Oankali
Encyclopedia
The Oankali are a fictional race of intelligent extraterrestrials
in Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis book
trilogy
(Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago, also published in an omnibus edition under the title Lilith's Brood).
After the near-extinction
of humanity in a nuclear war
, the Oankali arrive in an organic interstellar ship
and rescue the few remaining survivors for the purpose of genetic "trade": they intend to interbreed with humanity. In particular, certain types of cancer
are extremely valuable, as studying and integrating them will enhance Oankali healing and regenerating
abilities.
Oankali are natural genetic engineers
, and are driven to seek out new lifeforms and trade with them in order to keep themselves from overspecializing and stagnating. They travel between the stars in immense living ships, and send down smaller ships as shuttles and to plant living communities.
The Oankali, their ships, their various specialized organisms, and all life on Earth after contact, contain the Oankali organelle
in every cell. This organelle, much like human mitochondria, was once an independent microscopic organism which entered a symbiotic
relationship with the ancient Oankali. The books suggest that the organelle is the driving force in Oankali civilization, to acquire and absorb biological diversity.
with a new species. Before meeting humanity, they had an elephant
-sized slug
-like form, which communicates by direct neural connection, since they have no vocal organs and no sense of hearing. Individuals who have chosen not to participate in the trade (known as the Akjai group) have kept this form.
The Oankali are covered with sensory tentacle
s in unique patterns, and also have sensory patches. Sensory tentacles can directly connect Oankali to other organisms, nerve system to nerve system. They can also sting lethally if the Oankali is attacked; only individuals of the ooloi gender have the ability to control the toxicity of their sting.
Sensory tentacles indicate Oankali emotions. The tentacles go smooth against the body when pleased or happy, merge into cones pointed at people or things when interested, and retract into knots when frustrated or frightened, a vestige of the sting reflex
response.
The tentacles give Oankali senses greater range than those of humans. They perceive the ultraviolet
and infrared
spectrums and hear a greater range of frequencies
. Because of their heightened senses, Oankali can easily read unconscious human non-verbal communication and see no problem with acting on a human's unspoken desires if they are at odds with their spoken wishes. Oankali can hear human heartbeats at a distance, as well as sub-vocalization (words murmured to oneself without actually opening the mouth), and their sense of smell allows them to detect the species, gender, and emotional status of humans. This has contributed to some humans' (wrong) belief that the Oankali can read minds.
Oankali can consume practically anything organic, though they consider eating other animals immoral. Their digestion
is highly efficient and they produce almost no wastes. They can breathe in water as easily as in air, and need far less oxygen
than humans. Their bodies are highly resistant to injury and heal rapidly; even gunfire is unlikely to seriously injure them. They are immune to most poison
s and toxic inorganic substances, which they can usually resist and expel from their bodies with minor difficulties.
Internal anatomical
detail is not discussed extensively in the books, but it is known that Oankali have two heart
s and a specialized organ called yashi employed for collection, preservation and manipulation of genetic material; the ooloi yashi is larger and has more complex abilities than that of females and males.
Present-day Oankali have undergone extensive genetic manipulation, incorporating traits from numerous other lifeforms on other planets.
, ooloi are referred to by the neuter pronoun it.
Ooloi have an additional pair of "sensory arms", specialized organs for connecting to other organisms, absorbing genetic information, and making alterations. Ooloi go through a second metamorphosis, during which they develop their sensory arms (between the two metamorphoses they have some ooloi abilities but cannot reproduce). Unlike males or females, ooloi need not sting lethally.
Once a male, a female and an ooloi are mated together, the male and female find touching each other unpleasant, though not painful. All contact, whether for mating or for recreation, is mediated through the ooloi, which also genetically mixes any children and provides intense pleasure. This is the pattern imposed on humans who elect to intermingle with Oankali; the resisters are rendered sterile
and left to fend for themselves, since the Oankali believe that humanity is genetically doomed to destroy itself again and consider it immoral to allow humans to reproduce under those conditions.
Excluding the obvious extra pair of arms in ooloi, specialized genital organs are absent. Other anatomical differences are not extreme; the female tends to be larger than the male, and the ooloi usually smaller than the two others.
The ooloi takes genetic material directly from the bodies of its partners as needed. The female is said not to have a uterus
equivalent; children are kept inside her body, and exit it through a random location after a long pregnancy
(15 months). Labor does not cause pain in the female, but is temporally debilitating and needs her full attention, as well as the presence of her partners.
and strongly group-based. Decisions are made by consensus, during which adult Oankali join together via direct neural link for debate. Direct conflict is rare, and conflicts are usually resolved by peer pressure, psychological manipulation
or "going around the problem".
