Lifespans of terran factions

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hurleybird
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Lifespans of terran factions

Post by hurleybird »

Just wondering out of curiosity, hwta is the difference in the life span/life expectancy of the various human factions. I'm guessing that mechanists in particular would have a very different lifespan.
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Post by Orb99 »

I'd imagine that the Shapers have extended lifespans as well. The baseline humans (Purists) probably still have the shortest lifespans.

The Luddites must have the shortest lifespans of all, because they keep harassing well-armed privateers. 8)
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Post by Silverain »

Here are some random thoughts for JackS to pick over, based on what is currently in the wiki:

Homo Sapiens Sapiens (Purists) by definition are closest to our 'current' lifespan. Allowing for the 'general' improvement of 'normal' medical healthcare (as opposed to such things as implants, rebuilds etc), I think a safe assumption would be a lifespan of approximately 90-110 years, or a float point around the 100 mark.

Homo Sapiens Cosmonatalis (Spaceborn) were designed as a specialised slave race and 'remain frail and over-specialised, incapable of surviving in a planetary environment'. Additional description supplied here. Also stated is a lifespan of 60-80 years. I would suggest this may still be too long for this memo-group, but it falls inside (to me) a realistic area.

Homo Sapiens Cyberis (Mechanist), are able to replace body parts with cybernetic replacements, but there is still the essential 'meat' sections that remain, and must degenerate like 'normal' humanity. I would allow a lifespan of, say, 100-120. Slightly extended to take into account body-part replacement and advanced medical knowledge for care of flesh/cybernetic joins, but still facing the inevitable degradation of the flesh.

Homo Sapiens Pluralis (Andolians) would be, at the least, on par with the Mechanists. I would believe even slightly better. Being informationally connected (hivelike), each physical body would be constantly monitored (by the self, other members, and whatever information system the Andolian happens to be connected to), for healthiness, allowing early detection of possible problems, and quick access to necessary solutions. Most undesirable genetic traits have been removed from the gene pool, and this strain of humanity is quite willing to accept body-part replacement. I would give a lifespan of about 110-130.

Homo Sapiens Superioris (Shapers) are highly genetically modified (not so much changing from the norm, as removal of any abnormal defects), so I would give them the greatest lifespan. Their bodies have been eugenically modified over time to be 'stronger, more durable, more resistant to disease and injury, of higher average intelligence, enjoying longer life-spans, and possessing keener senses'. As such, I would figure a lifespan of a minimum 150 years (of good health).
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Post by jackS »

Silverain wrote:Here are some random thoughts for JackS to pick over, based on what is currently in the wiki:

Homo Sapiens Sapiens (Purists) by definition are closest to our 'current' lifespan. Allowing for the 'general' improvement of 'normal' medical healthcare (as opposed to such things as implants, rebuilds etc), I think a safe assumption would be a lifespan of approximately 90-110 years, or a float point around the 100 mark.
Significant medical advances slow the degradation of the normal progression of aging, but, in sharp contrast to the more aggressively divergent groups, aging is a slow loss of functionality, rather than a fairly steep slope voluntarily borne as the burden of not having an indefinite lifespan. On a developed world, with adequate medical care, a Sapiens can expect to live 110-125 years, but with the last two to three decades being a period of increasingly noticeable decline. Those receiving high-end medical care throughout their life can expect an additional two to three decades of existence.
Silverain wrote: Homo Sapiens Cosmonatalis (Spaceborn) were designed as a specialised slave race and 'remain frail and over-specialised, incapable of surviving in a planetary environment'. Additional description supplied here. Also stated is a lifespan of 60-80 years. I would suggest this may still be too long for this memo-group, but it falls inside (to me) a realistic area.
Actually, I said something more like - begin to develop severe medical problems between 60-80. But not necessarily directly fatal. It's more a quality of life issue. But they're generally dead within a couple decades after that, if only because they've had themselves euthanized.
Silverain wrote: Homo Sapiens Cyberis (Mechanist), are able to replace body parts with cybernetic replacements, but there is still the essential 'meat' sections that remain, and must degenerate like 'normal' humanity. I would allow a lifespan of, say, 100-120. Slightly extended to take into account body-part replacement and advanced medical knowledge for care of flesh/cybernetic joins, but still facing the inevitable degradation of the flesh.
Mechanists die when their flesh dies, and, their views on the inherint weakness of flesh have not promoted a significant desire to attempt to strengthen that component to any extreme among significant portions of the mechanist population - however, the mechanist population is, though smallish, remarkably diverse. Depending on the degree to which body replacement has occurred, the only thing which may end up being the limiting factor in Mechanist lifespans is when the brain has ceased proper functioning, which, depending on the root gene-stock can be incredibly variable. A small portion of the Mechanist gene-stock does have naturally indefinite lifespans (thus a small portion of the mechnists have indefinite lifespans) but most, from more devout mechanist conviction, or heeding the decisions of the Andolians and Shapers in rejecting indefinite lifespans, allow their flesh to die, though the exquisite potential for the care granted by full or partial mechanical embodiments can prolong this point to anywhere from 120 - 200 years for the 3-sigma portion of the population.
Silverain wrote: Homo Sapiens Pluralis (Andolians) would be, at the least, on par with the Mechanists. I would believe even slightly better. Being informationally connected (hivelike), each physical body would be constantly monitored (by the self, other members, and whatever information system the Andolian happens to be connected to), for healthiness, allowing early detection of possible problems, and quick access to necessary solutions. Most undesirable genetic traits have been removed from the gene pool, and this strain of humanity is quite willing to accept body-part replacement. I would give a lifespan of about 110-130.
While the Andolians, in research stemming from informational trade with the Shapers, produced experimental variants with indefinite lifespans, they did not find the results particularly to their liking, namely, with respect to personality changes over time,the degree and manner in which mental habit formation and entrenchment differed, and other traits deemed not of sufficient benefit. The Andolians, in some sense, are the least in need of indefinite lifespans, as they already possess a shared memory of sorts. The Andolians have thus not agressively attacked lifespan issues within their genepool so much as quality of life issues. Andolians tend to live as long as they are healthy and productive, and self-terminate (usually via an invasive memory scan process) when it has become clear that they have reached a point where they will not again be so. Variety within the gene-pool, lifestyle, and circumstance can put the 'normal' age for that occurrance anywhere from 120-150 years, due to exquisite medical care and removal of many undesireable traits from the gene pool.
Silverain wrote: Homo Sapiens Superioris (Shapers) are highly genetically modified (not so much changing from the norm, as removal of any abnormal defects), so I would give them the greatest lifespan. Their bodies have been eugenically modified over time to be 'stronger, more durable, more resistant to disease and injury, of higher average intelligence, enjoying longer life-spans, and possessing keener senses'. As such, I would figure a lifespan of a minimum 150 years (of good health).
You've confused the Superioris with the Suprahomo strains somewhat - the Suprahomo strains removed traits they deemed undesirable and cultivated desired ones - the Shapers just write new genetic code. They remain part of the species (that is, able to bear viable offspring with other human groups) only because it is convenient to do so, and because many of the gene sequences are only appropriately activated by particular hormone combinations not present in normal humans. Shapers, like many other groups, experimented with reasonable success (perhaps moreso than any other group, depending on one's viewpoint) with indefinite lifespans, but voluntarily adopted planned obsolescence models (so that resources could be appropriately shifted to newer, more advanced Superioris models - the gene pool is constantly changing) which restrict their lifespans to 150-160 years of near perfect health followed by a brief period of warning signs, and very rapid (but medically delayable, should such be deemed necessary) systemic self-destruction that causes self-termination within a week of onset. Thus, those Superioris deemed particulary important at any given point in time may find themselves living significantly longer than their peers, with severe social stigmas attached to any who appear to be clinging on helping to limit both the size of this pool and the length of such extensions to a very select number and usually only a few decades more - the only common case being that an individual is kept alive past normal termination to allow the completion of a particular project or set of projects.
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Post by Silverain »

Ah,

seems I was way off base in my interpretation, will read in depth later.

Sorry.

Edit:
Maybe not so far off.

Re: the first two, I seem to have confused quality of life and lifespan more than anything else, but my basis appears consistent to what JackS wrote - particularly that Spaceborn being more frail are more likely to have a lesser lifespan.

Re: Mechanists. Here, my primary thought seems to tie to JackS, in that a Mechanist lives until the flesh dies, but there is no factor (aside from basic genetics) that extends the life of the flesh. However, replacement of deteriorating body parts etc can allow an extension of the lifespan.

Re: Andolians. Ah, so this meme-group has focused more on extending quality of life (QoL), rather than lifespan, with the improvement of quality of life giving a slightly longer lifespan really as a side effect? Also tying in with this, they could live longer, but at a cost of QoL - so they do not?

Re: Shapers. Actually I didn't confuse the two, since I deliberately avoided reading about the Lightbearers; I just misunderstood what was written and ended up at the same place! :)
I like the planned obsolescence touch though!

Or am I still missing something?

Anyway, to answer hurleybird's question on lifespan -

An average lifespan for each meme-group would be:
Sapiens: 110-125 years
Cosmonatalis: 70-100 years
Mechanist: 120-200 years
Pluralis: 120-150 years
Superioris: 150-160 years
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