Human
Humans are a space-faring species hailing originally from the planet Earth in the Sol system. They are currently among the most numerous known species in the galaxy, in both population and holdings, and are relatively technologically advanced. With good healthcare and a reasonable lifestyle, they can live to around 110 years. The oldest humans are around 150 years old.
Humanity is the primary driving force for rapid space expansion, owing to their strong, expansionist central government and opportunistic Trans-Stellar Corporations. The prejudices of the 21st century have mostly given way to bitter divides on the most important issue of the times– technological expansionism, with the major human factions squabbling over their approach to technology in the face of a looming singularity.
While most humans have accepted the existence of aliens in their communities and workplaces as a fact of life, exceptions abound. While more culturally diverse than most species, humans are generally regarded as somewhat technophobic and isolationist by members of other species.
See also: Human and Positronic History
Contents
Mechanics
- Humans have their own language, Sol Common, which you can speak by typing say #1.
- Due to how most technology in human-controlled space was made for humans in mind, they can wear most clothing, and even wear specialized space suits designed for other species.
- Humans have no species wide restriction on diet, where as other species might (Skrell can't eat meat, for example).
- Humans are not barred from certain jobs, such as Heads of Staff or Internal Affairs, as the corporation is a human one, afterall.
Overview
Holdings
Various human-dominated governments control a vast swath of territory, due to rapid colonialism and an ever-growing need for more resources. They are larger than the tajaran Pearlshield Coalition, smaller than the unathi Moghes Hegemony, and somewhat smaller than the disunified skrellian Inner Kingdoms.
The Core Worlds
The Core Worlds were the first worlds to be colonized. They are generally densely populated, well-protected, prosperous, and favor the conservative, isolationist Icarus Front. The Core Worlds saw minimal damage in the Skathari Incursion due to preferential treatment by the SCG Fleet.
The Golden Crescent
The Golden Crescent is the cosmopolitan region where Polaris is set. The Crescent has more aliens per capita than nearly anywhere else, making it a popular destination for those who wish to start a new life for themselves. Those in the Crescent tend to favor the liberal Shadow Coalition, but support for both the SEO and GAP remains high in certain regions. The Icarus Front has become extremely unpopular in the Crescent, due in part to the region's large number of genemodders and in part to friction with the Icarus-aligned occupation government in Saint Columbia.
Direct SolGov Control
The Sagittarius Heights
The Sagittarius Heights form humanity's border with the Skrell, and prosper from the trade between the two civilizations. It is a place of contrast, with newly-rich factory owners and trade moguls but also overworked and underappreciated miners and craftsmen. In 2570, major systems in the Sagittarius Heights seceded from SolGov to form the Five Arrows, with New Ohio the only major system in the region remaining under SolGov control. Skrellian influence had historically lead the Shadow Coalition to dominate this region's politics, but the Skathari Incursion saw a sharp uptick in multinationalist, secessionist sentiment that continues to define the ideology of the nascent state.
SolGov
Five Arrows
The Bowl
The Bowl remains underdeveloped despite having been part of human territory for centuries. The people of the region are individualistic, proud, and sometimes resentful of the aliens and positronics they view as having caused the region's neglect. Organized crime is a fact of life in the Bowl, ruling over many local governments as an open secret. They tend to support the protectionist Sol Economic Organization, which promises the people of the Bowl improvements in the local economy and strong, rigid Solar borders. In 2572, several historically human systems in the Outer Bowl were designated the Outer Bowl Special Administration, with the nearby Pearlshield Coalition taking over the systems' defense and taxation, due to the persistent inability of SolGov to combat local Skathari populations and worsening piracy.
Inner Bowl Regional Bloc (SolGov)
- Love
- Zhu Que
- Isavau's Gamble (depopulated)
Outer Bowl Special Administration (joint control)
The Precursors' Crypt
Fewer people live in the Crypt than in any other major region of human space due to its lack of resources. However, a treasure trove of xenoarchaeological artefacts forms the foundation for the Crypt's economy-- it is, for good reason, stereotyped as being full of scientists, museum curators, and accountants, as well as a large number of positronics. Due to the region's well-developed bluespace infrastructure and low population, it was heavily damaged by the Skathari Incursion, leading many to resent the continued interference of SolGov and to support the GAP.
Precursor's Crypt Regional Government
Frontier Terminus Regional Government
The Crypt gave rise to Casini's Reach and New Kyoto, but these systems are no longer part of Sol and are not considered part of the Crypt.
The Almach Rim
The Almach Rim, isolated from the rest of human society, quickly took on a transhumanist, technology-loving, and anti-government bent due to the influence of Shelf and the region's extremely large positronic population. In early 2562, these ideals, and the tension they causes between the Rim and the rest of humanity, lead to the secession of the Almach Association, which was reincorporated as the Almach Protectorate in 2564 and now notionally controls the region in its entirety.
- Angessa's Pearl
- Vounna
- Relan
- Whythe (depopulated)
The positronic flotilla Shelf moved from the Crypt to the Bowl to the Rim in its meandering path up the Almach Stream. It escaped from known human space shortly before the end of the Almach War, ending travel between it and all known polities.
Other Systems
Some frontier systems fall outside of identified cultural regions.
Relations
Humans are the majority species in their original interstellar government, the Solar Confederate Government or SolGov. They make up a dominant plurality alongside positronics in the Almach Protectorate and skrell in Five Arrows, and are an important minority in the majority-tajaran Pearlshield Coalition. Relations between the various shards of humanity are quite tense, though more or less regulated trade and immigration exists between them. As of 2575, there are no declared wars within former SolGov space, though the all-human Vystholm, the enigmatic Vox, and large, organized groups of independent pirates engage in protracted raiding in less-developed regions from the safety of underexplored space.
The skrell are humanity's oldest contact and closest allies, with free migration between the two species' space and a great deal of cultural interchange. However, some on both sides accuse the other species of tampering with their own natural growth and development, and many libertarian humans loathe the caste-based monarchy of the skrell. These positive relations lead to the birth of the Five Arrows, which incorporates both traditionally-human and traditionally-skrellian modes of government.
Humanity is still licking their wounds after their war with the unathi, and despite their victory still regard Moghes with a good deal of fear. Efforts on both sides of the border to ease tensions have not prevented the occasional wave of xenophobic violence.
The unathi's former vassals, the zaddat, are viewed with a great deal of trepidation following their independence. Some continue to decry them as spies and 'parasites', while others are sympathetic to their plight or grateful for the benefits an entire race of poorly-paid technical experts bring to local economies.
The tajaran were lifted into the FTL age by human intervention, a fact neither is likely to forget. Many tajaran migrants in SolGov are exploited as underpaid labor, though international relations have evened out, with the tajaran Pearlshield Coalition providing security for many SolGov systems in the Outer Bowl. Some view this as a new chapter in a history of interspecies cooperation, while some see it as a prelude to a tajaran takeover of vast swaths of space.
Like most races, humanity views the dionaea as curiosities and little else, given their disinterest in the ways of other sapients.
The teshari are a rarity outside of Skrell space and a negligible presence on the astropolitical landscape. The average human accepts the skrell's paternalistic view of the Teshari as fact.
Humanity revived the positronic brains, reworking them in their own image and making them a race of servants. Aside from the rare positronic-majority or all-human system, positronics make up a sizable minority throughout all of human space, especially in the middle and rim systems. Relations between the two are marred by their history of enslavement and the continued discrimination positronics face throughout the galaxy.
Individually, while humans may vary widely on how they feel of the other known species, centuries of cultural xenophobia often prove difficult to shake.
