The Emergence Of Superhumans

[palaskar]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

IIRC, there was an Elseworlds story which had the exact "ancestor of Superman comes to Earth, stops the American Revolution, and becomes ruler of the British Empire, and fashions have barely changed from then to today."

 

I mean, exactly. Superman's ancestor even carried the Continental Congress (in the whole building!) to England to be executed.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

IIRC, there was an Elseworlds story which had the exact "ancestor of Superman comes to Earth, stops the American Revolution, and becomes ruler of the British Empire, and fashions have barely changed from then to today."

 

I mean, exactly. Superman's ancestor even carried the Continental Congress (in the whole building!) to England to be executed.

 

Exactly what I meant with my post. If the guy is a Superman equivalent, he can basically change the world anyway he wants. The church would bow to him if he declared himself some kind of physical god.

CES

[CoreBrute]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

You know, until the Lex Luthors of the world found Kryptonite and formed it into a cross to kill Superman's ancestor. Until then, everything is peachy.

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

When it comes to superhuman genetics, I'm inclined to think of the gene that was activated by the energy wave that allows superpowers as a recessive one, and someone who is better at genetics can correct me if I am using the wrong terms or my assumptions are off the mark.

 

Two superhumans of the same type that have children together would have children with the same powerset. If a superhuman mates with a normal human, there is a small (say 10%) chance of a child with powers. The child of two normal humans who carry the recessive gene would have a one in a thousand chance of gaining powers.

 

Two superhumans of different powersets raises interesting possibilities. Maybe one child in four has the same powerset as one parent, there is a one in four chance that a child would have a mix of powersets at reduced power, and a one in four chance that a new powerset emerges (showing continuing mutation of the supergene perhaps).

[CoreBrute]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

When it comes to superhuman genetics, I'm inclined to think of the gene that was activated by the energy wave that allows superpowers as a recessive one, and someone who is better at genetics can correct me if I am using the wrong terms or my assumptions are off the mark.

 

Two superhumans of the same type that have children together would have children with the same powerset. If a superhuman mates with a normal human, there is a small (say 10%) chance of a child with powers. Two normal humans who carry the recessive gene would have a one in a thousand chance of gaining powers.

 

Two superhumans of different powersets raises interesting possibilities. Maybe one child in four has the same powerset as one parent, there is a one in four chance that a child would have a mix of powersets at reduced power, and a one in four chance that a new powerset emerges (showing continuing mutation of the supergene perhaps).

 

From what I know about Genetics, that's not how it works (but for each GM, the rules might differ).

 

If both parents have a recessive super hero gene then there is a one in 4 chance the child will have powers. Exactly what they will be or how powerful they are completely different factors.

 

Unless super powers are a dominant gene, a normal and a super hero's child will have no powers what-so ever. They will be recessive.

 

However I believe not all genes work that way. If super powers are like eye colour (you either have it or you don't) and it can't be affected by outside variables then it works like outlined above.

 

If super powers work like height, which has a huge spectrum of choice and can be affected by outside forces (smoking etc) then it requires many many genes to decide how it works.

 

If this was of any help, spread the rep. If not rep me anyway to tell me how wrong I was.

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

However I believe not all genes work that way. If super powers are like eye colour (you either have it or you don't) and it can't be affected by outside variables then it works like outlined above.

 

I'm viewing superpowers as being either you inherit them in full, or you don't, so the eye color example is good. The recessive nature of superhuman genes came from my reading of the Empyreans. In only one out of a thousand births to a normal human parent and an Empyrean parent, you get an Empyrean.

[Clonus]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

OK, the Renaissence. For an origin source I'll go with the portal to the Olympus dimension that opens up again. The horniest pantheon history ever knew is once again free to father children all over Europe, teach Leonardo how to build robots, curse people with awesomeness and bless them with suck. Witchcraft blossoms under Hecate's tutelage. Certain old things that were left behind wake up or come out of hiding.

