tough trek: really alien aliens.

As of the year A.D. 2250, there are about 53 known civilized species in the galaxy. Here are a few of them.

**Human**

Humans are protein-water mammals from the planet Earth in the Sol System. It is the capitol of the United Earth and of the United Federation of Planets. They stand about 1-2 meters tall, mass around 100-300 pounds, and are bipedal with two legs and two arms. Their skin tones vary among ethnic groups, with darker skin resulting from generations of harsher sunlight. Their G2-type sun emits so much ultraviolet light that it can actually damage their genetics. Their planet is among the largest known habitable worlds, and thus space industry only really kicked off after the development of faster than light travel. As a result, despite being newcomers to interstellar space flight, they have a high level of technology and a high rate of technological and sociological advancement. Humans developed space travel after a destructive worldwide nuclear war which, without the help of the Vulcans, would have resulted in a mass extinction event. Humans are fantastically adaptable and tenacious creatures. If their current political system weren't so peaceful, they'd certainly be one of the biggest dangers to civilization in the galaxy. The United Earth's current political system is a socialist democracy. The entirety of human civilization across the galaxy is certainly not a utopia, but on Earth at least, it's as close as it really gets.

**Vulcans**

Vulcans are native to the planet 40 Eridani Ac, a planet 16 light years away from the Earth. It is the most massive known planet for which technological civilization has developed, at a whopping 6 times that of the Earth. The Vulcans are intensely logical creatures, but rigidly stuck in their ways and difficult to change. These beaked hexapods have four tall but beefy legs, a short stumpy body, and two three-segmented arms.

**Feringi**

The Ferengi originated on Feringinar during the current geological period, the age of rain, which started 3 million years ago with the breakup of the supercontinent Dopter. The transition from mostly deserted planet to nearly constant rain resulted in a fairly large extinction event and rapid selection pressures. Most of Ferenginar's landmasses are under almost constant rain. The planet is fairly warm and has a dense atmosphere, and there are no ice caps. Ferenginar has two sapient clades, the Ferengi and the Dopterians, which are both members of a tetrapodal multi-vertebrate group, and shared a common ancestor no later than 3 million years ago. There is evidence of tool use and transient minor civilizations of different species of Dopteria going back 2 million years, and sapient Ferenginoids have only existed for around a million years. Both species share a similar body plan, a long slender body with four limbs and a six-lobed brain consisting of four cranial lobes and two sensory lobes. The Ferengi have two stocky, fatty legs at their centers, with long arms just behind their legs. The Dopterians have this situation reversed, with more slender legs, body hair, and arms in front of their legs. The Ferengi's teeth are also much longer and sharper, and the Dopterian sensory lobes wrap more around the back of their heads. Both species have adapted to the rain period in different ways. The Ferengi evolved a thicker, slimy, rubbery skin with hydrophobic properties. The Dopterians adapted by finding shelter in caves, and thus are less suited to the rainy world than most animals on Ferenginar. By some definitions, Ferengi are semi-aquatic, as they will dry out easily when not submerged or being rained on. Written language, wheels, and farming were invented long before fire.

On Ferenginar, their world provides for all, even a homeless man would be able to thrive on the streets as fungi-like plants grow all around, there's a constant source of water from the sky, and it's not like you'd need much shelter. As a result, the Ferengi don't really have a cultural concept of social services. The economy on Ferenginar for the past nearly two thousand years has been unregulated capitalism. Every hundred years or so however, the economy becomes so top heavy that it collapses. While the first few collapses had been horrible dark ages which reverted global civilization to a pre-industrial state, the system now bulds the collapses into the normal functioning of society. When an individual becomes the richest on all of Ferengi civilization, they are elevated to CEO of the government, and given the title Grand Nagus. Then their money is equally distributed among the entire population. The Grand Nagus enjoys a free and luxurious life, albeit one with a lot of work to do, and they effectively have no personal use for money. The Grand Nagus and the government is generally very hands off regarding the economy, but the Ferengi Commerce Authority does exist as a sort of law enforcement. Those who commit non-violent crimes, such as gross embezzlement or allowing a union to form, will be blacklisted by the FCA and their accounts liquidated. Violent crimes are taken care of by private security and investigators and for-profit prisons. During the majority of the lifetime of an economic cycle, even the lowest of the lower class don't really suffer if they can not ascend the ladder. Since they do not absolutely need to work to survive, they have more negotiating power with their employer, their life doesn't depend upon their employment. Thus, for most of the cycle, the status quo is maintained. During the recession, the unemployment rate is so high that the lower classes fight for what little resources they can find. The system rewards inter-class fighting during recessions so that the upper class generally stays powerful even during recessions and for hundreds of years at a time.

