Need Sanctuaries

In the distant past, most baltariks were heterosexual hetero-romantics. Modern baltariks are predominantly asexual hetero-romantics—a trait they believe was bestowed by the gods to encourage rational, rather than lustful, partner selection and healthier environments for raising children. Approximately 2% of the population have differing romantic orientations, while about 6% identify with differing sexual orientations. Among allosexuals, males outnumber females by roughly three to one.

Baltariks with differing romantic orientations have long enjoyed broad social acceptance, with only fringe extremists being the exception. In contrast, those with differing sexual orientations have faced far greater disapproval. Prior to baltarik integration into human society, allosexuals (heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual) were often shunned as “deviants” rejected by the gods. Many viewed them as malleable and irrational, susceptible to influence from their sexual partners.

Need Sanctuaries are secluded locations across the five planets for allosexuals to fulfill their sexual needs with one another. Prior to the integration, efforts were made to keep these sites secret—both to separate such activities from “polite” society and to prevent blackmail and public exposure. Due to the number of baltariks who frequented them, however, secrecy was rarely sustainable.

Contraceptives posed a more profound societal challenge. Mind manipulation—a punishable offense for its long-term neurological effects—was the most accessible form of contraception for allosexuals. Given the relative rarity of female allosexuals, mind manipulation was not only used on male baltariks to protect against impregnating the female but also to stimulate female allosexuals through multiple, consecutive partners. It was further employed to induce attraction between heterosexual males and between homosexual females and heterosexual males. Scholars believe this practice artificially inflated self-reported rates of bisexuality, male homosexuality, and female heterosexuality. Adding to mind manipulation's rampant practical abuse was its mere use to enhance--or more destructively, enforce--pleasure.

These practices led to widespread sex addiction among deviants, many of whom avoided seeking help from mind doctors due to the stigma surrounding sexual deviance. Harmful behaviors persisted across generations, as older baltariks intentionally or unknowingly inflicted their trauma on younger, less experienced individuals. Need Sanctuaries were rarely spaces for healthy resolution of sexual tension. Instead, they became hubs for sexual predators, risky behaviors, and orgies to attract and prey upon allosexuals seeking an escape from their feelings of rejection and self-loathing.

Deviant activism surged during the era of The Great Peace Organization, inspired by the study of human sexuality. Activists exposed how sexual abuse, stigma, and mind manipulation had damaged baltarik society and undermined its fulfillment of the gods' mission. The most prominent of these activists, Jigo Kadas, a homosexual, spent much of his life visiting Need Sanctuaries across the Jadu Galaxy, serving as an informal counselor and educator. Through hundreds of anonymous anecdotes, essays, and speeches, he argued that allosexuals were as capable of serving the gods’ as any other baltarik. His most compelling example was Kwil Farkos, who was outed as bisexual after decades of faithful service through the GPO. Activism, coupled with human literature, gradually shifted public attitudes toward allosexuals.

Particularly since baltarik integration into human society, allosexuals have gained public acceptance and even support. Nonetheless, stigma persists among traditionalists, extremist rebels of the New Universal Order, and those who disapprove baltarik-human sexual relationships. Need Sanctuaries are less commonly used; human partners and prostitutes have become more popular alternatives. Thanks to the efforts of activists over the centuries, however, Need Sanctuaries have become what their name implies: places where baltariks who hold traditional values can find like-minded partners and fulfill their needs in a respectful, supportive environment.