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Rise of Homo Superior
History > 0030 to 0900 AT: Solsys Era > 130 to 400 AT: The Interplanetary Age
Sophonts > Modosophonts > Homo Superior
History > Significant Historical Events
Sophonts > Modosophonts > Homo Superior
History > Significant Historical Events
 Image from Steve Bowers | |
| A typical 'Homo Superior' morph from around 300 AT | |
The First Biotech Revolution
Even in the 1st century AT (1969-2069 CE), the concept of germline modification of the human genome to enhance desired traits was theorized and was even a subject of occasional social and political debate, as well as rare experiments performing very minor changes. However, no significant use of the technology occurred during this period. Two factors played a role in this. First, contrary to what had been suggested by some, the human genome and how it created its respective phenotypes proved to be extremely complex - rather than a simple mapping of a single gene for a single trait, genes turned out to have many simultaneous functions and to interact with other genes and with myriad environmental factors in ways that seemed, at the time, to be nearly impossible to fully understand and disentangle. Second, as a result of this, modifications to such a complex system (beyond curing the simplest genetic disorders that were caused by errors in a single identifiable gene) were widely viewed as unethical and even banned in some nations, due to the unpredictable and wide-ranging results they might have on the health of the human that was born. In addition, the then-recent cultural memory of evils such as prejudice, forced sterilization, and even killings done in the name of supposedly 'good genes' (or "eugenics"), especially during the 1st century BT (1869-1969 CE), cast a long shadow over the concept of human genetic modification.Starting in 130 AT (2099 CE), things began to change rapidly. Several major advances in predicting the development of genotypes into phenotypes occurred, creating a revolution in biotech. This was enabled by the development and deployment of specially-trained superturing AI in biological research, as well as quantum computer simulations of certain developmental processes, and testing and refining predictions based on animal models. Some biological processes that formerly had been viewed as hopelessly opaque and entangled webs of causation suddenly became understandable, predictable, and most importantly, alterable. While at this time there were still very many unknowns and the state of the art was still quite primitive compared to what would develop in later centuries, let alone millennia, the idea of using this technology to alter or improve the human condition entered mainstream public discourse.
This revolution in biotech was of immediate interest to the various futurist and longtermist groups of the day. Wealthy, ambitious supporters of such groups began to express interest in assisted reproduction via genetic engineering of gametes and subsequent in vitro fertilization. The goal was to take those parts of various human genotypes that had recently been discovered to be heavily causative for high intelligence, psychological health, attractiveness, longevity, and disease resistance, and to combine them to create new genotypes likely to result in persons whose phenotypes would be in the highest part of the human distribution for all of these traits simultaneously. Several biotech entrepreneurs set up corporations to provide such services, Celeron being the most famous, charging enormous sums for their proprietary and individually tailored combinations of genes. Tens of thousands of hopeful parents signed up.
Founding of the Orbital League
Despite the excitement in some sectors, among the wider population the technology was enormously controversial, decried as everything from 'playing God', to a permanent entrenchment of inequality, to a crime against the unity of humankind. Most (though by no means all) nation-states on Earth that had not already done so banned the sale of genetic enhancements, and in some places protests broke out against the technology, businesses offering it, and any lawmakers who were hesitant to interfere. Reacting to this, high-profile supporters of human modification financed the construction of space habitats where they could pursue their goals in peace, made possible by advances in automation and space-based infrastructure such as the mines and mass driver on Luna. These habs were variations of the Stanford Torus design first theorized some 130 years previously, and were placed in various orbits around Earth. Several were independent from Earth nation-states from the beginning, while others were sponsored by polities that were more friendly to the goals of those pursuing modification. While some parents and their modified children stayed on Earth, many moved to these new communities in space.The habitats were developed into idyllic towns with specialized schools and universities where these families could raise their enhanced children. Opinion of these places on Earth was sharply divided from person to person, and with variation on average from region to region. Some saw them as the vanguard of the inevitable future of humanity, while others condemned them as separatists or even as supremacists. They were derided as not being "Homo Sapiens" anymore, but mocked as "Homo Superior". Biologically speaking, however, the very basic modifications of this century still placed them firmly within the same species, and these early individuals were later proven able to interbreed with baseline humans.
In the mid-140s AT (mid-2110s CE), the first Homo Superior babies were born. As they grew up, it became clear that, as phenotypic simulations decades earlier had predicted, the goals of the genetic modification were successful - in most cases, anyway, as a few instead suffered from previously unknown disorders due to unforeseen genetic interactions. The healthy Homo Superior children were quick learners, consistently well ahead of their baseline peers in school. Their IQs were 2 standard deviations above that of baseline humanity - though of course this fell on its own normal distribution, with some Homo Superior being equivalent to the baseline average, while others were true geniuses and wonder children. Many Homo Superior adolescents graduated from college and even earned their doctorates before 18 years of age, with changes being made as a result to employment and ownership law on the orbitals and lobbied for in some Earth nations.
