Humanity

***Homo sapiens sapiens***, or **Humanity** (***Renzi*** in the Dialect), is an extant species of sapient primates that originate from the planet Earth who are most notable for their potent psionic abilities, comparable to that of the Stryges and the Datyri. They are bipedal with two arms and hands that feature opposable thumbs. The majority of the Human population exists primarily aboard the Greatships as part of the Diaspora, with an estimated number of roughly 900 million, slowly decreasing over time from an initial estimate of up to 1.5 billion, as a result of millennia of conflict, including and especially because of the complete loss or destruction of several Greatships and the millions who reside aboard them.

Modern *Homo sapiens* is the progenitor of the diverse *Homo* genus, with other extant *Homo* species including *Homo cariosus* and *Homo castigatus*, who are generally agreed to have evolved from *Homo sapiens*. In the aftermath of the Zalmoxian Gambit, most of the population of Earth took to the Greatships and to a largely nomadic existence, with only a comparably small number remaining on Earth, whose status is largely unknown. Some groups of Humans in the millennia since have attempted to leave the Greatships and establish states and colonies on other planets, but are generally met with hostility on the part of the Greatships and rarely last longer than a few decades.

## History

### Before the Great Calamity

Little is known about Humanity prior to the Great Calamity that set the species back by centuries. However, it can be assumed that they were relatively advanced, as is evidenced by the existence of colonies on other planetary bodies, including outside of their original solar system. Clear evidence of extensive and sprawling urban areas on Earth points to this as well.

Pre-calamity Human society is assumed to have been characterised by disunity, as oral stories and more material evidence both indicate the existence of frequent conflict and war. Pre-calamity Humans are also assumed to have lacked psionic ability.

### Post-Calamity and Zalmoxian Gambit

Little is known about the Calamity, but it is generally agreed to have resulted in the deaths of billions of Humans, as well as likely led to the extinction of several non-sapient species. Those Humans who survived largely did so in mountainous regions of central Asia and the Americas. These survivors and their descendants would be slow to reclaim their technological legacy, as fear and mistrust of the ruined cities remained fairly common in these survivors' culture.

Old knowledge would be gathered, gradually, mostly from great libraries that survived the Calamity. Humans would also begin to experiment with their evidently newfound psionic abilities, honing it over several centuries. Eventually, a new skill was developed: the ability to use psychic power to enter foreign dimensions. The process, even for the most hardened psychics, was extremely exhausting and partially self-destructive, but Human pioneers into the psionic realm continued their experiments.

Most of these dimensions were home to alien, esoteric environments entirely incapable of sustaining Humans for longer than a few seconds without intense psychic intervention. One, however, was evidently different, as while still taxing on the human body and inhospitable to Humans, it housed beings that they found familiar, subsequently called deities or gods, who were immensely potent psychic beings, individual power far beyond anything any individual in the Milky Way has ever wielded.

The discovery of this dimension and the beings within it spawned many new perspectives and arguments amongst the leaders of Humanity. Some viewed them as figures to be worshipped, others were fearful of the potential of their power, while most desired to venture further into their realm in search of greater wisdom. This latter group continued their efforts, finding that the beings responded to Human presence with a range of negative reactions, ranging from fear to hostility. Some early pioneers lost their lives in these expeditions. To some skeptics, this proved their concerns, but to the majority, it galvanised them to explore further.

Through many years of research, a method of entrapment was developed, the same method that would be used in Greatship engines, so that the Humans could question and probe the beings without fear for their safety. In a large-scale but poorly recorded operation that would come to be called the Zalmoxian Gambit, many of the beings were captured by the pioneers.

The pioneers recognised the immense power of the beings they had taken captive, and the potential uses of that power. Through many years of debate and development, it was decided that they would be used for the construction of great engines used to power massive ships to leave Earth and explore the galaxy, which would become the Greatships. It took over a century of construction before the Greatships, along with most of the Human population, would leave Earth.