Human

## Humans

A group of humans showing their variety. Note the range of age, skin tone, hair, and eye colors.

**Humans** are one of the three main races within Heaven's Fence. They are terrestrial beings (live on land) and usually move with erect, bipedal posture; high, manual dexterity with notable opposable thumbs that allow them to use various tools; and use complex, open-ended language (mainly verbal, but also includes a variety of non-verbal communication as well). They inhabit areas throughout all 78 planets in the colony, with very few areas being uninhabitable for them, especially when given their high problem-solving skills.

## History

Humans seem to have been apart of the colony since its formation, which no one has yet to recount. They seem to hold very little power in the grand scheme of The Fence, even though they outnumber both the Mages and the Prise, or any other race present in the colony, perhaps even combined. For this reason, they seem to make up the majority of the United Red Army as well.

## Habitat

Humans seem to be able to make any environment habitable for living. They can be found all throughout The Fence—from the deserts of Dil-Ariuth IX, to the stormy, watery depths of Donar. They are very adept at using any and all tools and technology available to them to survive these various environments. They are also omnivores which helps them to find sustenance in any area. Though their intelligence, strength, and skill-levels vary, they tend to be evolutionary—that is, as a species, they are able to evolve out of their weaknesses which allows their race to perpetuate.

## Biology

Humans all have generally symmetrical bodies that include: a head; with hair, two eyes & eyebrows, a nose, a mouth, and two ears; a torso; with a neck the head sits on, a chest that features two breasts with one nipple each, two arms that bend at the elbow, and wrists that have hands with five fingers each, a bellybutton on the stomach, a curved spine along the back that ends at the buttocks, and genitalia; two legs that bend at the knee and ankles that have feet with five toes each. Depending on the sex of the human, some features are different. They bleed red blood.

Humans often display a uniquely large sense of individuality resulting in them changing many aspects of themselves, even their bodies. Humans are so resilient they can even survive without major aspects of their bodies including key parts such as: eyes to see, noses to smell, mouths to speak, ears to hear, arms and/or hands which are used for a variety of tasks including writing, using tools, or other dexterous activities, legs and/or feet which are used primarily for basic transportation (walking), and even their breast tissue and sex organs, which are used to birth and care for their children.

Human's have a mixed set of teeth. Their front teeth, though not particularly pointed, are flat and wedge-like (called incisors) which allows them to cut into many different forms of sustenance; they have so-called canine teeth on either side of the incisors which **are** pointed and which helps to tear the food away from it's source (similar to how perforation works); and lastly they have molars which are larger, nearly flat teeth that crushes the food and breaks it down to be swallowed and digested.

Human children are born from the female sex that carries them in a womb for roughly 9 months. They give live birth after this time. Children are, on average, around 20 in (50 cm) tall and weigh around 8 lb (3.5 kg). Depending on the sex, an adult human's height varies, though genetics play a part in one's final height as well. The average height of a male is 5 ft 7 in (171 cm), while females average a height of 5 ft 3 in (159 cm). The average human male weighs 170 lb (77 kg) while females average 130 lb (59 kg).

### Appearance

Coloring has a large variance amongst humans with skin tone ranging from very light (almost white) to very dark (almost black); hair color bases are mainly black/brown and blond/white; and eye color bases are mainly blue/green and brown/black. That having been said, humans again express their individuality by modifying these characteristics. The skin of a human may be changed with chemicals to be somewhat lightened or darkened or designs can be added to mark the skin (called tattoos) which could be of any color. Hair on humans is found all throughout one's body, but primarily the hair found on the head is often cut into unique styles, and/or dyed into any color, sometimes multiple colors or even completely shaved off (called bald). Some humans may not necessarily wish to make head hair modification permanent as thus wear a hair accessory known as a wig to conceal their natural hair state. Even eye colors can be modified using a prosthetic device that is inserted into the eye cavity to sit on top of the eye's cornea (called contact lenses).

Humans also practice a custom in which their bodies are covered in what is known as clothing. Clothing comes in a variety of styles and colors and is made from various natural and synthetic textiles. Clothing almost always covers the breast and genitalia areas of their bodies, but often covers other areas such as the rest of the trunk, arms or legs, and feet.

### Life Cycle

Humans reproduce internally. The male's sperm fertilizes a female's egg. Though this does not have to occur inside the female, that is the most common way. The average gestation period is 38 weeks, and can vary person-to-person by about 4 weeks. Births, as previously mentioned, are live and usually pushed out—a process that can take an average of 24 hrs. Children can be cut out as well—a relatively safe procedure, this is usually only done for some medical or emergency reason and takes just as long as regular childbirth. Humans go through three stages of growth—childhood (which includes three major sub-stages: infancy, puberty, & adolescence), adulthood, & senescence.

