HUMANITY IN THE 29th CENTURY

In the seven and a half centuries since the late 20th century, many basic facts of life have changed for the human race, both physically and culturally. These are discussed below, first in general and second more specifically in regard to each of the human-inhabited systems.

GENETIC MODIFICATIONS

While wholesale genetic modification of human beings is uncommon in most societies, over the years a number of alterations have become common in the human gene pool. Almost all genetic diseases have been destroyed, along with a number of common human deficiencies such as near-sightedness and back problems. The human immune system has also been enhanced; while people can still catch diseases, only the most virulent of natural viruses can catch hold.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

Access to advanced medicine and dietary aids has made the typical human a paradigm of almost perfect health. Average adult height is approximately two meters, and everyone is in perfect condition. Home computers constantly analyze each individual's health (through remote detection of body temperature and heart rate, delicate sensors installed in beds, and chemical examination of excretions) and automatically adjust one's diet by adding and subtracting nutritional components and drugs from food prepared in automated kitchens.

EDUCATION

Through advanced educational methods and self-learning techniques all 29th century adults are approximately twice as intelligent as their counterparts in the 20th century. Children are taught specialized recall routines, advanced symbolic logic, and a number of meditation-like techniques which can boost recall, reasoning, concentration, perceptiveness, reaction speed, and creativity. Physical control techniques which can stop bleeding, block pain, and increase healing rates are also quite common.

In education, subjects such as calculus, relativistic physics, historiography, semantic analysis, cellular metabolism, and socio-economic equations are taught in most cultures at the "mid-school" level, just about puberty. Full-time education usually continues until about age 30, and much longer for advanced degrees. A variety of "learning drugs" can also be used to enhance memorization and perception, but they tend to lose effectiveness with prolonged use. It should be noted that despite all these methods the human mind is influenced by many factors, including emotions, and humans are still quite capable of acting stupidly.

SPECIFIC HUMAN CULTURES

SOL

Due to a number of factors, Sol remains the most diverse of all human systems. Much of this is due to simple genetics: the other colonies are all descended from seed populations of no more than 40,000 people, often much less. The original interstellar colonists were also often related racially, further limiting their genetic base. In contrast, when life on Earth was destroyed there were already over 8 million humans scattered across Sol, drawn from all the racial groupings of Earth's past. This diversity has maintained a level of genetic heterogeneity found in no other system.

Additionally, Sol is the only system to maintain large populations living in many different environments. Other colonies had the advantage of gravitic engineering to allow moon and asteroid colonies to maintain full-g norms and advanced terraforming to make marginal worlds more Earth-like, luxuries unavailable to the early colonists of Sol. Interbreeding between persons adapted to such varied conditions as Mars, Luna, and the Belt has produced a potpourri of humanity found in no other system, and any generalities must, of necessity, be highly qualified.

LUNA, THE HABITATS, AND THE OUTER MOONS

The oldest human colonies, the inhabitants of these settlements in Sol are typical of modern man. Their only distinctive features are their adaptations to low gravity. The average Cookie is well over 2.3 meters in height and has a strong tendency toward obesity which even the best home diet computers have a problem overcoming completely. Musculature is atrophied, especially in the feet and legs; Cookies, Habbers, and outer colony citizens in full-g environments suffer greatly from fallen arches and leg cramps. Arm and shoulder muscles are often over-developed, especially in younger individuals who practice the common low-g sport of flying. Special dietary supplements retard bone decalcification, but older citizens still tend to have exceptionally fragile skeletons.

MARS

Mars' history has been dominated by conflicting pushes to adapt to the harsh Martian environment and a strong desire to leave humans untampered (often with the professed goal of some day returning to Earth). Mars' population thus shows a great diversity in their degree of alteration. At one extreme are those whose ancestors have taken advantage of genetic engineering to fully acclimate to Mars: thick skin with subcutaneous layers of fat to protect from the cold, longer nasal passages with extra hair to filter out sand, eyes adapted to the dim light, and expanded lung capacity to draw more oxygen from the thin atmosphere. At the other end are humans unchanged from their Terran past who are forced to wear heavy clothing, goggles, and breathing filters to survive outdoors. Most people fall somewhere in between. Still, over half the Martian population requires some form of technological assistance to function outside of the pressurized cities.

LOCKHEED

Of all human populations, the Belters have been the most drastically altered from the original Terran norm. Fully adapted to zero-gravity, Belters average well over 2.5 meters in height (length?) and have been known to reach 3 meters. Almost impossibly thin, Belters appear to be skin wrapped over bone. Their muscles are wiry, but deceptively strong. Additionally, their joints are exceptionally flexible, allowing Belters to bend in ways impossible for other humans. Belter eyes are much more sensitive to light, allowing them to see in relative dimness, though light equal to Terran daylight is blindingly bright. Pitch black skin protects them from exposure to the high levels of ultraviolet radiation common in space and the plasma tubes used for lighting hollowed out asteroids.

The most drastic change is in the Belters' feet. Centuries of genetic experimentation have given them prehensile toes, almost as long as their fingers (which themselves can be as much as 10 cm in length). Despite their flexibility, the big toe remains non-opposable and "podal dexterity" is still far from equal to that of the hands; the feet are used mostly for grasping and anchoring.

