Neosapien

"Neo sapiens" is also the name of artificial lifeforms in the film Casshern, and of a set of action figures of the Xevoz toy line.

The Neosapiens (shortened "Neos" or, derogatory, "Sapes"), featured in the science fiction animated television series Exosquad, are a fictional race of genetically engineered sentient humanoids.

Background

Phaeton, a Neosapien

The Neosapiens are depicted as seven to nine feet tall humans with pale blue skin. Throughout the series they are demonstrated to be the products of selective genetic engineering having numerous traits which distinguish them from humans. They are depicted as having four fingers on each hand (two of which are opposable thumbs) with four toes and are completely hairless. Every neospaian depicted includes a brightly-colored tattoo, a so-called brood mark, on their foreheads, which denotes what brood they were created in. The brood mark is unique for every Neosapien and helps to distinguish them from each other, (presumably for the benefit of humans, as Neospaien characters comment more than once that human think all 'Neo's' look alike. A quiet reference to racial bias which is a common undertone in the series). Their lack of visual disctinctiveness is likely due to their status of being artificialy engineered from stock genes. Although there are Neosapien characters depicted of both male and female traits, they are effectively neuter with no reproductive capability of their own. Toward the close of the series the creation of a final Neosapien brood with human reproductive capability is offered as a means to advance equality between the two races.

Neosapiens are depicted as possessing many physical traits far superior to humans. These traits include greater strength, speed, stamina, hearing, and vision. In addition, they require very little food, have no need to sleep, and have a much greater life expectancy than Terrans. Indeed, Neosapiens have been genetically optimized in virtually every bodily attribute. This optimization is depicted as the result of the Neosapiens' creation as a slave race, and in the series they were primarily exploited to mine the hostile environments of newly-colonized Mars.

In addition to their physical attributes Neosapiens' are shown to have a number of psychological differences from ordinary humans which vary from beneficial to encumbering. These traits manifest themselves in a greater predisposition to logical conclusions and an Eidetic memory. However, they are burdened by a lack of creativity and imagination. This is often exploited in miiltary contexts with Neosapiens having poor reactions to unexpected, illogical, or deceptive behavior. (More than once humans are shown escaping danger by 'playing dead' and other such behavior.) While very few Neosapiens are shown to expect this kind of behavior from humans, a small few are shown to expect illogical behavior on the part of humans and act accordingly. (Though still logically, thus having them react logically to illogical situations)

There are other minor differences between the two as Neospapiens are purported to be un-scannable by the 'Mind-Scanner" technology of the fiction. Meanwhile dogs are able to recognize their scent from afar and generally behave aggressively towards them.

History

In the Exosquad universe, the Neosapiens were created by the humans (usually referred as "Terrans" to distinguish the two) sometime in the early 2040s to serve as slave laborers on Mars, as a part of their terraforming efforts there and on Venus. This also explains their appearance: the blue skin would make them easily visible on Mars and their well-muscled physique would make them very strong workers.

Nearly all of the Neosapiens were slaves in the Martian mines before the first Neosapien rebellion of the late 2060s. Although they were granted increased rights following the revolts (including control of Mars), most Neosapiens still lived in virtual slavery. The original revolt was put down swiftly (and brutally) by Terran forces utilizing the first generation of E-Frame technology central to the series. Following the rebellion Neosapiens were still forbidden from owning personal weapons, and could not hold high-profile positions in the military or civilian infrastructure as it is pointed out Neosapiens were forbidden from commanding ships. Notable examples of free Neosapiens were Marsala, the only Neosapien member of the Able Squad, and Phaeton, the Governor of Mars, as well as Phaeton's generals, Typhonus, Shiva and Draconis. It wasn't until the Second Neosapien Revolt that many of them gained their freedom and joined the Neosapien Commonwealth.

Broods

Later, during the Neosapien War, the Neosapien scientists under Praetorius' direction expanded their genome to create different sub-races: the Neo Megas, who were intellectually superior even to Neosapiens; the Neo Warriors, Neosapien crossbreeds with various animals, virtually invincible in combat but lacking intelligence; and the Neo Lords, which were the "best of the best" Neosapien warriors, with wings, claws, and other deadly features inculcated to them without any intellectual disadvantages.