#### Childhood

Human children are completely helpless at birth and require constant care. Either the mother or father is able to care for the child. In childhood, infancy is the first stage and is when a human is most vulnerable. It lasts until no more than two years of age (it may end sooner depending on the child) and children during this stage are called infants. Characteristics during this stage include the child's lack of speaking and walking, and sometimes not being able to consume food on their own or defecating on their own.

The next major stage, puberty, begins around 11 years of age. During the gap between these major stages, the child develops various skills including dexterous movements that allow them to use tools, balance which allows them to walk, run and perform other movement-based tasks, speaking and other forms of communication, and begin education to learn and socialize. Puberty is when a child begins to transition into an adult physically. This transformation begins internally with hormone production to prepare the body to be able to produce children. The external changes may come much later, or just soon after. These changes include breast tissue changing to suit the sex (larger in female than males) and the reproductive organs beginning egg or sperm production. This stage may last until the child is about 16 years of age and children may be called youths during this time.

The child then enters the final stage of childhood: adolescence. This is the stage in which a child is socially transitioned into an adult. They are given tasks and responsibilities that express more and more of their independence from their parents. This may include things like preparing food for themselves, looking after a pet, being responsible for setting up their first adult steps (perhaps getting a job in society, pursuing higher education, or even belonging to extra-familial group working to a specific goal). A common mark of this stage is a child learning to drive a vehicle and being able to have more autonomy over their lives. Within human society a child is considered a legal adult during this stage as well (which allows them to do all full adult activities), but may still be called a "young adult" instead.

#### Adulthood

Humans reach full adulthood at around 25 years of age and spend the majority of their lives in this stage. During this stage, humans are the most independent and secure at this stage. They are usually socially separated from their parents and may even be becoming parents themselves. They usually do not rely on their parents for their basic and everyday needs. They have total autonomy over themselves including entering into a contract, marriage, voting, having a job, serving in the military, buying/possessing firearms, driving, and traveling abroad. Additionally, they may engage in activities that could harm them such as consuming alcoholic beverages, smoking, sexual activity, and gambling.

An adult achieves seniority at about the age of 65, but this age varies based on the society. Seniority affords prepares the human for the final stage of their life: senescence. Seniority allows a human to retire from a job, get government assistance (like a monthly payment to supplement their funds, free health care, and even discounts at certain establishments), in addition to other benefits. Usually, a human reaches seniority before senescence begins which allows the human to enjoy a restful period of their life before their body begins to breakdown. Many humans will take advantage of retirement and pension to do things that they otherwise didn't have time to do. They also sometimes help their children take care of their own children (their grandchildren) especially so they can continue to work to support their families.

#### Senescence

Senescence is the final stage a human goes through in the life cycle. On average, the process begins at the age of 55, but doesn't really effect the human until the age of 70 or even 80, depending on the human. A human's health throughout their childhood and adulthood will determine how harshly they experience senescence and how soon. Some humans can even experience the stage much earlier at the age of 40 or so.

During this stage, a human's body (both internally and externally) begins to break down. Their hair begins to lose its color, their eyes may also become dull, their skin will lose its elasticity, and they will no longer be able to produce healthy eggs or sperm for reproduction. Internal organs like the heart or lungs or even joints and muscle may also breakdown; not being able to work as well as before. In general, a human's health recovery is very slowed, or even completely stopped; they become very fragile and/or sick. It is at this stage that a human may cease functioning and die. This occurs on average at around 73 years of age, though very healthy and active humans have been noted to live into their 100s, one even living until 122.

Humans in general are pretty fragile. They require oxygen based air to breathe and may die if they aren't able to obtain it for about 5 min or longer. At just 4 min of deprivation, their brain may suffer permanent loss of function. Limbs do not grow back if lost and some other things, such as eyesight, hearing, and some internal issues can not be fixed if damaged. They may be able to survive without their limbs, but the head and majority of the torso (specifically the part that contains the heart) is necessary to their survival. They are not particularly strong (exerting around 107 lb [48.5 kg] of pressure on average). It takes about 160 lb (72.5 kg) of pressure to crack one of their bones. Now, a human's force can grow with the use of tools, but is still pretty limited.

## Psychology

The human brain, located in the top portion of their head (called the skull), is the central point of the human body's nervous system. It controls a human's body in two ways: in involuntary or autonomic activities (breathing, digesting, blinking, and so forth) and in more conscious activities (moving, speaking, thinking, and so forth). They have a complex mind that results in complex behavior, thoughts, philosophy, and emotions. They have developed a whole field of study for exploring this aspect (called psychology).

### Sleep and Dreaming

Humans require an average of 8 hr sleep each day in order to maintain high functionality. Younger humans require more sleep and elder humans require less. Sleep deprivation can have negative effects on a human's functionality both physically and mentally, including reduced memory, fatigue, aggression, and general bodily discomfort. Sleep has three main levels: Rapid Eye Movement (REM), in which dreams occur as the transition between consciousness and unconsciousness occurs; Light sleep, in which the human is, for all intents and purposes, unconscious, thought could be easily awoken; and Deep sleep, in which the human is unconscious and not easily awoken (dreaming often occurs during this stage as well).

