How Can He Look Human? #princezeus #ValespianPactQandA #theuniverseisdiverse

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 4^th 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 20^th. 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!!