A History of the Homo Intelligens People

Chapter 1 Genesis
 

Introduction
 
 
 

The Homo Intelligens, unlike their other Human cousins, have always been an unusual specie. In many respects, given their early behaviour, there is a high probability that they would have ended their existence in nuclear flames. There has been several documented examples where similar species, with the same behavioural patterns, have done precisely that. But due to the unusual circumstances on planet Earth at the time of their development, both they & the Earth survived.

Much of this was due to the location of their origins. Another factor was their guardian angel the Homo Luminous. These extremely intelligent & wise members of the specie group Humans, were able to nurture Intelligens along, albeit with much effort. It would be true to say, however, if Intelligens were native to virtually any other planet, then their eventual survival would never had come: regardless of what the Luminous argued.

Yet ironically the Intelligens would ultimately arise from a barbarous unruly rabble to become the leaders & guardians of the United Federation of Planets. In many respects this was to echo the first Humans to leave Earth for the stars; Homo Sapiens. Having said that, even Sapiens were seldom as barbaric as Intelligens could be: & that was often.

A further piece of irony was the name Intelligens. This was issued for this new Human specie near the beginning of their existence by the Luminous. At that time only one tribe was known to exist. That tribe was located in the Central African National Park. This Park had been established long ago in the mists of time, long before the Luminous could even fly a plane. There were several such parks on the planet. In fact Luminous had, during their colonisation of Earth, gone out of their way to ensure that the environment was never overly damaged. This, of course, was not always achieved, but their efforts were a major improvement over Sapiens during their pre-space flight days.

Nevertheless, Sapiens did eventually develop the National Park idea, an idea almost unique within the known galaxy. This idea soon spread to other worlds & became a fundamental environmental policy throughout the UFP. Furthermore, in many circumstances, but not all, entry was forbidden for most people. Such it was with several parks on Luminous Earth, & none more so than the Central Africa National Park.

To some, however, the discovery of the infant Intelligens Humans was not much of a surprise. As the Luminous had evolved during much of their prehistoric & primitive history in anonymity, so too could other species. The planet & diversity of life was just too big to keep track. Some scientists at several of the leading universities went even further & argued that the Earth could feasibly, given the right conditions, produce several more sentient species before the end. And this meant a time frame ranging over 5 billion years: more than enough time to produce three more human species from scratch, if need be. That did not include those species already evolved to a high plain of existence such as chimpanzees or dolphins. It was even argued that a sentient dog, cat or pig may one day populate the Earth.

Although many scoffed at the idea of a dog, cat or pig replacing Humans as managers of the planet, chimpanzees & dolphins were treated differently. From old Sapiens days, experiments of one kind or another were conducted on both chimpanzees & dolphins. A chimpanzee even went into space prior to any Sapiens. Furthermore, detractors of the sentient dog theory also forget that a dog travelled in space before any Human ever did. Having said that, many of these experiments were considered barbaric in various quarters & eventually stopped. More importantly, even though Sapiens & chimpanzees were closely related, as were the ancestor of Luminous the macaques, chimpanzees were not sentient.

Having said that, no one really could calculate which species could evolve into the next sentient one. This was partly due to the fact that evolution is unpredictable at best & that Earth had so many species which were candidates. Any unforeseen factor could come along that could trigger the evolution of a specie. This can be seen in Homo Luminous themselves. With a change in the feeding patterns of their ancestors thanks to Sapiens tourists, 600 000 years later a new & extremely intelligent Human specie came into existence (even though it had to go through three stages to reach it).
 
 
 

Origins
 
 
 

It is somewhat ironic, considering it was Luminous who discovered Intelligens, that Intelligens just seemed to come out of nowhere. Immediately the Central Africa National Park was placed under the highest security known to occur on Earth. Soon thereafter, a UPX team went into investigate the new specie. It was determined from the start that these humans were clearly new, fully sentient & highly intelligent. The team leader, noticing the latter, decided that would be thus their classification. There was nothing in the team’s initial observation that suggested any tendency towards violence. That was soon to change.

Prior to any discussion of primitive Homo Intelligens, the origins of the specie must be examined. In many aspects their evolution was not overly different to Sapiens & later Luminous. All three were primates. All three had communities. All three had intelligent ancestors. But there were strict differences. Intelligens ancestors evolved for unknown reasons, unlike the ancestors of the two other Human Species.

