Kushan

Kushan - are a sentient, bipedal FTL travel-capable race originally from the Galactic Mid Region of the Great Spiral. A race known for its art, literature, music and formidable diplomatic knack, they are also some of the most gifted people in the galaxy in the medical sciences. They became one of the two other Unbound races, alongside the Covellans, who joined together with the  Humans to form the Galactic Consilium.

Biology
Covellans are a warm-blooded, bilaterally symmetrical bipedal primate species. They have two hands and two feet, each of which has five digits. Their hands have opposable thumbs and their fingers have multiple points of articulation. While their physical structure is similar to that of Humans, their internal composition is significantly different. Because their body temperature is approximately 8 degrees cooler than that of a Human, though, they have two hearts which are each dedicated to one half of their body. As of current date, the average Covellan lifespan is around 130 years. The species has two genders - male and female. A female Human is fertile once per month after reaching the onset of puberty until a biochemical shift known as menopause, which commonly effects women in their 60s. Human gestation occurs over a period of nine months, and the species is known to be one of the most widely compatible races in terms of crossbreeding with the other races.

While not as physically formidable as some races, as fast or as perceptive of subtle environmental differences, Humans are particularly resilient in many ways which continually baffle other races. Said to be more adaptabe to incarceration, they have a surprisingly high threshold for pain when in adverse situations. They can survive with only one lung or kidney, although they have two of both organs. They can go up to four days without water and on average up to three weeks without food. They have a much more adaptive capacity to endure extremes in temperature than many races, and they have extremely acute hearing in comparison with a majority of the Unbound races.

Human blood is an iron-based hemoglobin that is blue when in their veins and red upon exposure and oxidation. The species also is possessed of very strong emotions that can frequently overwhelm more rational or logical thought, and these feelings can be expressed in countless ways and can also be elicited by non-sentient or non-animate entities.

The Human race has a considerable reputation for exploration, innovation and on-the-fly thinking. Their high degree of adaptability and creativity, coupled with their emotional points of view and unpredictability, make them very dangerous foes for those races that rely on logic or patterns to determine future actions. These traits have helped them to contribute extensively to science and art in the Known Galaxy.

Culture
Humans are an outworldly, expansionistic race that are well-known for both their reasonably optimistic view of the galaxy and their driven nature. Because of their near-extinction on Old Earth centuries ago and what it took for them to escape that fate to re-settle among the stars, they have abandoned some of the oldest misconceptions about themselves and have gained a galactic reputation for being deeply spiritual, highly disciplined and dedicated to their nation and their people.

Being highly family oriented, Humans are said to value their loved one above all else save "God and Concordium". They can be deeply contradictive, as they can be capable of great works of beauty or shocking violence, but their cruel awakening all those centuries ago excised some of the worst of those traits from the Human mindset. They are a race with omnivorous origins, but have evolved a more vegetarian diet since fleeing Old Earth.

Thanks in large part to the men and women of New Geneva, on Old Earth, who developed the sciences that led Humanity into the stars, the race has become dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and science. They remain wary of some scientific endeavors - "playing God" via genetics remains an issue Humans will not tolerate - but they hold a deep-seated belief that the sum of knowledge awaits those who pursue it.

Major Worlds

 * Olara