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You decide to test both the Vetuckers & Swall on their Starsight ability. Naturally, convincing people to blind themselves for scientific tests, even if you can rejoin the severed nerves in their brain to restore sight, is a big ask. Instead, it more comes down to searching for the statistical markers for those with Starsight.
Despite their natural environments being aquatic, exactly as the Migrators, the <span class="mu-s">Swall</span> seem to have a <span class="mu-i">very poor ability</span> to develop Starsight, if any at all. Among all of the Swall children tested and trained in the art early, as well as the few naturally blind or eyesight-impaired Swall with the various techniques and exposure to hyperspace without shielding in an attempt to stoke this ability- none of them seem capable of it. Starsight requires a certain amount of abstract and introspective thinking, and while the Swall are very intelligent, it seems they may be a bit too grounded in the physical, material view of things. Considering the Swall's lack of fanaticism towards politics and high degree of intelligence in more material sciences, these may be more signs of what exactly Starsight is selected from.
Then, the Vetuckers. The cow like aliens also present in the Hegemony and by all accounts the favored of the three sentient races besides the Jaxtians. There is a lot of hope to see if they are skilled in Starsight, given their highly religious background. Many young Vetuckers are tested, some in-vitro children are blinded secretly in the womb to further test their aptitude, and given their high obedience and seeming ability to respond to trauma, there are high hopes for the Vetuckers to be excellent starseers. However, test after test, year after year, and they do not seem to bring forth any exceptional individuals capable of Starsight. In fact, neither the Vetucker or Swall <span class="mu-i">seem to have any members capable of Starsight</span> among them, leading to much disucssion among the Hegemony officials over the true nature of the talent. Why are Jaxtians seemingly blessed by the ability? Could this hint at some sort of species-specific power? Were we genetically uplifted by the Andoen aliens a hundred million years ago; the Vetuckers and Swall not having the signs of sentience yet and just barely missing out? Then again, it could simply be the matter of numbers. After all, your population is hundreds of thousands of times bigger then both of theirs- could Starsight be simply a rare genetic trait that you can select for? The “next evolution” that only a highly advanced species can develop? For now, it remains a mystery. Your Starsight department will continue testing from here on out- denying no individual of any species the right to develop the skill.
Regardless of the findings; attempting to bring the Vetuckers and Swall into the fold as the highly regarded space-age mystic Starseers has shifted the social weight.
>Jaxtian 45%
>Vetucker 25%
>Swall 30%
