Quarian

The quarians are a nomadic species of humanoid aliens known for their skills with technology and synthetic intelligence. Since their homeworld was conquered, the quarians live aboard the Migrant Fleet, a huge collection of starships that travel as a single fleet.

Approximately three hundred years ago the quarians created the geth, a species of rudimentary artificial intelligences, to serve as an efficient source of manual labor. However, the geth gradually became sentient, rebelled against their quarian masters and drove them into exile. Now the quarians wander the galaxy in a flotilla of salvaged ships, secondhand vessels, and recycled technology.

History
The quarians were always a technologically capable species, who created the geth to be nothing more than labourers and tools of war. The quarians kept their programming as limited as that of any VI, nothing close to an AI, remaining mindful of the Citadel Council's laws against artificial intelligence. But as the quarians gradually modified the geth to do more complex tasks, developing a sophisticated neural network, these changes altered the geth to such an extent that they became sentient. One day, a geth unit began asking its overseer questions about the nature of its existence. The quarians realised they had made a terrible mistake. Now that the geth were sentient, the quarians were effectively using them as slaves. It was inevitable the geth would turn on them.

Panicked, the quarian government ordered an immediate shutdown of all geth, hoping to strike the first blow, but they had underestimated the power of the neural network and how intelligent the geth had become. Their servants defended themselves, resulting in a war that cost billions of quarian lives and drove them from their homeworld. After being refused aid from the Citadel Council, the quarians fled in the Migrant Fleet while the geth took over their systems. Soon after, the Council stripped the quarians of their embassy, effectively cutting the quarians out of Citadel politics as a punishment for their actions. Ever since, the quarians have devoted all their skills and resources to preserving their species aboard the Migrant Fleet.

The quarians have since been struggling to survive. While most of their efforts have been to surviving and maintaining their species, another major concern is to find new ways of combating the Geth and even potentially reclaiming their home world.

Biology
Quarians are generally shorter and of slighter build than humans. They dress in a scavenged assortment of materials, hiding their faces behind visors, goggles, or some other breathing apparatus. Quarian immune systems were weak in the first place due to a biosphere in which pathogenic microbes were comparatively rare, and over the generations quarians' immune systems have atrophied further still due to the years in the sterile environment of the Migrant Fleet. As such, quarians are given various vaccinations and immunizations to help ward off disease. However, they still refuse to remove their suits as to not take the risk. Due to this practice, as well as cultural and behavioral factors, many people believe that the quarians are cybernetic, a blend of machine and biology that can survive for a time in the vacuum of space. Contrary to this belief, quarians are capable of removing their masks, but they must take antibiotics and herbal supplements in order to do so safely, though even then there are inherent risks. As a result, physical acts of affection are almost impossible for quarians, even for the purpose of reproduction. It appears that Quarians can have intercourse with other similar species besides their own. However, except for the Asari (Who would bear only Asari daughters), it is unknown if this can result in reproduction in the female half of the pair. Unlike most species, the Quarians have three thick fingers onn each hand (whereas most races seem to have five like humans), which include a thumb and an index finger, as well as two toes on each foot.

Quarians have an endoskeleton, lips, teeth, and two eyes with eyelids and tear-ducts. (Ascension p. 235) Females have mammary glands. Quarians may have evolved along similar lines as Earth's higher primates, much as Australia's koalas developed like Africa's leaf-eating prosimians: a phenomenon called convergent evolution.

Like turians, the quarians are a dextro-protein species of reverse chirality from humans and asari. The food of levo-protein races such as humans or asari is at best inedible and at worst poisonous; most likely triggering a dangerous allergic reaction. Quarians who want to taste something (other than the refined edible paste issued to all who leave on their Pilgrimage) can eat specially purified turian cuisine.

The Migrant Fleet
There are roughly 17 million quarians on the Migrant Fleet (also called the Flotilla). It is technically still under martial law but is now governed by bodies such as the Admiralty Board and the democratically-elected Conclave, though ship captains and onboard civilian councils tend to address most issues 'in-house' before it gets that far. Quarians are divided into several clans that can be spread across several ships, or restricted to one. Their clan name is after the apostrophe in their first name (e.g., Tali's clan name is Zorah). A quarian's 'surname' refers to which ship they were born on, or, after their Pilgrimage, which ship they chose to join.

Politics
Humans have no political relations with the quarians because the Migrant Fleet has not yet passed through any human-controlled area of space. Other species tend to look down on the quarians for several reasons, the foremost of which being their supposed 'unleashing' of the geth upon the galaxy. This act led to the quarians' losing their embassy on the Citadel. Quarians are often viewed as beggars and thieves. Tali says glumly that when she arrived on the Citadel, C-Sec hauled her in for a long interview before they let her wander around.

