Homo Sapiens / Alter: Halfpints
The homo sapiens altered species known as Halfpints are caused by the effects of overpopulation in some mega cities where space is at a premium. Because of the availability of technology, many develop an almost innate understanding of it.
Being so closely related to humans with only minor changes, the Halfpints are usually welcomed into places when humans live & work. Their natural tendency to tinker with all matter of tech has led them to finding constant work in this field. Many are well paid and the occasional mishap is usually overlooked.
Requiring the same basic needs and having a similar physiology as Humanity, if it weren't for their size, they could easily be mistaken for diminutive humans. They show the same basic aptitudes & intelligence as humans.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Halfpints are almost identical to standard humans with two differences. The first is the most obvious; their height. Most are about half as tall and up to 2/3rds their width. The second is not as identifiable, and concerns their eyes. Halfpint eyes are much more developed than humans, with more tightly packed rod & cones in the eye structure allowing for greater colour detail & able to see better in low light, as well in darkness. Also there seems to be slight changes in the make up of their eye proteins, where a silver carbon mix appears allowing light to slightly reflect back in around the eye too.
Genetics and Reproduction
Halfpints share similar genetic & reproduction patterns the same as humans. The genetic markers for height & build has mutated naturally to help them conserve space in overcrowded areas such as metropolises, star ships, ad the confines of off-world environments.
Behaviour
Halfpints have a tendency to be highly curious by nature and experts at tinkering with machinery. Though Stunts may be experts at building solid machinery that can last, it's this subspecies that leads to many improvements & advanced designs of technology. They have a need to constantly fiddle with some type of device at any one time and sometimes more, or even combining elements of two or more into the one device. Because of this they have a tendency to be attached to laboratories, test facilities and areas such as deep space crews where this innate ability can be put to good use, especially if things go wrong. Unfortunately it's not uncommon for them to be responsible for the tech messing up in the first place, especially if it's left unattended for a while.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Except for the eyesight allowing them to see better in darker environments, Halfpints have pretty much similar senses to standard humans.
Civilization and Culture
History
To all intents & purposes, Halfpints are diminutive Humans, with some very slight differences. The mutations that caused them to first appear seem to have sprung up on many metropolises on Earth, followed a few years later on many off-world colonies. Minor strains appears very shortly afterwards but have little overall effect on the enclaves of Halfpints. They were first documented about he 2300s when medical staff noticed more & more children being born smaller than normal but at the same time being identical to the average human, except smaller. Most put it down to chemical poisoning, a released microbial pathogen, genetic tampering or something more esoteric. They were also thought of as suffering from forms of dwarfism or similar conditions but none of the side effects were found.
During this century, many Halfpints founded their own enclaves in human controlled space. There they were generally left in peace and two other traits appeared. One, was their knack of being very lucky, and it led to them being seen as happy-go-lucky. The other is their ability with technology. Experts at carrying out maintenance, repair to out & out building tech from the ground up, makes them indispensable to many individuals & companies. How this latter trait came about is still unknown to this day.
One other thing stands out about them, their love of food & drink. Halfpints regularly go with only half what an average human would need to survive, yet every few days to weeks individual Halfpints go crazy with food & drink. Why this happens seems to be related to their metabolism, and the regular monthly cycles of hormones. They are noted to be quite social, and the enclaves regularly have large meetings that everyone can attend. They bring as much food & drink as they can, eating & drinking for hours if not a handful of days. Men, women & children are all found participating, and most outsiders are amazed by the amounts consumed. When over they go and sleep it off over a day or two before going to ther regular routines. Even when not like this their food & drink are generally classed as excellent with many top chefs being Halfpints, and if they're not working with machines, they can find employment in the food industry.
Historical Figures
One renowned chef and food producer is a Halfpint. Going by the name of Raphael du Poulet, he is most well known in his home city of Paris in France as THE leading master of the culinary arts. He has also tinkered with many cuisines mastering them all, along with the processes involving the production of his own brands of foodstuffs & kitchenware.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
Homo Sapient 'Halfpints'
Origin/Ancestry
Earth / Terra, subspecies of human
Geographic Distribution
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