Spartan

Spartans are posthumans designed as super-soldiers. Originating at the start of the Second Interstellar Period, they later became infamous for perpetrating numerous atrocities in that time and during the Interstellar Dark Ages, when they ruled many areas as autocrats and tyrants. While the last vestiges of Spartan rule were smashed long ago, lasting stigma and fear towards them remains.

Biology

Spartan physiology, as befits their intended profession, is designed for increased strength and resilience. They can tolerate environmental extremes debilitating to ordinary humans, such as high temperatures, low oxygen concentrations, and noxious gases, though not to the level of later posthumans like the Extremis. These biological traits are often augmented with cybernetic implants.

Psychology

Unlike some of their contemporaries such as altans and avens, who were designed for greater cooperation and coordination, Spartans are competitive individualists with high right-wing authoritarian traits. They tend towards a zero-sum mentality, where one group or person can only win at the expense of another's loss, and demand submission from those they see as inferiors.

Civilization and Culture

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Most Spartan societies are extremely hierarchical; members are expected to know their place and prove their worth if they want a better one. This can take on a rather monarchial or feudal relationship, with various elite ranks eventually answering to one strongman.

History

The first Spartans were created at the start of the Second Interstellar Period, as biotechnology advanced and posthuman engineering became increasingly optimized. Given humanity's history, it was inevitable that this would be turned towards warfare, and the first groups of Spartans were created. Initially few in number, they were employed as elite troops and master tacticians in the many conflicts which characterized interstellar civilization in this era. Their ruthlessness and willingness to resort to brutality and war crimes in pursuit of their objectives made them feared soldiers; many nations condemed them publicly while feverishly working in private to acquire their own.

It was during the Interstellar Dark Ages that Spartans truly came into their own. Possessed of ships and armies inherited from their former employers, Spartans moved into the vaccuum left by the apocalyptic great-power warfare and conquered many regions, ruling subject planets and space habitats as warlords. These regimes were brutal, with technological restrictions and fear campaigns to keep subjugated peoples in line, and were overcome only after long efforts in the Spartan Wars.

The end of Spartan rule saw many of them being convicted of various crimes, something which outside observers hope has caused an artificial selection effect towards less violence and brutality. In modern times, Spartan societies must make do without their former subject-slaves, and many resent the Stellar Compact for creating a peaceful Starweb with little room for them to practice their favored art of war.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Human

Scientific Name

homo bellator, homo herculaneus, and others