Nearly all Oankali are part of a family unit or a pair of siblings. Males and females usually remain in the same family, while ooloi, once mature, leave to join or found new families. Brothers and sisters of similar ages usually mate (the possible genetic problems derived of incest
are avoided by the ooloi who comes from another family).
The books imply that Oankali are incapable of deliberate cruelty or deception. Their human charges are never punished or physically brutalized, but are kept under tight control and emotionally manipulated to integrate them into Oankali families. Uncontrollable, violent humans are kept permanently unconscious or sedated, and left to live their natural terms. However, even cooperative humans cannot neurally connect with other organisms, and as such they remain second class citizens within Oankali society (treated in many ways like children).
Oankali apparently have no art
(at least that humans would recognize), music
or written language. They have no religion
other than a belief in the sacredness and continuity of life. They have perfect memories
(even of experiences while unconscious) and can relay experiences and information to each other directly. This explains their indifference to perpetuating human culture
.
Imago, the last book of the trilogy, implies that ooloi, unlike the other genders, are capable of deception, keeping secrets and feelings of possessiveness.
Constructs look human to varying degrees, but all have at least one sensory tentacle, and most have sensory patches on their skin. Unlike humans, they can neurally connect with other organisms directly. Unlike Oankali, they enjoy music and have human-like sexuality
(at least before they join a family).
Like Oankali, constructs go through a period of metamorphosis, during which their appearance can radically change and develop more or fewer traits of each species. Metamorphosis comes some years after going through human-style puberty.
At first, female constructs born to human females and male constructs born to Oankali females were created. Male human-born constructs were seen as too close to "the human contradiction" (intelligence combined with hierarchical behaviour), and therefore unstable and dangerous. The first male constructs were introduced carefully and slowly.
The final stage of integration of Oankali and human (or human assimilation into Oankali) was the creation of construct ooloi, at first unintentionally. These ooloi have conscious control over their own bodies, even more than Oankali ooloi do, and instinctively alter themselves to look attractive to the people around them. Construct ooloi emit pheromone
s that calm and seduce humans, so powerful that a few minutes of exposure can turn a mortal enemy into a friend.
Based on their own genetic material and contributions from other species, they crafted large, resilient, plant-like organisms capable of feeding off solar radiation and travel through space carrying a self-contained environment, producing and recycling nutrients for their hosts indefinitely. A female of this species (Chkahichdahk) orbits Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon and was used to keep the human survivors. We are not told how many they were or how large the ship is.
The male ships are much smaller, used as shuttles and as the foundations for living communities. Upon settling the Earth, the Oankali took many "seeds" and planted them. These seeds grow quickly into a flat carpet-like organism that covers the ground, looks for water and nutrients, and synthesizes food for its hosts. The Oankali can instruct it to grow projections to serve as houses, walls, tables, platforms, etc. The colony where Lilith and her mates and children live is named Lo.
In due time, these organisms will cover the whole Earth and turn into females. Presumably they will fold into themselves, becoming Chkahichdahks, and depart Earth, carrying their Oankali construct hosts and the whole biosphere, and leaving behind only barren rocks. In Adulthood Rites, Lilith's construct son Akin is kidnapped and eventually comes to sympathize with a group of human resisters; he later persuades the Oankali to allow them to colonize Mars and reverse their sterilization.
Upon contact with another species, the Oankali divide themselves in three groups: Akjai, who will keep their forms and will not participate in the trade; Toaht, who will take part but will not settle the planet; and Dinso, who will come down and "harvest" the planet as explained. The books, of course, deal mostly with Oankali of the Dinso group. By the time frame of the last book, the mother ship Chkahichdahk is reproducing itself asexually, splitting in two; one daughter ship will be for the Akjai, and another for the Toaht. These two, along with the Dinso ships, will part and go their own ways in a matter of centuries, probably never to find each other again.
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
in Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
(Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago, also published in an omnibus edition under the title Lilith's Brood).
After the near-extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
of humanity in a nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
, the Oankali arrive in an organic interstellar ship
Interstellar travel
Interstellar space travel is manned or unmanned travel between stars. The concept of interstellar travel in starships is a staple of science fiction. Interstellar travel is much more difficult than interplanetary travel. Intergalactic travel, or travel between different galaxies, is even more...
and rescue the few remaining survivors for the purpose of genetic "trade": they intend to interbreed with humanity. In particular, certain types of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
are extremely valuable, as studying and integrating them will enhance Oankali healing and regenerating
Regeneration (biology)
In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. At its most...
abilities.
Oankali are natural genetic engineers
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
, and are driven to seek out new lifeforms and trade with them in order to keep themselves from overspecializing and stagnating. They travel between the stars in immense living ships, and send down smaller ships as shuttles and to plant living communities.
