Asari

The asari are often considered the most widespread, powerful, and respected sentient species in the known galaxy. This is due, in part, to them being the first species, after the Protheans, to achieve interstellar flight, to discover and learn how to use the Citadel, and for their position as a founding member species of the Citadel Council.

Appearance
A typical asari individual has a blue to purple complexion. The gas giant Sharblu was named after a famous asari soprano with a distinctive skin tone that resembled the planet's atmosphere. Some asari, such as their representative on the Council, seem to wear facial markings. In the place of head hair, they possess wavy folds of sculpted skin. The asari are the closest species aesthetically to humans.

There is some conflicting information regarding the gender of the asari. Though their appearance is typically similar to that of a female by human standards, asari are non-gender specific, meaning they have no concept of gender differences. Liara says her species is "mono-gendered - male and female have no real meaning for us," and, if asked, says that she is "not precisely a woman". However, if one gathers information on the asari and reads about them in the Codex it is stated that the asari are an all-female race, at least in appearance and relative to other races. The Galactic Codex: Essentials Edition 2183 says that "while asari have only one gender, they are not asexual like single-celled life - all asari are sexually female", and according to Liara they also have maternal instincts, adding to the confusion.

In Mass Effect: Revelation, David Anderson acknowledges that when dealing with the asari, despite their political and military prowess, their feminine appearance means he finds it difficult to accept them as one of the most powerful races in the galaxy. He knows this isn't his fault - he's labouring under thousands of years of cultural bias. Asari are well aware they tend to be attractive, and are comfortable expressing their sexuality, like the dancers in Chora's Den. As Liara, Tali and Ashley comment dryly, young males of all races tend to have a fascination with asari - Kaidan mentions that the sight of Matriarch Benezia in a pin-striped suit sounds like something from an extranet fetish site. Because of their cellular regeneration, asari don't appear to show their age. Although Benezia is nearly a thousand years old she doesn't look that much older than her daughter.

Biology
Asari have a robust cellular regenerative system. While they do not heal faster than other species, asari are known to reach 1000 years of age.

Although asari have one gender, they are not asexual. An asari provides two copies of her own genes to her offspring. The second set is altered in a unique process called melding. During melding, an asari consciously attunes her nervous system to her partner's, sending and receiving electrical impulses directly through the skin. Effectively, the asari and her partner briefly become one unified nervous system. The partner can be another asari, or an alien of any gender. However, since the asari began encountering other sentient species, non-asari mates have become preferred for the diversity they provide. This unique means of reproduction is the reason asari are talented biotics. Their evolved ability to consciously control nerve impulses is very similar to biotic training.

Asari pass through three climacteric life stages, marked by biochemical and physiological changes:


 * The Maiden stage begins at birth and is marked by the drive to explore and experience. Most young asari are curious and restless.


 * The Matron stage of life begins around the age of 350, though it can be triggered earlier if the individual melds frequently. This period is marked by a desire to settle in one area and raise children.


 * The Matriarch stage begins around 700 years of age, or earlier if the individual melds rarely. Matriarchs become active in their community as sages and councilors, dispensing wisdom from centuries of experience.

While each stage of life is marked by strong biological tendencies, individuals do make unexpected life choices. For example, there are Maidens who stay close to home rather than explore, Matrons who would rather work than build a family, and Matriarchs who have no interest in community affairs.

Culture
Because of their long lifespan, asari tend to have a 'long view' not common in other races. When they encounter a new species or situation, the asari are more comfortable with an extended period of passive observation and study than immediate action. They are unfazed that some of their investments or decisions may not pay off for decades or centuries. Matriarchs can seem to make incomprehensible decisions, but their insight is evident when their carefully-laid plans come to fruition. In interstellar relations, this long view manifests in the unspoken policy of centrism. The asari instinctively seek to maintain stable balances of economic, political, and military power.

Traditionally, asari spread their influence through cultural domination and intellectual superiority. They invite new species of advanced development to join the galactic community, knowing that their ideals and beliefs will inevitably influence the existing culture.

