Editing Civilizations in Babylon 5 (section)

==Centauri Republic {{anchor|Centauri|Centauri Republic}} ==

The '''Centauri Republic''', once a mighty empire, has grown decadent and is in a slow decline.<ref>{{cite episode | title = The Gathering | episode-link = Babylon 5: The Gathering | series = Babylon 5 | series-link = Babylon 5 | airdate = 1993-02-22}}</ref> Their homeworld is Centauri Prime, a small Earth-like planet consisting of two large continents and several smaller islands divided by large oceans of water. The planet has a population of about 3.4 billion.<ref name="Hahn">{{Cite book|title=The Centauri Republic Factbook|first=August|last=Hahn|publisher=Warner Bros.|year=2004}}</ref>{{Rp|110|date=May 2009}} 

The Centauri, a [[humanoid]] race similar in appearance to humans, are a proud and aristocratic people governed by an emperor and a nobility-driven senate called the Centaurum. The Centauri were the first alien race to openly contact humanity.<ref name="Sprange">{{Cite book|title=Babylon Five Role Playing Game and Factbook: Signs and Portents|first=Matthew|last=Sprange|authorlink=Matthew Sprange|publisher=Warner Bros.|year=2003}}</ref>{{Rp|154|date=May 2009}} The Centauri initially tried to convince the humans that they were a long lost colony of the Republic. This ruse failed once human scientists got access to Centauri [[DNA]], but Centauri-Human trade and contact led to tremendous technological advancement and humanity's eventual rise as a major power. For instance, it was the Centauri who sold jumpgate technology to the [[Earth Alliance (Babylon 5)|Earth Alliance]], allowing humanity to start colonizing interstellar space.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} 

Centauri males of high social status typically wear their hair in [[Peacock]]-tail shaped fans, the length and style of which are determined by relative social class. Low-class Centauri males have not been seen without helmets. Centauri females mostly or entirely shave their heads.<ref name="TCoS">{{Cite episode|title=[[The Coming of Shadows]]|series=[[Babylon 5]]|network=[[Prime Time Entertainment Network|PTEN]]|credits=[[J. Michael Straczynski]] (writer), Janet Greek (dir.)|airdate=1995-02-01|season=2|number=9}}  In this episode Centauri emperor Turhan specifically states that Centauri females shave their heads, and his wives are shown to be completely bald.</ref><ref name="error">''The Centauri Republic Factbook'' (''op. cit.'', p. 8), which is [[Canon (fiction)|non-canonical]], incorrectly reports that only Centauri males grow hair at all.</ref> The social significance (if any) of complete versus almost-complete baldness on a female is not specified outright; however, in the televised episodes, older females are shown completely bald, and younger (up to the apparent human age range of the 30s, and often but not always unmarried) with [[ponytail]]s.<ref name="TCoS" /><ref name="BttP">{{Cite episode|title=[[Born to the Purple]]|series=Babylon 5|network=PTEN|credits=[[Larry DiTillio]] (writer), Bruce Seth Green (dir.)|airdate=1994-02-09|season=1|number=3}}  In this episode, the unmarried Centauri female Adira Tyree is shown to have a ponytail.</ref><ref name="SM">{{Cite episode|title=[[Soul Mates (Babylon 5)|Soul Mates]]|series=Babylon 5|network=PTEN|credits=[[Peter David]] (writer), John C. Flinn III (dir.)|airdate=1994-12-14|season=2|number=7}}  In this episode, the youngest of Mollari's three Centauri wives has a ponytail, while the elder two are completely bald.</ref><ref name="STV">{{Cite episode|title=[[Sic Transit Vir]]|series=Babylon 5|network=PTEN|credits=J. Michael Straczynski (writer), [[Jesus Trevino]] (dir.)|airdate=1996-04-15|season=3|number=12}}  In this episode, Vir Cotto's fiancée Lyndisty is shown to have a ponytail.</ref> 

The [[cardio-vascular system]] of Centauri includes two hearts instead of the single heart that humans have. The right heart is a solid mass of muscle which provides most of the force behind the body's blood circulation. The left heart is much more complex - this heart is made up of an intricate system of thousands of veins that help cleanse the blood in a manner similar to the human kidneys.<ref name="Sprange" />{{Rp|160|date=May 2009}} The sexual organs of the Centauri are in a different location than the human sex organs. Male Centauri have six tentacle-like genital organs that extend out from the sides of the body and "fold" in over the [[solar plexus]] when not in use. The males can stretch the tentacles out to four feet.<ref name="Hahn" />{{Rp|9|date=May 2009}}

A popular Centauri meal is a dish called '''spoo''',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jensen |first1=K. Thor |title=Make a Meal of These 11 Real Sci-Fi Recipes |url=https://www.geek.com/culture/make-a-meal-of-real-sci-fi-recipes-1723812/ |website=Geek.com |accessdate=4 January 2020 |language=en |date=11 August 2018 |archive-date=24 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424202205/https://www.geek.com/culture/make-a-meal-of-real-sci-fi-recipes-1723812/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> which mostly serves as a running gag in the show.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Henninger |first1=Jason |title=Science Fiction Cuisine: The Spoo Elevating Moment. |url=https://www.tor.com/2009/04/19/science-fiction-cuisine-the-spoo-elevating-moment/ |website=Tor.com |accessdate=4 January 2020 |language=en |date=19 April 2009 }}</ref> Spoo comes from an animal of the same name which is "regarded as [one of] the ugliest animals in the known galaxy by just about every sentient species capable of starflight" according to character [[Emerson Briggs-Wallacewith]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Stephen C. |title=Dining on Babylon 5: the ultimate collection of space station cuisine |year=1998 |publisher=Boxtree |isbn=0752211439 |page=25 |edition=Human |language=en}}</ref> 

The government of the Centauri Republic is, despite it being called a republic, ruled by an Emperor and an assembly of Ministers and heads of various Houses that form the Centaurum.<ref name="Sprange"/>{{Rp|161|date=May 2009}} The Centauri Republic is reflective of many imperial cultures on Earth, although [[J. Michael Straczynski]] makes a specific comparison: "the [[British Empire]] [[once upon a time]]... It was a great military power. But slowly, as can happen, they grew content, and lazy, and gradually their own empire began to slip between their fingers".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/chars/londo.html | title=LG: Londo Mollari and the Centauri Republic }}</ref>