The Oankali, their ships, their various specialized organisms, and all life on Earth after contact, contain the Oankali organelle
Organelle
In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific function, and is usually separately enclosed within its own lipid bilayer....
in every cell. This organelle, much like human mitochondria, was once an independent microscopic organism which entered a symbiotic
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
relationship with the ancient Oankali. The books suggest that the organelle is the driving force in Oankali civilization, to acquire and absorb biological diversity.
Appearance and physiology
Most of the Oankali seen in the books have been modified to resemble humans in size and shape, and use spoken language, to facilitate interaction with humanity. The Oankali apparently do this prior to first contactFirst contact (science fiction)
First contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
with a new species. Before meeting humanity, they had an elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
-sized slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
-like form, which communicates by direct neural connection, since they have no vocal organs and no sense of hearing. Individuals who have chosen not to participate in the trade (known as the Akjai group) have kept this form.
The Oankali are covered with sensory tentacle
Tentacle
A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
s in unique patterns, and also have sensory patches. Sensory tentacles can directly connect Oankali to other organisms, nerve system to nerve system. They can also sting lethally if the Oankali is attacked; only individuals of the ooloi gender have the ability to control the toxicity of their sting.
Sensory tentacles indicate Oankali emotions. The tentacles go smooth against the body when pleased or happy, merge into cones pointed at people or things when interested, and retract into knots when frustrated or frightened, a vestige of the sting reflex
Reflex action
A reflex action, also known as a reflex, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus. A true reflex is a behavior which is mediated via the reflex arc; this does not apply to casual uses of the term 'reflex'.-See also:...
response.
The tentacles give Oankali senses greater range than those of humans. They perceive the ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
and infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
spectrums and hear a greater range of frequencies
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
. Because of their heightened senses, Oankali can easily read unconscious human non-verbal communication and see no problem with acting on a human's unspoken desires if they are at odds with their spoken wishes. Oankali can hear human heartbeats at a distance, as well as sub-vocalization (words murmured to oneself without actually opening the mouth), and their sense of smell allows them to detect the species, gender, and emotional status of humans. This has contributed to some humans' (wrong) belief that the Oankali can read minds.
Oankali can consume practically anything organic, though they consider eating other animals immoral. Their digestion
Digestion
Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream, for instance. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones....
is highly efficient and they produce almost no wastes. They can breathe in water as easily as in air, and need far less oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
than humans. Their bodies are highly resistant to injury and heal rapidly; even gunfire is unlikely to seriously injure them. They are immune to most poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
s and toxic inorganic substances, which they can usually resist and expel from their bodies with minor difficulties.
Internal anatomical
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
detail is not discussed extensively in the books, but it is known that Oankali have two heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
s and a specialized organ called yashi employed for collection, preservation and manipulation of genetic material; the ooloi yashi is larger and has more complex abilities than that of females and males.
Present-day Oankali have undergone extensive genetic manipulation, incorporating traits from numerous other lifeforms on other planets.
Reproduction
Oankali have three sexes: male, female, and ooloi. All three are necessary for reproduction and the social system. Children are born sexless (eka) and go through a period of metamorphosis before they become adult. In EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, ooloi are referred to by the neuter pronoun it.
Ooloi have an additional pair of "sensory arms", specialized organs for connecting to other organisms, absorbing genetic information, and making alterations. Ooloi go through a second metamorphosis, during which they develop their sensory arms (between the two metamorphoses they have some ooloi abilities but cannot reproduce). Unlike males or females, ooloi need not sting lethally.
Once a male, a female and an ooloi are mated together, the male and female find touching each other unpleasant, though not painful. All contact, whether for mating or for recreation, is mediated through the ooloi, which also genetically mixes any children and provides intense pleasure. This is the pattern imposed on humans who elect to intermingle with Oankali; the resisters are rendered sterile
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
and left to fend for themselves, since the Oankali believe that humanity is genetically doomed to destroy itself again and consider it immoral to allow humans to reproduce under those conditions.
Excluding the obvious extra pair of arms in ooloi, specialized genital organs are absent. Other anatomical differences are not extreme; the female tends to be larger than the male, and the ooloi usually smaller than the two others.
The ooloi takes genetic material directly from the bodies of its partners as needed. The female is said not to have a uterus
Uterus
The uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
equivalent; children are kept inside her body, and exit it through a random location after a long pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
(15 months). Labor does not cause pain in the female, but is temporally debilitating and needs her full attention, as well as the presence of her partners.
