Design Monologue 24: Faces of Man

Human

There's always a "normal" human. Most people in the Union, Foundation, DMZ, and Rogue States are "normal" humans. Once, everyone in the Homeworlds was such. However, the Korrunites had their DNA altered, and the Abelites just made a new race entirely.

Korrunite

Heirs to the legacy of an ancient civilization, in the form of a retrovirus carried by indigenous plant life which modifies the DNA of intelligent carbon-based lifeforms. This biological weapon transforms its victims, and implants them with the memories of the fallen civilization. The Korrunites claim to be the original residents of their world, despite the fact that they are clearly the descendants of the colony ship that landed on their world 600 years ago. They are stronger than homo sapiens, in part due to their adaptation to a high-gravity, high-oxygen world. They are also violent and quick to anger; this is widely believed to be a side effect of the transformation, not a trait passed down from their forebears.

Abelite

When the colony ship Saturn landed on Abel, many of her passengers had already died. Abel was critically low on population, and their problems were compounded by the hostile environment which they were forced to settle. They decided to resort to genetic engineering, creating an entirely new race.

Abelites are not clones; their genetic code is unique from all who came before. They are, however, grown in vitro, using biological matter and genetic material from Abelite hosts. At first, this was simply a matter of survival; they needed to drastically increase their population in order for their colony to last more than a generation. Ultimately, they succumbed to the urge to improve upon God's creation, and increase their race's favorable traits, such as intelligence, longevity, and adaptability to a frozen environment.

Cyborg

While artificial intelligence is illegal since the Earthgate War, those who possess it are not marked for death, as their rights are protected by the Universal Declaration of Unalienable Rights. There are many cyborgs still in existence, and they are torn between respecting the wishes of their creators and fighting for the survival of their race.

:Contrary to popular belief, cyborgs are not automatically stronger, faster, and more etc. than humans. Sure, some are built for heavy industry or combat, and it follows that they would be stronger, but others are built for medicine, child care, or even playing musical instruments. In a very Asimov way, most are built to emulate humans as closely as possible. They are, in fact, upgradeable, so from a base humaniform model, one can add specific functionality as needed, such as super-strength or what-have-you.

:Much like a vampire or werewolf, this race should probably also be a class.