The Tortoizes are long-lived reptilian beings. They make up the main population of the Tortoiz Empire, a state in Sector N-8.
Over its life a Tortoiz passes through several stages. The first is the larva: a barely aware stage that grows in ponds; most get through it in 3–5 years. The second is the fry, from 5 to 50 years old. They make up most of the population.
To move on to the long-liver stage (50–150 years), a Tortoiz must undergo pupation. Today this happens in large incubators staffed by many slaves. Pupation takes serious money, and only about 5% of the population can enter it.
With each new stage, Tortoizes grow slower and slower.
The Tortoiz Empire is an absolute monarchy, and the monarch's power is unquestioned. The nobility is influential too: the old families in the Emperor's service are very strong. An elected council at the Emperor's side acts as an informal parliament and helps govern the country.
Administratively the empire is divided into 14 "pens" — provinces headed by governors. Governors rarely come from the nobility; they are usually Tortoizes of no family.
Capital: Rakoverz. Main races: Tortoizes, humans, Partaky.
This is a slaveholding state: the long-livers keep large staffs of slaves to serve them. Slaves are the main import, and huge numbers of them arrive in the empire all the time. The Gaikas and the Ikarii fight hard over this important market.
Relations between the Tortoizes and the old dynasties are tense. Sector N-8 is usually divided into three parts — the territories of the Sorki, the territories of the Skaranchi and the lands of two empires, the Kabaren and the Tortoiz. Relations between them are very strained, with no shortage of mutual grievances and rivalry, and the sector is considered one of the most explosive in the region.
The illustration shows a Tortoiz in a brown jumpsuit with a belt. Its green, neckless head juts forward like a turtle's, its long-fingered hands hang along its body, and its posture is stooped and heavy.