Galactic Librarian Association



The Galactic Librarian Association, or GLA, is a species that sends scouts out to planets with the purpose of gathering information for a galaxy wide informational database. They are considered peaceful and nonthreatening.

Society
Librarians are known for being proud of short heights, although unlike Irkens, they do not consider height a point of power. Instead, a Head Librarian is chosen through a series of popular votes and a measure of maturity, leading to many Head Librarians being community elders.

Librarians are given the choice to die when they return to their planet at the end of their assignment. Many choose to do so, however some choose to take another assignment or continue to live on their home planet. Those who do not choose to die are somewhat considered to be outliers, although no outright hostility will be shown to them.

Assignments
Librarians are sent out to their assigned planets while inside of a cloning tube. They hatch when they are prepared to begin collecting information.

A Librarian's duty is to blend in with the planet that they are surveying. They may not be the only scout on a planet, and it is important that they do not reveal the others. Most Librarians pick a cover identity, although it is usually not well informed. An identity can be altered later if they believe that they have been discovered, or if they discover flaws in their disguise.

When a Librarian is on a assignment, they are incapable of dying from natural causes. The only way they can be killed is by a cartoonish level of violence, consumption by another creature, or poisoning, although that is very rare.

At the end of a assignment, the Librarian will feel a pull to return to their planet, depite the fact that they have never truly been there. Not to worry, however, as their ships, which serve as their shelters while on their assigned planets, will automatically take them home. This process is usually not avoidable, although some Librarians have been able to resist the pull and remain on their assigned planets. This can have consequenses and usually leads to Librarians losing whatever makes them invulnerable.

Once they return home, Librarians are given the choice to have a Ceremony of Completion. This includes dancing, singing, community fellowship, and, at the end, the Completion. This is one of the only ways for a Librarian to die, although they do not think of it as a sad time.

During The Completion, a Librarian stands among the friends they have made on their home planet and makes the announcement that they have completed their assignment. After saying their goodbyes, they burst into flames and dissolve into ashes. Typically, these ashes are collected and stored in bottles that occompany the files containing information from their assignment.

If a Librarian chooses not to have a Ceremony, they may choose to take another assignment or live on the Librarian home planet to take care of the database and reproduce the species.

Physical properties
Because of their ability to hatch whenever they feel ready to begin collecting information, many Librarians hatch when they are slighty premature, and do not grow once they are born. This is why Librarians are usually under 5 feet. Librarians, like all other creatures, have a wide variety of body shapes and sizes. No Librarian will be made to feel less about themselves because of their body type.

A Librarians tail begins almost completely unnoticable, except for the tuft of fur, and grows just under 5 inches every year until their 10th, at which point it slows to 1 inch per year. Some Librarians will style their tails in intricate loops, while others may choose to have their studded, shaved in special patterns, or even bobbed, although this is unpopular due to its connotations with a criminal past. A long tail is respected, and if a Librarian commits a crime against the Association, they may be punished with the removal of their tail.

Librarians are covered from head to toe in a downy layer of fuzz, which can be any color and may even be dyed to blend in better. They shed this fuzz partially once monthly, in a process that has been described only as "itchy".

The blood of a Librarian is glow-stick green and can sometimes glow in the dark.

Librarians can reproduce asexually through eggs, which they can begin laying in clutches up to 6 after they turn three, however most Librarians choose not to reproduce. Almost all Librarians are created through the process of cloning from a gene pool on the librarian home planet, although if a Librarian is born naturally, it will be able to join the rest in their assignments as soon as it is capable. A naturally born baby Librarian is called a pip. (Ex: The Librarian had a full clutch of pips. This pip has curly blue fuzz.)

Librarians secrete an oily substance from their skin that has the effects of the Amanita Muscaria mushroom if it is ingested. This is a defense mechanism to deter other creatures from comsuming a Librarian before their assignment is completed. This also, sadly, means that you cannot kiss a Librarian. :( However, this gives them a unique advantage against poisoning effects from toxic plants. Most Librarians are immune to most venoms and toxins, although individual sensitivities do exist., such as Agent Amanita's allergy to peanuts.

Librarian eyes can be any color or shape, but are usually small, round, and single color. Most Librarians are red-green colorblind, however some can be fully colorblind, particularly older Librarians. If a Librarian can see the full spectrum of color, they are considered "good luck" to be around!

Librarians have paw-like feet, similar to a raccoon's, although the digits are usually longer. Their claws are usually blunt, however, and are little use for combat. A Librarian's hands are 4 fingered and are also paw-like.

A librarian has large ears, similar to a desert fox. They have excellent hearing.

Librarians are cold blooded.

They do not have lungs and absorb their assigned planet's atmosphere through their skin. Because of the wide variety of atmospheric compositions, Librarians have developed to be able to breathe whatever atmosphere they are born on. For those born on aquatic planets, the ability to absorb oxygen through the water (similar to an echinoderm) is not unheard of.

List of known Librarians

 * Agent Amanita from Earth
 * Cumulus from Earth
 * Lima from Earth
 * Auratile from Irk
 * Olivine from Irk
 * [Nameless Librarian] from Vort