Sapiens evolved due to genetic manipulation, even though it is clear that Homo Erectus was their proceeding ancestor. This was very different than with the Unis. Unis was created from scratch by taking genes from various sentient species from the UFP & then giving birth to a hybrid. Although Unis was an improvement upon what was, essentially it was a entire new specie. Sapiens were merely an improvement of what already was.

Homo Erectus was itself an evolved human from previous species that were, however, natural developments. This appears to have occurred due to changes in the habitat of the early humans which forced these to walk rather than travel via the trees. In this regards all three later Human species shared the same characteristics in ancestors: that is they were all tree dwellers.

Luminous evolved due to nature herself, & not due to any gene manipulation. The striking difference, however, between the development of Sapiens & Luminous is that Luminous evolved due to change in behaviour. This change occurred due to Sapiens tourists feeding the Luminous ancestors who ate their gifts by washing them in sea water then using sticks &/or shells as utensils.

Unlike the ancestors of the Luminous, there are no early recordings of such alteration of behaviour to suggest a catalyst  for change. Furthermore, the environment  of the Central Africa National Park had basically remained the same for thousands of years. Again a reason can not be found in the habitat that suggests why Pan Troglodytes Verus (Masked Chimpanzee) began its long period of evolution into Homo Intelligens.

The behavioural pattern of Intelligens is, however, another matter. Just like Luminous has been said to be the better half of Sapiens, so Intelligens has been likened to the worse half. There can be no denying the fact that Intelligens have a violent & short tempered behavioural pattern & is somewhat similar in development to early pre-space flight Sapiens societies. Thankfully, like with Sapiens, Intelligens would change for the better, albeit over a much longer period.
 
 
 

Pan Habilis
 
 
 

Little is actually known about the first evolutionary step towards Homo Intelligens. All that remains is archaeological evidence & even that is limited. Pan Habilis, however, has been identified as the evolutionary  successor to Pan Troglodytes Verus. There is no evidence to suggest what may have caused this new specie to evolve, but evolve it did.

In many respects it was similar to Pan Troglodytes Verus. It was still covered in fur & shared many body characteristics to its forbearer. The important changes were in relation to its feet, hands & brain. It could not, however, walk upright, not could it walk long distances. Whether Pan Habilis spent much time in trees is unknown, but it still had the ability to climb with ease. Males were on average 150 cm (5 foot) in height, while females were about 5 cm (2 inches) smaller.

In societal matters, it is thought that Pan Habilis continued the practices of their ancestors. Small tribes numbering no more than twenty lived together. These families appeared to be hunter/gatherers & lived a nomadic life. There is no evidence to suggest that settlements had been established, although many archaeologists will argue that the small tribe had a territory in which it would live in. Thus all gathering & hunting took place within a selected region.

Whether this territory was defended from other Pan Habilis families is unknown. Likewise it is unknown how such territory was marked out in order to signal ownership. It is known that simple tools & weapons were used by Pan Habilis & that some archaeological evidence indicates that injuries to Pan Habilis caused by such weapons did take place.

The population level of Pan Habilis is impossible to know. However, due to the fact that Pan Habilis was never discovered in Central Africa National Park, it is safe to state that they were low. One study concluded that their numbers never exceeded 20 000. Considering the size of Central Africa National Park, it is not thus surprising that such a specie could have existed for over 150 000 years undetected.

Another reason is their limited mobility. As stated, their movement was restricted. Technically speaking, it would take a Pan Habilis years to travel from their family territory to reach the boundaries of the Central Africa National Park. Considering the effort involved, & the fact that there was no motivation to conduct such a journey, most Pan Habilis remained within 100km (60miles) of an area of the National Park called "Ground Zero".

A further reason for Pan Habilis lack of expansion is the favourable conditions around "Ground Zero". Located on the shores of, what was once called Lake Victoria, "Ground Zero" offered everything most wild species required. There was plenty of fresh water that ensured bountiful supplies of food. Even during periods of drought, the Lake ensured that both animals, fish, birds & vegetation survived. Not only did Pan Habilis have water to drink, food was likewise constantly available. In fact the variety of diet available to Pan Habilis was better than that proscribed by dietitians to the billions of citizens of the UFP.
 
 

Homo Erectus (Pan)
 
 

As with the previous specie,  Homo Erectus (Pan) lived out its existence in total ignorance of the galaxy around it. In a similar fashion, the galaxy around Homo Erectus (Pan) was in total ignorance of its existence. This seems to be incredible considering the changes that had taken place in the evolutionary development of this specie.  Unlike Pan Habilis, as the name suggests, Homo Erectus (Pan) could stand fully erect. In doing so, the average height for a male was about 160cm (5 foot 4 inches) & about 7.5 cm (3 inches) shorter for females.

