Zirel

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Zirel
Designation	sentient
Skin color	light grey
Hair color	grey
Eye color	purple grey
Homeworld	Zirel

They read people's minds. They're like monsters out of stories.

—Fomt Berger, to Mikage Kiryu

Zirel, also known as Zirellans, are a human species originating from the planet Zirel. The majority of Zirels were eliminated when their homeworld was invaded, but at least two Zirel girls were brought into the Greater Garmillan Empire. As of 2199, the Archelias-constructed Celestial Ark, Shambleau was the new home of at least dozens of surviving Zirellans.

Biology

Zirellans are a humanoid species and can trace their genetic ancestry to the ancient alien race called Archelias. They are visibly distinguished by light gray skin and long pointed ears, like other human species such as the Earthlings and the Zaltzi, Zirels have red blood, unlike most other humans however, Zirels of all ages have gray hair. However, they are best known for their high birth rate of individuals with strong psychic abilities. Zirel psychics can project complete thoughts and emotions telepathically among themselves and to outsiders. They can also read the minds of those around them without their cooperation. Contact can be made with multiple individuals simultaneously and over extended periods, and can be used to create vivid, detailed, and believable hallucinations.

History

In the distant past, the Archelias civilization visited the Zirel homeworld and introduced genetic material that would shape the Zirel people, similar to their intervention in the evolution of life on many other worlds. Unlike other species, though, the Zirel discovered remnants of the Archelias culture left behind after their disappearance. One of these remnants was the "celestial ark" known as Shambleau, a massive structure built to wander the cosmos and spread human life. The Zirel figured out how to operate many of the systems aboard Shambleau, including cloaking technology and projections that could disguise its true form. They were also able to determine that the hub of a subspace gate network on the planet Balun could be used to project telepathic links across thousands of light years. Zirellan insight into abandoned Archelian technology may have led to what a Garmillan admiral called a rumor that the Zirel were direct descendants of the ancient aliens.

Celestella and Linke are rescued from jail by Supreme Leader Abelt Desler

Because of their telepathic abilities, the Zirel were mistrusted and feared. Outsiders routinely labeled them as "witches." Violence against the Zirel culminated in the destruction of their civilization by the twenty-second century. It was commonly believed that the species had been driven to extinction, except for two females living under the protection of the Supreme Leader of the Greater Garmillan Empire, Abelt Desler, until the year 2199. However, a number of Zirellans visiting Shambleau escaped the devastation of the homeworld and found sanctuary there. The pilgrims hid themselves on Shambleau for years, killing all those who came searching for the legendary ark, but following an encounter with a group of Terrans and Garmillas,the leader of the Zirellan Pilgrims, Priestess Loerelai Loer, grew more hopeful in the future for the Zirellan people, and the pilgrims began wandering through space aboard the reawakened ark.

Culture and Society

Zirellan script inside the World of Tranquility.

A religious reverence for Shambleau has developed among Zirellans. Tattooed shamans serve the faithful, and pilgrims make journeys to the celestial ark, which has come to be known as the "World of Tranquility." Poetry and other information from the Archelians is inscribed in the Zirellan language aboard Shambleau.

Even after the fall of the Zirellan homeworld, their language, Zirel, remains. Files on the language are maintained in current Garmillan computer records. The Earthling officer Mikage Kiryu worked to develop translation software for Zirel.

Notable Individuals

• Miezela Celestella
• Mirenel Linke
• Loerelai Loer

Notes

• The name Zirel, pronounced "Jireru" in Japanese, seems to come from Jirel of Joiry, a recurring character in a series of fantasy short stories written by C.L. Moore in the 1930s.
  • This origin is reflected in the English adaptation's spelling of the name, Jirel.
  • The real-world Jirel people are a minority ethnic group in Nepal with their own language.
  • The official spelling "Zirel" is confirmed on Mikage Kiryu's computer screen in Odyssey of the Celestial Ark.

Japanese language information

• ジレル Jireru (Zirel)
• ジレル人 Jireru-jin (Zirellans)