Chapter Text
There are, on this planet, three identified "species" of humans: Biological Humans/Biologicals/Bios/Humans, Sanguinarians/Vampires/Vamps, and Lycanthropes/Lycans. The following are a quick history of the two non-Human branches of humanity.
Lycanthrope
Lycanthrope was discovered in the 1980's by the researchers who identified AIDS. There are two types of this disease.
Lycanthrope 1, or L1, is a genetic disease. It is passed down through families and can skip individuals and, rarely, pop up in Human families. The first shift occurs in puberty between 10 and 18. An individual born into a Lycan family without L1 is called a Saltus (plural is Salti). When shifted, a Lycan takes the form of a large wolf with the powerful senses of a wolf. Even in human form, a Lycan's sense of smell and hearing are amplified. A Lycan who dies in wolf form will shift back to their human form.
L2, or "rabid" Lycanthrope, is a contagious virus carried by some L1 Lycans. Because of the dangers of L2, all Lycans are barred from donating blood, organs, etc.. L2 is spread through blood to blood interaction. The virus infiltrates a Human host's DNA and restructures it. Within 28 to 31 days (on the next full moon) the host will shift into a traditional werewolf. They retain no Human memories and will attack anything that moves. Once shifted L2 can be transmitted through a bite, infecting any Human bitten. Werewolves, and known L2 carriers who infect a Human, are declared unpersons and become property of their government. Unperson werewolves are either put down or sent to research labs to try to find a cure. No such cure exists as of yet. Unperson Lycans can be subjected to jail time or put to death.
Sanguinarism
Sanguinarism was brought to light during the mad cow epidemics in the 1990's. There are 25 strains of the Sanguinarian virus, or S virus. All strains are spread via blood to blood contact.
Sanguinarius Primus, S1, affects Humans. S2 to S5 affect gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans. S6 to S10 affect lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and mountain lions, aka pumas or cougars. S11 to S13 affect wolves, polar bears, and grizzly bears. S14 and S15 affect domestic cats and dogs. S16 to S21 affect bottle nose dolphins, orca dolphins, porpoises, seals, and sea lions. S22 and S23 affect two species of snake, and S24 affects a single type of frog. The S virus affects meat eating species with one notable exception. S25 affects cows, in fact what scientists called mad cow disease was actually an outbreak of bovine sanguinarism.
All the S viruses act like L2. The virus invades a host's cells and rewrites the DNA. Total blood volume decreases by about 70%, heart rate slows and becomes extremely faint, and blood pressure becomes nigh undetectable. A Vampire's sense of smell and hearing is up to four times stronger than a Humans and they develop better low-light vision while their sense of taste is narrows to just salty and bitter.
With the discovery of these two 'cousins' of Humanity came discussions of what it actually meant to be human. Clearly, these individuals and families had been able to pass as human previously. Was pretending to be something enough to make you that thing? Obviously not. So, what makes a Human or non-Human what they are? Do non-Humans belong in Human society? And, let's not forget that while Lycans are basically Humans, they live, work, and (most importantly) eat like Humans, Vampires can only survive by feeding off of Humans.
Lycans were able to slide fairly easily into Human culture, but most Humans felt, at the very least, uncomfortable letting a 'parasite' species walk the streets. And, Vampires made the world rethink its attitude on cannibalism. Most of the world did not have laws banning cannibalism, so did that make it okay for one species to feed off another? Would a Vampire feeding off of Humans even qualify as cannibalism?
The introduction of Lycans and Vampires into everyday life flipped conventional thinking on its head. New laws had to be passed, new identification issued, and new information absorbed. For the most part, the Three have learned to live together yet tension still remains. Only Human groups exist in almost all of the Western nations and violence against non-Humans is still a problem, but minds are changing and everyday we come closer to harmony in our family of three.