Because of the Flotilla's limited resources, quarians strip-mine the systems they pass through, which often puts them at odds with any species currently settled there. The Migrant Fleet also tends to drop off criminals on planets it passes, because the quarians cannot support a non-productive prison population - they simply lack the resources. However, life on the Migrant Fleet means quarians have unique skills. As Tali demonstrates, the quarians have developed an imperfect technique for recovering data from geth memory cores. They are masters at maintaining and converting technology, especially ship parts, and they are also expert miners because the Fleet requires huge amounts of fuel. They are able to repair what most species would melt down. This proficiency means corporations sometimes quietly hire quarians 'on the side' if the Migrant Fleet is nearby, replacing existing workers, much to their annoyance.

This unpopularity, and the fact their entire species travels and works as one, makes most quarians quite insular, caring only about the continued survival of the Migrant Fleet. Their nomadic life and exclusion from the Citadel mean that the concerns of the Citadel races don't particularly interest or impress them.

Economy
The quarians have a very different economic system from the rest of the galaxy. While credits influence what is available in Citadel space, credits are non-existent in quarian society. Quarians value the little space they have above all else, so no unused items are kept to maximize space. When a quarian has an item they do not need, they place it in a public area, in what resembles a market. The items available are put into storage lockers, and those in need may simply take what they find. Since quarian society is based around honor and loyalty to their fellow quarians, there is rarely disagreement.

However, food and medicine are handled more strictly. The food coming from both the Liveships and from scout ships is put into a central stock and distributed carefully to individuals. Outgoing food is tracked carefully, so as not to put the Migrant Fleet at risk of food shortage, or worse, mass starvation. Medicine is also distributed carefully. However, since the quarians wear their enviro-suits everywhere, even when aboard the Migrant Fleet, they are at a very low risk of sickness. Controlling the flow of medicine also creates an emergency stockpile in case of a widespread outbreak, which is necessary since the quarian immune system is so weak.

Another means of resource income for the Fleet is from whatever system that the Migrant Fleet is passing through at the time; the quarians will strip-mine any promising planets for resources with well-trained efficiency. Any other races with industrial or corporate interests in that system will often offer a "gift" of ships, food, or other supplies to encourage the Fleet to leave. Usually, the Admiralty Board accepts the gift, as the Migrant Fleet is in no position to decline resources.

Law and Defense
Although the Conclave establishes civil law much as any planet-based democracy, enforcement and trials are more unique. After the flight from the geth, there were few constables to police the millions of civilians aboard the Fleet, so the navy parceled out marine squads to maintain order and enforce the law. Today, quarian marines have evolved training and tactics akin to civilian police, but remain adept at combat in the confined spaces of a starship, and fully under the command of the military.

Once taken into custody, the accused is brought before the ship's captain for judgment. While the ship's council may make recommendations, tradition holds that the captain has absolute authority in matters of discipline.

Most are lenient, assigning additional or more odious maintenance tasks aboard the ship. Persistent recidivists are 'accidentally' left on the next habitable world. This practice of abandoning criminals on other people's planets is a point of friction between the quarians and the systems they pass through. Captains rarely have another choice; with space and resources at a premium, supporting a non-productive prison population is not an option. Offences that carry exile as a penalty include murder, repeated violent episodes, and sabotage against vessels, food stores or the Liveships themselves. Quarians practice capital punishment for one crime - as Tali tells Commander Shepard, mutiny or hijacking starships is punished with execution.

In the early years, many quarian freighters were armed and used as irregular "privateers." Civilian ships still show a strong preference for armament, making them unpopular targets for pirates. Though they have rebuilt their military, there are still mere hundreds of warships to protect the tens of thousands of ships. The quarian navy follows strict routines of patrol, and takes no chances. If the intent of an approaching ship can't be ascertained, they shoot to kill.

For this reason, young quarians on their Pilgrimage are given code phrases to repeat upon their return, as they often arrive back in vessels they have bought or scavenged which are unknown to the Flotilla. One phrase denotes a successful Pilgrimage and the quarian navy will permit them to rejoin the Fleet; the other alerts the navy that the quarian is returning under duress, and their ship will be immediately destroyed.

