Human

Humans, from the planet Earth, are the newest sentient species of notable size to enter the galactic stage and are arguably the most rapidly expanding and developing. They independently discovered a Prothean data cache on Mars in 2148, and the mass relay networks shortly thereafter.

History
In 2148, human explorers on Mars uncovered a long-ruined Prothean observation post, with a surviving data cache that proved Protheans had studied Cro-Magnon humans millennia ago. While religions tried to assimilate this discovery into their doctrine, a global rush began to decipher the petabytes of data from the outpost. Discovering information on a mass relay orbiting Pluto, explorers managed to open the Charon Relay and discovered it led to Arcturus. With the help of the fledgling Systems Alliance, humans expanded to other systems, opening any mass relays they could find.

Humans first came to the attention of the galactic community after a brief but intense conflict with the turians, known by humans as the First Contact War, begun in 2157. The conflict began when the turians attacked a human fleet attempting to activate a mass relay (illegal under Council law) and then occupied the human colony of Shanxi.

Led by Admiral Kastanie Drescher, the Second Fleet then launched a massive counter-attack, which caught the turians by surprise and expelled them from Shanxi. The conflict caught the attention of the Citadel Council, which wasted no time brokering a peace, thus introducing humans to the galactic community. As a consequence of the Alliance's swift and decisive action during the First Contact War, the Alliance became the representative and supranational governing body of humanity. Since then, humans have rapidly risen in prominence.

Biology
Humans have a fairly robust physiology. Their internal makeup and reproductive processes are typical of most bipedal mammals, and their size and proportions give the appearance of being strong, fast and agile. Physically, humans closely resemble the asari. In comparison to the Council races, humans are physically weaker than the turians and less agile than the asari, though fit human males are likely to be stronger than the average asari. Humans would appear on average to be stronger than salarians but not as fast, due to the extremely elevated metabolisms of the latter. Like most organic races, humans are also capable of producing biotic individuals but there is a high risk of medical complications.

Humans can live to about 150 years, and recent medical advances have eradicated almost all known diseases that afflict them. However, as humans only emerged on the galactic stage within the last thirty years, it is highly likely that the introduction of new technology into their society will greatly increase their average lifespan. Humans reach physical maturity at eighteen years of age, at which point they have usually finished their academic education and either directly enter the workforce or begin training for a profession.

Galactic Relations
Humans, represented by the Systems Alliance, have had an embassy on the Citadel since 2165. While the humans lack a seat on the Citadel Council, some other species dislike their sudden ascendancy compared to their status as relative newcomers on the galactic stage. Some species feel that humanity is overly expansive in its colonization efforts and aggressive attempts to get a seat on the Council. It took other species centuries to achieve what humanity has done in decades.

Humans have also been doing what the Council could not: colonize planets in the Attican Traverse, the Skyllian Verge and along the borders of the Terminus Systems. They came into minor conflicts with the batarians over the Verge, as they saw those planets as theirs. The batarians asked the Council for assistance but were refused, and relations have been hostile ever since.

However, unlike many species in Citadel space, humans have no close allies among the other races. Without alliances or powerful fleets to help defend their interests, they would have to follow any ruling the Council passes. Their embassy has been pushing to induct a human into the Spectres, the Council's elite operatives, as the first step to getting a seat. Once humanity does get a seat, they will be able to influence the Council's rulings, protect their own interests and have a say in the governing of Citadel space.

Humans are generally seen to be intelligent, aggressive, highly adaptable and thus, unpredictable. They have a powerful desire to advance and improve themselves, and do so with such assertion that the normally staid Council races have been taken aback by their restlessness and relentless curiosity. Their economy, while much smaller than any of the Council races, is very powerful relative to their size, and their military prowess is amongst the greatest in the galaxy, as evidenced by their ability to defeat the turians in the First Contact War.

Humanity is referred to as a "sleeping giant," as only a small percentage of humans serve in their already capable military compared to other races. Since First Contact, humans have not come into serious conflict with any other species except the batarians, who competed with humans for territory in the Skyllian Verge, and were repelled from attacking the colony of Elysium during the Skyllian Blitz before being decisively defeated on the moon of Torfan in 2178.

Notable Humans
See Category: Humans for an alphabetical list of human characters.


 * Captain David Anderson
 * Commander Shepard
 * Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko
 * Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams
 * Ambassador Donnel Udina
 * Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau
 * Subject Zero

Mass Effect: Revelation
The first human ambassador to the Citadel, Anita Goyle, nominated David Anderson as a potential candidate to be the first Spectre. However, his supervisor, Saren Arterius, sabotaged his mission and wrote a falsified report to the Council on what happened. The Alliance also suffered reparations and higher energy costs after being caught conducting secret AI research.

Mass Effect
When a Prothean Beacon was uncovered on the lush world of Eden Prime, the experimental stealth ship, the SSV Normandy, was sent to recover it, along with their new Spectre candidate, Commander Shepard. Unfortunately, the synthetic geth attacked the colony and the damaged device was destroyed. After proving Saren Arterius was behind the attack, Shepard was made the first human Spectre. Shepard's actions elevated humanity's profile in Citadel space and finally decided the fate of the Council.

Mass Effect: Ascension
With a position on the Council, humans joined a coalition force to exterminate geth resistance whilst the election of their councillor was being conducted.