The Ferengi Commerce Authority originated from a unified international agency called the United Ferenginar Commerce Authority in the Earth year 31 AD, which was an alliance between multiple countries to form a single capitalist economy. Prior to this, the nations squabbled over resources, going to war over silly matters of profit when trade would be much more profitable for both. As the nations under the UFCA increased, more moderate and socialist nations--the ferengi mind could never consider true communism as an ideology--feared their way of life was being threatened, and so a cold war resulted. The first Ferengi space flight resulted from this cold war, with several conflicts spilling out into their solar system. The cold war turned hot as Ferengi civilization was reduced to rubble in a massive worldwide war. The Ferengi Commerce Authority technically won that war however, and even though technology was reduced to ruin, the modern economic system was formed. The religion of Ferengi, having roots in more conventional religious belief systems, has been warped and twisted over a thousand years to be highly focused on profit and eternal wealth in the afterlife. The "ten commandments" of Ferenginar are the Rules of Acquisition, an eternally long document describing how to profit. Ferengi history avoided slavery, concentration camps, and had no major conflicts during the modern era. Dopteria never developed a technological civilization on their own, and throughout much of Ferengi history they were considered higher animals rather than sapient persons. Only during the common era was the sapience of Dopteria recognized, and "domesticated" Dopterians make up a small portion of the Ferengi middle and lower classes, with all the same rights as Ferengi, but such a small population that none of them have ever managed to climb to the upper class.

Space travel was first reintroduced in 1650 AD, as the pet project of a Trillionaire named Mosk. The great recession followed--a particularly rough one resulting in the death of Mosk--and space travel was lost for another few centuries until 1835 AD. This time it had been developed relatively early on in the economic cycle, and the Ferengi explored their solar system. Samples of other worlds were sold as collectibles and scientific artifacts alike, and space tourism became very profitable once the zero-gravity shower was invented. The Ferengi system actually contains three planets which would be considered habitable worlds by most species, one of which is a very pleasant Earth-like world called Mossmoc. While it does have a permanently staffed research base and a healthy tourism scene, it was never fully colonized because of the lack of nearly permanent rainfall.

In Earth year 1938 AD, the Ferengi built their first starship, designed to seek out new business opportunities around a nearby star system for which there was evidence of technological civilization. After its 72 year, 6-light-year-long trip, it arrived at a star system with warp-capable natives, the Kobheerians. The Ferengi negotiators secured one of the greatest deals in the history of Ferenginar, by selling the planet Mossmoc to the aliens in exchange for warp drive technology. The Kobheerians still pay "rent" so to speak on their colony on Mossmoc.

Ferengi only started wearing clothing after they came across other alien species that were uncomfortable with nude Ferengi.

The Ferengi occasionally came across species who had invented mechanisms which could replicate any rare material or even entire objects. This technology was acquired by a Ferengi captain, who nearly caused an economic crash not seen for thousands of years--the Great Monetary Collapse--by replicating billions of Ferengi Commerce Notes. Ferengi scientists and engineers were put to the high priority task by the FCA of developing a counter-counterfit measure. Any replicators sold to Ferengi had to have copy-protection software installed to prevent notes from being replicated. This was only temporary and fairly easily disabled. Eventually scientists produced a material with such an advanced chemical structure that replicators could not perfectly replicate them, Latinum. Stored in gold bars, chips, or bricks, Gold-Pressed Latinum would quickly become the currency of the FCA and was quickly adopted by other civilizations which still used money.

For two centuries, the reputation of Ferengi across the universe was anywhere from terrifying pirate to annoying nuisances, as even though the Ferengi Commerce Authority does have rules against piracy, the Ferengi marauders are only committing crimes outside of Ferengi space and are not registered as an FCA official vessel. The FCA finally cracked down on piracy and illegal behavior in the 2360s when the United Federation of Planets secretly revealed to Grand Nagus Zek that they had developed a way of replicating Latinum, and used it as a bargaining chip.

Female Ferengi are three times heavier than males and have smaller sensory lobes. As a result, they are considered less intelligent. This isn't backed up by real science of course, the smaller sensory lobes simply result in a lower visual acuity compared to males. Females are not given the same rights in society as males, and usually stay home caring for the males by preparing meals and raising children. They do not wear clothing. For some time, this was considered a privilege afforded to females, but as the female rights movement began to pick up steam, clothing went from a lack of privilege to a right afforded to men, and it became taboo for a woman to wear clothes. Eventually, women were given the rights to wear clothing and earn their own profits by the FCA. This was an almost universally panned decision at the time.

Being exposed to alien cultures and the largely communist United Federation of Planets has resulted in a controversial movement to make the Ferengi Alliance much more socialist and progressive, with more regulations placed on corporations and an emphasis on equality. It's enough to make a free capitalist want to vomit, but it certainly does win brownie points with the UFP.