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No, I mean poisonous, not venomous. Just an odd thought.
Also, was that a dodge of the question about Humans being poisonous to Loroi?

I'll add my two cents to this too.

The loroi aren't reptiles but mammals and there are as far as I know, no poisonous of venomous mammals on Earth (except the platypus, but that's an exception rather than the rule, it's barely a mammal). Reptiles are a whole different story like insects and do not apply here. I'd say loroi aren't poisonous but rather unpalatable to humans and vice versa, like trying to eat something organic yet completely inedible, say, axle grease. You'd get violently sick to your stomach and not get any nutrients out of it but likely will not die.

A whole different story would be all the bacteria that normally live on and inside humans and loroi. Those could very well cause our and their immune systems to go crazy and cause severe allergic reactions in the best case, or in the worst case where our immune systems don't recognize them, cause a very bad, possibly lethal infection. So it'd be inadvisable for a human getting any loroi into one's bloodstream and vice versa

What can non Loroi do to resist if they're being probed?

Can they just refuse to answer or can they also actively throw up false, misleading answers?

Can a non telepath hurt a Loroi in any way?

Are there minds dangerous to touch for Loroi? I'm thinking of something like an infectuous mental impairment.

Werra wrote:What can non Loroi do to resist if they're being probed?
Can they just refuse to answer or can they also actively throw up false, misleading answers?

Some species have some degree of natural telepathic resistance (notably: the Mannadi). This makes the subject harder to read.

It is also theoretically possible for a non-telepath to train the mental discipline of purposefully resisting a telepathic attack. The problem here is that it's very difficult to practice this without the assistance of an actual telepath.

Werra wrote:Can a non telepath hurt a Loroi in any way?
Are there minds dangerous to touch for Loroi? I'm thinking of something like an infectuous mental impairment.

The Loroi have not encountered anything like this.

Random question (which might quickly become out of date)

Have a sneaking suspicion that someone has already asked this, I apologise if there has.

Is there a massage therapy economy as far as Loroi are concerned?

Like I take having skin-to-skin telepathy and a strictly businesslike approach to mating puts a damper on this.

Just wondering if that could be a major human export later on

Did the Loroi every find out or at least tried to find out, why the Mannadi have this resistance?

Logannion wrote:Is there a massage therapy economy as far as Loroi are concerned?

Like I take having skin-to-skin telepathy and a strictly businesslike approach to mating puts a damper on this.

Yes and no.

For the most part, activities that require touching (grooming, hairdressing, massage, etc.) are viewed by Loroi as a social activity conducted amongst groups of friends, rather than services to be purchased. A particularly skilled hairdresser or masseuse might be much sought-after as a friend, but warriors are not allowed to engage in business, so that's about as far as it can go in the warrior upper class.

A civilian female might be able to open a beauty salon, but she would have to contend with social mores against casual touching, and in particular she could probably not count on the patronage of warrior females.

There are Loroi males who practice therapeutic skills analogous to massage and chiropractics, and these services are provided in addition to mating... but you can't just bop down to the local clinic and sign up for them.

Suederwind wrote:Did the Loroi every find out or at least tried to find out, why the Mannadi have this resistance?

As far as the Loroi can tell, the resistance is innate in all Mannadi. Since the Loroi don't know how or why telepathy works in the first place, the specific cause of the resistance would be difficult to determine.

Arioch wrote:There are Loroi males who practice therapeutic skills analogous to massage and chiropractics, and these services are provided in addition to mating... but you can't just bop down to the local clinic and sign up for them.

*Loroi pulls off amazing combat maneuver*
"Someone's shooting for a breeding ticket!"
"No, I just have a crick in my back that I need taken care of."

Do the loroi have any taboo in regards to autopsies? Ie, have they cut open some of their own to take a look at their brains to figure out telepathy works? Is this something they would do with the human corpses recovered from the bellarmine to figure out their natural resistance as a matter of course, or would they consider that a diplomatic faux pas?

fredgiblet wrote:

Arioch wrote:There are Loroi males who practice therapeutic skills analogous to massage and chiropractics, and these services are provided in addition to mating... but you can't just bop down to the local clinic and sign up for them.

*Loroi pulls off amazing combat maneuver*
"Someone's shooting for a breeding ticket!"
"No, I just have a crick in my back that I need taken care of."

"Yeah right! Go see the Doranzer about your back, you know where the sickbay is"

boldilocks wrote:Do the loroi have any taboo in regards to autopsies? Ie, have they cut open some of their own to take a look at their brains to figure out telepathy works? Is this something they would do with the human corpses recovered from the bellarmine to figure out their natural resistance as a matter of course, or would they consider that a diplomatic faux pas?

