BY LETTER
Rianth
Humans with animal genes |
 Image from Bernd Helfert |
[Interplanetary Age - recent] a genemod in which the human genotype is modified with elements of animal, plant or other naturally occurring, but non-human genomes (from Greek, therianthrope).
Rianths are humans that have incorporated animal genome. They are sometimes divided into those who have taken in the genome of provolves and those who have employed traits from baseline animals. Unlike the splices, who have often had a history of domestication and service employment, rianths, like provolves, have more typically had complete autonomy and were not slaves. Often divided into distinct clans, clades, and phyles, depending on the type and proportion of genome. Rianths are an incredibly diverse group; they include not only recognizable species such as Tiger people, Wolf people, Eagle people, Crow people, Rabbit people, and Tortoise people but also completely new or unrecognizable species, or jumbles that seem to encompass the entire animal kingdom in a single body. Although there are countless species, the overall number is quite small; perhaps one hundred trillion "official" rianths, and at least twenty times that many humans with strong rianth aspects to their genome, throughout known space. Many can be found on various Utopia Sphere and Caretaker worlds, or in polities with a high percentage of provolves and splices.
Many Rianths have their origins as humans from tribal and shamanic human societies (especially on some garden worlds under Caretaker Gods) who have decided to go the other way out of respect and admiration and attraction for the animal kingdom, and incorporate animal genes. Old Earth is believed to host a large population of diverse species of rianths. Sometimes, either by culture or by genetic bias, they have common behavioural tendencies: proud Tiger people, Wolf people, and Eagle people, shamanic and clever Crow people, gentle and sexy Rabbit people, Rat people who are notoriously successful in the byways of some of the less policed Outer Volumes, as adaptable, smart, ruthless but also affectionate survivalists, careful and long-lived Tortoise people, aggressive and threatening Alligator people, and so on. Some clades and cultures have continued to enhance these stereotypes, while others have turned their backs on the original concepts. It is common for rianth clades, especially those newly created, to have a general memetic about the superiority of the animal form over that of the human. The basic hominid type is characterized as weak and puny; physically defenceless, with nails instead of claws, small blunt teeth instead of canines; as slow moving, clumsy and uncoordinated, with poor reflexes; as lacking fur or feathers so that clothing or environmental temperature controls to are required; as having poor hearing and almost no smell to speak of; as ugly with their flat faces and baby-like naked pink or brown skin, and so on. Often such rianth clades go to ridiculous lengths of exaggeration along these lines, and regarding the superiority of their own forms. Other, better established rianths are less derogatory and perhaps more comfortable with their own status. Rianths with genomes from non-provolved animals may be distinctly less intelligent than provolve rianths, although a lot also depends on the degree of human genome and various other factors. The less intelligent rianth clades are typically the least tolerant.
Rianth communities and individuals can be found throughout the civilized galaxy. There are even a few cases of transapient and po rianths and rianth clades, the so-called "Animal Gods" of Hynera being among the best known, but by no means the only, representatives.
Rianths are not to be confused with Exotics, nearbaselines who incorporate whatever genome or bodymods are at hand to fashion themselves in extreme forms, usually according to whatever is stylish at the time or in the region, or in keeping with social or peer pressure. Exotics do not typically form actual clades, but simply change from one form to the next according to whim; only if their forms are heritable and stable, and they pass them on to children and form an ongoing group are they considered rianths.
Articles
- Animal - Text by Stephen Inniss
Strictly speaking, any member of a major group of related Old Earth organisms that are multicellular, eukaryotic, motile at some or all stages of life, and digest their food internally. More broadly, any similar biological organism, Terragen or otherwise, and natural or otherwise. - Carnivorous Rianths - Text by Steve Bowers
Genetically modified humans who have incorporated genes from carnivorous animals into their genome. - Children of GAIA - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Ordinary sophonts, predominantly rianth bionts, of Old Earth, who serve the archailect GAIA. - Dino Kids - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Clade/Subculture of archosaurian rianthed devotionalists who identified with the memetic of the hyperturing GEvidan. - Dogmen, Dog-men - Text by Steve Bowers
Clade distinguished by human form, except for a somewhat modified dog's head - Imtonasi - Text by Michael Walton
A clade of human-arachnid rianths. - Jaguar-Bear Tribe - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Rianth clade, late First Federation to Present. Jungle Blue Demopolities, Halford Orwoods, Zoeific Biopolity. Among the millions of different clades and species and tribes of rianths, the Jaguar-Bear Tribe's claim to fame was as the first Honor Warrior clade. - Krutarians - Text by Felipe Brando Cadavid
- saGoanna - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Hu - Lizard rianth, a tribe of Australian Children of GAIA. - Tiger Splices - Text by Steve Bowers
Popular human bodyform - Werewolves - Text by Mark Ryherd
An ancient example of pseudolazurogenics based on mythological and folkloric shapeshifters
Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev
additions by Todd Drashner, John B and Stephen Inniss
Initially published on 14 August 2001.
additions by Todd Drashner, John B and Stephen Inniss
Initially published on 14 August 2001.
