Kerbals

Kerbals are a species of intelligent, green creatures that originate from Kerbin. They are the main protagonists of Kerbal Space Program 2. In the lore of the game, the Kerbals built and operate the Space Center at which the player starts their game, with the player acting as the Director.

Kerbals have an anatomy broadly similar to humans. They stand at an average of 0.75m and have long, pill-shaped heads, protruding eyes and green skin. they lack a discernible nose, ears and irises. Their posture makes them appear a bit clumsy, with kerbals being prone to stumbling- especially whilst wearing heavy space suits. Despite this, kerbonauts can jump remarkably high while being burdened by the weight of their space suits. Perhaps the most unique feature of their appearance, their green skin, has given rise to many theories as to what they are exactly. Kerbals come in a range of different skin colors, similar to humans, but all share the distinctive green undertone. One of the most accepted theories is that their skin contains chlorophyll, the pigment that enables photosynthesis in plants. Kerbal usually sport a wealthy tuft of hair composed of an unknown substance, likely keratine. Interestingly bald kerbals also occur, although it is not known if balding occurs with age or if this is simply a genetic trait of some kerbals. Likewise, while some kerbals have bright hair colors such as blue, it is not known if this is natural or if the kerbals in question painted their hair as a stylistic choice. They also seem to like to wear different hairstyles, suggesting the stylistic expression is an important feature of kerbal society. Some kerbals also sport (sometimes quite extravagant) facial hair. Some Kerbals also wear glasses, which may indicate their eyes are prone to damage from sunlight due to the lack of irises, or eyesight may simple be a genetic factor.

Little is known about the internal anatomy of a kerbal. Kerbals have bones, but it is now known how many and if they share a similar skeleton to other humanoid beings. Like humans, kerbals need oxygen to survive. If they are ever exposed to a vacuum or non-oxygenated atmosphere, they spontaneously "poof" (the family friendly term used to describe the end of life for a kerbal). While not conclusive evidence on its own, this behaviour combined with the fact they have a mouth might suggest they also have lungs. There is evidence of kerbals reacting to stimulants like caffeine, suggesting they have a brain and a central nervous system similar to humans. Kerbals have a natural affinity for snacks of every kind, including some snacks independently discovered by kerbals that are also known to humans, like pizza. They are also known to consume liquids like coffee. While this and the fact that they have teeth serve as conclusive evidence that kerbals can eat and drink and are likely omnivorous, it is unknown if they actually require food and water to survive or if they simply consume as a means of pleasure. If they do require food for survival, it is likely they have stomachs as well as internal organs dedicated to food and waste processing, although no kerbals has ever been seen to defecate or urinate. The latter suggests kerbals might not have blood and instead use another method of internal waste processing. For the same reason, it is not known if they are warm blooded or cold blooded. Kerbals have also never been observed to become sick, meaning they either have a very advanced immune system or the bacteria found in the Kerbol system simply never evolved to be hostile. Nothing is known about how Kerbals reproduce.

An interesting trait of kerbalkind is that they are incredibly resilient to long-duration space missions. This fact has become the subject of many theories about their physiology. Some believe kerbals are actually plants or even a species of intelligent mushroom, but this is considered unlikely by the presence of other many different kinds of other animals on Kerbin. What might be a viable explanation is that the kerbals, and perhaps even all animal life on kerbin, evolved from plants in the distant past. If this is the case, kerbals might actually be some kind of animal-plant hybrids that share the traits of both. This theory also offers a solution to the spaceflight paradox; kerbals are hibernators. When food and water become scarce (like on a long-distance trip to Eeloo), they enter a form of hibernation where much of their usual internal processes become reduced or even outright disabled. In stead of these animalistic processes, their plant-specific processes take over. The chlorophyll in their skin uses the carbon dioxide exhaled by their lungs combined with a source of (sun)light and water, and converts it into energy to be used by the kerbal. This would not provide enough energy for the kerbal to remain fully active, leading to the semi-conscious state that has been observed where they can stay seated in their spacecraft for years or even decades without objection. If this theory is indeed true, all kerbals would need to stay in hibernation indefinitely is a steady source of light and some sort of water reclamation system inside the spacecraft. Once they arrive at their destination, they can simply start consuming food again to give them the energy they need for their normal animal-specific processes. The fact that kerbals seemingly have no lifespan also indicates their internal organs (besides their eyes) do not degrade over time, nor does whatever system they use to store genetic information, making kerbals essentially immortal. This essentially means kerbals have the perfect physiology for deep-space exploration.

Not much is known about the psychology of kerbals and the structure of the kerbal society at large. Kerbals are capable of speech, possessing a tongue and likely some form of vocal cord. Their language oddly enough evolved to be exactly the same as Spanish, but with each word reversed (the actual reason for this is the Mexican origin of the original developers at Squad). Kerbals are often described as clumsy, silly or even stupid creatures, but the fact that they managed to build a space program and some very advanced technology seemingly refutes this to some extent. Kerbals are undeniably intelligent, both cognitively and emotionally. As such, there is some evidence that kerbals can form romantic relations and organizations with leadership structures. Kerbals are suited for labor, with many seen wandering about doing their jobs at the KSC. All rockets, parts and buildings for their space program are canonically built by the kerbals themselves, as are the missions you are given at Mission Control. The wide diversity of jobs and functions observed at the KSC is a strong indicator that kerbal society is complex, layered and widespread, which is why it is somewhat puzzling that there are no other buildings on the entirety of Kerbin except the island airfield. This has given rise to the theory that kerbals primarily live underground, but perhaps a more simple explanation is that covering the surface of Kerbin in cityscapes would wreck the performance of the game. There is strong evidence that kerbals were religious at some point in their history, with the god-like figure 'Kerbina' seemingly being an important religious figure or concept in the past and temples and pyramids being found on their planet. These seem to have become forgotten since. It is not known if this is still the case in the present day. What does seem to be obvious is that kerbals are very curious creatures and have a strong desire for exploration, leading them to ultimately set up the space program the player takes control of at the start of the game. Some of the notable achievement of Kerbalkind include splitting the atom, developing an artificial intelligence called P.A.I.G.E., and constructing rockets capable of reaching the Mun. Over the course of the game, scientists and researchers at the KSC use the new data being returned by the space program to invent ever more advanced technology, ultimately resulting in Kerbals becoming more technologically advanced than humans, being capable of interstellar travel.

In the lore of the game, the player embodies both the Mission Director at the KSC and the 'spirit' of the kerbals working for it. When they are in the VAB they embody the spirit of the engineering and construction teams at the KSC, when they are flying a rocket or plane they embody the commands from mission control and the pilots executing them, and when they take a kerbal on EVA they are outright controlling that Kerbals actions. When the player is controlling a probe core, it can be assumed they embody either the team that sent the commands to it or the on-board artificial intelligence controlling the vessel.

Special Kerbals

Intercept Games staff

Several members and family members of the Intercept Games dev team have custom Kerbals present in the game. These Kerbals are modelled to look after their real- life counterparts and are easily recognizable by the first letter of their last name being added between their first name and 'Kerman' (Trigger is the only known exception to this). Every 40th Kerbal that spawns in the Kerbal Manager will be randomly chosen from the roster of all dev kerbals.