Arkathan said:
Can you even have a clandestine tryst in a psionic society?
Different views on personal and mental privacy?
Condottiere said:
1. What's marriage? Just a civil and social institution?
2. Can you have more than one spouse concurrently?
3. Inheritance laws and customs.
4. Concubines.
5. Isn't it mentally healthier to have affairs in the open, rather than clandestine trysts?
Arkathan said:
Can you even have a clandestine tryst in a psionic society?
Different views on personal and mental privacy?
All the sources, from CT Alien Module 4 to MgT Alien Races 1, portray the Zhodani as having a fundamentally healthier psychology about sex and marriage. The basic honesty of their society enables people to be much more forthright and far less shy and secretive about it. There's much less false modesty and anxiety over individual looks and habits. That, and the more 'unusual' activities are screened and reeducated. There is significantly less fetish behavior, especially of the really unhealthy sorts. I suspect a typical Zhodani housewife would read 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and think, 'Why aren't those two getting the help they so obviously need?' At a guess, there are probably subtle social cues in Zhodani society where someone openly indicates that they find someone physically attractive, but they're trained from childhood to not let it effect their work or other relationships. The recipient has the option of a 'yes', 'no', 'maybe later' response and they just continue on with their day until the matter can be more openly discussed privately.
Nobles practice primogeniture with the eldest child inheriting the estate and businesses. In some circumstances, another child in the birth order is selected if someone senior isn't interested in the position. Noble children other than heirs go into Zhodani government, business executives, or serve as officers in the military. There is strong social taboo about breeding more children than the family's contacts and resources can support, and almost all noble families have no more than 2 children. Census data indicates that the Noble caste would actually decrease slightly if it wasn't for the annual promotions of Indendants into the nobility.
Intendants are trained to be VERY career-focused, holding off on families and children until after they retire. An Intendant's main ambition is to be raised to the nobility and that's hard to do while spending half your life caring for a spouse and children in a healthy way. Intendants spend their careers grinding the hours in service to the Consulate or the Noble they work for and then retire, marry and have a family then.
Complete mental privacy is the right of the Noble caste only, and even then they are routinely monitored as a child until their mental shields develop, in case aberrant behaviors require reeducation. By the time they've completed their educations, they are thought to have 'earned' mental privacy. HOWEVER, if a Noble's behavior is in question and they are brought before a 'court' of three fellow Nobles [a minimum of 1 is a telepath], they are required to submit to mental probes.
Intendants have almost as much mental privacy. They must submit to probes upon request at any time, but this is a rare occurrence. The basic honesty of Zho society shows here too, as most Intendants are able to submit their decision-making processes to anyone that asks without embarrassment.
Proles have no rights to mental privacy, however this DOES NOT mean that they're probed all the time. Yes, the Tavrchedle` patrols neighborhoods for powerful negative emotions and randomly reads the surface thoughts of passers-by, but this is seen as a part of the societal safety valve. Tavrchedle` personnel are first and foremost mental health workers who intercede on behalf of the suffering before someone does something damaging out of desperation.