Human

A young Senate species, the Human's place in the galaxy is uncertain. Whereas most other species have unified cultures, humans revel in their diversity, which renders them untrustworthy to some. This diversity, however, lends them the ability to adapt to any situation and intermingle with practically any species, whatever their goals may be. The appearance of Humans in the galactic scene started shifts in power dynamics and a welcome change in galactopolitics, sometimes with skillful diplomacy, and other times by heated shouting matches.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Humans are a bipedal species hailing from Earth. They also possess two arms and a head on their shoulders. Among the species of the Milky Way, they are a middling species. Not as fast as the Legati, not as resilient as the Chelon, not as intelligent as the Syrac, nor not as long lived as the Nenet, but what they lack in average physical ability, they more than make up for in versatility and adaptability. The average human is more than capable of specializing in any one physical category (sometimes even without the sacrifice of others), but even without training they enjoy moderate success at most tasks.
Humans grow a crop of hair on their heads in addition to eyebrows and sometimes beards. This hair grows in a variety of colors dependent on genetic ancestry. The texture, growth patterns, and density varies wildly depending on ethnic group due in part to a startling amount of genetic diversity. In contrast to their cousins, the Syrac, Humans have much stronger, sturdier builds, an adaptation of their early lives as a prey species turned apex predator.

Genetics and Reproduction

Humans reproduce via viviparous sexual reproduction. Those capable of carrying children to term will experience, on average, 9 months of pregnancy. The Human body is barely capable of carrying a child for much longer than that, and this is reflected with their low birth intelligence. That said, a Human child will grow much faster than most species in the Milky Way; most species experience sexual maturity close to the age of 30, while Humans reach this anywhere from 10 to 15 years sooner, though cultural norms prevent reproduction from occurring before the age of 18.

Growth Rate & Stages

Humans begin life completely dependent on caretakers, whether these be parents or legal guardians. They take their first steps in as little as 9 months, and are speaking by 2 years, much faster than other sapient species. Humans then look forward to 13 years of mandatory education followed by anywhere from 4 to 8 additional years for higher education should this be wanted. Some humans elect to enter military service, where generalist job training takes as little as 10 weeks, followed by specialized job training lasting anywhere from 4 weeks to a year. This rapid development lends Humans the reputation of a swarm to more closed minded citizens of the galaxy.
Most humans reach sexual maturity around ages 15 to 18, though it should be noted that they are not legally considered adults until age 18, and even then, many do not consider adulthood to occur until an age more in line with other species within the galaxy.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Humans are true omnivores, enjoying food from all over the galaxy (though some enjoy more varied diets than others). They are, however, flexible enough to embrace a completely herbivorous diet as well if desired, but not an entirely carnivorous one.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Humans, unlike the rest of the Galactic Senate, employ a fractured system of governance. The nations of Earth operate independently of each other, yet all are subject to Earth United law when dealing with international or interstellar legal matters. While the national governments are important to their constituencies, this article will focus solely on the Earth United, as other species are more likely to interact with this government.
The Earth United Ambassador is elected via democratic election across Earth and all Human controlled systems, along with more localized elections to determined Earth United Senators. Each Human nation and settlement elects two Senators to represent them in the Earth United Senate. This Senate writes, deliberates, and votes on laws that affect Humans on Earth and in space, and the Ambassador represents the vested interests of Humanity within the Galactic Senate.

Civilization and Culture

History

Per Aspera

The Human path to the stars only truly began with war. After their second world spanning war (perhaps uncreatively named World War II), postwar tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two dominant superpowers on Earth, lead to a period known as the Cold War. While not a true war in its own right, the two nations escalated their arsenal of nuclear weapons while also fighting proxy wars. In an unforeseen parallel scientific advancement, the escalation of nuclear arsenals lead to the development of spaceflight. To showcase the advanced technologies used in their ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missles), the United States and the Soviet Union launched several missions into low orbit and surrounding space. The first of these was Sputnik 1 in 1957, which launched what Humans know as the "Space Race". This Space Race saw the Soviet Union landing a remote operated vehicle on Venus in 1967 and the United States making a two-way trip to Earth's Moon in 1969.

The Cold War and the Space Race it spawned would continue for several decades, scientists around the world continued their research and development for continued travel into space. Life among the stars was a multi-millennia long dream of Humans, in addition to contact with alien species, and both of these goals saw most of their development within this time-frame. Several more satellites and manned missions were launched, along with the development of large scale radio telescopes. Not much came of these radio telescope searches save for an incident in 1977, an event known as the Wow! Signal, later revealed to be a radio transmission burst by the Nenet attempting to contact the Syrac. Later that same year, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) launched Voyager-1 and Voyager-2, interstellar probes sent to collect data on their way out of the Sol system. They also contained golden phonograph discs, an antique recording medium, containing audio recordings and codified images from Earth. These discs were also imprinted with Earth's position relative to 14 pulsars and instructions to play the recordings back. It is said among some that these discs are a sort of time capsule, and given the tumultuous times in which they were made, a sort of memorial should the worst come to pass. The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute was founded not much later, whose ranks would include notable scientists like Jill Tarter, Frank Drake, and Carl Sagan.

