Atlanteans

**Atlanteans** (*Homo mermanus*) are a race of mermaid-like beings who live underwater, namely in the submerged cities of Atlantis and Lemuria.

## History

### Origins

The origins of Atlanteans have been long lost, but a few theories exist:

* **Genetic manipulation:** As amphibious physiologies have been found in both Inhumans and Deviants, it has been speculated that it was scientifically bestowed upon humans by Inhuman or Deviant geneticists.
* **Divine intervention:** The Atlanteans often give credit to Neptune for transforming them from air to water-breathers.
* **Natural evolution:** It has been stated that ten thousand years ago, a genetic offshoot of humanity evolved the ability to live underwater. However, the Atlanteans violently reject this theory of natural evolution.

Atlantis itself was a small continent with many human settlements, when an event ten thousand years ago called the  Great Cataclysm caused it to become submerged into the sea. Two thousand years later, a group of Atlanteans transformed the ruins of the Atlantis settlements into their home and went to develop a society there using as much of the material as they could scavenge from the wreckage.

Five hundred years after the settlement of Atlantis, another group of Atlanteans left Atlantis to found their own city - this time in a part of the ruins of another continent submerged during the Great Cataclysm - Lemuria in the Pacific Ocean.

During the 20th century, the Atlanteans began to come into sustained contact with their human cousins. These contacts have often been hostile and have included many aborted invasions and even separate occasions when large numbers of Atlanteans were rendered comatose or sterilized for periods. During World War II, the kingdom of Atlantis fought against the Axis Powers in alliance with the Allied Powers.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Amphibious physiology:** Most Atlanteans can only survive out of the water for about ten minutes without artificial aid.

* ***Aquatic respiration:*** Atlanteans possess gills that enable them to extract oxygen from water. These gills are located on their necks near the clavicle bone.
* ***Superhumanly acute senses:*** Atlanteans are specifically adapted to living in the ocean. Their eyes are capable of seeing with perfect clarity, even in near-total darkness on the ocean floor. They are also able to hear and smell under the water as well as humans do on land.
	+ ***Superhuman vision***
	+ ***Superhuman hearing***
	+ ***Superhuman olfaction***
* ***Superhuman strength:*** The average Atlantean can lift about four tons.
* ***Superhuman durability:*** Atlanteans are capable of withstanding extreme pressures and temperatures of the ocean depths.
* ***Superhuman speed:*** Atlanteans can run and move at speeds greater than the finest human athlete.
	+ ***​Superhuman swimming:*** Their superior speed also extends into swimming, and they can move at speeds of about 30 to 35 miles per hour.

## Culture

The culture of the tribal Atlanteans remains primitive, with ritualistic dance and story-telling at its core. The culture of monarchic Atlanteans is slightly more sophisticated, with its class or guild of entertainers. The religion of most tribal Atlanteans is pantheistic nature-worship. The state religion of monarchic Atlantis holds in reverence the Greek god of the sea, Neptune, who once lived among the Atlanteans some two millennia ago before leaving them.

### Technology

Most Atlanteans live in caves on the ocean floor or submerged portions of coral reefs. The inhabitants of Atlantis live in the ruins of the ancient city of surface Atlantis. Because there can be no fire under water, the Atlanteans have lacked the capacity to forge steel or burn fossil fuels for energy. Due to their aquatic medium habitat, they are also unable to isolate or mix chemicals. Consequently, the Atlanteans never developed a native technology beyond that of flint tool-making. Swords and armaments used in warfare were large salvaged from teh ruins of surface Atlantis or sunken ships of human construction. It was only in the past century, through interaction with the scientists of the Deviant race. Astronomy, chemistry, biology, and physics remain virtually unknown sciences to the Atlanteans. Medicine has remained primitive, with drugs unheard of and surgery impossible while under water. No system of mass communication has ever developed, nor any means of mass transit.

### Government

Atlantean government has traditionally been tribal, although the citizens of Atlantis have adopted the stylings of a monarchistic republic from their long-dead surface predecessors. Besides an ancestral monarch, Atlantis has a council of Elders, who serves as the judiciary and legislative branch of government. Although the monarchy of Atlantis claims all Atlanteans of the Atlantic Ocean as its subjects, the monarchy provides neither services or protection nor demands tribute or recognition from those who live beyond a one-day swim from Atlantis.

### Food

Atlanteans subsist on raw fish and seaweed. They are largely a hunter-gatherer society, who have made successful attempts to farm seawee. In most Atlantean tribes, males hunt for fish and females gather seaweed. In the monarchy of Atlantis, society is stratified so that there is a special guild of hunters and gatherers who provide food for the entire population.

### Languages

Atlanteans communicate by means of a limited range of high-pitched vocal sounds and elaborate "signing" gestures. A more varied spoken language is not possible due to the inherent limitations of sound transmission through water.

However, a spoken and written language exist.

## Notes

* It is not known precisely how many Atlanteans are in the world today. The number is believed to be fewer than ten thousand, an extremely small figure when compared to the surface human population of more than six and a half billion. About two thousand Atlanteans live in Atlantis and in its immediate vicinity. Others live in small enclaves at various locations in the oceans.
* The government style in Atlantis runs based on a monarchy.