Psychology and sociology
Oankali society is non-hierarchicalHierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
and strongly group-based. Decisions are made by consensus, during which adult Oankali join together via direct neural link for debate. Direct conflict is rare, and conflicts are usually resolved by peer pressure, psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
or "going around the problem".
Nearly all Oankali are part of a family unit or a pair of siblings. Males and females usually remain in the same family, while ooloi, once mature, leave to join or found new families. Brothers and sisters of similar ages usually mate (the possible genetic problems derived of incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
are avoided by the ooloi who comes from another family).
The books imply that Oankali are incapable of deliberate cruelty or deception. Their human charges are never punished or physically brutalized, but are kept under tight control and emotionally manipulated to integrate them into Oankali families. Uncontrollable, violent humans are kept permanently unconscious or sedated, and left to live their natural terms. However, even cooperative humans cannot neurally connect with other organisms, and as such they remain second class citizens within Oankali society (treated in many ways like children).
Oankali apparently have no art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
(at least that humans would recognize), music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
or written language. They have no religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
other than a belief in the sacredness and continuity of life. They have perfect memories
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
(even of experiences while unconscious) and can relay experiences and information to each other directly. This explains their indifference to perpetuating human culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
.
Imago, the last book of the trilogy, implies that ooloi, unlike the other genders, are capable of deception, keeping secrets and feelings of possessiveness.
Constructs
The Oankali plan is to colonize the Earth with Oankali-human hybrids called constructs. Constructs are born from five-person family groups, ideally comprising one female Oankali, one male Oankali, one female human, one male human and one Oankali ooloi. Construct siblings come in pairs, one from the human mother, one from the Oankali mother, and remain extremely close as they grow up - the developing sex of the younger during metamorphosis is influenced by the sex of the elder.Constructs look human to varying degrees, but all have at least one sensory tentacle, and most have sensory patches on their skin. Unlike humans, they can neurally connect with other organisms directly. Unlike Oankali, they enjoy music and have human-like sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
(at least before they join a family).
Like Oankali, constructs go through a period of metamorphosis, during which their appearance can radically change and develop more or fewer traits of each species. Metamorphosis comes some years after going through human-style puberty.
At first, female constructs born to human females and male constructs born to Oankali females were created. Male human-born constructs were seen as too close to "the human contradiction" (intelligence combined with hierarchical behaviour), and therefore unstable and dangerous. The first male constructs were introduced carefully and slowly.
The final stage of integration of Oankali and human (or human assimilation into Oankali) was the creation of construct ooloi, at first unintentionally. These ooloi have conscious control over their own bodies, even more than Oankali ooloi do, and instinctively alter themselves to look attractive to the people around them. Construct ooloi emit pheromone
Pheromone
A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...
s that calm and seduce humans, so powerful that a few minutes of exposure can turn a mortal enemy into a friend.
History
The Oankali were originally common carbon-based lifeforms. Either in their home planet or elsewhere, they acquired the Oankali organelle, and with it the need to find and combine with other organisms. One group of these ancestors, for example, gave them their characteristic stinging tentacles.Based on their own genetic material and contributions from other species, they crafted large, resilient, plant-like organisms capable of feeding off solar radiation and travel through space carrying a self-contained environment, producing and recycling nutrients for their hosts indefinitely. A female of this species (Chkahichdahk) orbits Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon and was used to keep the human survivors. We are not told how many they were or how large the ship is.
The male ships are much smaller, used as shuttles and as the foundations for living communities. Upon settling the Earth, the Oankali took many "seeds" and planted them. These seeds grow quickly into a flat carpet-like organism that covers the ground, looks for water and nutrients, and synthesizes food for its hosts. The Oankali can instruct it to grow projections to serve as houses, walls, tables, platforms, etc. The colony where Lilith and her mates and children live is named Lo.
In due time, these organisms will cover the whole Earth and turn into females. Presumably they will fold into themselves, becoming Chkahichdahks, and depart Earth, carrying their Oankali construct hosts and the whole biosphere, and leaving behind only barren rocks. In Adulthood Rites, Lilith's construct son Akin is kidnapped and eventually comes to sympathize with a group of human resisters; he later persuades the Oankali to allow them to colonize Mars and reverse their sterilization.
Upon contact with another species, the Oankali divide themselves in three groups: Akjai, who will keep their forms and will not participate in the trade; Toaht, who will take part but will not settle the planet; and Dinso, who will come down and "harvest" the planet as explained. The books, of course, deal mostly with Oankali of the Dinso group. By the time frame of the last book, the mother ship Chkahichdahk is reproducing itself asexually, splitting in two; one daughter ship will be for the Akjai, and another for the Toaht. These two, along with the Dinso ships, will part and go their own ways in a matter of centuries, probably never to find each other again.