There are about 20 human corpses officially unacounted for.
But now that you mention it, where do the Loroi store all those human corpses? Did they clear out one of the freezers on Tempest? Is meat back on the menu?

boldilocks wrote:Do the loroi have any taboo in regards to autopsies?

No.

boldilocks wrote: Ie, have they cut open some of their own to take a look at their brains to figure out telepathy works?

Of course.

boldilocks wrote:Is this something they would do with the human corpses recovered from the bellarmine to figure out their natural resistance as a matter of course, or would they consider that a diplomatic faux pas?

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Arioch wrote:

boldilocks wrote:Is this something they would do with the human corpses recovered from the bellarmine to figure out their natural resistance as a matter of course, or would they consider that a diplomatic faux pas?

UNABLE TO COMPUTE
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The plot thickens!

Jardin is going to be in the wrong place at the right time, and see something through a doorway. Something that is going to fill him with such terrible anger. I can visualize the varied reactions of each of the three other “main” characters, and see the scene unfold as they try to calm him down, despite the unsummoned guilt.

Is it typical of the Loroi to autopsy alien corpses at their first opportunity to do so with a species? Or do they generally seek to obtain biological information through trade?

CF2 wrote:Is it typical of the Loroi to autopsy alien corpses at their first opportunity to do so with a species? Or do they generally seek to obtain biological information through trade?

I think it's unlikely that there has been a previous first contact scenario for the Loroi which came supplied with fresh alien corpses. I would expect that any sensible civilization would be interested in learning everything it could about a new species, through every avenue that is available. Live specimens are much more valuable to study than corpses (Loroi can use their equivalent of MRI to get most of the information they would get from an autopsy, plus they can monitor the organism's processes in action, and... y'know... ask it questions).

Corpsman_of_Krieg wrote:

Arioch wrote:

boldilocks wrote:Is this something they would do with the human corpses recovered from the bellarmine to figure out their natural resistance as a matter of course, or would they consider that a diplomatic faux pas?

UNABLE TO COMPUTE
AVAILABLE DATA INSUFFICIENT

The plot thickens!

Jardin is going to be in the wrong place at the right time, and see something through a doorway. Something that is going to fill him with such terrible anger. I can visualize the varied reactions of each of the three other “main” characters, and see the scene unfold as they try to calm him down, despite the unsummoned guilt.

He would certainly be uneasy and upset, but I don't think he'd be filled with terrible anger. I would expect him commenting that they should have asked his permission or at least told him that they studied the bodies of his fallen crew mates, but I agree with Arioch that it would be a logical course of action when a new species is discovered. The humans will definitely do the same if they got hold of a loroi body or use the chance to take blood and tissue samples from a live loroi while providing first aid or carrying out a routine examination. Nothing wrong with that.

If the respective populations ever got close enough to support that sort of contact, I could see human chiropractors and chiropractic massage therapists making a ton of money off the Loroi. Military life is hard on the back and short of problems requiring surgery, chiropractics works wonders. I think once one or two Loroi got over their touch aversion enough to try it, those services would be highly sought after as they would offer relief without the telepathic connection.

orion1836 wrote:If the respective populations ever got close enough to support that sort of contact, I could see human chiropractors and chiropractic massage therapists making a ton of money off the Loroi. Military life is hard on the back and short of problems requiring surgery, chiropractics works wonders. I think once one or two Loroi got over their touch aversion enough to try it, those services would be highly sought after as they would offer relief without the telepathic connection.

"Movers and shakers" will become literal job descriptors.

orion1836 wrote:If the respective populations ever got close enough to support that sort of contact, I could see human chiropractors and chiropractic massage therapists making a ton of money off the Loroi. Military life is hard on the back and short of problems requiring surgery, chiropractics works wonders. I think once one or two Loroi got over their touch aversion enough to try it, those services would be highly sought after as they would offer relief without the telepathic connection.

Would you believe me if I told you that was the exact reason I asked
Didn't want to be to blunt about it though

Logannion wrote:Would you believe me if I told you that was the exact reason I asked
Didn't want to be to blunt about it though

It's a logical train of thought based on what we know. There would only be so much we could offer in terms of trade when another race is so comparatively advanced. We already know that they wouldn't be interested in most of our media, though music might hold a fleeting interest. There could be some food items that are rare and/or sought-after depending on their tastes, but gourmet food isn't necessarily the cornerstone of a large trade agreement. Besides, that's a hell of a long way to bring fresh ingredients.

On the other hand, the ability to touch without being instantly connected to their thoughts is a distinct comparative advantage. Forgetting the obvious lewd implications, the entire sector of previously discussed jobs such as masseuses, hairdressers, chiropractors, and even beauticians could find a role in their society that was previously unfilled.