Superhuman Demographics

Superhuman Demographics: The study of the numbers, proportions, and origins of various forms of superhumans. These studies, begun in the late 1800s, try to track variance in superhuman population over time. Currently, superhuman demographics are managed by the Superhuman Enforcement Agency.

It is worth noting that the Agency does not track any alien immigrants to Earth whose natural powers are superior to those of a human; while the Trox can typically bench press 500 lbs, they are not considered 'superhuman'. Those alien immigrants with super powers are instead categorized based on their own origins, as though they were humans (for example, Sayleen Artificers are considered to be natural supers). Some aliens feel that the term 'superhuman' is perjorative, and have moved to have the title changed; arguments continue as to what the new term should be - leading contenders are 'superbeings', 'metapowered', and 'Gifted'.

Total Numbers

In total, there are approximately 25,000 supers worldwide, or around one for every 250,000 people. This number as a percentage of the human population has gradually risen over the course of history; the estimated number before the rise of Atlantis was only around fifteen, that being slightly fewer than one for every two million people. This rise has been attributed to a number of causes, but are majorly due to an increase in artificially-created superhumans, combined with natural supers very, very gradually breeding true into the population at large. Current estimates suggest that the majority of the world might be made up of superhumans within two thousand years, assuming no major changes in how quickly supers develop.

Despite these numbers, the actual number of supers in a region can vary drastically depending on how many Origin Points occur in that area. For example, in the late 1970s there were over a hundred supers present in New York City (well above the statistical average of 30). On the other hand, the city of Seattle remains renowned for having only two supers in the entire metro region. Similarly, the United States of America is noted for having numbers of supers above the statistical average; there are 1500 supers in the nation, averaging one for every 200,000 people (the Soviet Union also traditionally had such numbers in its prime, but when the government collapsed it gradually sank back towards statistical levels).

Natural Supers

Natural supers are those who inherit their powers from a parent, who is always either a natural or derived super. Such bloodlines are usually divided into natural bloodlines, and derived bloodlines. The former is easily categorized, while the latter often frustrates scientists.

Natural bloodlines are those whose parents have fully naturalized; it is theorized that eventually, all super bloodlines become natural or else die out. The child of two natural supers has a 95% chance of inheriting powers; the child of a single super has only a 55% chance. However, these powers tend to randomize, due to the degree of influence of powers. One in three naturals have powers that are identical or very similar to one or both of their parents; degree of power does not directly correlate to how powerful one's parents were. Two out of three naturals develops powers mostly or entirely unlike either parent.

Derived bloodlines are generally more reliable, but vary depending on the initial source; magically derived bloodlines are much more likely to pass to children, and to remain consistant, while scientifically-derived bloodlines are more likely to be affected by external sources. As such, there are no easy benchmarks that can be laid down; a few derived bloodlines have a 100% inheritance rate, some have almost none, some skip generations or only pass to the first son, and a few (such as the famous Mysterium) are given to a child only when the last possessor passes away.

Natural supers make up about 35% of the total superhuman population. They are also the least tied to Origin Points, and thus the most likely to appear in statistically average amounts.

Derived Supers

Derived Supers are those who gain their powers directly from an external source, and are unable to give it up. This includes those people who are gifted their powers from magical forces, who develop them in horrible lab incidents or freak accidents, and those supers who are actually created entirely by other supers (particularly those created by Pseudotech).

It is difficult to make generalizations about most derived supers, except to note that they are almost always tied to Origin Points; the effects that lead to their creation are frequently repeatable, or at least remain in operation for some time. Derived supers are also the most common supers to exist in the modern age, and make up approximately 40% of the superhuman population.

Artificial Supers

The last category of supers are, in some ways, the most difficult to track, as they can easily change identities many times. These supers gain their powers entirely from an external source, which they can give up - usually Pseudotech in origin, but also frequently owing to a variety of magical sources. As many forms of Pseudotech only function for those without other powers, this category is surprisingly large; it includes almost anyone who makes extensive use of such devices.

Artificial Supers often start tied to Origin Points, but as their technology or magic is passed on to other people, gradually drift away from it - for example, the sword Excalibur has long since passed away from the origin point of Camelot. They are also the least common type of super, with only 25% of supers considered as members.


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