Howlina - Day 12 - Spectulative Element

A deeper look at the speculative

"Write down the snippets and images that you already know you want in your story.

Next, ask yourself the hard questions. "What if?"

Drill down on the big things and the details, decide what would happen if they work one way vs. another. Chances are, you'll find there are speculative elements that you need in your story to support or limit the power of the ones you've already created."

Transhumanism.  A large portion of the Howlers believe that the best way to forward their causes, and to find ways to fix their power issues as well as global climate issues is to reinvent themselves, embrace the singularities and to rise above the limits of their human forms.  The people who support this and work on it are called transhumanists.  The people who have been developed from this process are called Transhumans.

They are a good 25 - 30 years ahead of the rest of the world and have kept their work secret.

Transhumans are known to the general population. Currently they are small enough in number that they are not seen as a threat to normals. They are treated like promising children who will far surpass the accomplishments of their parents. The Transhumans for their part are not so sure that they are the answer that everyone is looking for. Also, they feel apart, like they don't really belong.
Transhuman work in Howlina is done through embryonic manipulation.  They use genetic engineering, and in-vitro treatments.  There are three segments of Transhumans:  the Radicals, the Cybers and the Supers.

Super and Cyber Transhumans have recently managed to develop workable cold fusion in a way that will allow plants to be built around the country. They are currently in the process of building the first fully active power plant based on this technology.


SUPERS:

The Supers are people that they have developed that are smarter, stronger, faster, have a stronger constitution, live longer, are staggeringly beautiful and don't age.  They have not yet tested the limits of the lifespan expansion because none of the subjects have lived anywhere near their expected minimum of 200 years.

The center for Super development is the more conservative Kaurorapolee with the University of Kaurorapolee being the lead.

These Transhumans are starting to grow in number, but they are still a very very small group with no real power yet.  Because of their expected longevity they are patient and as a general rule they tend to study and absorb for a very long time before determining when they will move.  When they do move they will do so slowly, but inexorably, and with a high probability of being correct in their assessments and actions.

There is a long expected by-product that people who live forever value their own lives too much to do anything.  What the Howlers have that counteracts that problem is the group needs and the strong feeling of complementary relationships.

Given another ten years they may grow to be arrogant, but it is unlikely because the current generation know that they are not the final end product.  They are the beginning of a line of development that should see even more improvement.
This may make it difficult for a character to fall in love quickly, but I think I can overcome that because the character may be desperate for normalcy and a complementary mate.

CYBERS:

Cybers are Transhumans that incorporate electronic technology into their biological bodies.  The work on these Transhumans is conducted mainly in the more business minded Protopolee and is led by several companies. 

They anticipate three levels.  The first level, called the Bionic Level is where the bodies are developed that will more readily accept bionic additions.  These additions are added manually to the Transhumans. 

The second level is called the Biological Level and they expect that at this level they will be able to create Transhumans who can grow electronics organically. 

The final level is called the Beyond Level and it is characterized as Transhumans who are machine centered with a humanistic mind.

Work on Cybers is less advanced and younger than the Supers work.  They have reached the point where bionics are sophisticated, powerful and becoming much more commonplace.  However they are having difficulty breaking through to the Biological Level.

RADICALS:

Also called Exotics, these Transhumans are based on custom body modifications.  The center for Radical development is the more wild and cosmopolitan Cheekagopolee.  There are several special interest groups working on this and they tend to clump themselves based on the modifications they are striving for, with support from different Universities, privately owned companies and any government help they can get.

Like the other Transhuman segments the people are not created as one-offs like custom modified cars.  The development is too difficult and expensive to create many series of single prototypes.  As with Supers and Cybers, a great deal of up front work is done to create an infrastructure and an environment before a single person is developed.  Radicals are custom built and not conceived as developing linearly, but there as only a small number of types.

There are basically thee Races of Radicals, they Cats, the Mers and the Fae. 

The Mers are Merfolk, sea dwellers.  They are modeled after a combination of otter and sea lion.  These have been the most successful and useful.  This group has found that they are useful in working in the surrounding seas.  Because of the usefulness and versatility, the Mers are the most populous race and are pushing for more responsibilities, rights and numbers.

The Fae are modeled after fairies, sprites, leprechauns, brownies, and elves.  They push the boundaries of how small and light a human can be.  They do not have wings, but are capable of flight with the proper winged clothing.  Surprisingly these are the second most useful race of Radicals and they have been striving to carve out a niche for themselves that is relevant in the general Howlina community.  They have decided that they can comfortably live on top of things and maintain green roofs.  They are strong advocates for environmentally friendly activities and efforts.

The Cats model themselves off big cats with fur, claws, muscle, size, tail and improved senses.  Imagine a gorrilla's arms on a tiger's body with a face and color of a leopard.  Their legs are heavy but normal human sized in length, with mostly human hips.  The overall height of males is over 3 meters and they weigh about 500kg.  Their tails are slightly prehensile and their fur can be manipulated by their skin involuntarily to match the albedo of their surroundings.  This means they can be from black to gray to almost pure white depending on how their fur is presented which is dependant on their surroundings, giving them a superb natural camouflage.  They take after the more social cats, and they don't interact like normal humans or like dogs.  They work together, but there is no hierarchy, every male is an alpha and all females are subordinate to the males (at 75% the height and less than half the weight they have no choice).  The closest human society would probably be the Spartans.  They were designed to be military, guards, bodyguards and assassins.