 

The Pope copes by putting together a team of superheroes under angelic pseudonyms while denouncing every demigod who doesn't get with the program as devilspawn. Meanwhile there's something of a clockpunk industrial semi-revolution going on. It's limited by the necessity to bind elementals to make the stuff self-winding, and the fact that nobody has invented mass production but still there's some very sophisticated mundane clockwork technology out there, apart from the downright miraculous automatons, flying machines and submersibles.

 

Meanwhile various monarchs realise that letting the church have a monopoly on demigods doesn't really suit them, particularly as they rebel against the church's authority, so they create their own super-teams, offering sanctuary to the devil-spawn and rewarding them with high noble rank, and dynastic marriages. A few particularly powerful devil-spawn use their powers to try to simply overthrow both king and church, but this usually doesn't work out well since the Seraphim turn out in force to suppress such things.

 

The trend toward democratization is slowed, what with superpowered monarchs, and the papacy being upgunned. Then again, with equal numbers of female superhumans, in certain nations society will become very sexually egalitarian. In others, fear of the female demigods and witches will make the men paranoid and oppressive.

 

Note that this self-winding clockwork will nip steam in the bud. The stuff you'd want the steam engine for, like pumping out a mine will be done infinitely better by gadgets, even though the stuff can't be mass-produced, limiting its global impact. In a couple of centuries, though, greater understanding of lightning leads to an Electrical Revolution, and the sophisticated mechanics now have a power source that isn't dependant on individual workmanship.

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

Note that this self-winding clockwork will nip steam in the bud. The stuff you'd want the steam engine for' date=' like pumping out a mine will be done infinitely better by gadgets, even though the stuff can't be mass-produced, limiting its global impact. In a couple of centuries, though, greater understanding of lightning leads to an Electrical Revolution, and the sophisticated mechanics now have a power source that isn't dependant on individual workmanship.[/quote']

 

I see a possible way for a Mechanon-like villain to appear, as a clockwork wonder that continues to evolve as technology evolves. His original programming is recorded on mechanical magnetic tubes within his torso.

 

I've been considering the technologist aspect, and maybe that complicates things. A timeline where superhumans first appeared a thousand years ago probably doesn't need superhuman technologists churning out wonders.

 

I'm still thinking about the effects of mixing superhuman bloodlines. Inbreeding also becomes a concern, since superhumans as nobility may tend to breed with other superhumans exclusively. I'm also looking at limiting certain powers, like life support vs immortality and FTL travel.

[novi]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

I'm viewing superpowers as being either you inherit them in full' date=' or you don't, so the eye color example is good. The recessive nature of superhuman genes came from my reading of the Empyreans. In only one out of a thousand births to a normal human parent and an Empyrean parent, you get an Empyrean.[/quote']

 

Ugh, genetics gets tricky. There's the simple theory for lay people, the better theory for scientists, and reality messing with your head some days.

 

Basic genetics - you have dominant and recessive traits, and they're mutually exclusive and caused by a single gene. If you have a copy of the dominant gene, that's the trait you get, whether you have one copy or two (since you have two copies of every gene). Even if only one parent has the dominant trait, there is a 50% or better chance of inheriting the dominant trait.

 

The better theory tries to take into account that most traits have multiple options and are often caused by more than one gene. I imagine there are genetics textbooks if you wanted more info.

 

But the real trick here is to decide what you want the world to be like for your story rather than using a simple model to explain your world. There also a question of how scientifically rigorous your explanations need to be, especially when we're talking about an explanation for ignoring the laws of physics.

 

Also, I should point out the impossibility of an energy field exerting non-random and useful changes on the genetic structure of a large population. Only if it's the result of magic-level technology, but even then it's still a bad idea. A better solution would be that the energy field, which sticks around, can be interacted with by beings possessing previously useless genetic material. Or flood the biosphere with a targeted retrovirus. Otherwise, you'll end up with a case where all superhumans can trace their lineage back to a single ancestor, or at least a single ancestor for each power type.

