Homo Novus, or "New Man," is a genetically engineered strain of humanity that first appeared in its most basic form when Theo Bell's mind was reengineered to have a 70% area of brain activity. In 2016, the first true Homo Novus began to appear through Bell's development of a new series of gene-mod drugs. By 2020 there will be roughly 31,000 Homo Novus on Earth, most of them in the US and Canada, with a few about Europe and the far East. By 2075 95% of all humans had become Homo Novi. Homo Novi were the axiom of human evolution until the creation of the Avatars.