Antipathy against modified humans began to subside - though only to an extent - as the first generation of Homo Superior entered the public eye and began their careers. These young adults were (by and large) exceptionally talented, outgoing, charismatic, and attractive by baseline standards. As business leaders, scientists, models, celebrities, and politicians, they won over many through the fact that they really didn't seem to be different from humans, just very good exemplars of humanity. Many Superiors, their families, and their supporters went to great lengths to portray their goals as ones that could benefit all of humanity, paving the way for advances in medicine and in safe genetic modification of adults. The term Homo Superior remained in use, but lost connotations of mockery and instead became a neutral term used to refer to the modified humans, though they themselves did not use it until centuries later lest they be viewed as supremacists. In 166 AT (2135 CE), several of these young leaders founded the Orbital League, often considered the first true space-based polity, consisting of all the Superior-run habitats in Earth orbit.
Growth and Diversification
During the ensuing century, many (though not all) Earth nations that had laws against the sale of genetic modifications loosened these laws to at least some extent to allow for proven modifications to be sold under tight regulation. More and more of the wealthiest baseline humans deciding to have children purchased the services of the nascent gengineering corporations, seeking to have their offspring be born Homo Superior. In many baseline cultures, this even became the standard for the richest to ensure that their children could continue to remain competitive, rich, and powerful. Superiors themselves also typically had children, usually with fellow Superiors, mixing and passing on their genotypes to the following generations of Homo Superior. Nonetheless, though influential, Homo Superior remained a very small minority in absolute terms at this time.Many Superiors continued to expand the range of their roles in broader civilization, often gravitating toward leadership in politics and business. Others, however, stayed in their own communities, which grew and split into descendant settlements in new orbitals as well as habitats across Solsys. In addition to their genetic differences, it became more and more evident that - in this early phase - the most important difference between Homo Superior and baselines was cultural. While distributions of abilities between the groups overlapped, communities of Superiors developed a distinct culture with its own art forms and pastimes, and usually exhibited great interest in further genetic improvements in the next generation and in pushing the limits of humanity. In contrast, baselines valued their own many different cultures to a great extent, and usually had interest in only the most basic modifications, generally related to disease prevention or the minimum necessary to gain a competitive edge. At the Superiors' behest, on Earth and in their orbitals and habitats, research was ongoing into finding new ways to further enhance intelligence, emotional regulation, and other traits. As the generations passed, Homo Superior was on a path of further and faster divergence from the baseline human condition than was the general population of humanity - though this latter group gradually gave rise to the earliest nearbaseline clades.
In 275 AT (2244 CE), the Orbital League - by now joined by many more and newer habitats, many of which had little or nothing to do with Homo Superior culture - was reformed and expanded into the Cislunar Alliance, becoming much more influential in Solsys geopolitics and still almost exclusively with Superiors in leadership roles. As the colonization of Solsys continued, so did the growth of the Homo Superior culture and gene pool, which in the late 3rd century AT was beginning to exhibit internal divergence. Alongside newly developing tweak and provolve species, different groups of Superiors developed their own unique cultures, including different ideas about what the ideal human phenotype to strive for should be, in turn leading each group down separate paths of genetic selection and engineering, and resulting in many truly separate human species.
After the founding of the Gengineer Republic in the Jupiter system in 292 AT (2261 CE), many Superior groups began to migrate there. What they sought - and found - was a large polity culturally and legally supportive of efforts in then-radical experimentation of many different kinds, in biology, AI, and connections between them (such as mind uploading). These Superior groups were thus enabled to seek human perfection (however they defined it), aided by the exchange of ideas and genetic modifications with likeminded groups and clades. This included not just other varieties of Superior, but also varieties of nearbaselines, as well as tweak and provolve clades.
 Image from Keith Wigdor and Midjourney AI | |
| During the Solsys Golden Age, some Homo Superior cultures experimented with extensive cyborgization, especially on Dione and Callisto. | |
Along with other clades, many Superiors played pivotal roles (relatively speaking, as modosophonts) in the founding of the Federation of Sophonts in 933 AT (2901 CE). Throughout the Federation and thereafter, Homo Superior - together with other clades of all sorts - continued to expand and diversify, a process ongoing to this day.
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Development Notes
Text by ProxCenBound
From an original by M. Alan Kazlev; rewritten 17 March 2023
Initially published on 17 December 2000.
From an original by M. Alan Kazlev; rewritten 17 March 2023
Initially published on 17 December 2000.
Additional Information
Copyright notice for Cyborg-Superior image above : "All text prompts and datasets and visual directions created by Keith Wigdor, Art and Graphics generated by Midjourney Ai". This image should not be used elsewhere without Keith Wigdor's permission
