Human

Humans (H. sapiens) are humans, you know what they are already, I’m not about to write my own whole wikipedia article for them. They come in many varieties.

They are distinct from Spirits due to their lack of anything special or unique.

History¶

Humans have existed on Earth since Era Dira, as confirmed by the existence of various artifacts dated at over 3000 years old, but there is yet to be a consensus on just how old the human species is thought to be, or its origin.

Anatomy & physiology¶

Humans in this world are, on average, slightly stronger, faster, and more durable than humans in the real world. Their fast twitch muscles are stronger and wear out slower, their reflexes are faster and reaction times shorter, and their bones are both denser and slightly more elastic. The average strength gap between males and females is also much narrower.

This is unashamedly for the purpose of justifying cooler action scenes, especially when considering that the average human in this world is closer to that of a trained athlete in the real world, so the most exceptional humans in this world may be capable of some truly insane feats. Use and abuse this all you want.

• Bones are twice as hard to break, both from impact force and bending
• Average sprint speed is 16 mph (25.7 kph) and can last 12 seconds
• Average reaction times are 150 ms visual, and 110 ms auditory
• Average unconscious reflex time is only 50 ms
• G force resistance is as follows:
  • Sustained vertical Gs (10 sec): -3 to +6 on average, -5 to +10 with peak training
  • Conventional G-suits can add 2 positive Gs, and double the sustainable time
  • Sustained horizontal Gs (10 sec): 23 on average, 30 with peak training
  • Short peak impact Gs: Up to 55 uninjured (when harnessed), 195 theoretical max
• Average strength is as follows:
  • Squat: 1.9x body weight for males, 1.7x body weight for females
  • Bench: 1.5x body weight for males, 1.2x body weight for females
  • Deadlift: 2x body weight for both males and females
  • Overhead press: 1x body weight for males, 0.9x body weight for females
  • Pushups: 50 for males, 40 for females
  • Pull-ups: 20 for males, 16 for females
  • Planks: 90 seconds for both males and females

Regarding the implications on resistance to weapons this may imply, there are only two factors to keep in mind, regardless of whether or not the following lines up with real-world knowledge and understanding of human physiology or the laws physics.

Bullet resistance is not increased, aside from a slightly higher chance of small caliber, low power bullets ricocheting off of the skull at certain angles.

Blade resistance is also not increased, not even in the bones. What increased resistance the higher bone density provides is offset by the higher arm strength of the attacker, and the metallurgy of the world may also help compensate.

These increased abilities therefore will not allow humans in this world to survive running through a war zone or being stabbed or cut severely just to be cool. They are intended only to allow humans to fight at full strength for longer periods of time, react and move faster, and endure more blunt force trauma, e.g. fist fighting.

In short, you still need to write fight scenes with a degree of realism in mind. The limits that are commonly pushed in fiction for style anyway are simply now a quantified and justified default. Unrealistic feats even with these limits in mind can still be written, but should take some serious thought first.

Interracial relations¶

For most of history, humans have been strongly prejudiced against spirits of all types, and have constantly perpetuated discrimination, hate crimes, and even genocides against them. In recent years, this racism has sharply declined as more and more of the world works to change their treatment towards spirits, but some holdouts will likely always remain.

Comments

Comments