Recently, a question was posed about how Prince Zeus could
be mistaken as human. He is two meters tall, making him around 6'6". Only a
small part of the world's population is that tall or taller. What was I
thinking making him that tall and trying to pass him off as human? I considered
the question and how to answer it without giving away spoilers for future
books. Let me show you what I was thinking... in a generalized way.
I haven't introduced a human character of this universe,
only given readers the other species' perspective of them. The main focus has
been the harmful actions of the Terrens and the resulting consequences. Up
through Striker, I didn't introduce a Terren character. Though we have seen the
humans on the battlefield, nothing about them stood out to make Zeus reconsider
what he knew about humans. Zeus also spent time with Terrens on Space Station
Bashker'Qa and again, he didn't see a difference between him and them other
than his eye and hair color. So, why is that?
The one thing that sometimes bugs me when I read sci-fi with
humans in the far future is that the humans haven't changed from what we look
like today. And I can see why. If humans are made too dissimilar, then how will
the reader be able to connect with a character? Some of the articles I have
read give good ideas what to realistically expect for our future. Things like:
In a hundred years, a computer will surpass the human brain's processing
capacity which will lead to artificial intelligence. Humans will become more integrated
with technology. Through the use of nanobots (Transhumanism) we can enhance our
natural abilities or use the bots to fight disease or even keep the body looking
both young and strong. There are scientists who say it will be possible for
humans to scan our brains and download them into a computer. Technology will definitely
change the face of humanity, but it won't be the only culprit.
There will be cultural shifts. Today, there are around 7000
languages spoken and in 1000 years, or less, the number of languages will drop
below 100. Rising temperatures and the thinning ozone means more UV radiation and
those with genetics for darker skin tones will have an evolutionary advantage. Global
warming and increasing temperatures will affect our size and humans will grow
taller and thinner to dissipate body heat more easily. Add in artificial selection
and the humans 1000 years from now will be very different. As we spread out
through space, how humans adapt to the different environments they settle in will
make the humans of Mars look different from the humans settling two solar
systems over.
In the Valespian Pact, the Terrens have settled a good
portion of the 4th quadrant of the Milky Way. This means that the
time period is more than 1000 years in the human's future. In some ways, they are
similar to modern day humans but there are a few big differences. Those
differences mean that Prince Zeus's height is not unusual. His eye color and
hair are not ordinary, but in an age where Terrens are genetically altered before
birth, or where temporary aesthetics can be applied means humans would not look
twice at Prince Zeus. So, yes, Prince Zeus could stand in a crowd of humans and
not look out of place. He would be noticeable and stand out a bit with his eye
and hair color, but not enough to scream "Alien! You're not human!!" The
Fal'Amoric are descended from humans too, and they have many physical
similarities with certain sects of humans. I'm going to have so much fun
introducing the different types of humans, but an in-depth look at the Terren
companies that govern the humans and how humans have evolved will not come for
a while.
Hopefully, this gives you an idea as to why Prince Zeus can
be mistaken for human. There are other questions surrounding Prince Zeus and
many of them will be answered in Constant (The Valespian Pact, 3), which releases
on Friday, March 20th. Until then, I have scheduled some blog topics
around the Valespian Pact, so make sure you watch this site for more fun tidbits!
Thank you for stopping by and reading!!
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