Shazi
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 10,500 approximate | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Daxia | 5,200 |
 Zhijun | 800 |
 Truk | 250 |
 Cao | 1,100 |
 Xisheng | 3,150 |
| Languages | |
| Daxian pidgin | |
The Shazi (头脑迟钝) also called Slow-in-the-Minds are an ofshoot of the main Daxian people believed to have branched off and migrated away from the Daxian mainland approximately two million years ago and lived in total isolation. Their physical appearance is reminiscent of previous human variants, being shorter and stockier and having sloped foreheads. In general they tend to be considerably more stupid than the average person. A group of approximately four thousand individuals were rediscovered in the island of Saipung in 2001. The government killed five hundred and forcibly relocated the rest of them back to the mainland, creating a special settlement named Ulanhar to house them. A program to 'civilize' the Shazi was coordinated by the anthropology department of the University of Mirzak, with multiple instances of researchers being violently murdered and then eaten by their charges, and also sexual assault of female researchers. Shazi have been shipped to all of Daxia's overseas holdings and islands in the Polynesian Sea to serve as fruit pickers; there are Shazi communities in Zhijun, Truk, Cao and Xisheng.
Physical description
Shazi are robustly built and powerful and are on average about 155 to 165 cm tall. The body is generally heavy and solid, apparently with strong musculature. The forehead is straight, with markedly pronounced browridges that allow them to escape injury from strikes to the head, and the face short and wide. The brain capacity is about 1,300 cc, which is less than the average human, except in cases of severe mental retardation. Due to their isolation for thousands of years, Shazi are very vulnerable to some modern diseases such as smallpox and the common flu and can die very easily when coming into contact with them. For this reason Shazi communities are usually fitted with plastic domes and air filtering systems.
Culture
Shazi are too stupid to have any meaningful culture.
Role in modern Daxian society
Shazi have been called a 'people out of time'; their discovery and subsequent violent introduction to the modern world (courtesy of the Daxian government) were a shock to their fragile and fearful psyches. Due to their severe mental and biological backwardness, all Shazi are wards of the State from the moment they are born to their last day. This means there are no Shazi vagrants or homeless, all of them are provided for with everything they need and are also assigned a basic function that benefits the government in some small way. Most Shazi that live in the planned city of Ulanhar serve the cause of science by functioning as test subjects for genetic tampering and experiments in cloning and modification of the human genome for other viable and useful applications. The military also uses a limited number of them as a shock weapon, specially trained Shazi were employed as suicide bombers, driving vehicles loaded with explosives against enemy strongpoints during the war against Varshan. They also serve as mine sweepers, cooks and latrine diggers.
Extremely wealthy Daxians can rent Shazi from the government to serve as curios for their residences, and also to act as human furniture, a task their are uniquely suited to due to their strong and resilient physique.