Constitutionals

The Constitutional faction of the Underhill colonists were the people who wanted to be strong enough to face the planet head on. Not content with adapting to the gravity and thinner air on their own, naturally, they looked for ways to strengthen the body from birth. Originally one of many programs run by the scientists of the colony, the initial successes with the project led to some deep philosophical divides among the colonists.

Some, looking to expand the human psyche, worked in hopes of improving communications, computer interfacing and even, most outlandishly, possibly affecting the animals that kept attacking. In the meantime though, those altered by the Constitution faction (not to be confused with the Neutrals, who believed that the colonists should let their bodies adapt to the planet naturally), were better able to breathe the thinner air of the planet, cope with the higher gravity with less damage to joints and other systems, and had better all around endurance than the unaltered or the psyche subjects.

They also healed remarkably fast from most minor and not-so minor injuries. If it wouldn't have required major surgery (and in some cases, even if the injury would have needed an extended period of healing), the Constitutional children could be back in working order anywhere from minutes (in the case of smaller cuts), to hours, to days and weeks sooner than the other colonists. It was noticed that higher levels of the Ambrosia compound aided in this healing effect, and during the war, the highest use of concentrated Ambrosia, though generally evenly distributed between the Psych and Constitutional factions, was seen on the part of the Constitutional fighters during a battle.

This did come with the risk of driving the fighter temporarily mad, as their mind and hormones ran out of control. Eventually, the dosages were fine-tuned, and a balance found between enough of the compound to aid healing, and not enough to tip a person over the edge.