 

But assuming you want it so that most supers have kids with similar powers, but also that normals can very rarely have powered kids, it'll go something like this: the Mutant genetic factor is actually two separate complexes spread across most of the genome. The first complex is the enabling part, which allows for the expression of all powers, but doesn't itself give you any powers. The second complex is the powers section, which determines what powers you have. The first complex is fairly recessive and spread among several chromosomes. There are a handful of variations of it, which read the powers complex in slightly different ways, but are similar enough that most children of two Mutants will have powers, with only a tiny percentage that are powerless, and even then most of their children with Mutants will be Mutants. The second complex is more varied, with some powers being dominant and other powers that require very specific recessive combinations, and some powers that are mutually exclusive. In general, powers trend to breed true if both parents have them, but there are many exceptions to that. Mixed parentage can result in both power sets at varying levels, only one powers set, or completely different powers. The child of a Mutant and a normal is a normal; it will only be a Mutant slightly more often than a normal and a normal having one.

 

One other question to ask is how powerful are your superhumans? Are they all the same power level, or is there a range? And even with a range, you have two good options - the inverse distribution, where most Mutants are low powered, and there are progressively fewer Mutants as the power level goes up. This usually implies that most Mutants don't seem to be, as their powers are indistinguishable from talented individuals. The other choice is the 'normal'* distribution, where most Mutants will be around whatever you establish as the standard power level, with equal number above and below it. You'll get some very weak and very powerful Mutants, but the majority will be in the middle.

 

Another question - do superhumans have their powers from birth, or do they show up later, with puberty being an awfully likely time? That'll also affect things.

 

*I didn't name this, it's what statisticians have called it for centuries.

[Clonus]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

Who would ever do Ren-superheroes and leave Leonardo DaVinci out? The idea is absurd.

[OddHat]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

As much as I use genetics in my setting, it comes down to:

 

1) Most Supers are sterile.

 

2) Some Supers pass down their powers. Some don't. Sometimes the powers skip a generation. Sometimes they skip more.

 

3) It's Mad Science. No one agrees on exactly why the above happens.

 

4) Having two parents with Superpowers seems to help, but not always.

 

5) Spending time around Supers seems to increase your chance of gaining Powers, but not as much as it increases your chance of getting killed. Many people, even knowing this, still risk it.

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

But the real trick here is to decide what you want the world to be like for your story rather than using a simple model to explain your world. There also a question of how scientifically rigorous your explanations need to be' date=' especially when we're talking about an explanation for ignoring the laws of physics.[/quote']

 

Well, I'm looking for something that sounds reasonable, even if it would not stand up to scientific rigor.

 

One thing I hadn't previously thought about is that the advent of superhumans puts a new spin on the notion of "divine right of rule." When you have a monarch who can bounce crossbow bolts off his chest or burn a swath of enemy soldiers to death with fire blasts, it tends to impress the commoners.

 

 

 

Also' date=' I should point out the impossibility of an energy field exerting non-random and useful changes on the genetic structure of a large population. Only if it's the result of magic-level technology, but even then it's still a bad idea. A better solution would be that the energy field, which sticks around, can be interacted with by beings possessing previously useless genetic material. Or flood the biosphere with a targeted retrovirus. Otherwise, you'll end up with a case where all superhumans can trace their lineage back to a single ancestor, or at least a single ancestor for each power type.[/quote']

 

You make a fair point on your comment on the enabling event. What I had considered for the campaign background is that so-called "junk DNA" was left in ancestral humanity long ago by entities unknown, slumbering and doing nothing for countless generations, and the energy wave is the activation key. Those who became superhumans at the time of the energy wave were those who had the right mix of genetics ready at the time.

 

 

But assuming you want it so that most supers have kids with similar powers' date=' but also that normals can very rarely have powered kids, it'll go something like this: the Mutant genetic factor is actually two separate complexes spread across most of the genome. The first complex is the enabling part, which allows for the expression of all powers, but doesn't itself give you any powers. The second complex is the powers section, which determines what powers you have. The first complex is fairly recessive and spread among several chromosomes. There are a handful of variations of it, which read the powers complex in slightly different ways, but are similar enough that most children of two Mutants will have powers, with only a tiny percentage that are powerless, and even then most of their children with Mutants will be Mutants. The second complex is more varied, with some powers being dominant and other powers that require very specific recessive combinations, and some powers that are mutually exclusive. In general, powers trend to breed true if both parents have them, but there are many exceptions to that. Mixed parentage can result in both power sets at varying levels, only one powers set, or completely different powers. The child of a Mutant and a normal is a normal; it will only be a Mutant slightly more often than a normal and a normal having one.[/quote']

 

This is a terrific explanation of such a pseudo-scientific idea as inherited superpowers, and I'm going to make use of it. I'd rep you, but I've already zapped you recently.

