Fortinians (A1-0)

Fortinians

Fortinian
The 9 Fortinian subraces
Biological Classification
Designation	Sapient
Classification	Humanoid
Ancestral species	Terrans
Races	Alicubians Lucenteans Niveans Primitians Purpurans Rosateans Spicateans Summarans Squamans
Physical characteristics
Average height	1,65m
Skin colour	White Brown Black Orange Pink Red Aquamarine
Eye colour	Brown Black Grey Blue Green Yellow White Red
Hair colour	Brown Black Grey White Blonde Red Aquamarine
Breathe	Oxygen
Lifespan	90-180 standard years
Maturity	18 standard years
Sexes	2
Notable abilities	Cybernetic augmentation Genetic modification Planetary adaptation
Sociocultural characteristics
Place of origin	Placeholder
Star nation	Fortinian Confederacy
Total population	1,921 trillion
Languages	Fortinian
Religion	Saperist
Marital customs	Polyamory

"The key for the rapid and fast colonisation of space by the Fortinians has been their strategic position to prefer investments in genetic modification over investments in terraforming. Instead of trying to change the planets, they change themselves which makes for a far more flexible and capable race than others."

—Placeholder

Fortinians are the dominant Terran race in the Fortinian Confederacy. They evolved from the Saperians, the first Terrans living on Saper in the Unican system.

Etymology

The name is derived from the League of Fortinia which unified the subraces for the first time under a single political entity. The League takes its name from the Fortinia star which lies almost in the center of the sphere of influence of Fortinians.

Biology and appearance

Fortinians share their biology with other humans in Sector A1-0, subraces however have been genetically modified over the years to become more distinct.

Alicubians

Alicubians have a distinct orange skin and white eyes with no pupils. Their orange skin has special properties which allows them to be able to resist to harsher climates wether it be cold or hot. Their white eyes mean that they are almost blind to the visible light, having developed other ways to see, by taking inputs from other wavelengths.

Lucenteans

Lucenteans are essentially a biomechanical race that developed the ability to be born with artificial tissues. Their skin is made of flexible metal and they can process different types of atmospheres making them able to colonize worlds even when the air is normally toxic. They still retain enough biological material inside their bodies to be vulnerable to other elements commonly deadly to other Fortinians as well as the ability to die compared to robots and drones.

Niveans

Niveans have a distinct aquamarine skin and hair along with small round eyes. They have been genetically modified to have a stronger resistance to cold climates making them the only beings able to live on planets and colonies outside of the habitable zone. They can resist to temperatures as low as 150K.

Primitians

The "purest" of the Fortinians, they have rarely been genetically modified in any way. However, even some of the Primitians will genetically enhance their life expectancy to the maximum of 180 years.

Purpurans

Purpurans have distinct features such as purple skin, yellow eyes, sharp teeth and pointy ears. These features have been engineered to provide for a much better nocturnal lifestyle on planets with a longer day-night cycle. These enhanced features allows the Purpurans to endure life on planets with year-long day-night cycles.

Rosateans

Rosateans have a distinct pink skin and a third eye. The third eye was an addition thought to provide an advantage in the survivability of Fortinians but soon developed in a way to better communicate sign language, with the two main eyes being dedicated on the environment, while the third eye is being used for conversation. This allowed the genetic modification to remove the speech capabilities in exchange for a dedicated capability to analyse the sensory input of all sets of eyes independently, meaning that a Rosateans can easily focus on something while a conversation is still happening. Many Rosateans have begun engineering their bodies to have four arms allowing them to communicate and do things at the same time.

Spicateans

Spicateans have distinct features such as red skin, red hair, yellow eyes and white spikes. Their features allow them to be more resistant to hotter climates. This makes them able to live in more tidally-locked planets especially in the twilight zone and a little bit beyond on the star-facing surface. The white spikes especially act as radiators to radiate the heat from the body and are also filled with water reserves, there are more bigger spikes on the rest of the body.

Summarans

Essentially Primitians with cybernetic augments, there is still debate in their inclusion as a separate subrace of Fortinians. However, many argue that the cybernetic and genetic modifications they endure brings their genetics to be much more different than the Primitians. Cybernetic augmentations done by the Summarans are not always functional, many of them are aesthetic modifications which play a significant role in the culture and norms of the Summarans. Among the functional augments are those to convert other gases into oxygen allowing for breathing in different atmospheres.

Squamans

Squamans have distinct features such as green skin, visible fangs and red eyes. They have been engineered to harvest the light as a food source similar to how plants do it, hence their greenish skin, however has proven to be rarely sufficient. Having developed a sensibility and an understanding of plant-based life forms, the Squamans have resorted to a carnivorous lifestyle hence the development of their fangs.

Society and culture

Fortinians, despite some great differences between the different subraces, share a unified culture centred around the common quest for the survival of the race. The ingenuity and creativity demonstrated by the Fortinians over the ages and the worlds are highly valued by all subraces. There is a strong belief that the diversity is the strongest element of their race.

Language

Because of the shear size of the Fortinian Confederacy, there are an important number of languages within the Confederacy. The continued contact between the different worlds and subraces lead to development of Fortinian, a lingua franca, that can be understood to a certain level by everyone in the Confederacy. It as become the de facto official language of the Confederacy.