"Peter F. Hamilton - A Night's Dawn Companion - The Confederation Handbook" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Peter F)

Adamist Culture
Adamists define themselves as normal humans, a classification governed by their
lack of an affinity gene. The name derives from the biblical Adam, who was first and
therefore untainted. It was also an obvious choice, given that those who possessed an
affinity gene were principally living in the habitat Eden at the time (2090) when the
two cultures began to diverge (A Second Chance at Eden). In general, Adamists live
on colonized terracompatible planets and in asteroid settlements. A small number live
in the five independent (non-Edenist) bitek habitats.

Thanks to genetic engineering (geneering), average Adamist life expectancy is
approximately 115 years, though this can vary wildly. Most Adamists are now the
recipients of geneering performed between 2050 and 2200, with descendants of
European, North American, and Pacific Rim nations benefiting from the highest level
of enhancements. There are three Confederation planets which are settled entirely by
humans who have no genetic manipulation in their ancestry, all of which have
pastoral- or religious-based constitutions. Some enclaves of тАЬpureтАЭ humans also live
on other worlds, though their numbers are now in decline due to constant contact with
their geneered cousins. Most of those groups were founded on religious or ethical
grounds. Although isolated during the first stages of colonization, such separatism
from a planetтАЩs mainstream culture is difficult to maintain. After learning of the
outside world, the children of such groups normally find it very hard to understand
why their ancestors have denied them this beneficial genetic heritage, and they tend to
drift away from their enclaves.

With most hereditary diseases eradicated, organ efficiency improved, and substantial
enhancement to the immune system, there is little need for geneering to be performed
on fetuses now. The type of geneering which is still researched and practiced is
concentrated principally on extending life expectancy. Among the very rich there is a
fashion for having cosmetic geneering performed on their children; not just for
classical beauty, but for blending of distinct racial traits, e.g. combining red hair with
black skin.

The main exception to this slowdown of basic physiological alteration is the Royal
Saldana family, whose members are still being modified for increased intelligence
and memory capacity, and reduced sleep requirement, as well as expanding their life
expectancy, which currently stands at 180 years. In short they are (ironically)
becoming close to the Edenist ideal, lacking only affinity.

The second exception is the starship owner-operator families (such as the Calverts),
who undergo dominant-gene modifications to cope with the long periods of zero-gee
on their ships (again similar to that of Edenists). These families have eliminated
vertiginous disorientation and organ decay, while bone-calcium levels will not
decrease in the absence of gravity. Internal membranes are strengthened to cope with
periods of high-gee acceleration (a function which is more commonly augmented
with nanonic membranes), thus preventing organs from tearing, and their heart
capacity has been increased to ensure their blood supply remains regular under