The OP makes a good point, though, it's not just drama. Like it or not, the color of our skin has a lot to do with people's expectations of us. It's an unspoken statement of common experiences, though those experiences vary quite a bit by geography. Two black people from the United States will very likely have an overlapping set of experiences that a black person and a white person from the United States will not have (though, both being from the US will have a lot of overlapping experiences).
These are not value statements, it's just how life is. The OP is just asking the game to reflect a little bit of himself and that is actually high praise of this game, it means he's invested and really cares about this community.
I hope that there are more dark skinned Powers. I'd also like to see some blending and projection of how the human phenotype will change as a consequence of prolonged space exposure, high gravity and low gravity worlds. I expect there'll be groups of people that are crazy strong from high gravity worlds and some are really tall from low gravity worlds. Maybe even a race of space dwellers that are intolerant of gravity!
Great post, thanks. I agree that "real-world" gravitational and other differences could interestingly elicit different human body and skin types.
Additionally, I have found it interesting and of note to see how many people refer to the (and this is simplifying) notion of "Didn't someone say we'll all be beige someday?" engagement of the original question. I wonder, how many folks who thought that when this exploration was raised were thinking that when the PP Powers were revealed? That is, was there any sense of that "we'll all be beige in the end" submission then, or just now? My guess is probably that that sensibility emerged now, reflecting the normative nature, in many cases, of white skin and white features. That is, I don't think I heard or saw voices submitting "Hey, aren't we all beige in the future? What's up with the Archon, Aisling and Arissa, with Zemina and Edmund?"
Then again, maybe its just that this question is only being raised generally now in any case, and that, had it been raised then as a question, it might have been received similarly. My own experience with these dynamics, both at home (USA) and abroad (UK, Japan, Korea, France) says probably not, though.
I would love to have a conversation with FD about this; I wonder if they feel its an unnecessary hot potato, or if they have a plan...?
Which could actually happen.
