"God, it's the Abominable Snowman."
The Inukshuut are a large humanoid species that inhabit the planet Icinus in the Delta Quadrant. They were encountered by the crew of the USS Voyager in 2377 who at first believed them to be non sentient due to them having an animal like appearance to Humans. They are however a sentient species with a mixture of pre-industrial and early industrial level of technology.
Physiology[]
The Inukshuut are a very tall species, measuring near 4 meters in height. They have a distinct long white fur that covers most of their body. The fur coat serves to protect them from their harsh and cold environment and provides camouflage from predators in the snow and ice covered landscape they inhabit. They have a snout with pronounced canines that are indicative of an at least partial carnivorous nature. Their fingers have long claws of at least 5 centimeters in length. They are capable of moving very rapidly and easily through deep snow. This is thanks to their large feet which serves to distribute their heavy mass over the snow and prevent them from sinking into it. They have fast reflexes for a species as large and bulky as they are. (JB: "Just Between Fire & Ice")
Society and culture[]
The Inukshuut are a people with a thriving culture. They have a fairly advanced understanding of astronomy and a rich oral history that stretches back thousands of years. At least part of their oral tradition is that they remember brave and noteworthy events in songs about or dedicated to the event. These songs are composed by the tribe bard. The Inukshuut devide themselves into tribes that inhabit underground villages.
The harshness of their homeworld has faced the Inukshuut with some unique challenges. their world has a cyclical variation in temperature that plunges the planet into an ice age every few thousand years. Each ice age the Inukshuut are forced underground to seek shelter from the cold. This repeating event keeps them from evolving any further on a technological level and seems to force their level of advancement back every time. They are capable of surviving by tapping into the geothermal energy of the planet to keep warm. Captain Kathryn Janeway stated that if they had been in the Alpha Quadrant she would have brought their case to the Federation council. Despite the fact that the Inukshuut are a pre-warp civilization she believed that space technology should not be a deciding factor in providing aid. Their level of engineering ability and skill indicated they were very intelligent.
Also the Inukshuut seemed aware of the fact that alien life might exist, if only the possibility. This is shown that they were not afraid or shocked upon encountering the crew of Voyager.
The nature of their way of life has given the Inukshuut a seemingly very patient outlook on life. When they encountered the crashsite of the Delta Flyer they realized that the occupants were frightened by them. So they decided to take the long term view and occasionally checked in on the ship and its occupants. Their goal was to allow the crew to get used to their presence and realize on their own that they meant no harm before they initiated first contact with them. (JB: "Just Between Fire & Ice")
They have some level of medicine and have tibal healers as doctors. They are capable of healing poisonings from snowlions by using distilled serums of herbs, mosses and other plants. (JB: "Just Between Fire & Ice")
People[]
- Barouk'na
- List of unnamed Inukshuut
Appendices[]
Appearances[]
Background[]
- The appearence of the Inukshuut are inspired by the mythical Abominable Snowman. This similarity is also made part of the story and is used as a bases for the reaction of captain Janeway to the species.