 

 

One other question to ask is how powerful are your superhumans? Are they all the same power level' date=' or is there a range? And even with a range, you have two good options - the inverse distribution, where most Mutants are low powered, and there are progressively fewer Mutants as the power level goes up. This usually implies that most Mutants don't seem to be, as their powers are indistinguishable from talented individuals. The other choice is the 'normal'* distribution, where most Mutants will be around whatever you establish as the standard power level, with equal number above and below it. You'll get some very weak and very powerful Mutants, but the majority will be in the middle.[/quote']

 

I'm looking at using a normal range of power levels, from Teen Champions types at 250 to possibly 350-550 range as adults. There will be few of really high power, but the bottom rungs are still quite capable. A normal distribution seems reasonable, maybe centering on 350-450 points, since I am not planning on a planet full of empowered Kryptonians as my superhuman populace.

 

I'm toying with the idea of so-called "Imperial Lines" as the top-most powerful superhumans and several competing regions. China would definitely be one, maybe Russia, not sure who to pick from Western Europe.

 

I keep having this image of a Russian noblewoman Brick, flying in the air and shouting something like "Feel the wrath of a princess of Imperial birth!" as she's about to deliver a smackdown.

 

 

Another question - do superhumans have their powers from birth' date=' or do they show up later, with puberty being an awfully likely time? That'll also affect things.[/quote']

 

I'm thinking they appear at puberty, since there are a lot of hormonal changes going on.

[novi]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

I see a possible way for a Mechanon-like villain to appear, as a clockwork wonder that continues to evolve as technology evolves. His original programming is recorded on mechanical magnetic tubes within his torso.

 

I've been considering the technologist aspect, and maybe that complicates things. A timeline where superhumans first appeared a thousand years ago probably doesn't need superhuman technologists churning out wonders.

 

I'm still thinking about the effects of mixing superhuman bloodlines. Inbreeding also becomes a concern, since superhumans as nobility may tend to breed with other superhumans exclusively. I'm also looking at limiting certain powers, like life support vs immortality and FTL travel.

 

Inbreeding may become a concern depending on what the criteria for leadership and for marriage are. The more you have marriage for love rather than political purposes, the less problem you'll have. If the criteria for leadership is solely lineage, as most historical monarchies tended to be, you'll have more problems than if there are other criteria, like how powerful are they or how fit to rule are they. Even if the idea of the monarchy being a divine patronage is the norm, there will be other marks of divine choice besides just being the eldest surviving male heir to the last king. This is rather more likely since 'having superpowers' has been established as their criteria for leadership, and hence nobility, and that people can have superpowers without being born to other superhumans, albeit rarely.

 

Another thought is that in a world with superhumans, there's little need for armies of infantry, as it will generally be more cost effective to have superhumans duke it out. This means that the superhuman nobility will be the primary military of nations. This seems to suggest that meritocracy over heredity will be strongly enforced. It also suggests that there will be a desire to increase the superhuman population and the numbers of your military. Whether or not this leads to polygamy or tolerated adultery likely depends on the moral traditions of the area.

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

[Go back and read this post if you don't remember what he said.]

 

I'd rep you, but I seem to be out for now.

[Clonus]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

I'm still thinking about the effects of mixing superhuman bloodlines. Inbreeding also becomes a concern, since superhumans as nobility may tend to breed with other superhumans exclusively. I'm also looking at limiting certain powers, like life support vs immortality and FTL travel.

 

Assuming that they are going to adopt spontaneous mutants and illegitimate children with powers into the ruling class (and the upside of getting all the muscle you can on your side is considerable) inbreeding is not liable to be an issue. It would be surprising if they didn't have commoner mistresses and rape victims.

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

Who would ever do Ren-superheroes and leave Leonardo DaVinci out? The idea is absurd.