In being able to stand erect, its feet had developed into those similar to a Homo Sapiens. This permitted Homo Erectus (Pan) to walk much longer distances with little effort. This did, however, ensure that Homo Erectus (Pan) climbing ability was greatly restricted & limited to that akin of Homo Sapiens & Homo Luminous. In compensation, though, Homo Erectus (Pan) hands closely resembled those of its Human cousins & could hold items with little effort.

Furthermore, thanks to such hands, Homo Erectus (Pan) could & did use tools & more sophisticated weapons. Use items appeared to be highly prised in Homo Erectus (Pan) society as many such items have been discovered in burial plots. Other items, such as burial trinkets or jewellery, have never been discovered.

Homo Erectus (Pan) body appearance had also changed along with its ability to stand upright. Unlike its ancestors most of its fur had been reduced, although not fully naked. This left, however, a clear human appearance which, even though it had some more evolutionary changes to take place, nonetheless gave the appearance of a Human instead of a Chimpanzee.

If these changes were not enough, then the changes to the brain went even further. The brain of Homo Erectus (Pan) had drastically increased in size & ability. No longer did it have the limitations of a Chimpanzee. It now looked exactly like those of other Homo Erectus species. This has sparked much debate as to language. Although no evidence exists, many archaeologists accept the theory that Homo Erectus (Pan) had at least a verbal language of some sort. Almost everyone, on the other hand, accepts the theory that no written language ever existed.

Even with all these improvements, Homo Erectus (Pan) was never known to exist on Earth. As with Pan Habilis, it existed for about 150 000 years. Various theories argue why Homo Erectus (Pan) evolved, but the most controversial one is known as the Thermopylae Factor. Basically the theory argues that Pan Habilis was blissfully unaware of the world around it save for the immediate environment. Then came the great sacrifice of the 301 Luminous along with the UDF Thermopylae. The explosion was so powerful, everyone everywhere was aware of it, including Pan Habilis. In concludes that such an event opened a form of self conscience until unknown. The only actual evidence to support this is the dates. Not long after Lenous Sirus & her crew sacrificed themselves, the first Homo Erectus (Pan) were born.

Having said that, Homo Erectus (Pan) did not do too much with this new found self conscience. Even with their ability to walk much further than Pan Habilis, they stayed within known territory. There was some expansion, but nothing significant. Most continued to remain within "Ground Zero". Again it seems that the environment that Lake Victoria had to offer was enough reason to stay. In a similar vane, the overall population of Homo Erectus (Pan) has been calculated to be not much more than that of their predecessors. Thus there was no reason to expand into the surrounding territory.

And like their predecessors, Homo Erectus (Pan) continued with the hunter/gatherer tradition. Some evidence has, however, indicated that permanent settlements had been established, which was clearly a break with the past. Although these settlements were extremely primitive by later Homo Intelligens standards, they indicated that territory, that being some form of property ownership, was understood.

Whether this territory was defended is unknown, but again there is archaeological evidence to suggest that warfare took place. One can only speculate that such warfare was over property rights as this became a major aspect to Homo Intelligens society later on.

Another aspect of later Homo Intelligens society, that being the "Alpha Male" dominance, can also be seen in Homo Erectus (Pan) society. Although this is somewhat speculative, burial plots clearly indicated that certain male individuals appear to have been more important that other males &, needless to say, females. This has come from the examination of weapons. The more important the male, the larger number of weapons that were buried with the body. Furthermore, these weapons were of a better quality. The burial plots of the females, however, were without any weapons whatsoever, and as mentioned before, were devoid of any jewellery or burial trinkets.
 
 
 

Primitive Homo Intelligens
 
 
 

The first appearance of Homo Intelligens caused a wildfire within the UFP & not to mention Earth Government. Even though it took over 300 000 years for the first generation of Homo Intelligens to be born, it was an overnight awakening for everyone else. At first it was feared that Homo Intelligens would spread far & wide in a similar fashion to their Human cousins, but it was soon discovered that it appeared that Homo Intelligens were going to stay where they were for the time being.
 

