Practicum: Ethical Circuses
Greetings and Stellaris! Welcome to our circus, Circus Stellaris, the grandest show in the known galaxy where dreams and nightmares are one and the same! Sit back, grab your snacks and drinks, and enjoy the show that we will give you, from an ethical circus to marvel, amaze, and entertain you!
Disclaimer: Anne and I clearly are experts at circuses as that is our profession and we’re not actual teachers that torment students on a daily basis, alright we are teachers, we just want to imagine and have fun with circuses! 😭
The Good and the Bad of Circuses
(Vivian:) Who does not enjoy a great circus? Entertainers, unbelievable people, animals and creatures from all around the world, all join together to create an entertaining experience beyond imagination. It can truly be a magical experience for the young and the old depending on the circus and their skills!
Unfortunately, that is not all there is to them. There are dark sides to the circus that they often hide out of sight. Similar to what we did with bullfighting, I, the amazing Vivian, wanted something considerably more ethical and moral that befits my standings while enjoying the things I genuinely love about the craft. Their skills, the skills of animals, the cooperation between man and animal, and much more.
What are these dark sides, you may ask? Similar to bullfighting, a lot of it is about the animals and how poorly treated they are. Malnourishment is rampant, their needs as dependent upon the species unfulfilled. We have all heard the countless tales about social animals being kept in isolation; you consider isolation for a human a crime against their rights and a destroyer of sanity, yet elephants and lions are routinely kept isolated and alone without the joys you so enjoy?
This is, of course, not everything; the dark side goes to even the humans involved. They are not seen as genuine people, but objects to laugh at and mock, mistreated and more in many instances. Why is it you call a comedian or a magician on a stage an entertainer worthy of respect and dignity, but the same person offering their services at a circus, their own uniqueness to bring you joy and entertainment, is not granted the same respect and dignity but rather the butt of jokes and pathetic punchlines?
(Anne:) I’m going to jump in for a moment just to second some of what Vivian has said. I’ve been to several performances and enjoyed them, like the Blue Man Group and some animal performances at zoos, and I can appreciate how incredible it is with exciting performances, incredibly difficult and seemingly unbelievable acts and tricks, and, of course, animals performing their own unbelievable tricks. Even the domestic cats knew what to do! Well, one laid down instead of flipping a switch, but hey, it’s a cat! However, even as I write that, the negatives that Vivian mentioned come to mind. I can’t think about the circus in a positive light, but if things were to change, could I? Can Vivian and I come up with a circus in a space opera universe that I would actually love?
(Vivian:) Of course we can! We canne do anniething! 😀
Welcome to Circus Stellaris
(Anne:) The Circus Stellaris takes place in Vivian’s Stellima universe, and as you can tell from the similarity in names, it’s a circus for the entire known part of the galaxy! We envision the circus as being on an enormous ship that can hold up to 2000 people and a hundred animals or more! When the ship goes into orbit around a planet, you can bet the local population is in for a treat. While some circuses in our world are franchised so that there are dozens or hundreds of them, there’s only one Circus Stellaris! Already, we’re setting up different perspectives of the circus: instead of it being just another thing to take the kids to, now it’s an entire world that only a few select people in a galaxy of trillions will have the honour to see. Working for them is a privilege, and the circus in general is highly desirable and respected.
(Vivian:) Indeed it is! The circus takes in nothing but the best entertainers that they can get their hands on! From the orbital ring, countless shuttles and more take people to and from the newly arrived orbital platform. Each stop is carefully planned and negotiated before every departure. Using the cognisphere, they communicate with worlds long before they even depart for them to make certain there will not be problems. Once in orbit, the fun can commence for a cycle or two (10-20 days)!
Circus Stellaris is always willing to look at people from any world who have any skill that can entertain, and sometimes, they may take on unorthodox passengers to their next destination, like a certain Ringmistress 🙂
The Ringmistress
(Vivian:) What a great segue to her! Not Segway, that is an item! Right Anne? 😏
(Anne:) It’s said the same! So sue me! 😜
(Vivian:) I’ll be in contact with my lawyers about this insubordination. Anyway, the great Ringmistress of Circus Stellaris, Lady Lexhla herself! Who is this mysterious woman who takes on the entire circus and runs the show? Well, she does nothing alone! (We will get to why later). But she is the Ringmistress who is the front and face, and she is a Sinitian. Born on a planet called Sinitus that orbits together with another planet, Dextune, she’s home to the twin planets that are twins, yet so different. The two planets are locked in an endless cold war that seems to have no end in sight as fears are high.