For many reasons, missions to space slowed to a halt in the coming years. Toward the second millennium, in 1997, the first of three remote controlled research vehicles, named Soujourner, landed on Mars. In 1998, the International Space Station was launched to observe the effects of long term stays in low gravity environments in addition to several scientific advancements. But the pivotal moment in Human spaceflight began with the next mission to Mars. In 2003, NASA launched remote controlled research vehicles, named Spirit and Opportunity, that landed on Mars in 2004 to gather information about the next planet over in the Sol system. These rovers lasted much longer than anticipated, and continued to gather information for nearly 15 years. In 2019, it was announced that the Opportunity rover had finally broken down due to a planet spanning dust storm preventing its solar power panels from generating power. This was merely a cover story, however, to prevent public panic. In truth, Opportunity had discovered a marker placed by the Nenet after the founding of the Galactic Senate. The marker hinted at civilization existing near Mintaka, the leftmost star on Orion's Belt, as well as instructions for the installation and usage of some form of alien technology. Human delegates debated on what could possibly be waiting for them there. It was decided, however, that some new governing body must be established, whether public knowledge or otherwise, to facilitate the journey.

Ad Astra

The first mission to Mintaka was launched in secret. The ostensible goal of the mission was to assign more researchers to the International Space Station, but space agencies around the world were informed of the true goal. Flying under the banner of NASA publically, but Earth United in reality, the spacefaring vessel, designated OV-112 Hawking, departed via conventional takeoff on August 15th, 2027, on the 50th anniversary of the Wow! Signal. Upon reaching low orbit, the vessel flew as normal until a trajectory was found to Mintaka, and the Hypatia Drive gifted to them by the Nenet was activated for the first time. Astronauts onboard described the sensation of faster-than-light travel by way of the until recently hypothetical Alcubierre device as "not as exciting as [they] thought it would be." What would normally take over a thousand years by conventional flight took mere hours, a fact that wasn't fully conceptualized for quite some time. The Human astronauts were greeted by a delegation of the Nenet, first speaking solely to the leader of the expedition, Captain Judith McNair. After peaceful intent was established, the rest of the crew was provided with Aineto devices. There, they would meet several different species active in the galaxy. The Nenet were the first, but then the Legati, the Chelon, the Senec, and finally, the Syrac, which clearly gave pause to the members of the expedition. It was here that the Nenet revealed what they had learned nearly 4,000 years prior. While initially shocked, a sort of kinship and allegiance was struck between the Humans and the species of the Galactic Senate. They spent months together, learning from each other, sharing history and sciences, and all seemed well for the Humans to enter the Senate and the galaxy as a whole. Returning home, however, would provide a challenge they were not prepared for.

Upon return after the months spent with the alien species, Earth United struggled with the revelation and what to do with this information. Some argued spreading it among the public so soon would only cause problems, while the Captain McNair's team held Earth was ready. The arguing went on for nearly a year. Leaks were attempted, and were promptly plugged. It seemed Earth United was willing to sit on the information for as long as it took to disseminate the information as slowly as possible, for as adaptable as a Human is, they felt this was too much too fast. During this period, regular contact was kept with the Senate to share progress and participate in diplomatic discussions, however shadowy they may be. A single Chelon, however, decided it was in Earth's best interest if they were to force Earth United's hand. A small team of them assembled; one Chelon, one Nenet, one Syrac, and one Legati. They would be the first aliens to enter Earth space in millennia.

Upon touching down in Cape Canaveral, disembarking procedures continued as normal. The Senatorial Delegation, as they came to be known, were hidden away within storage crates. Under the cloak of night, Captain McNair and her team walked straight into storage and opened the way for them. A few like-minded individuals within Earth United worked alongside them to address the whole of Earth. The doors to the broadcast room were not only locked and barricaded, but even guarded. There was no telling what Earth United would do to keep the existence of aliens under wraps. The broadcast, known as the First Address, was a message of peace with Humans and to invite the whole of Earth to the Senate. Earth United did everything they could to end the broadcast, up to and including an armed incursion of the facility. In the end, armed troops did apprehend the entirety of the team, but the diplomatic problems this incurred was not realized until the next day.

Veritas Odit Moras

Earth United was unsure of what to do with the aliens they had apprehended. Execution was ruled out, but the question remained of what would be the best way forward for Humans. Unfortunately for them, they would not have to wait long. A message was sent to the Syrac representative via Aineto, but it was confiscated from him during the arrest. When no response was received, a fleet was mustered, massive in scope and immeasurably powerful. Parked within Earth airspace, a countdown was issued. The representatives were to be returned to the Senate Mothership, the Unity, or else the Senate was to assume hostility and begin orbital bombardment. This message, thanks to Captain McNair and her team's efforts in the Senate, were broadcasted in many human languages, to include English, Russian, French, Mandarian, Spanish, Arabic, German, Japanese, and Korean. There was no keeping the existence of aliens private anymore.

Earth United called for a meeting with the Galactic Senate. In attendance would be Captain McNair and the Senatorial Delegation. This meeting was broadcasted for the entirety of Earth to see, and history was made. Now aliens walked among Humans on Earth (with armed guards nearby, as the actions of Earth United bred distrust), and Aineto devices were gifted to Humans all around the world. Humans were given a second chance, though many among the stars were distrusting of Humans as a whole. Fortunately, Humans would prove themselves worthy of the Senate's trust in many military operations, to include the Temmrac Resurgence and the Baoask Incursion.

Lifespan

80 - 100 years

Average Height

1.75 - 2 m

Average Weight

75 - 90 kg