The Luminaries

The Luminaries are genetically engineered human beings, enhanced to utilize more of their brainpower. Luminaries are both male and female and have genetic ancestry originating in most human races.

Mahtoht

This organization, started in the Renaissance, began a breeding project using only the most intelligent men and women of their day.  Mahtoht has been called "Illuminati" by outsiders who misunderstood their purpose.  They adopted the name "Luminaries" for their modern members as a private joke.
They served as keepers of protected knowledge charged with a mission it would take geniuses to carry out.  Many went on to become business or science leaders; only a few chose not to leave, devoting their lives to carry on their mission.  For thousands of years, they created, raised and trained their own members,until a modern member, Dr. Engel, broke the code of the human genome and began to experiment with the genetic samples donated by (or stolen from) contemporary geniuses.
These Luminaries were given numbers rather than names until such time as they chose a name for themselves. They were raised and educated as research subjects until adulthood, at which time they chose a specialty and began to participate in the research programs as scientists. They have observed modern culture through media, but have never lived in it.
Luminaries have their own language, called Calyx, with which they speak to each other, but never use Calyx in front of an Ordinary. Within the dei Angeles Enclave where they live, they have their own quarters separate from Ordinaries, their own society and hierarchy. Their leader is designated as First Chair, as in the leader of an orchestra under the direction of a maestro. Their maestro is Dr. Engel.
There are seven classes of Luminaries:

• Titan: Brown eyed, brunette, heights ranging from 5' 10" to 6' 4", age 30
• Pantheon: Blue eyed, blond, heights ranging from 6' to 6' 4, age 28
• Seraphim: Blue eyed, blond, heights ranging from 5' 8" to 5' 10, age 26
• Cherubim: Heterochromia iridis (blue and brown eyed), blond or redhead, 5' 2" to 5' 6", ages 22 - 24
• Omega: Golden eyed, blonde, 5' 4", age 20 -- single entry class (Persephone)
• Phi: Golden eyed, blond, 5' 6", age 18 -- single entry class (Gabriel)
• Tabula Rasa: Green eyed, blond, 5' 2" to 5' 6", age 15

With each new class, specific tweaks were made to design their physical characteristics as well as mental capabilities.