She was born on one of the 9 republics on Sinitus (also continents), but through a misfortune in life, she lost her parents in her early teenage years. The state was supposed to come in and help her–after all, they are the Defensive Union of Sinitian Republics. They are there to defend the Sinitian people from all its enemies within and without! Unfortunately, however, as no system is perfect, she fell between the cracks and got lost in the systems and struggled. She escaped on a ship that took her away from the Kheire system (their system) but was found midflight and promptly thrown off at their next stop to fend for herself. Unluckily for her, farspace is not a nice place to those outside of their home system.
She spent many cycles struggling to make a living until Circus Stellaris came by to get supplies, and a short man found her–the Ringmaster at the time. Seeing her condition and plight, he offered to let her come along, not to work, but to ride and enjoy and relax while she figured out her next step in life, no matter what it was. Wish to take it from here, my dear Anne?
The Ringmaster extending a hand to a young Lexhla, generated by ChatGPT
(Anne:) With a grand flourish, I’ll take up the baton! Once Lexhla was on the vast ship-station, she did indeed begin to enjoy it, and that led her to meet the various people and animals on the ship. While she lived there, she learned from the different groups, all of whom took a liking to her. They taught her juggling, acrobatics (they even let her on the trapezes after she had shown a knack for it!), and all of the seemingly dangerous skills like fire-eating and fire-breathing. As she ventured to the large fields along the main surface and the enormous tanks of water below, she learned to love the animals and, by extension, the people. They taught her how to properly interact with and manage the animals.
As she met people and learned their skills, she also learned the basics of management. She learned who needed what on the ship, what they complained about, and how they thought things could be improved. She worked on taking their feedback to the Ringmaster, who listened to her seriously. Soon, she was an integral part of the ship-station’s operations, and many people came to depend on her. As the years went on, she began to perform in the circus, filling in for anyone needing a break before earning a dedicated spot as an assistant to the Ringmaster.
Alas, no one lives forever, and soon the Ringmaster felt that he didn’t have it in him to keep going. Lexhla prepared one final, spectacular show for his finale, and he’ll be remembered as one of the best Ringmasters the circus has ever had. With those big shoes to fill, the people of the ship took time to choose a new leader, but from the beginning, their choice was clear: Lexhla. She became the Ringmistress, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Performers
(Vivian:) Instead of how it is in many circuses historically and to this day to you humans, performers are shareholders of the circus. So they have a vested interest in making the circus perform as best as it could. But more importantly, their special ability, regardless of what it is, is not viewed as something freakish but a gift. They are treated with dignity by the circus and the Ringmistress, and people who come inside and disrespect them are quickly taken off the grounds.
Performers are not freaks but valuable performers who offer services to make people feel happiness and wonder about the great diversity that nature and the universe creates. As the circus travels through space, anyone they encounter who can be interesting and entertain people might be asked to join. But the important thing is that everyone gets an equal share of the profits to use on their time off. The Ringmistress and a few others in charge get a slightly higher share, but it is all explained before anyone joins.
(Anne:) Some of the performers have talents that are considered fairly ordinary for their species, though they’re excellent at whatever it is, like the Sinitians and Dextines who use their tailhands–which everyone has–to enhance their tricks. Skill and showmanship trump unusual bodies or abnormalities. When they travel to places outside of their native areas, however, those skills are seen as more exotic and unusual. In this way, everyone has a chance to be the star of the show and the most unique to different worlds and people.
Fire Spitters
(Vivian:) A famous class of performers are what are called “fire spitters,” though the technical term is “Igniveruer.” They belong to the Kxarbikt species which has a defensive mechanism where they are capable of internally mixing two liquids together that quickly combine and not only become flammable but even ignite. They then spit out liquid fire. A skilled performer can do it so well that it is essentially a gas instead of a liquid that can harm bystanders. Igniveruer are quite enjoyed by people when they are skilled enough to control the ejection process, making them able to ignite things from a far distance rather than the uncontrolled shotgun approach to ignition used by untrained Kxarbikta.
(Anne:) My favourite part of the act is when two or more shoot fire at each other to create complex, weaving displays of fire. Since the almost-gaseous fire can still hurt them, it takes a lot of skill and even more trust to be able to perform like that, but they train constantly to make sure safety remains a priority even as they push themselves to the limit.
(Vivian:) Lexhla is known to happily use them to ignite her torches as she works with them.