AURORA

The defining characteristic of the Aurorans is, of course, the bizarre metabolic mutation which occurred in their ancestors which seems to speed up their lives. While there is no actual increase in nerve or reaction speed, the Auroran system is constantly awash in adrenalin and other hormones, filling them with energy and a need for activity. Aurorans typically sleep less than four hours in a day and function at peak levels of efficiency during most of their waking hours.

This increased pace of life, however, inevitably leads to an early death, and modern medicine is unable to do anything about it. Sometime between the age of 50 and 60 an Auroran will suddenly and without warning fall down dead, a victim of complete metabolic overload. Total replacement of all major organs before the age of 50 can lengthen life, but the process is extremely expensive and rarely adds more than a decade before brain functions begin to deteriorate, leading to a long, slow decline into senility. Few Aurorans choose this route.

The Aurorans were also the developers of many of the special educational techniques common to all systems today, and still remain masters of them. Auroran children learn faster and earlier than others, a necessity as they reach puberty at the ages of 8 to 10 and are often parents by the age of 15. The Aurorans also teach a variety of mental and physical control techniques designed to enhance sexual pleasure, and their reputation for skill and stamina is renowned in many systems.

Unrelated to any of these other changes, due to simple genetic drift Aurorans are much smaller than other humans, closer to 20th century norms. They rarely exceed 1.8 meters in height.

TYRELL

The Tyrellians have made few genetic modifications to themselves, and actually have few people even conversant with genetic engineering. This is not due to any compunction about altering the human form; indeed, the Tyrellians revel in such alterations. However, their efforts are concentrated toward cybernetic enhancements, an area in which they excel.

The vast majority of Tyrellian citizens have cybernetic enhancements of one sort or another. Replacement limbs and sense organs are common, usually with increased strength or acuity. Many changes are purely cosmetic, such as synthetic skin and hair with color-changing capabilities. Also common are various brain implants, the most common being a jack allowing direct computer to brain interface. Scientists and top executives often implant extra memory and sub-processors into their bodies. These do not actually increase intelligence; the effect is more like having a personal computer available at all times, though the interface between mind and computer is much faster than if it were mediated by eyes and fingers.

It should be noted that Tyrellian cybernetic alterations are rarely designed to appear like regular human flesh, though they are quite capable of doing so. Instead, the Tyrellians revel in appearing machine-like, viewing normal flesh as weak and primitive. Approximately 19% of the Tyrellian population (the wealthiest) are full cyborgs, their brains transplanted into robot bodies which may only vaguely resemble a human form. A significant number, in fact, are simply brains in non-mobile life support systems, who experience the world solely through cyberspace.

KUISTI

In many ways, the Kuisti are the least altered of all the human races, most like their ancestors on Earth. While the Kuisti do not actually condemn genetic engineering, they and their predecessors concentrated on spiritual rather than physical improvement. The most noticeable difference to outsiders is that the Kuistic immune system has had fewer enhancements and is much more vulnerable than those on other worlds. To compensate for this the Kuisti are quite advanced in immunology and disease control, fields of medicine which have languished in other systems.

It should also be noted that while the Kuisti use many of the mental techniques developed on Aurora, they have often reinterpreted and expanded them into semi-spiritual forms of meditation and prayer. Kuistic techniques also emphasize community prayer and meditation, unlike the individualistic methods of the Aurorans.

CIMMER

While the people of Cimmer have made few purposeful changes in their genetic pool, natural selection has worked with great speed to alter them. The initial Scandinavian colonists, only 1467 in number, were already a large people adapted to cold climates. Due to pre-selection by the colonial board on Earth those who went on the journey were also the most intelligent, fit, and ambitious persons around. All of these qualities were sorely tested in the harsh environment of Cimmer.

Modern Cimmerians are exceptionally large, above 2.1 meters and 160 kilograms. Most of the weight is dense muscle, with a thick layer of subdermal fat for insulation, but much is also due to a genetically engineered increase in bone density to handle the increased gravity. Despite their bulk, Cimmerian reflexes are almost blindingly fast. Eyesight and hearing are extraordinarily acute; Cimmerians can see in extremely dim light and can navigate in darkness by echo-location. All of these qualities are enhanced by intensive early training and constant practice in the deadly environment of Cimmer.

KALAHARI

The people of Kalahari, living on the most Earth-like world discovered by mankind, fall near human norms in all ways.

ATHENS

Little is known of the people of Athens, who communicated rarely with the rest of humanity during their centuries of isolation. What evidence there is suggests that the Athenians are extremely intelligent, mostly through pre-selection. (The original 162 colonists were all well above genius level.) It is believed that they may also have made genetic enhancements since then to further increase intelligence, though the connection between genes and intelligence is still little understood on other planets. Further enhancements are gained by training, including mental techniques and drugs which may go far beyond what is known on other worlds. Various signs suggest that the Athenians are all capable of eidetic recall, enhanced spatio-mathematical reasoning, accelerated linguistic/symbolic processing, lucid dreaming, and conscious control of creative mental states.

Due to the extremely small genetic pool with which Athens started, recessive reinforcement is quite common despite three centuries of genetic engineering and controlled breeding. An abnormally large percentage of the Athenian population suffers from some major physical or mental genetic defect, while minor defects such as anemia and mild neuroses are ubiquitous. Exact numbers are unknown as the Athenians are loathe to speak of such things.

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