This suited the Federation anthropologists fine. UPX immediately went to work in order to observe & study this new Human specie. Basically Homo Intelligens looked no different than Homo Sapiens. The resemblance was uncanny. Unlike Homo Luminous who had different ears & nose, Homo Intelligens looked exactly like a Sapiens. They were, in fact, 99% related on the DNA spectrum. The only external difference was hair colour. Even though Homo Intelligens hair grew in the same places as their Human cousins, grey hair, for whatever reason nature had determined, grew from the temple regions of an Intelligens head.

In the brain department, however, Homo Intelligens ironically lacked the intelligence of Luminous. Their intelligence level actually put them on a par with Sapiens. Although this was not necessarily a bad thing, after all Sapiens had managed to discover warp speed travel through their own efforts & managed to establish the greatest civilisation known, it was hoped that Intelligens would rival Luminous in all things.

Instead they, as it was soon discovered, rivalled Sapiens in the violence & barbarism categories. UPX personnel were soon horrified by the behaviour of Intelligens. At first, not only did they begin fighting the surviving Homo Erectus (Pan) for territory, but the "Alpha Male" dominance soon ensured that violence took place within Intelligens society as well. Furthermore, females were dropped to the bottom of society & had little say in what took place.

UPX was immediately alarmed at Intelligens behaviour & wondered if this new specie would survive into the next generation. Much debate took place in UFP circles & intervention almost took place as a result. It was only after a secondary report from UPX that put such plans on hold. Apparently, even with the violence & the strong male dominance, Intelligens were increasing in numbers.

Furthermore, as a result of the "Alpha Male" rule, ostracised males often left with similarly rejected females. By accident, more than design, Intelligens began to spread out around "Ground Zero", but only to areas already settled by Homo Erectus (Pan). As mentioned, this resulted in warfare between the two species. At first Homo Erectus (Pan) had the numbers, but as more Intelligens came, the harder it got for Homo Erectus (Pan) to defend their territory & themselves.

Another aspect working for Intelligens was their superior intelligence over Homo Erectus (Pan) & their weapons quality. Also the body of an Intelligens was that much more efficient than their ancestor. All in all it meant that Intelligens was a far more superior warrior akin to Sapiens. In fact the all round fighting abilities of both Intelligens & Sapiens is almost identical. Sapiens, however, had one advantage at this stage of development - that was organisation & plan of attack. Intelligens, nonetheless, finally learnt this lesson too ensuring the end of Homo Erectus (Pan).
 
 
 

Expulsion & Expansion
 
 
 

Although Intelligens did learn to organise themselves, many of the behaviour attributes carried over. This meant that often younger males, who challenged their leaders & failed in this challenge, were either killed or expelled from the clan. Intelligens society was patriarchal in nature & females had little say in the politics of the clan. Yet a few exceptions did take place, but these females were often treated in the same manner as rebellious males.

Those individuals that were not killed in their challengers were left to wonder the great unknown. Many died. Others scavenged off of the various villages & towns that had been established around the shores of Lake Victoria. Some took females for themselves, while a few met up with expelled females & began their own families. Those that did were often accepted back into Intelligens society, while others established their own village after some time.

This pattern of expulsion & expansion continued for several centuries, until a nation of sorts had established itself around Lake Victoria. Through mutual needs & various treaties, the towns & villages came together. In some cases battle & conquest brought others into the overall structure. Fundamentally, however, a monarchy was established with the strongest males becoming the royal family.

Much of this kingdom building was, as mentioned, for necessity. The expelled members of Intelligens society had become large in number. Several had developed into nomadic gangs that pillaged various villages & towns. This, of course, could not be tolerated for long, & after it became clear that the nomads had gained the upper hand, a formal & organised army was required in order to fend off the pillaging nomads.

In this endeavour the first Intelligens army, that of the Old Kingdom, was successful. But there followed unforseen effects. The UFP, especially the Homo Luminous, feared the day when Intelligens began to spread across Africa. At first it was thought that the entire Earth would have to be evacuated to make way for the new Human specie. But most Luminous had no intention of leaving what was also their planet. Unlike with their rise, they were still corporeal & thus their situation was very different.

Instead the Great Wall of Africa was constructed. It was a powerful magnetic shield that travelled through air, soil & water. Instead of the Earth being evacuated, only Africa was. The entire continent of Africa, though, would be reserved for Intelligens to develop. There would be no interference whatsoever. They could do whatever they please. Only at an appropriate time in the future, when they had developed to a certain point of maturity, would First Contact be attempted. It was a unique situation & everyone knew it would be difficult to achieve success, but it was seen as the only way to go.

