Name: Anakim
AKA: ELs | NAKIM | Giants | Elder Race
Location – Home System: They have allegedly been encountered in deep and extensive cavern systems below the western part of North America, as far north as Alaska, as far south as Mexico, and as far east as Texas.
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Physical Appearance:
- Average Height: 9 – 11 ft and in some cases even 12 ft. in height
- Average Weight: 150-200 kg. — females have slightly smaller frames
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- Hair:
- Skin: the same range of pigmentation as us
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Other Physical Information: they are remarkably similar to ‘International‘ humans. They are said to possess a means of molecular condensing and expansion which allows some of their kind to mingle among humans on the surface. The females are also flat-chested; pendulous breasts are very uncomfortable in high gravity. A much larger (compared to baselines) percentage of body mass consists of skeletal tissue; an Anakite’s bones are both thicker and denser than those of baselines.
The Anakite frame is also very heavily muscled. Preteen Anakim is over 50% stronger than the average baseline adult, while a full-grown Anakite can lift almost twice their own weight over their head in standard gravity. Anakite physiology is adapted to withstand both high gravity and high ambient pressure. They are comfortable in environments ranging from 1.2-2.5G and 1.5-3.5 atmospheres.
In fact, few terrestrial planets have been found anywhere with surface gravity in excess of this value. Anakim has some important limitations. They are prone to vertigo when in (to them) low-pressure environments. Most Anakim wear respirators when traveling in areas where the ambient pressure is less than 1.5 atmospheres. They also lack the agility necessary for activities like gymnastics — not surprising for beings who are all muscle-bound — but are surprisingly good dancers if the music is slow.
The unaugmented lifespan is about 10% shorter than that of baselines under optimal conditions, and those who spend a lot of time in standard gravity tend to die even younger. This is due to hypertension brought on by the enhancements to the cardiac muscle needed to pump blood against higher than standard gravity. Advanced medical techniques — when they are available and for those who can afford them — can mitigate or eliminate these shortcomings.
Special Traits and Abilities: Living in dense air, which conducts sound very well, necessitates a hearing system that has increased tolerance for loud noises. Some Anakite variants are also resistant to impacts; the toughest can withstand chemically propelled small- caliber projectiles. Anakim are surprisingly graceful for their size, but this has less to do with innate coordination than with learning to move carefully. Their low centers of gravity give them excellent balance.
Female Anakim have highly elastic muscles and connective tissues in the hips and thighs as well as added articulation in the pelvic bones to create a wider birth canal. Even this wouldn’t accommodate the skull of an Anakite infant if not for the flexibility of newborn heads. Baby Anakim have skulls consisting of small bony plates affixed to a cartilaginous matrix. This arrangement resists compression that would damage the brain while remaining flexible enough to squeeze through an opening smaller than the diameter of the uncompressed skull.
A newborn’s skull “sets” to a harder consistency a few hours after birth and solidifies completely within a month. The testes of male Anakim are normally retracted into the pelvis, where body heat inhibits sperm production. Anakite men have monthly seminal cycles during which the testes descend and begin making sperm. All of the above adaptations,singly or in combination, have been observed in other high gravity species. The most unusual feature of Anakim is psychological rather than physical; they have a powerful fear of heights.
This might seem pathological to those who are used to standard gravity, but such a fear is perfectly reasonable for high-gravity natives. On most Anakite-settled worlds a fall from as little as eight meters is usually fatal. The Anakite fear of falling also extends to having things fall on them. This is why they move so carefully; they are equally anxious about falling and about knocking things over. Not wanting to be the target of a falling object makes many Anakim as nervous about being at the bottom of a long drop as they would be looking down from the top of it. Their own architecture uses space horizontally rather than vertically, with low ceilings and lots of load-bearing members.
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Origin: Humanoid
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Habits: Anakim are fairly common throughout the Civilized Galaxy and in hu- friendly polities on the fringes of Terragen’s space. They normally conform to the local cultures of whatever polities they live in but will form separate communities rather than integrating fully. The most common living arrangement is an extended family or clan. The necessity of synchronizing menstrual and seminal cycles in order to reproduce creates a tendency toward stable relationships. Most Anakim would rather marry than sleep around, but they are equally likely to be monogamous or polygamous. Group marriages are not uncommon.
Transportation Type: They are believed to have interstellar traveling capabilities. Anakim are much in demand as crew on relativistic ships because their tolerance for high gravity allows them to withstand high acceleration. A ship whose entire crew is grav-tolerant can accelerate faster than the competition and reach the destination first. Anakim aren’t as gifted in this regard as artificials but they can easily outperform most other bionts. Many clans exploit this fact to become successful trading Houses. There are even Anakite clan-ships on which entire generations live and die without ever setting foot on a planet’s surface. These ships spend as much time as possible under acceleration, often arranging for the next trip before reaching the current destination and always on the lookout for the next chance to “get heavy.”
Witnesses Reports: Numbers 13:22 we read that the Children of Anak (aka the Anakim, or “long-necked giants”) ruled the ancient city (now located on the West Bank):
And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
And who exactly were the Children of Anak? From Numbers 13:33:
We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
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Summary/Description: Referred to in ancient Hebrew tradition, this race is allegedly tied-in with a branch of ancient humans who broke-off from mainstream humanity because of their vast size which had developed over the centuries, possibly as a result of a genetic anomaly.
Source: in the Pentateuch, it is stated as the progenitors of a race of giants called Anakim