Homo sapiens

Homo sapiens (thinking man) is the standard Scientific classification designation for the evolutionary "branch" to which humanity belongs.

History
Homo sapiens have existed as such for roughly 160,000 years, and continue exist to the present day.

Sub-species
The earliest known example of Homo sapiens is Homo sapiens idaltu (elder thinking man''). It lived more than 160,000 years ago in Africa, but its fossilized remains weren't discovered until 1997. It no longer exists.

Homo sapiens sapiens existed from about 150,000 BC onward, and began emmigrating from Africa to settle other parts of the world in 100,000 BC. Signs of civilization, such as agriculture and settlements, began to develop around 8,000 BC. Eventually developing fairly sophisticated technologies, Homo sapiens sapiens continues to thrive in the modern day, although they have nearly wiped themselves out on more than one occasion. See also: World War II, the Aberrant War.

A single genetic sequence led to the development of two additional subspecies, both of which made themselves known in small numbers as late as 1922. A catastrophic event known as the Hammersmith Incident triggered certain physiological changes related to this genetic sequence, producing the two subspecies.

The first, Homo sapiens novus (new thinking man), were not widely recognized until they stormed onto the world stage after the Galatea explosion in 1998. Possessing the ability to manipulate quantum energies via the Mazarin-Rashoud node in the forebrain, these "novas" (named after the novus portion of their nomenclature) eventually turned on their evolutionary predecessors. The growth of the M-R node compromised the moral centres of their brains, while the channeling of quantum energies mutated their bodies almost beyond recognition. What were once "novas" eventually became "Aberrants."

The resultant clash, known as the Aberrant War, resulted in Homo sapiens sapiens using their fabled ingenuity and threatening to destroy the planet if the Aberrants did not leave. The Aberrants departed Earth in 2061.

The second subspecies, Homo sapiens mentis (mental thinking man), became known to the public after they arose as a respose to the return of the Aberrants. The Æon Trinity first became aware of them as they first appeared in 2102, but they were not introduced to the rest of the world until they successfully repulsed the Aberrant attack upon the Sydney spaceport. Homo sapiens mentis, or "psions," are marked by the ability to channel psi energy. While not possessing the raw power or potential that are the hallmarks of the Aberrants, mentis remains close enough to its sapiens progenitors that they can still call upon the ingenuity and sheer dogged determination of the species as a whole.

Paramorphs
It's uncertain if paramorphs also qualify as a genetically distinct subspecies, or are merely a scientific curiosity.


 * This article is seperated from mortal in the sense of the humans of the Worlds of Darkness, as many of the supernatural creatures from those settings are genetically indistinguishable from humanity.


 * As the Trinity Universe is a science-fiction setting, there are genetic differences between different character types, so that's the angle from which this article is written.