Intelligens knew nothing of all this. All that they were aware of was what was immediately around them & that meant pillaging nomads. Thus with a successful campaign by the Old Kingdom army, thousands of Intelligens were dispersed into the depths of Africa. Some followed in the rumoured footsteps of previous wonderers. Some discovered small villages in distant places & were either welcomed in or chased off to continue their nomadic lives.

Others established new villages with survivors of their nomadic gangs & settled down in favourable locations. This settlement pattern continued again & again as the Old Kingdom continued to expel & disburse unwanted subjects. It was all very much accidental & nothing like the expansion plans of Luminous. But slowly the seeds of the future had been planted.

As time went by, various villages grew & developed contacts with other outcast villages. Some went to war, while others agreed to unite. Ironically this growth in the "new world" was also fuelled by various individuals being expelled by the "new villages". But this practice had somewhat slowed down as attitudes towards this practice began to be curbed. By the time the fringes of Africa had been settled & consolidation began to take place, most of the newer regions ceased the practice of expulsion altogether.
 
 

Proto-Nations
 
 

As Intelligens began to settle down from the period of expansion, consolidation began in earnest. Already this process had seen the establishment of the Old Kingdom, but the rest of Africa had seen little of it. Some consolidation had taken place in a few locations, which had seen the development of principalities, but there was nothing that was the equivalent of the Old Kingdom. That would now change.

To the east of the Old Kingdom, between Lake Albert & the shoreline of Africa, three principalities joined together, partly due to concern with each other & partly due to the mutual threat of the Old Kingdom, to form the Eastern Domains.  This was a primitive confederation & was little more than a name only. There was a vague agreement not to fight each other & if one was attacked, the others would come to its aid. There was also an agreement about free trade between the three members.

Around the same time, two other nations (if we can use that word) were established along very different lines. The first of the two, the Nile Delta Kingdom, came together via a series of local wars & treaties. The victorious leaders declared themselves a monarchy & established a centralised government in the Nile Delta. Expansion was limited to the Nile River Valley, due to the surrounding desert, & the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea. In many respects this was a blessing as it would isolate the Nile Delta Kingdom from much of the turmoil that would follow.

The other nation was the Congo Delta Kingdom. Like the Nile Kingdom, the Congo Kingdom was established thanks to a series of wars & treaties. There was also fear of expansion of the Old Kingdom that helped fuel the situation. As elsewhere, the victorious leaders declared themselves a monarchy & established a strong centralised government in the Congo Delta.

An offshoot of the Congo Delta Kingdom was the Western Kingdom. Its population was entirely made up of outcasts of the Congo Kingdom who had lost the various wars during that kingdom’s establishment. Based around the Niger River, these outcasts, all sharing a common situation rallied around the strongest surviving clan & elevated it to a monarchy. Yet they then took it upon themselves to appoint a council to advise the king. The result meant a oligarchic structure, unlike that of the other three kingdoms.

Finally, two other nations were established that embodied the rejected subjects of everyone else: the Northern League & Southern Realm. Both were very different to the previous nations & somewhat remote, being at the furthest regions from central Africa. They were also the first to stop the practice of expulsion & began more advanced forms of civilisation that involved more than adherence to the warrior class, which dominated Old Kingdom life & had a major influence elsewhere.

The Northern League was, in fact, a series of villages & towns located along the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean of northern Africa & the western shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea. They depended much upon the sea for travel & trade & were the first to encounter the Great Wall of Africa, or what they simply called the Great Barrier. The Northern League, as a result, was decentralised while also isolated from the rest of the Intelligens nations due to the deserts that surrounded them. Being expert sailors, they also commanded the seas. A parliament of sorts, representing all the villages & towns was established where the various leaders met to decide political matters. There was no significant single leader, although particular individuals often had support of a majority of representatives.

The Southern Realm was in many respects similar to the Northern League, but without the interest in ocean travel. Significantly though, they were the first to press beasts of burden into service long before most others. Thus cattle & horses, thought by most as a food supply, were used for travel purposes which sped up, not only travel times & distances, but also by the use of wagons, the amount of goods that could be moved. In politics, they too developed a rudimentary parliament that governed the country. Unlike the Northern League, they were not as well isolated, although the distance between themselves, the Congo & Old Kingdoms & the Eastern Domains offered some protection for a while.
 
 

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