Genetically Engineered Humans Equal Dwarves?

 Dwarves are interesting in D&D with there 4 males to 1 female ratio.

 Dwarves strike me as a genetically engineered race. For a Sci Fi setting they could be just that genetically engineered humans that are now so unique genetically they can not have children with normal humans, perhaps they were originally designed to be sterile. Depending on ones setting they could be associated with underground complexes because they were once military units of genetically engineered soldiers that were originally cloned and kept in cryogenic sleep in military bunker systems. When the final end of civilization happened a few deep underground bunkers survived and the computers or non genetically engineered humans did not release them for various reasons... which could include out side environment hostile, armies need food but cryogenic sleepers do not so ration situation for surviving humans may have necessitated they continue sleeping, eventually descents of normal humans leave the complex and the long forgotten sealed Dwarf soldier army slumbered on. 

Eventually the automated system released them because of redundancy safety programs as the complexes began to loose power. This first generation of dwarves in the post cataclysmic history (many of D&D’s settings have such a history) would had to endeavored to solve any sterility issues in their species probably believing they were the only survivors of humanity and knowing the ability to grow new replacements was decreasing as age took its tool on the facility.  The ratio difference between males and females can be also be explained by normal human society feeling “female” soldiers were need for certain situations, such as dealing with female prisoners of war. Ultimately the dwarves were able to solve the reproduction problem but it was an imperfect solution with incredibly low number of females born. If the females had to be genetically engineered from males originally this could explain their more male like appearance compared to normal humans.

Another option is they were genetically engineered to be miners, work in higher radiation, work in higher gravity and on darker worlds than Olde Terra. This is still a viable explanation for a post apocalypse world, but it also works for a setting in which humans live out in space. The dwarves could be employed by corporations, considered human or are slaves to humans. The dwarves could be free and be humans from higher gravity worlds genetically engineered to survive there better or mutations that occurred on certain worlds because of terraforming or weird cosmic rays. Maybe no females occur at all as the are all grown in vats.

I suggest they are never called Dwarves in a Sci Fi setting and be renamed. They should also be be considered more resistant to radiation, disease, lack psionic ability, and able to withstand gravity extremes better. They might be called “heavies” referring to their heavy world tolerance or perhaps the Greek letter Epsilon referencing The Brave New World’s social order or the Lensmen for example or some other name that references their place in the Space Opera. 

Have Fun Folks!