Human
Homo sapiens
Humans are new to the Alliance – but their novelty belies a long history of struggle, sorrow and redemption. Imagining themselves alone in the universe, they brought their planet and themselves to the brink of annihilation, surviving only by profoundly changing how they lived. Armed with hard-won knowledge that the worst must not be allowed to come to pass, humanity now stands with the Alliance against the forces of cruelty and decay.
Human Appearance
Requirements
None. All the players are (hopefully) humans already! If not… you’ve done a good job hiding it and clearly don’t need any tips.
Additions
- Cybernetic or prosthetic limbs. Growing replacement limbs is possible in this setting, but there are still downsides and many characters will opt for cybernetics.
- Damage or adaptation from different environments is common. Examples include permanent frostbite, lichtenberg scars, and sun spots.
- Humans are also especially fond of altering their appearance with tattoos and piercings.
Avoid
Don’t wear makeup that mimics a listed alien, or looks significantly non-human.
Human Biology
Humans are an endothermic species of omnivores, descended from arboreal primates. They have four limbs and exhibit bilateral symmetry – which is to say, they have two arms and two legs, one on either side of their body. They possess internal skeletons.
Humans are considered to reach physical and emotional maturity at 18, although it’s widely accepted that they still have much to learn after that point. Human lifespans can vary greatly; modern medicine means that humans generally live to be 100 years old and can make it as far as 150 years old without persistent mechanical assistance or genetic modification. With intervention they can live even longer, although their actual quality of life (and how far they may be considered “just” human) after that point is up for debate.
Individual humans can vary wildly from each other in many ways, from skin and hair colour to height and weight. There is one particular variation in human appearance which evolved during their confinement below the planet’s surface and at its extremes; these Polarised humans are marginally better adapted to cold, darkness and pressure. The physical indication of these traits are a grey colour to the cheeks and deep, dark eye sockets.
Human Culture
The history of Earth’s inhabitants is one of trial, error, and change. Complex hierarchical structures are a common element of human societies, which they have retained after their development into a space-faring species. Unlike the top-down hierarchies of old, however, modern human social structures tend to be both introspective and co-operative: every member of a group must be allowed input on group actions, though proven experts and leaders are still given due precedence.
Early human societies relied on unsustainable resource extraction, facilitating their rapid development while putting extreme stress on the planet’s ecosphere. In spite of a pre-Alliance paradigm shift toward preservation, the planet is still scarred by this period, as is the earthling psyche. Historical awareness has long been a hallmark of human thought and culture.
Humans are also distinguished among members of the Alliance by having created another member species – the Anthroids. In general, the relationship between the two species may be compared to the close but occasionally awkward relationship between a doting parent and their adult child: the sense of stewardship that humans have over their planet extends to a protective instinct towards their creations, to mixed reception on the Anthroids’ part.
Naming Conventions
Humans use a mix of contemporary and futuristic forenames, with a preference for names suggestive of space, stars, celestial bodies, and voyages. Those with closer ties to Earth are more likely to use historical names.
Name examples: Stella, Eli, Jupiter, Wander, Sol, Mona, Altair, Pallas, Aten, Andromeda, Saros, Dione, Cassio, Polaris
Human Homeworld
Galactic Co-ordination System: Spur, SOL-3
The human homeworld of Earth is isolated in galactic terms, and humans did not establish meaningful contact with other intelligent lifeforms until relatively late in their history.
Humans have adapted quickly to the technology of the Alliance, and to life within a galactic community; their flexibility has been attributed to factors such as the volatile ecosphere of their planet, or the global shift towards mutual survival and co-operation which predated first contact with Alliance species’.
Human History
Like all sentient species, the early history of humanity was defined by their homeworld and their relationship to it. As one of the two most recent species to join the Alliance (the other being Anthroids, which were built by humans in humanoid form), they have spent comparatively little time within the galactic community – but they have caught up quickly, and they and the Alliance have both been enriched for their efforts.
Prehistory to A -3000
Modern humans evolved, and spread across the face of the planet Earth. Though different human cultures varied wildly in their beliefs, values and cultural expressions, there are a few trends in human thought across the ages that resonate with their descendants – chief among them being the creation of art in the shape of humans, and the charting of the stars overhead.
Approximately A -575
Human spaceflight begins around this point, with several cultures engaging in various attempts to leave the planet’s surface and explore outer space. Progress is staggered but rapid, with long intervening periods between sudden leaps – from Earth’s moon, to the neighbouring planets, to the outskirts of the solar system, before…
A -450 to A -425
The beginning of humanity’s dark age – centuries of unsustainable extraction come to a head in global conflicts over resources, exacerbating the environmental decay caused by the same processes. Before they reach the breaking point, shelters and habitats are constructed underground and at the planet’s thawing poles – a desperate play to keep the species alive, and one that demanded a total shift in cultural priorities towards preservation and mutualism.
A -425 to -375
Humans adapt over this period to lives spent sheltering in place, monitoring the environment and doing what they can to assist in the planet’s recovery.
A -375 onwards
The planet slowly stabilises, allowing for limited exploration outside of the refuges in the latter half of the century. The Anthroids are created, and humans – for the first time, to their knowledge – are no longer alone in the universe.
A -275 onwards
The twin keeper species of Earth became aware of the Alliance from an ancient Omdua signal, and – after deciphering the message’s coded instructions, and after 25 years – built their first spacecraft with a manifold collapse. 10 years afterwards they cross the gap, meeting sentient life from beyond their own star for the first time in A -240.
Present
Efforts to restore Earth have been bolstered with the technology and expertise of new allies, while many take the opportunity to spread out among the stars. Though they have only been known to the galaxy for a few generations at time of writing, it is difficult to imagine the Alliance without humans.