Dreaming is an interesting phenomenon. Described as the succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during sleep, humans have been unable to pinpoint why dreaming occurs. Some prevailing theories include: dreams allow the subconscious to process events that leave lasting mental or emotional impressions; dreams are the result of a person's nervous system firing signals while unconscious to confirm the entity is still alive and these signals being interpreted as dreams by the unconscious mind; dreams act as a way for humans to act out things they are unable to do in their waking lives; and lastly that dreams are a by-product of sleep and serve no real purpose.

### Motivations and Emotions

Humans are motivated by a variety of things. Humans receive a variety of biological feedback that may motivate them to accomplish basic tasks. For example, if a human is hungry, they experience a pain in their stomach and may also experience headache, tiredness, and mental blur. This may motivate them to seek food; if they live in a society in which food is obtained through the exchange of goods (including money) they may be motivated to find work to have the means to obtain food. Other common motivation factors include thirst, rest, safety, health, loneliness, praise, and simply because they like something.

They may also be motivated by pain or fear. Many humans, when frightened, will simply do as they're told to avoid what they perceive to lead to death. Similarly, pain causes the fear of death specifically, though humans in their fragility are use to small pains. The pain must be so big that it will lead them to think it is not the same pain as the small ones they've experienced before. Some humans have a higher sense of purpose or trust that pain of any kind may not motivate them but some other factor will. Perhaps they have no regard for their own life, but regards the lives of their friends or family. Finding what motivates a human makes them easily manipulatable.

Emotions are an expression a human's state of mind through their nervous system. There are eight core emotions: anger, caution, happiness, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, and disgust. Many other emotions can come from these and some emotions are a cross between two core ones. Not all emotions are considered positive; in most human societies, it is considered rude to express anger or disgust in some social settings. In some other settings, humans may want to conceal even their positive emotions in order to deceive. Emotions are primarily expressed through facial expressions, but may also be expressed through their body (called body language).

Sometimes emotion can affect a human's tone in their speech or disposition. This can be harder to detect since it is not just the direct expressions their face or body displays. Interpreting both the direct and subtle qualities a human uses to express their emotions is known as "Reading the Room."

### Sexuality and Love

Though species reproduction requires sperm and egg, humans that carry these functions are not always sexually attracted to each other. Humans are able to be sexually attracted to members of the same sex, or those without functioning sex at all. There are other anomalies as well, such as intersex (individuals with bits of both sexes). A human's appearance and personality sometimes does not correlate with their sex, but this also doesn't exactly matter in terms of sexuality. Though there are many subcategories to human sexuality, the four main ones are: heterosexuality (attraction between male and females), homosexuality (attraction between same-sex peoples), bisexuality (attraction for all persons), and asexuality (attraction for no persons).

Some societies seem to have an affect on humans expressing their sexuality, though this doesn't have any affect on the existence of the sexuality itself. It seems prevalent that heterosexuality is often not considered taboo, no matter the society (probably due to the preservation of the society itself), but even where all sexualities are accepted, some other subcategories are still taboo. This includes things like incest (sex between family members), pedophilia (attraction to children), and rape (non-consensual sex).

Humans also express love, which is affection that does not relate to sex. This can be extended to just about any other person or even thing with no social repulsion. The most common types of love are: familial, platonic (usually amongst friends), romantic (usually for a sexual partner), and self-love. This is a very strong emotion that stems from the core emotion of happiness. If manipulated with advance skill and thought, this can control a human completely.

## Culture

Humans are very social creatures and depending on their environment and evolution opportunities, groups of humans developed slightly different customs, language, technology, philosophies, and religions. Sometimes this can be a source of strife amongst humans. Culture also includes the social norms and behavior amongst the people that belong to them. This includes how people dress, speak, and behave to one another, what rights and privileges are afforded to whom, what the division of labor or role various humans might have depending on age, sex, and other factors. Within the colony of Heaven's Fence, humans as a whole have the lowest social power. They are designated to maintain and harvest the planets and live "safely" under the rule of the more superior inhabitants (Mages and Prise).

## Society

Again, as social creatures, humans live in societies. Societies are very similar to culture in that they facilitate norms and behavior for groups that the culture has created. This includes the family group, various ethnic groups or subculture groups, and governing and political groups. The society also dictates how the group as a whole interacts with other societal groups and how they should trade, do business, and resolve conflict or go to war.

## Notable Humans

* Sirius Amory
* Leonard Hohenberger
* Claudio Kilgannon (Though he may have other DNA, including Mage and Prise, he's mostly human.)
* Nostrand Crane
* Nia Worn

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human
2. ↑ Sanchez, Claudio and Peter David. *Year of the Black Rainbow*. Prologue. Evil Ink, 2010.