Inkirrna
(Anne:) Outside of the main tent, some performers walk around to entertain the crowd. The Tsxobjezn have chromatophores in their skin that allow them to change its colour, and while it’s unconscious for most, some can learn to control it to create patterns and illusions to delight visitors. Not only that, some Tsxobjezn can learn to imitate virtually any sound. This combined ability to mimic other things lets them wander the crowd and take requests or present patterns and sounds to attract people. They’re quite popular, since it’s rare for a Tsxobjez to be able to do either of these things, let alone both. Inkirrna are truly masters of their skillset!
(Vivian:) Imagine going there and seeing someone mimic your appearance and speak like you without effort; it is as unnerving as it is amazing!
The Land Animals and Handlers
(Anne:) I’m a big fan of animals, and when they’re handled ethically and respectfully, I enjoy seeing them interacting with humans and even performing! That’s why we’ve designed Circus Stellaris to cater to the needs of its non-humanoid friends. My first thought when we talked about this was to include a natural area like a reserve. Well, there’s not quite enough space for a truly natural reserve, but each animal is given a territory that it can be happy with, and harmonious animals live together to give them company. Every single animal has at least two others of its species to ensure that they don’t go lonely, and for the social animals, they have more.
(Vivian:) There is also screening to make certain that the individuals are sufficiently content in the more limited habitat.
(Anne:) The large number is also important because animals have to choose to perform. The handlers invite them to the preparation room where they get ready for their big performance, and if an animal balks or refuses, they’re allowed to. If none of the animals of that species wants to perform, the circus adapts.
The animals range from ones we would find familiar to truly exotic creatures from worlds unlike ours. Animals are chosen for their temperament and desire to work with xenos (in other words, how easy they are to train) as well as their physical appearance. Some animals are cuddly and friendly and even interact with the audience under controlled circumstances, and some are meant to be fearsome and powerful. Just so you can see how the land animals operate, I’m going to talk about the Gatragle, a creature from a planet so obscure that it doesn’t even show up in Vivian’s books. (Vivian: Yet…)
The Gatragle
(Anne:) Think of an eagle. Okay, now make it big. I’m not talking big as a person. Imagine an eagle that stands twice as tall as a person with a wingspan to match. Got the image? Okay, now imagine it being scaled like an alligator with smooth scales and wings like a bat. Imagine ridges along its side delineating a shell-like back and a softer belly like an armadillo except less rigid and, of course, with wings. Instead of a beak, the gatragle has long jaws like an alligator with thick, dagger-sharp teeth in crooked rows that are visible even with its mouth shut. Its scales are a dark maroon with lighter red swirled along the back. That, my friends, is a gatragle.
(Vivian:) 💩
(Anne:) If you’re scared from that, imagine encountering them in the wild! Who would have thought that they could possibly interact with people in a friendly, cooperative manner? Well, some brave fool saw beyond the blood red eyes and saw a gentle giant, and soon the gatragles, while not tame by any means, learned to live with the local humanoid species and obey their commands. They, like dogs, are extremely interested in food, so they can be trained with the positive reinforcement of a few chunks of meat. It’s important to note that at Circus Stellaris, only positive reinforcement is used. Animals are never harmed or treated negatively. If an animal only learns through negative reinforcement, it isn’t chosen for the circus.
You may be wondering where all that meat comes from, and yes, the circus does have cattle-like creatures that they lovingly raise. When treated respectfully and given happy lives, it’s less of a crime to kill animals for food. And gatragles have to eat! The ship-station also negotiates for large quantities of food, both meat and substances for herbivores, every time it docks.
In the main tent of the circus, the gatragles don’t have room to fly, and instead loom over the audience, snapping their teeth and extending their wings on command. In addition, the bones in their wings have retained some elements of a hand and they can balance things while moving their wings in and out. In addition, they’re able to open those massive jaws–and we’re talking long alligator-like jaws that extend six feet and can open to an impressive 180 degree angle–similar to a hippo–and thoroughly smash the objects that the handler puts in. Then, the handler can step inside and stand on the floor of their jaw. They of course move their tongue, slitted like a snake’s, and obediently hold their jaws open while the handler makes a show of touching the teeth and recoiling to demonstrate how deadly they are. But those jaws that smashed through so many other things would never hurt their handler! Well, accidents happen, but only the once!
Outside of performing, the gatragle, a solitary creature, has its own territory where it can fly through the skies of the ship-station along with two others who have slightly overlapping territories. It ignores all the other creatures in its domain, allowing it to circle over everything, and when visitors come to the petting zoo area to interact with the gentler creatures, the dark shadows passing over them from the enormous gatragles is enough to put a chill in anyone’s heart. Truly a marvellous creature.
