Gentle Giants

Homo giganticus

            Homo giganticus, commonly known as Ogres, stand at 2.5 meters in height and have a mass of nearly two hundred kilograms. In the most ancient of days, before the Atlantians even left the Homeworld, Ogres were engineered as both guards and soldiers. It was hoped that they could protect continental territories from the wild humans, or perhaps to even help conquer them and bring all of the Homeworld under Atlantian control. They were successfully engineered to be large, and their pudgy faces look fearsome, however, the production of soldiers was not a success. Ogres were made large, but do to a limited understanding (at the time) of the human genome, ogres were also made docile. The Atlantians made the mistake of assuming there was one hundred thousand genes in something as complex as a human, as opposed to only around 25% of that. They also assumed each gene did one thing, instead of combinations of the same genes doing different things. They changed one thing about the ogres, and that had unintended consequences. Though they will defend themselves and their children, ogres are quite non-aggressive. Though they were made as soldiers, they simply wished to live their lives in peace.

         

   Their large size, produced by inserting a gene that causes gigantism, also reduces their natural lifespan to forty years, though increasing standards of living and medical technology can extend this up to sixty years (this must be noted as the exception, not the rule). Though ogres can live beyond forty, they would be considered elders, similar to a sapien of over sixty. Ogres are mostly farmers, but when conditions turn unfavorable they will move into cities in search of work. Despite their fearsome appearances, ogres are rather friendly and sociable. Their looks and dimensions tend to put off other species of humanity from interacting with them. They are also fiercely loyal. If a friend is in trouble, an ogre will drop everything to go to their aid.

       

     Ogre families rarely extend beyond two generation within a household. Those ogres who live past forty are considered honored elders, and tend serve as mayors and councils while the younger ogres work. Though they are still physically able to work, ogre society values the elder’s life experiences, and believes the honored elders could best serve the community by guiding it, and hopefully preventing younger ogres from making the same mistakes as the elders. Despite their friendly nature, ogres disperse and live in individual houses. As soon as the young are old enough to give back to their community, they leave their parents and either move in, or build their own housing. Their size makes having large groups living together rather crowded.