Kerbals

> *Go to Terminology for a full basic list of all species and races.*
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INTRODUCTION

## **Habitat and Population**

Early kerbal settlements were dependent on proximity to water and, depending on the lifestyle, other natural resources used for subsistence, such as arable land for growing crops, and areas high in sunlight. But kerbals have a great capacity for altering their habitats by means of technology, through irrigation, urban planning, construction, transport, manufacturing goods, deforestation and desertification, but kerbal settlements continue to be vulnerable to natural disasters, especially those placed in hazardous locations and characterized by lack of quality of construction. Deliberate habitat alteration is often done with the goals of increasing material wealth, increasing thermal comfort, improving the amount of food available, improving aesthetics, or improving ease of access to resources or other settlements. With the advent of large-scale trade and transport infrastructure, proximity to these resources has become unnecessary, and in many places, these factors are no longer a driving force behind the growth and decline of a population. Nonetheless, the manner in which a habitat is altered is often a major determinant in population change.

Technology has allowed kerbals to colonize their homeworlds (and in space-faring nations, other worlds) and adapt to virtually all climates. However the kerbal population is not uniformly distributed in the cluster, because the population density varies from one region to another and there are large areas almost completely uninhabited by kerbals. With a low but not uncommon population size, kerbals are among the lower tiers of space-faring populations.

Kerbal habitation within closed ecological systems in hostile environments, such as atmosphere-less planets and outer space, is expensive, typically limited in duration, and restricted to scientific, military, or industrial expeditions. However, many nations have been able to develop ways of colonizing other planets habitable to them in relatively low-cost ways such that they could expand. Many parts of the cluster have been visited by kerbal-made objects.

## **Biology**

### **Anatomy and Physiology**

Most aspects of kerbal physiology are closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology. The kerbal body consists of the legs, the torso, the arms, the neck, and the head. An adult kerbal body consists of about 50 trillion (5x1013) cells. The most commonly defined body systems in kerbals are the nervous, the cardiovascular, the circulatory, the digestive, the endocrine, the immune, the integumentary, the lymphatic, the musculoskeletal, the reproductive, the respiratory, and the urinary system.

Kerbals have massive heads with respect to their bodies with roughly half of their total volume accounted for the head. Kerbal eyes protrude from their heads significantly, which also have a colored iris and black pupil situated towards the center of the organ. They also possess no eyelids. They're slightly sensitive to bright light, though will typically wear sunglasses or UV bands to rectify this.

Their skin color is fairly consistent between members of the same race, though each race has a different pigmentation of skin. As of current documentation, skin tones do not mix, and as such the child will typically take on the skin color of the mother, although some cases of the father's skin color are notable. The green pigmentation is known to come from high concentrations of chlorophyll in their cells.

Kerbals have an awkward, sprawling walk due to their wide pelvis and short legs. A Kerbal's walking speed on Kerbin is about 2.85 ft/s (0.87 m/s), it's running speed is about 7.71 ft/s (2.35 m/s).

The average kerbal stands about 2 ft 10 in (86.36 cm), though the accepted range of adult kerbals is between 2 ft 6 in (76.2 cm) to 3 ft 6 in (106.68 cm) tall. They average weight of a kerbal is about 115 lbs (52.16 kilograms).

Kerbals are warm-blooded, as they have the ability to sweat. They have three (3) known blood-types; G Type, which is found in Kerbious, Vernyy, and Legkiy; and H+ and H- Type, which is found solely in Chelovek.

### **Genetics**

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As of this current time, no known documentation exists.

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### **Life Cycle**

As with other mammals, kerbal reproduction takes place as internal fertilization by sexual intercourse. During this process, the male inserts his erect penis into the female's vagina and ejaculates semen, which contains sperm. The sperm travels through the vagina and cervix into the uterus or Fallopian tubes for fertilization of the ovum. Upon fertilization and implantation, gestation then occurs within the female's uterus.

The zygote divides inside the female's uterus to become an embryo, which over a period of 16 weeks (4 months) of gestation becomes a fetus. After this span of time, the fully grown fetus is birthed from the woman's body and breathes independently as an infant for the first time. At this point, most modern cultures recognize the baby as a person entitled to the full protection of the law, though some jurisdictions extend various levels of personhood earlier to kerbal fetuses while they remain in the uterus.