 

Well, I'm not sure I will be doing a campaign set prior to the 21st century. I'm more thinking about the timeline that leads to an alternate present.

 

DaVinci would likely have much thinking on superpowers and the nature of them, since he did a lot of studies on anatomy and biology. Who knows? Superpowers may become an obsession for him to study.

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

As much as I use genetics in my setting, it comes down to:

 

1) Most Supers are sterile.

 

2) Some Supers pass down their powers. Some don't. Sometimes the powers skip a generation. Sometimes they skip more.

 

3) It's Mad Science. No one agrees on exactly why the above happens.

 

4) Having two parents with Superpowers seems to help, but not always.

 

5) Spending time around Supers seems to increase your chance of gaining Powers, but not as much as it increases your chance of getting killed. Many people, even knowing this, still risk it.

 

I like your point #3. It's how a lot of superhuman worlds seem to function.

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

Inbreeding may become a concern depending on what the criteria for leadership and for marriage are. The more you have marriage for love rather than political purposes' date=' the less problem you'll have. If the criteria for leadership is solely lineage, as most historical monarchies tended to be, you'll have more problems than if there are other criteria, like how powerful are they or how fit to rule are they. Even if the idea of the monarchy being a divine patronage is the norm, there will be other marks of divine choice besides just being the eldest surviving male heir to the last king. This is rather more likely since 'having superpowers' has been established as their criteria for leadership, and hence nobility, and that people can have superpowers without being born to other superhumans, albeit rarely.[/quote']

 

Superpowers do provide a highly visible means of determining "divine favor." There will likely be a fair number of bastards born over the centuries. But instead of being ignored, it's a little more difficult to ignore someone who has the ability to hurl a siege weapon with their bare hands or freeze a castle in the middle of summer.

 

One of the abilities of humanity is to adapt to changes in circumstance, so the advent of superpowers will likely form a new set of social rules. Perhaps different powersets find their own social niches. Mentalists would seem to be better as advisors to kings or diplomats. Martial artists and weaponmasters would seem best as elite guards or assassins.

 

 

Another thought is that in a world with superhumans' date=' there's little need for armies of infantry, as it will generally be more cost effective to have superhumans duke it out. This means that the superhuman nobility will be the primary military of nations. This seems to suggest that meritocracy over heredity will be strongly enforced. It also suggests that there will be a desire to increase the superhuman population and the numbers of your military. Whether or not this leads to polygamy or tolerated adultery likely depends on the moral traditions of the area.[/quote']

 

I agree that huge armies of infantry would likely fade away in favor of a small cadre of superhumans who do battle in wartime. Supervillains could arise from political differences, and I could see a sort of Axis vs Allies notion of how superhumans deal with each other when it comes to how one countries superhumans views another country's superhumans.

 

If there is a small group of lineages powerful enough to hold groups of superhuman nobility together, then you could have competing empires. If not, then I could see a balkanized world, with small kingdoms ruled by small groups of superhumans who are able to cooperate.

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

Assuming that they are going to adopt spontaneous mutants and illegitimate children with powers into the ruling class (and the upside of getting all the muscle you can on your side is considerable) inbreeding is not liable to be an issue. It would be surprising if they didn't have commoner mistresses and rape victims.

 

It would be expedient to keep as many superhumans as possible into the ruling class, but there will also be rebels.

 

The colonization of America would still occur, but is an American Revolution still possible in a world where superhumans have been the rulers for centuries? Could democracy flower in such a world?

[OddHat]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

I like your point #3. It's how a lot of superhuman worlds seem to function.

 

Thanks.

 

Mad Science is a formal branch of study in my setting.

 

In Mad Science, experiments under identical conditions can produce different results. Results seem to vary according to the observer, almost always because the observer himself has a Fortean Talent. Salvaged Alien Technology also tends to fall under the heading of Mad Science, failing to function entirely for many or most users while performing exceptionally well for a select few. This can literally drive some scientists studying Fortean Phenomena or Alien Science mad, which unacountably seems to increase their chances of making progress in their experiments.

 

Mad Scientists are often but not always able to duplicate and expand on one-another's work.

