User:Ilysen/Human

Humanity has spread out into the stars in staggering numbers from its home of Earth in the Sol System, and in all shapes in sizes - from personal vessels, pirate ships, and trans-stellar corporations to independent colonies, governments, and religious institutions. They've quickly become one of the more powerful civilizations, nearing the strengths of the Skrell. This has come, though, at quite a cost. Over the course of human history, especially of that beginning in the 21st century, humanity has had to tackle many different problems to get to where it is today.

Variants
With the advent of genetic sculpting and targeted gene therapies, the shared genome of the human species has diverged wildly from its roots. The vast majority of modern humans have a stronger metabolism, are more resistant to radiation, and have much stronger immune systems that are better equipped to fight off diseases and chronic conditions.

Several "subspecies" of human have appeared since wide-scale genetic engineering became feasible. These unique phenotypes have appeared either from evolutionary pressures, or more commonly, through purposeful modification of an individual's biology and physiology. While minor changes can be applied to living humans, more dramatic ones have typically been executed incrementally over several generations, especially for the more dramatic phenotypes.

Vat-Grown Humans
Vat-grown humans, also called vat-growns, vats or vatties depending on who you ask, are the most common human subtype, and the least divergent from baseline humanity. With medical science and cloning on the forefront of scientific advancement, the "mass production" of living people has become a reality. Slavery, indentured servitude, and flash-cloning (rapidly growing an adult human from seed genes) are all forbidden in Solar space, there exists a margin of legitimate corporations to take up contracts for growing and raising new humans to aid in population growth or filling new colonies.

Many humans from these projects are known as the "nonborn" - those with singular names and identifiers, such as ID-John, BQ1-Bob or Thomas-582 - while others, bearing more typical human names, are raised by foster families or government caretakers.

Biologically, vat-grown humans have only minor differences from their parent species. They tend to be paler than baseline humans, although those with darker skin better display the dull, greenish hue resulting from their artificial growth. Vat-growns also lack an appendix, and have fewer inherited genetic disabilities (owing to the ability to be more meticulous with curating a genome), but also have a weakened metabolism resulting from their "birth" in regulated nutrient baths, and some even become incapable of having children at an earlier time than other humans.

Grav-Adapted Humans
Gravity-adapted humans are also known as gravworlders, have been purpose-engineered to thrive in bright, high-gravity environments. When humans began establishing colonies on planets far denser than Earth itself, passing generations revealed a gradual acclimation to local conditions. Gene-editing was used to capitalize on these traits, resulting in the gradual appearance of the first true grav-adapted humans.

In the modern day, grav-adapted humans are the second least numerous human subtype. They can be found across Solar space, although due to their heavy biological acclimation to certain areas, they're an uncommon sight in environments with "normal" or reduced gravity.

Gravworlders are heavier and have a much stronger build than baseline humans, in addition to thick radiation-resistant skin with a high lead content, denser bones, and recessed eyes beneath a prominent brow to shield them from the glare of a dangerously bright alien sun. These aspects come at a cost of reduced mobility, flexibility, and increased oxygen requirements to support their robust metabolism. Almost all gravworlders are also darker in skin color, so as to better protect themselves from sunburn and harmful solar radiation. Other than their notable brow and heavier builds, they still remain very similar in appearance to baseline humans!

Space-Adapted Humans
Space-adapted humans, typically called spacers or more recently duskers, have been evolved to thrive in environments with little to no gravity, and typically no natural light or atmosphere. Like gravity-adapted humans, aspects of their biology appeared in some forms over time, but genetic engineering was used to "create" the first real space-adapted humans.

Contrary to their name, spacers are most at home on planets with low light and gravity, rather than space itself. By far the least common phenotype of humanity, much of their populations can be found enjoying the perpetual twilight of tidally locked home planets, which also have a low mass by nature. This is where their nickname of "duskers" comes from! They are also found in high numbers in permanent space installations or crewing long-haul ships, as their biology makes acclimation to zero-G conditions and working in the vacuum of space remarkably easier than other types of human.

Spacers are lithe and comparatively frail compared to normal humans. Modified by design to acclimate to limited space, they have a slower metabolism than other humans, but as a result, have a weakened skeleton and muscles that tear more easily, making them more vulnerable to pressure. With noticeably larger eyes, they also have much better eyesight in conditions with limited lighting, but are more vulnerable to bright flashes as well. Spacers are also typically very pale, whether it be a result of a lack of natural light or just because of their heritage.