Compared to other species, kerbal childbirth is fairly easy. Due to their wide pelvises, they are able to birth their children fairly easily. Kerbal fetuses will typically come out head first, though this is not a requirement. Surprisingly, a baby kerbal does not have the overly-enlarged head, and as such don't have issues with it upon birth.

In developed countries, infants are typically 6–8 lb (2.7-3.6 kg) in weight and 15–20 in (38-51 cm) in height at birth. However, low birth weight is common in developing countries, and contributes to the high levels of infant mortality in these regions. Helpless at birth, kerbals continue to grow for some years, typically reaching sexual maturity at 14 to 16 years of age. Females continue to develop physically until around the age of 18, whereas male development continues until around age 20. The kerbal life span can be split into a number of stages: infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood and old age. The lengths of these stages, however, have varied across cultures and time periods. Compared to other species, kerbals experience an unusually rapid growth spurt during childhood, where the body grows 35% in size. The presence of the growth spurt is probably necessary to keep children physically small until they are psychologically mature.

Evidence-based studies indicate that the life span of an individual depends on two major factors, genetics and lifestyle choices. For various reasons, including biological/genetic causes, women live on average about three years longer than men—the universal average life expectancy at birth of a girl is estimated at 85.6 years compared to 82.2 for a boy. There are significant geographical variations in kerbal life expectancy, mostly correlated with economic development—for example life expectancy at birth in a generally economically well-off nation is 97.1 years for girls and 94.8 for boys, while in developing countries, primarily because of disease, war, or other, it is 32.5 years or less for both sexes.

### **Diet**

Their green skin contains chlorophyll allowing them to photosynthesize. They, like a plant, gather solar energy and use that to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and sugar. The Kerbal then respire the oxygen and sugar to make carbon dioxide, water and usable energy when needed, allowing the Kerbal to survive entirely on light.

They also have the ability to eat to get energy, though typically they are herbivores. Before the development of agriculture, they would gather fruits, berries, and wild-grown plants to eat. After they learned how to farm certain types of crops, those soon became their main sources of food. Over time, they eventually began other crops as well, and as of now are able to get whatever plant-food they wish. They will usually consume plant life to gain their energy, though if they absolutely must, will eat meat to get their energy.

## **SpeciesTraits™**

> *See Also: SpeciesTraits™*
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## **Biological Variation**

Kerbals are not a very diverse species, only having four races of substantial note.

### **Kerbious**

**Kerbious** Kerbals are the most standard of Kerbals. They have medium-tone green skin. They typically have black, dark brown, and dark gray hair, though lighter browns and grays have been documented. Most Kerbious have black, dark brown, dark blue, or dark green eyes. They typically stand around 2 ft 6 in to 3 ft 6 in tall.

Kerbious typically have an average lifespan, in developed countries, of anywhere between 80 to 90 years old.

### **Vernyy**

**Vernyy** Kerbals are the second most standard of Kerbals. They have dark-tone green skin. They typically have black, dark brown, and dark gray hair, though lighter browns and grays have been documented. Most Verynyy have black, dark brown, dark blue, or dark green eyes. They typically stand around 2 ft 6 in to 3 ft 6 in tall.

Vernyy typically have an average lifespan, in developed countries, of anywhere between 80 to 90 years old.

### **Legkiy**

**Legkiy** Kerbals are the third most standard of Kerbals. They have light-tone green skin. They typically have black, brown, gray, and blond hair. Most Legkiy have black, brown, blue, green, gray, and amber eyes. They typically stand around 2 ft 6 in to 3 ft 6 in tall.

Legkiy typically have an average lifespan, in developed countries, of anywhere between 80 to 90 years old.

### **Chelovek**

**Chelovek** Kerbals are the rarest race of Kerbals. They share an appearance similar to humans, though with the exaggerated head and extremities of a standard Kerbal. They have medium-tone green skin. They typically have black, red, auburn, brown, and blond hair. Most Chelovek have brown, green, blue, gray, and red eyes.They typically stand around 4 ft to 5 ft.

Chelovek typically have an average lifespan, in developed countries, of anywhere between 70 to 80 years old.