Culture
One of the factors of life aboard the Migrant Fleet is population control. It is illegal for quarian families to have more than two children to maintain zero population growth - unless the restriction has been lifted to keep numbers stable - so families tend to be small. Along with the fact each quarian relies on the others for survival, this means the bonds between quarians tend to be very strong, compared to a more individualistic race like the krogan. Loyalty, trust and cooperation between quarians are essential for the survival of their species.

Quarians enjoy storytelling, and hold dancers in high esteem. Some ships from the Fleet linger in orbit over planets used as drive discharge sites, to sell refreshments, supplies or trinkets made by their children to passing crews.

Young quarians go on a Pilgrimage as a rite of passage, leaving the Flotilla to look for resources, information or supplies that will be useful to the rest of the fleet. This discovery is presented to the captain of the ship they wish to join as a gift upon the quarian's return. As well as proving they are a productive member of society, this ensures that the quarians maintain genetic diversity by not intermarrying with the crew of their 'home ship'. It is also seen as an opportunity for quarians to experience life outside the Migrant Fleet, to appreciate their own culture. Tali says that though quarians spend their whole lives on the move, "we never leave home".

Aboard ship, quarians are used to dealing with cramped conditions. It is not uncommon for all family members to share a small living space. Quarians place low value on personal possessions, evaluating objects by their usefulness, and often barter items that are not being used to the rest of the crew via their ship's trading deck. Even when at home, quarians wear their environmental suits at all times, partly out of caution and partly as a psychological reaction to the lack of personal space. Because their suits make it harder to identify individuals, quarians have developed the habit of exchanging names whenever they meet.

Their technology and relations to synthetic life have had a profound effect on quarian culture. As a result, in contrast to other races, quarians are reluctant to trust virtually - or artificially - intelligent machines, but they are also far more likely to treat them as if they were living beings.

Religion
The quarians used to practice a form of ancestor worship. This involved taking a personality imprint from the individual and developing it into an interface similar to a VI. The quarians began experimenting with making these imprints more and more sophisticated, hopefully leading to the wisdom of their ancestors being preserved in an imprint that could be truly intelligent.

However, the geth destroyed the quarians' ancestor databanks when they rebelled. Some quarians saw their subsequent exile as punishment for their hubris, but most accept that the geth rebellion was a mistake, not a punishment.

Language
Now that the quarians are reduced to a small, insular population they have one common language. Such words as are known have slipped out from intra-quarian insults (Ascension p. 103).


 * nedas -- nowhere
 * tasi -- no-one
 * vas [ship-name] -- crew of
 * nar [ship-name] -- child of
 * keelah - exclamation, the quarian deity
 * keelah se'lai - saying, might (due to the apostrophe possibly indicating verb-noun conjugation) mean something like "Go with God." or "God is great."
 * bosh'tet - curse/insult

Quarian names are comprised of three parts - the quarian's given name and clan name, the title ('nar' means 'child of', referring to their birth ship, while 'vas', adopted after the quarian has completed their Pilgrimage and joined a ship, means 'crew of') and the name of their vessel.

For example, Tali goes by 'nar Rayya' because she has not completed the Pilgrimage which would allow her to join a quarian crew, and goes by the name of her birth ship, the Rayya. Feda'Gazu vas Idenna goes by the name of her ship Idenna; the 'vas' indicates she has completed the Pilgrimage and was accepted into the Idenna's crew.

In certain formal situations, quarians appear to use both their adult ship and childhood ship-for instance, "Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya."

Notable quarians

 * Feda'Gazu vas Idenna
 * Golo
 * Hilo'Jaa vas Idenna
 * Lemm'Shal nar Tesleya
 * Seeto'Hodda nar Idenna
 * Tali'Zorah
 * Captain Ysin'Mal vas Idenna
 * Kenn
 * Kal'Reegar
 * Veetor
 * Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay
 * Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh

Trivia

 * Tali is the only quarian ever seen in the original Mass Effect.
 * The quarian history of creating the geth, then being ousted from their homeworld by their creations, resembles the plot of the "re-imagined" Battlestar Galactica.
 * The fate of the quarians also is nearly identical to the situation of the Syreen of Star Control 2, who were forced to leave their homeworld by a apocalypse caused by another race in the galaxy. As a result, they rigged almost anything that could theoretically support life (Mostly buildings) with rockets and turned them into spaceships, forming their version of the migrant fleet; behaving much like the quarians version only without pilgrimage
 * Along with humans, quarians are the only species of which both genders are seen in-game. All other species (other than the asari who are mono-gendered) have only shown their male genders.
 * The reputation of the Quarians and their nomadic lifestyle is very similar to the gypsys of Europe. Even Tali's accent is similar to that of an eastern european gypsy.