% smarter than the average human, as well as having a life expectancy of about 140 years and keener senses. This is partially due to the way they have been bred for adaptability but also due to their anatomical differences, which include having two hearts. With two hearts, the onset time of poisons is halved. If one heart is damaged, the other will work harder for a limited time. One heart is located in approximately the same spot as a human heart, the second is located in the center of the chest at the bottom of the rib cage.
Additional differences include the fact that Tenctonese bodies do not assimilate the nutrients of food if it has been cooked. Their main diet consist of raw animal flesh such as uncooked small mammals (weasel, beaver, muskrat), organs (spleen, pancreas), and insects. Drinking sour milk affects them in the same way that humans are intoxicated by alcohol. Rather than blush, the eyes of the Tenctonese change color with embarrassment. Instead of getting tense around the neck when they feel stress, their feet swell. Tenctonese ears look more like slits or holes in the sides of their heads but are still more sensitive than human ears. They also have no fingerprints, need large doses of ultraviolet light to increase energy levels, and their skin (and some of their flesh) dissolves if exposed to simple salt water (it is like acid to them).
Tectonese have very sensitive nerve clusters just underneath their armpits, and striking them there has the equivalent effect of kicking a human male in the groin.
Certain common compounds found on Earth are poisonous to the Newcomers and some compounds that are poisonous to humans are harmless to Tenctonese. Poisons include salt (harshly acidic); monosodium glutamate (MSG) (mild poison); chocolate (gives them the shakes, leads to a heart attack); tobacco (makes them stutter, leads to laryngitis); fluoride (strong poison); fluorocarbons (choking, leads to asphyxiation); and caffeine (causes dizziness). However, methane, alcohol, asbestos, and radon, have no effect on them. Newcomers sprinkle arsenic flakes on their food, but it is unknown whether it is a required nutrient, or just tastes good.
The Newcomers have a number of organs that humans don’t have, such as the spartiary gland, which produces a substance in Tenctonese blood cells that accelerates healing by rapidly carrying oxygen and needed nutrients to injured areas, and gives Tenctonese blood its pink color. Because of the color of their blood, the skin of the Tenctonese has a pinker hue than human Caucasians.
[edit] Reproduction
One sexual activity among Tenctonese, where one hums along the spots on his or her partner's back, is referred to as humming.
Their method of procreation is also unique. For the Newcomers to conceive, there are two kinds of Newcomer males, gannaum and binnaum. Fertilization of the female's egg requires both types of male. The binnaum prepares the linnaum (female) for fertilization. Binnaum children are rare (1 in 100) and do not take permanent mates. Instead, they are expected to grant their services as needed for the continuance of their race. A binnaum is recognizable by the oversized spots on his head. These individuals form a brotherhood and each of them service hundreds of females a year. The ceremony of fertilization is shared by close friends. While holding burning candles, those in attendance discreetly turn their backs on the female as the binnaum prepares her for her spouse. The binnaum prepares the "channel" with the catalyzing emission, and the gannaum (the father) provides the sperm. The binnaum does not contribute genetically to the offspring, however.
Another main difference between Newcomers and Humans is that the male and female Tenctonese share the burdens of reproduction equally, with the female carrying the baby for eight weeks of the pregnancy, then transferring it to the father for incubation and delivery. He carries the haffacotta (fetus) inside his lingpod flap for the remaining eight weeks of pregnancy, similar to a kangaroo's pouch, until he gives birth, much like a male seahorse.
[edit] Trivia
- Binnaum are similar to the concept of the Cogenitor as shown in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode of that name.
