Highrider

Highrider is a term coined by the surface nations of Earth, used to describe the space-based, high tech colonists of Low Earth Orbit. In return, the tasteful denomination given to surface dwelling humans is Groundsider.

Background
Highriders are humans that were either born in space, or spend most of their working lives in space. Those born in space tend to exhibit a number of common traits, most also sharing genetic adaptations tailored towards improving tolerances to zero G, low air pressure and radiation. This being said, with many living in zero G, Highriders tend to be slightly weaker than surface dwelling humans, though tend to possess tremendous stamina and determination. The orbital gene pool consists mainly of African DNA, due in large part to the ESA's hiring of an orbital workforce.

Highriders tend to be highly intelligent and well educated as well as fast-reacting and level-headed, and though generally slow to anger, can be thoroughly terrifying when upset. The majority of Highriders are multilingual, their grasp of the structure and features of many languages leading over time to the development of a Highrider dialect. Known as The Word, this dialect is an orbital version of Streetspeak, containing a minority of components from French, German and Japanese, with the further majority borrowed from African dialects. Like other dialects in the Cyberpunk universe, the language makes common use of slang.

History
Seven Hour War