For in vitro experiments, see In vitro

In vitro

In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...

, for in vitro fertilization, see In vitro fertilization

In Vitroes are a fictional genetically engineered

Genetic engineering

Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...

 subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of human

Human

Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

s in the science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 television series Space: Above and Beyond

Space: Above and Beyond

Space: Above and Beyond was a short-lived mid-90s American science fiction television show on the FOX Network, created and written by Glen Morgan and James Wong. Originally planned for five seasons, it ran only for the single 1995–1996 season. It was nominated for two Emmy Awards and one Saturn...

. The name is etymologically

Etymology

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...

 derived from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 phrase "in vitro

In vitro

In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...

", which is used in science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

 to refer to state of being in an artificial environment outside the living organism. Thus, In Vitro refers to the race not only being conceived in a laboratory, but also artificially gestated

Gestation

Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....

 in glass and metal cylinders, to be "born" as young adults.

Origin

The In Vitroes were first farmed by the In Vitro Authority to fill the labor force

Labor force

In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce, including both the employed and unemployed.Normally, the labor force of a country consists of everyone of working age In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce,...

 gap after the population of Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

 was decimated by a sterility

Infertility

Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...

-causing plague

Pandemic

A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...

. Engineered with the best the genome

Genome

In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....

 has to offer, without the randomness of natural selection

Natural selection

Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....

, In Vitroes are conceived from 'parents' that never actually lived as two human beings. They were composites of DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 from many sources thrown together in a petri dish

Petri dish

A Petri dish is a shallow glass or plastic cylindrical lidded dish that biologists use to culture cells or small moss plants. It was named after German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri, who invented it when working as an assistant to Robert Koch...

 to optimize the chances of getting the best traits possible. The race is a step up from cloning

Cloning

Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...

 in that no two In Vitroes are alike; however they can share DNA with another In Vitro created from the same batch of constructed chromosome

Chromosome

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...

s, which would make two such individuals siblings. Genetically designed to be stronger, faster and less prone to illness, the In Vitroes were supposed to help bring the decaying human race back to its feet. They were created to be a servant caste

Caste

Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...

, occupying jobs that were too dangerous, demeaning or strenuous for "Natural Born" humans. After they are born they serve a five year period of indentured servitude to reimburse society for expenses associated with their creation.

Bioengineering

After being created by gene splicing, In Vitroes gestate in artificial gestation chambers or tanks (from which the derogatory term "tank" derives), with the natural umbilical cord

Umbilical cord

In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta...

 delivering the nutrient

Nutrient

A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy...

s they need as they remain suspended in a sleep state and under an accelerated growth rate and an artificial cord at the base of their skull

Human skull

The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...

s (on the back of their necks) that is connected to a neural network

Neural network

The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...

 that inputs basic education through direct sensory input to the brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

. While floating in the neutral-buoyancy

Buoyancy

In physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...

 tank that is the artificial gestation chamber, a series of sophisticated retrovirus

Retrovirus

A retrovirus is an RNA virus that is duplicated in a host cell using the reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its RNA genome. The DNA is then incorporated into the host's genome by an integrase enzyme. The virus thereafter replicates as part of the host cell's DNA...

es attack the genome of the In Vitroes, prematurely activating segments of DNA responsible for growth and maturity. By triggering these gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

s in a closely timed sequence while providing them with a steady flow of nutrient rich protein medium, their bodies are able to reach maturity at a rate far more rapid than naturally. After six years, their physical development is equivalent to a natural-born human at eighteen years of age. Only 27 percent of the subjects survive the gestation process.

History

During the AI War

Silicate (AI)

Silicates were a fictional race of androids created by humanity to be servants in the 1995-1996 television series Space: Above and Beyond.-History:...

, Natural Born losses were greater than anticipated and the cost in human life was devastatingly high in the civilian population as well as in the military. Terrorist

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 attacks claimed far too many. Combat

Combat

Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....

 and battle claimed even more. Every day the losses mounted. Humanity made the decision to increase its numbers artificially, not with the electronic intelligences that were now the enemy but with In Vitroes who could become highly skilled soldiers. Government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

s and industry worked together to build a multitude of In Vitro facilities around the world, facilities where these soldiers could be grown and trained.

After the In Vitroes were conscripted into the Armed Forces against their will, they proved to be poor soldiers. With no conventional families to protect, a lack of patriotic fervor toward nations that saw them as expendable slaves, and no vested interest in the A.I. War's outcome, the majority of the In Vitroes refused to fight. Out of guilt and dissatisfaction, the In Vitro platoons, an abysmal failure, were dissolved. The In Vitroes returned "home" without familial or community ties to guide their main-streaming and soon became a rebellious race of socio-political untouchables. The refusal to fight in the war against the Silicates has led to a stigma that continues to haunt In Vitroes everywhere, years after that particular war ended. Now, persecuted and reviled as disloyal cowards, most are outcasts, living on the outer edges of society. They have gained the reputation for being lazy and shiftless. Some Natural Borns even consider them expendable. The additional artificial "navel

Navel

The navel is a scar on the abdomen caused when the umbilical cord is removed from a newborn baby...

" present at the back of their necks (where the artificial umbilical cord/neural implant was attached in the gestation chamber) became the only visible distinguishing feature, making them easily recognizable and an easy target of constant discrimination

Discrimination

Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...

.

Many casually call them "tanks" in reference to their gestation chambers. Others call them "nipple necks" in reference to the navel at the base of the neck. In Vitroes are a segment of the population who have finally carved out a small niche for themselves in a society that used and then discarded them as mistakes.