INFO: Bilars were one of the few examples of a true group mind in the galaxy.
RACE: Bilar
HEIGHT: 1 Meter Tall
SKIN: Pink
DISTINCTION: Group mind, acute hearing, infrared vision, short muzzles
LANGUAGE: Miman
HOMEWORLD:Mima II was a tectonically active planet in the Lar system known for its business centers. The semi-sentient Bilars were sold as pets under the New Order.
BIOLOGY AND APPEARANCE:Bilar evolved from small vegetarian primates on the tectonically active, but highly fertile, planet of Mima II. Individually, they were pink, hairless creatures with large black eyes, short muzzles, and two rounded ears on top of their heads. They shifted between bipedal and quadrupedal stances.
An individual Bilar was unintelligent, but a pair of Bilars was about as intelligent, collectively, as a trained domestic animal. A group, or claqa, of four, achieved true sentience through the development of a group mind. This group mind developed shortly after birth between small groups of Bilars born nearby and within a few minutes of each other. The group mind depended on single Bilars sharing thoughts through pheromones, ultrasonic communication, physical and visual contact, and some unexplained level of telepathy.
Larger claqas were progressively smarter, with seven-member claqas being true geniuses. Claqas with more than ten members were rare. Claqas generally referred to themselves as a single individual, and went by a single name. If a claqa's Bilars were separated, the loss of its components resulted in a temporary loss of intelligence. The death of a Bilar would send a claqa into a deep depression, sometimes leading to catatonia or the death of the whole claqa.
CULTURE AND HISTORY:Though Mima II was lush enough with plant life to provide Bilars with a comfortable existence, there was very little available there that was unavailable anywhere else. Since many non-Bilars found their group mind somewhat unnerving, Bilars had limited contact with the rest of the galaxy. When they did manage to venture off-world, their generally carefree existences on Mima II left them unused to deprivation. Bilar claqas often worked at jobs where they could take advantage of their group-mind, such as acrobatic troupes, musical groups, or slicers. One ten-unit claqa, which collectively went by the name Unni Yerudi, became an interplanetary con-artist, the owner of several nightclubs on Cloud City, and eventually the richest being in its home sector.
One Bilar was killed in a fit of rage by bounty hunter Milacass after he lost a hand of sabacc with a gambler from Oseon.
Chubar, a fictional character from an animated children's holoprogram, was a solitary Bilar kept as a pet by a Human girl. The character's name was later given to Project Chubar, an Imperial scientific program which performed experiments on Bilars, Ewoks, Gamorreans, and other non-Human species
APPEARANCES:X-wing: Solo Command
Shield of Lies (Mentioned only)
SOURCES:Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races
Alliance Intelligence Reports
The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
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