"Heiramu"

     Essentially, Heiramu means “mixed blood”, and is derived from Heiramuvai, a term which has mostly fallen out of use. Heiramu are the product of mixed-species pairings, between Kiravai and Leriivai, and are naturally extremely rare – partly because it is biologically difficult for viable offspring to be produced, and partly because of the social differences between the species. Although a tiny minority have reasoned that if it was so against the Governing Principle’s wishes, the two species would be entirely incompatible, most Kiravai see it as a terrible blasphemy and something to be reviled above all else.
     Pens are – as ever – the ones that suffer most for carrying Heiramu. The punishment for “polluting one’s blood/bloodline” in this way varies between colonies, but the very best the guilty pen can usually hope for is a custodial sentence and/or loss of an ear; the more extreme worlds have even been known to execute individuals for it.
     For cobs, the outcome is usually a little different; although “coitus with lesser species” is strongly frowned upon, it is forgivable in many instances as it prevents the greater blasphemy of such things as homosexual relationships on distant colonies where pens are rare. Provided they have a good enough excuse, a lot get off with merely a slap on the wrist.
     Rape is, unusually, not an excuse for bearing “mongrel children” – if assaulted, a pen is virtually “duty bound” to get a termination. There are of course mitigating circumstances, but unless it is shown a pen could not fulfil her duties, punishment is almost invariably some flavour of custodial sentence and/or psychiatric evaluation. (“Pro-life” arguments would hold very little sway in cases such as these. It is thought that for a pen to desire to carry such a distasteful offspring to term, especially after such a terrible experience as sexual assault, there must be something seriously wrong with her.)
     The Heiramu themselves are treated comparatively fairly; unlike the Leriivai, whose children are treated as livestock, most Heiramu are at least treated as people (and moreso if they can speak “properly”). They are “forgiven” for the transgressions of their parents, but are taken away at birth and fostered by pure-blooded Kiravai families, indoctrinated into the normal Kiravai mindset, and often undergo cosmetic surgery to hide their Leriivai features. Their Vei’la blood affords them rank and status, but the Lei’ra “pollution” nonetheless moderates what they can do, holds them back. They are considerably more oppressed than any pure-blooded pen, forbidden from any military or political jobs, and forbidden from ever carrying weapons of any sort.
     85% of Heiramu are naturally sterile; the remaining 15% are almost invariably surgically sterilised, with only a tiny minority – less than half a percent, and almost invariably rescued by Shalyavei – slipping through the net. However dilute the genetic “pollution” may be, it is seen as equally terrible for Heiramu to procreate – particularly as the more dilute the Leriivai blood becomes the less visually noticeable it is, and the greater the potential for it to become deeply entrenched in Kiravai bloodlines.