 

Great Mad Scientists of history include Daedalus, Ilmarinen, Konrad Dippel, Erasamus Darwin, and Ben Franklin, among many, many others.

[Clonus]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

It would be expedient to keep as many superhumans as possible into the ruling class, but there will also be rebels.

 

The colonization of America would still occur, but is an American Revolution still possible in a world where superhumans have been the rulers for centuries? Could democracy flower in such a world?

 

Only if something narrows the power gap enough that the numbers of the commoners count for something. That could be advancing technology, or magic. For example, suppose that the witches, hunted by Church and the protestant monarchs alike fled to the New World and managed to combine their powers enough to fight off the demigods. You could end up with a United States where you have a House of Representatives elected by men and a Senate elected by women, while instead of a President you have a Champion, the most powerful American demigod who is kept in luxury in return for defending the nation from foreign nobles and internal threats.

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

Thanks.

 

Mad Science is a formal branch of study in my setting.

 

You might find this webpage interesting, since it is about Mad Science in an RPG setting.

 

Genius: The Transgression

[Steve]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

Only if something narrows the power gap enough that the numbers of the commoners count for something. That could be advancing technology' date=' or magic. For example, suppose that the witches, hunted by Church and the protestant monarchs alike fled to the New World and managed to combine their powers enough to fight off the demigods. You could end up with a United States where you have a House of Representatives elected by men and a Senate elected by women, while instead of a President you have a Champion, the most powerful American demigod who is kept in luxury in return for defending the nation from foreign nobles and internal threats.[/quote']

 

As tempting as it is to introduce, I'm going to try and steer away from magic. Perhaps instead of witches, mentalists could be substituted. People who can read minds would be most likely to be feared by others, even when compared to someone who can destroy a castle with their bare hands. Combined with technology emerging from under the shadow of superhumanity, it would make a potent combination.

 

A democratic America, ruled by a House and Senate that would represent the normal humans and maybe a Supreme Court that would represent the mentalists. A Champion could be the most powerful superhuman. I'll have to think about it some more.

 

Would someone like Marx get much traction in a superhuman-dominated world?

[Clonus]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

As tempting as it is to introduce, I'm going to try and steer away from magic. Perhaps instead of witches, mentalists could be substituted. People who can read minds would be most likely to be feared by others, even when compared to someone who can destroy a castle with their bare hands. Combined with technology emerging from under the shadow of superhumanity, it would make a potent combination.

 

A democratic America, ruled by a House and Senate that would represent the normal humans and maybe a Supreme Court that would represent the mentalists. A Champion could be the most powerful superhuman. I'll have to think about it some more.

 

That's as may be, but without an equalizer like technology, magic or super-martial arts, something that can be learned or acquired by people who do not have born super-powers, there's no real reason for democracy to happen. Except of course, among the super-powered class. If democracy already exists, it could enlist superhumans to defend it by indoctrinating them and rewarding them, but if it wasn't already entrenched, the idea would seem absurd in a world where quality is more powerful than quantity. Although it's possible that the superhuman overlords might have such a lack of interest in administration that they let their subjects run themselves as long they still get anything they want.

 

Would someone like Marx get much traction in a superhuman-dominated world?

 

"Someone like Marx"? Marx's ideology was an outgrowth of resentment against those who held the most power in his time, the industrialists. Someone "like Marx" could denounce the superhumans, but it wouldn't much matter unless his followers had an equalizer.

[Peregrine]

Re: The Emergence Of Superhumans

 

That's as may be, but without an equalizer like technology, magic or super-martial arts, something that can be learned or acquired by people who do not have born super-powers, there's no real reason for democracy to happen. Except of course, among the super-powered class. If democracy already exists, it could enlist superhumans to defend it by indoctrinating them and rewarding them, but if it wasn't already entrenched, the idea would seem absurd in a world where quality is more powerful than quantity. Although it's possible that the superhuman overlords might have such a lack of interest in administration that they let their subjects run themselves as long they still get anything they want.

 

IOW, something closer to Athenian democracy - those who were entitled to participate in government did so in a democracy, but the franchise was not universal.