Asari believe that their offspring acquire the best qualities of the 'father' from the melded genes, but evidence is anecdotal. They frown upon intraspecies conception, believing that, as there may be new outlook and other benefits to be gained from adding genetic traits from other species, it is wasteful for asari to reproduce together. The results of such unions are referred to as 'purebloods', which is a great insult among the asari. It is unknown if this is merely a social standard or if the added genetic diversity is truly advantageous. Clearly, the asari were quite successful when they had no other species to mate with, and returning to the old way does not seem to result in 'inferior' offspring.

Government
The asari came late to the concept of world government. For centuries, their homeworld of Thessia was dotted with loose confederacies of great republican cities. The closest Earthly equivalent would be the ancient Mediterranean city-states. Since the asari culture values consensus and accommodation, there was little impetus to form larger principalities. Rather than hoard resources, the asari bartered freely. Rather than attack one another over differing philosophies, they sought to understand one another.

Only in the information age did the city-states grow close. Communication over internet evolved into an 'electronic democracy'. Asari have no politicians or elections, but a free-wheeling, all-inclusive legislature that citizens can participate in at will. Policy debates take place at all hours of the day, in official chat rooms and forums moderated by specially-programmed virtual intelligences. All aspects of policy are open to plebiscite at any time. In any given debate, the asari tend to lend the most credence to the opinions of any Matriarchs present, nearly always deferring to the experience of these millennia-old 'wise women'.

Economy
The asari possess the largest single economy in the galaxy. They have extensive trade and social contacts. Craft guilds, such as those within the cities Serrice and Armali, hold a virtual monopoly on advanced biotic technology. Given their political influence, an embargo by the asari would prove disastrous to the Alliance.

Military Doctrine
The asari military resembles a collection of tribal warrior bands with no national structure. Each community organizes its own unit as the locals see fit, and elect a leader to command them. Units from populous cities are large and well-equipped, while those from farm villages may be only a few women with small arms. There is no uniform; everyone wears what they like. The asari military is not an irregular militia, however; those who serve are full-time professionals.

The average asari huntress is in the maiden stage of her life and has devoted 20-30 years studying the martial arts. Asari choose to be warriors at a young age, and their education from that point is dedicated to sharpening their mind and body for that sole purpose. When they retire, they possess an alarming proficiency for killing.

Huntresses fight individually or in pairs, depending on the tactics preferred in their town. One-on-one, a huntress is practically unbeatable, possessing profound tactical insight, a hunter's eye, and a dancer's grace and alacrity. Biotics are common enough that some capability is a requirement to be trained as a huntress; lack of biotic talent excludes a young asari from military service.

While fluid and mobile, asari can't stand up in a firestorm the way a krogan, turian, or human could. Since their units are small and typically lack heavy armor and support weapons, they are almost incapable of fighting a conventional war, particularly one of a defensive nature. So asari units typically undertake special operations missions. Like an army of ninja, they are adept at ambush, infiltration, and assassination, demoralizing and defeating their enemies through intense, focused guerilla strikes.

As a popular turian saying puts it, 'The asari are the finest warriors in the galaxy. Fortunately, there are not many of them.'

Religion
The pantheistic mainstream asari religion is siari, which translates roughly as 'All is one.' The faithful agree on certain core truths: the universe is a consciousness, every life within it is an aspect of the greater whole, and death is a merging of one's spirtual energy back into greater universal consciousness. Siarists don't specifically believe in reincarnation; they believe in spiritual energy returning to the universal consciosness upon death will eventually be used to fill new mortal vessels.

Siari became popular after the asari left their homeworld and discovered their ability to 'meld' with nearly any form of life. This ability is seen as proof that all life is fundamently similar. Siari priestessess see their role as promoting unity between disparate shards of the universe's awareness.

Before the rise of siari pantheism, asari religions were as diverse as their political opinion. The strongest survivor of those days is the monotheisitic religion worshipping the goddess Athame. Like the asari, the goddess cycles through the triple aspects of maiden, matron, and matriarch.