That’s just one example of the land and air animals on the ship-station, but you can imagine more. I choose one that strikes fear into the hearts of viewers, but there are others whose cuteness melts those fearful hearts into a loving mess and adoration. There’s an excellent blend at the Circus Stellaris, and that’s just the creatures who breathe air!
The Aquatic Animals and Handlers
(Vivian:) The water animals are enslaved! KILL THEM! No wait, we are doing moral stuff, so of course they are treated nicely! Underneath the main circus is a large pool of water that is constantly oxygenated to feed all aquatic life that they keep. It ranges from the smallest fishes that look pretty to the most intelligent ones that can perform tricks! As an aquatic being herself, Anne will show us how! (Anne: Um, aren’t you forgetting something?) After I introduce it!
Octophines
(Vivian:) These are creatures that can be described as a hybrid between octopi and dolphins and are just as intelligent! They are quite able to swim around, and with their tentacles, they are capable of manipulating a lot of things. They are, in fact, so capable that many biologists wonder why they have not developed their own civilization, but they haven’t, despite their high intelligence.
But thanks to their high intelligence, they are quite capable of showing consent, and the ones at Circus Stellaris are picked by their own willingness to show and impress people. Their ability to do tricks is amazing. While dolphins can only jump through hoops, octophines are capable of grabbing onto them and then launching themselves even higher and into smaller rings. An experienced octophine is in fact capable of climbing a lot of levels performing tricks before it needs to go back into the water to breathe.
(Anne:) It really is curious why they haven’t developed a civilization, but it’s probably a good thing. The galaxy doesn’t need too many amazing aquatic (or semi-aquatic) people like the Tsxobjezn! (Vivian: Tsxobjezn are not aquatic 🤦 or semi-aquatic) Hmm, you’d think a species based on squid would be at least a little aquatic, but I won’t question Vivian! (Vivian: HUMANS ARE BASED ON FISH!)
Anyway, back to the octophines! Their tricks are amazing, and their unique body shape helps. They’re sleek and streamlined like a dolphin with a powerful back fin that gives them strength to leap out of the water, but instead of side fins, they have tentacles. While gathering speed, the tentacles lie flat against their bodies, but once they reach a hoop, they splay their tentacles to catch the hoops, and then use the power of their tentacles to launch higher up.
Their colouring is one of my favourite parts. Like octopi, they can change colours, and they like to flash warning reds and oranges while mid-leap, then shift to happy blues and greens while attached to a hoop, no matter how briefly. Different octophines have different patterns, as it’s unique to the individual, and when resting between shows, they can communicate with each other and with their partners to some degree with colours.
One last cool part of their tricks is that they can catch things midair, and skilled octophines can grab a flying object and use that to change the direction of their leap instead of using stationary hoops. They work closely with their partners to develop their leaping and directional skills, and it really is an amazing site to behold.
(Vivian:) Fun fact is that a lot of Octophines can actually play tug-o-war with people they know and like, trying to pull them into the water to show trust between them. The more they pull, the more they trust you! And if you lose… Well, you needed a bath! Sometimes you might be given a ride, once breathing masks are provided, into the underground water systems they have!
(Anne:) These games and rides are rare, and only done at the octophine’s clear invitation, but there are places where guests can interact with them, and many a child has gone to the play pool for a chance to touch an octophine… and maybe more?
(Vivian:) One example is of a young boy who lost his mother, and his father was trying to get his spirits up at the circus. Nothing seemed to work until they got to the play pool that opened up to allow people to interact with several different animals, including two octophines. One of them swam over to the boy, who seemed apathetic to its attempts to tug on his wrist, but it would not give up and kept pulling on his arms to invite him into the depths with its tentacles. The trainer got the boy some scuba gear, and the octophine took the boy down into the deeper water. No one is certain what happened down there beyond a single water guard, who said nothing, but the boy was a lot happier coming back up. As the guard said to the father, “I keep people safe. What happens is up to them and our animals.”
(Anne:) Now I want to go swimming with an octophine! I’ll have to check the circus’s schedule…
(Vivian:) ⏱️ Earth is lost
Spaceship Details
(Vivian:) The Circus Stellaris as a ship is absolutely enormous. Instead of setting things up on planets they arrive at, which would stress animals and performers, the ship functions as essentially a station which other ships and even stations can dock with. People often have a hard time figuring out how something so massive can travel through discrete space, but they pay a lot to keep the mechanical parts up to date.
This is one reason why they always make plans far ahead for roughly when they will arrive. Due to their size, they could be easily misidentified as a warship of enormous size, and they want their routes to be well known, so they broadcast it as they travel. You can imagine the sight of a huge ship appearing out of nowhere near your planet's orbit, but they are a circus, ready to entertain everyone willing to come to orbit!