Neo Megas

Galba, a Neo Mega

Neo Megas were the first sub-brood of baseline Neosapiens, designed with heightened intellect, to be created by Phaeton's leading genetic specialist, Praetorius. Apparently not convinced by his generals' intellectual abilities, Phaeton assigned a Neo Mega (in some cases, even two) to each of them as advisors and observers. However, the Neo Megas were never content with their advisory role and made numerous attempts to rise to power. Their last chance was an unsuccessful coup d'état, when they combined their efforts with Marsala's in an attempt to assassinate Phaeton and seize power for themselves. To convince him to cooperate, Marsala was told that the plan was only to kidnap Phaeton and then declare ceasefire and, eventually, peace with Terrans. In fact, that was the plan proposed by Praetorius' advisor Galba, but other Neo Megas, who believed that no peace between the two races could be achieved, have soon silenced him by throwing him into prison. That is why, after Marsala failed his mission and Phaeton personally ordered the entire Neo Mega race to be wiped out, Galba became the sole remaining Neo Mega in the universe, although, Sulla, who was captured by the Exofleet on Venus, may have also survived the Neosapien War.

Visually, the Neo Megas resembled very thin and small Neosapiens with disproportionately large heads. Their hands had only three fingers, and their feet had only three toes. They were able to communicate with one another via high frequency sounds and enter a coma-like state at will. Some sources indicate that the first Neo Mega breeding facility was located on Ceres.

Neo Warriors

Neo Warriors were fighting machines designed by Praetorius to do the dirty work for the Neosapiens. Neo Warriors were the least humanoid of all Neosapien broods, combining features of different animals from Earth (raptors, crabs, eagles, bats, etc.) with some rather unusual abilities like acidic saliva, which could dissolve even the strongest alloys. With the invention of Neo Warriors and later, the Neo Lords, mainstream Neosapiens were freed from the obligation to serve in the ground forces and could concentrate on piloting E-frames. There has been a total of three generations of Neo Warriors, each smarter and deadlier than the previous.

Neo Warriors' first combat assignment was when Nick Tyree started an uncoordinated liberation of Australia, Earth. The attacker was quickly stopped and thrown back by overwhelming masses of Neo Warriors and only thanks to an intervention of the Able Squad, some members of the Australian Resistance Cell could be rescued.

Full list of Neo Warrior types

• Ant
• Bat
• Crab (a more intelligent version produced in the second generation)
• Eagle (third generation only)
• Feline (third generation only)
• Octopus (?)
• Raptor (a more intelligent version produced in the second generation)
• Rhinoceros
• Scorpion
• Spider

Neo Lords

Neo Lords were the first successful attempt to combine a normal Neosapien intelligence with brutal physical strength of Neo Warriors. Armed with wings, claws, camouflage abilities and a sharp mind, Neo Lords were the deadliest enemies the Terrans have ever encountered. Neo Lords were introduced near the end of the Neosapien War, so only a very limited number of them existed - in fact, only the test types, since the destruction of the Neo Lord breeding facility in the Antarctica by the Able Squad greatly delayed the release of the second brood. A second facility was created near Washington DC but was attacked by Exofleet during the retaking of Earth. The Neo Lords had to released early from their breeding chambers. As a result they were half-finished, lacking wings and possessing only animalistic intelligence. These Neo Lords were all wiped out battling Jump Troops.

Phaeton appreciated abilities of the Neo Lords but generally mistrusted them, preferring to surround himself with fellow Neosapiens. However, in the closing days of the war, as Phaeton grew increasingly paranoid and insane, he used the Neo Lords to purge his own Neosapien generals.

Breed-Capable

Following the end of the war, it was decided that the best way to deal with the neosapiens was to give them continuity and freedom, so that they would no longer be oppressed and thus would be able to live in peace with humans. To this end, a final, extra large brood of neosapiens was created, with the sterilization treatments removed. With this action, the neosapiens became a viable race, no longer dependent on test tube breeding for survival. It is unclear if this new brood is capable of interbreeding with older neosapiens or if some type of treatment was given to the previous generations to allow for breeding. Whether this would have worked is unknown, as the series was canceled before much detail could be given.

Automutation Syndrome

The genetic engineering of the Neosapiens was imperfect, so all Neosapiens feared developing the Automutation Syndrome. Although the exact nature of this disorder has never been properly studied, it supposedly involves a Neosapien's DNA becoming unstable, turning his or her body into a pile of mush. The causes include but are not limited to spontaneous degeneration, artificial means or severe physical trauma. Phaeton, the leader of the Second Neosapien Revolt, himself developed this disorder after his fall from Martian Olympus Mons during a fight against J.T. Marsh, confining him completely to a life-support suit for the rest of his life. By the end of the Neosapien War, there was still no known cure to Automutation Syndrome.