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Humans
An Emissary of the First Federation
Image from Steve Bowers
The term "human", or hu, is generally applied to Terragen near-baseline modosophont biont hominids, specifically Homo sapiens and closely related or derived species, who bear moderate bodymods, or none at all, and are not radically different from the original human stock in overall form and behaviour.

At one time the human race was the dominant life-form on Earth and in the Solar System, but by the Age of Consolidation they had long since been supplanted by hyperturing AIs. All hu are bipedal mammals. Members of the the baseline species averaged somewhat less than 2 metres in height and massed approximately 75 kilograms, though with some considerable personal and local variation; derived varieties are more often than not broadly similar in size, though there are some notable exceptions.

Generally, hu are divided into:
(1) Baselines/Near-Baselines, with or without augmentations and enhancements.
(2) Superiors (su) who are sufficiently similar to the original stock in form and psychology.
(3) Tweaks adapted to various environments who are still hominid in shape.
(4) Cyborgs of hominid form who are primarily biological
(5) Bioborgs of hominid form whose biology is still predominantly human.
(6) Rianths whose heritage is predominantly human and are hominid in form.

As may be imagined, there are some doubtful or debatable cases. Lazurogened neanderthals are regarded as a kind of nearbaseline human by most, and most societies do not regard lazurogened australopithecines as humans unless they have since been provolved. Lazurogened Homo erectus falls into more debatable territory. Likewise the question of whether a clade of neogens created to match the human morphotype and psychology but whose genome is decidedly nonhuman should be called human or not has varying answers depending on who one asks.

 
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  • Normal - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
    Polite term for baseline human, used among themselves. Despite being terribly disadvantaged as a result, some baseline humans choose to stay unmodified for religious, political, or ideological reasons. Most normals form their own isolated polities, or - where they take part in civilization - are looked after by kindly hyperturings.
 
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Baseline HumanHomo SuperiorNear-Baseline Human
Tweak
 
Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev; additions by Stephen Inniss
Initially published on 04 November 2001.

 
 
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