(Anne:) As we mentioned at the start, the ship can hold around 2000 people and over 100 animals. Many of the animals are actually intended to feed the more carnivorous among the performing animals, and that number doesn’t include the thousands of small fish and other aquatic creatures that make the underwater so enchanting (and life-sustaining).
Most of the surface of the ship is dedicated to animals in one way or another, and the rest to food production for the people. While trade is of course an essential element of survival, Lexhla makes sure the ship can survive if they get stranded or find themselves in unfriendly territory. Though really, there aren’t many places that are unfriendly. The worst that has ever happened was when a small nation in farspace attempted to keep them there by force. Luckily, the Circus Stellaris has more than size going for it and is well-capable of self-defense (Vivian: The fool pulled the weapon first, the greater fool didn’t see it coming). They escaped safely, and that nation has now permanently lost the privilege of their presence.
The crew is vast and varied, and the performers only make up about a quarter of the people living on board. They have families, of course, and then there are the support staff such as doctors, teachers, janitors, and other valuable positions that keep everything afloat. Then there’s the crew, who are the people directly related to the functioning of the ship. It takes a lot to keep a ship of this size going, and while the performers bring in the moolah, they can’t do it alone!
Making it Ethical
(Vivian:) This will be similar to my post on how to make bullfighting ethical, and yes I am stealing all the glory. (Anne: I’ll allow this theft, even though I clearly contributed more to that post 😜) The Circus Stellaris is ethical because they have people being equal share partners of the entire endeavours, and they are treated as actual people regardless of their abilities. Even if they are a so-called “freak,” they are treated like anyone else, and more importantly, given just as much as anyone “normal.”
On top of that, we can add the fact that animals are once again usually very intelligent, and even if they aren’t, they are able to show displeasure, and they are respected as such. If they do not want things, they are allowed to not do it. It is fine to try to incentivise animals to do what you want with treats, but if they really do not want it, they get to spend time as they want it. Some want a simple life of little disturbance beyond being shown to the public and are granted it, while others love putting on a show and are allowed that, too!
(Anne:) Consent is a key in ethical treatment of everyone, whether person or creature, and that’s why we’ve really driven it home in this post and the previous one on bullfighting and the sakirakani. I of course love animals, so seeing a circus like this where animals are well-treated would be wonderful. Of course, it does get into questions that zoos face today on Earth: no matter how well-designed and equipped and intentioned a zoo is, animals do better in the wild. Now, with habitats being destroyed and poaching a major threat, that’s sometimes debatable, but the fact remains that zoos can’t replace freedom. Many don’t even try. So at Circus Stellaris, that aspect of consent becomes critical. The creatures are choosing to live there as opposed to their natural habitats. This is one way to get around the questions that plague even the best zoos on Earth today.
(Vivian:) If you know animals, you can see what they want and how they are enjoying things. They can give consent, even if non-verbally. One huge factor is, in fact, the stress factor they experience: if it is above normal, then they do not like where they are.
Summa Summarum
(Anne:) Overall, the treatment of people and creatures alike sets this circus apart from ones on Earth and sets up a marvellous treat for people across the known galaxy! As soon as we get our FTL travel and communication, we’ll be ready to invite them here!
(Vivian:) She wishes! Earth is lost to space! Muahaha! But yes, the ability to give consent between species is something that is important to me and Anne. One important thing to remember for all worldbuilders is this, and I have said it before: what is “Good” and “Desirable” is different from species to species.
You may not like a specific existence, but to them, it might be extremely nice and something they seek out actively. Do not let your human mind and desires be what drives you in what is ethical and moral! Be inclusive and understand that a cow, a dog, a cat, and a human, all want different lives, all are equally valid, and you all can coexist and gain things from each other. Like with trade, everyone becomes richer.
(Anne:) Life, like my friendship with Vivian, is not a zero-sum game!
(Vivian:) LEEROY!
Blog image generated by ChatGPT.
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Copyright ©️ 2024 Vivian Sayan and Anne Winchell. Original ideas belong to the respective authors. Generic concepts such as Earth circuses are copyrighted under Creative Commons with attribution, and any derivatives must also be Creative Commons. However, specific ideas such as the Circus Stellaris and all details about the concept, people, creatures and all other details, and all language or exact phrasing, are individually copyrighted by the respective authors. Contact them for information on usage and questions if uncertain what falls under Creative Commons. We’re almost always happy to give permission. Please contact the authors through this website’s contact page.
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