The Tsrul-Uthan Collective

== Introduction==

The Tsrul-Uthan Collective is a tightly-knit cultural system composed of two sapient species, the Tsrul and the Uthan, who have colonized enormous swaths of the universe in the distant future. Although great diversity exists among the people of the Collective, a large majority of it has a fairly homogenous culture. The culture of this majority group will be the focus of this page, but exceptions to the norm will also be highlighted.

One aspect of Tsrul-Uthan culture that exhibits influence on nearly every facet of day-to-day life among members of the Collective is the fact that nearly all of its members spend their entire lives in space. Very few Tsrul and Uthan spend more than ten percent of their lives on the surface of planets. Additionally, their main form of transport allows them to travel through both space and time, allowing the race to colonize enormous areas of the universe. This has influenced the cultural and physiological development of both species to an exceptional degree, and led to the Collective's near-omnipresence during the Tsrul-Uthan Epoch of universal history.

The Tsrul
The Tsrul are, despite their dramatic physical differences from modern humans, a species that can trace their lineage back to Homo sapiens. However, The Tsrul are classified with the binomial name Cosmanthropus bigeminus, from Greek κόσμος, kósmos "Cosmos"; άνθρωπος, ánthropos "human" and Latin bigeminus "doubled" (referencing the fact that the Tsrul have two thumbs per hand and foot, as well as four eyes).

The average adult Tsrul individual ranges from around 210 cm (6'10") to 240 cm (7'10"), and from 125 kg (265 lb) to 160 kg (350 lb). However, they are typically gangly and thin, owing their disproportional weight to increased bone, muscle, and organ density. As stated above, each Tsrul hand and foot has two apposable digits, each one flanking the three middle digits. This gives the Tsrul an increased ability to grasp and pull themselves through zero gravity environments. This trait evolved before the advent of artificial gravity, which is ubiquitous during the Tsrul-Uthan epoch. Their heads have also undergone many changes, the most notable of which is the addition of two eyes on the temples. Each eye has a pupil which has a circular shape when fully dilated, contracting to a figure-eight shape, eventually closing into two distinct pupils in extremely bright light. The lenses and retinas of their eyes have also changed dramatically, allowing for binocular vision in each eye. All of these factors put together give the average Tsrul a field of vision that can cover about 325° at any given time. The retinas contain twelve distinct color receptors, which allow the Tsrul to see far into the infrared and ultraviolet portions of the spectrum. The ears retain only the ear canal and a small ridge of cartilage encircling it, while the nose has diminished only to two hook-shaped impressions on the front of the face. The hair has also receded to a mohawk-like ridge on the top of the head, which is usually kept braided or dread-locked (or both). All of these features either evolved or were genetically engineered to maximize the eyes' field of view.

The physical differences between male and female Tsrul individuals have diminished fairly radically, with only a few differences separating the sexes. Women still have larger hips, but are typically flat-chested, only developing breast tissue while pregnant or nursing. This has led to many Tsrul either joking or erroneously believing that other species of humans (which have retained breasts in the women) are constantly pregnant or nursing young children. Men are generally on the shorter end of the height distributions, but are also typically heavier. Although the voices of the Tsrul women are quite deep compared to modern humans, that is mostly due to the fact that their vocal chords are larger, as Tsrul men and women usually have similar vocal ranges.

The Tsrul typically live to be anywhere from 145 to 160 years old (in Gregorian calendar years), with one exceptionally long-lived Tsrul woman named la-qoĭ-ṡo living to be 192 years, 20 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes, and 4.776 seconds old. Senescence from aging is typically staved off until the very last years of a Tsrul person's life, but hits hard and fast once it sets in. it is not uncommon for a healthy Tsrul person to go from the prime of their life to a frail, blind, handicapped, and senile elderly person over the span of only 5 to 10 years. However, old age is not typically regarded with fear or anxiety. It is simply seen as a challenge that one must prepare oneself to face with a caring support network. Since caring for others' needs before one's own is considered one of the highest tenets of honorable behavior in Tsrul culture, this is not a difficult task for most Tsrul people.

The Uthan
The Uthan are a race of extraterrestrial life, and bear only passing resemblance to any Earth life. (This section will be updated with more information later.)

The Plants
The sacred plant life of the Tsrul-Uthan Collective is one of the most important factors that led to the Tsrul-Uthan Collective's domination of the universal stage during the Trul-Uthan Epoch. (This section will be updated with more information later.)