A Teddy Bear Norn and the Evil Bee

Each time the Creatures 1 incubator lights up and comes to life, a rush of excitement seems to travel across all of Albia. This new egg was one of many I had come across, but the joy of seeing a new baby was just as wonderful! Meet Llyan, the daughter of Bringsli and Stokka. I immediately fell in love with her teddy bear look and absolutely bubbly personality. She was beyond happy to explore this new world outside of her eggshell! With Llyan came a few genetic mutations, which all deserved a short analysis and explanation.

Receptors

Chemical receptors define parameters for a certain chemical. When these parameters are met, an element in the Creature is affected. These genes can increase drives, define life stages, control fertility, and more.

50 Emb B MutDupCut Creature, Drive Levels Sleepiness, chem=Sleepiness, thresh=0, nom=1, gain=255, features=Analogue

This gene controls how a certain chemical can affect a specified drive level. In this case, the sleepiness chemical will increase Llyan’s sleepiness drive at the standard threshold of zero, while the gain value is set to the standard maximum. Her mutation changed the nominal value from zero to one. This is quite minor, but should translate into her sleepiness drive always remaining above zero. There is a plethora of helpful information about chemical receptors and many other genes located at geNorNics: Have a look for lots of genetic concepts!

Emitters

Chemical emitters define specific conditions within a Creature in order to affect chemicals. Some examples include experiencing stress from excessive drives, becoming cold due to environmental conditions, and more.

136 Emb B MutDupCut Creature, Sensorimotor, I’m Asleep, chem=NONE, thresh=0, samp=64, gain=10, features=Inverted Digital

In a nutshell, this gene normally decreases the Need for Pleasure (NFP) in a Norn when he or she is asleep. Llyan’s mutation means that she will not enjoy the usual NFP decrease, though it certainly doesn’t mean that her life will be filled with misery! Sleeping will still bestow all of its other benefits: Llyan simply needs to find other ways to actively reduce her NFP. A few tickles on the nose might do the trick!

Reactions

Chemical reactions define rules for individual chemicals and chemical combinations. These genes can also state the rules for how chemicals are used up, and each reaction has a defined half-life to determine how often it occurs.

85 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Anger- + 1*Anger => 1*Reward; half-life = 10

The only difference in this gene is the half life value. In the standard Norn genome, the half life of this reaction is eight. Llyan’s mutation has barely changed the value, though this will most likely mean a difference in how often it is processed. This gene rewards her for reducing her anger, though, and I have yet to encounter a seriously angry Norn. If Llyan ends up with some anger issues, we might know why!

290 Ado M B MutDupCut 1*Adrenaline + 1*Testosterone => 1*Anger-; half-lfe = 72

Under normal circumstances, this gene states that adrenaline and testosterone will react to produce a decrease in sex drive. Effectively, a stressed out Norn would reduce his interest in kisspopping while experiencing a decrease in his fertility to remove the added adrenaline from his system. Llyan will never be able to experience this mutation since it only affects males, but it presents an interesting scenario! Rather than reducing sex drive, a stressed out male will become less angry. Aside from the lost testosterone, this mutations seems like it could be very beneficial! Maybe Llyan will pass this gene along to a son so we can observe it in action.

It was a privilege to teach Llyan the language: She grasped it very quickly, and never took her curious eyes away from the computer. Yet the poor little one came across something in the world that wasn’t as excited to meet her: That little bee in the upper left of this photo had greeted Llyan with a round of painful stings! She had the most helpless and confused look on her face. If Norns were capable of crying, I think Llyan would have burst into tears! A few reassuring tickles and an endless supply of carrots and honey brought happiness back to her. She even drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

A honeypot created a wonderful photo opportunity with Henwen! She had returned to her youthful self after laying her first egg just after becoming an adult. I separated her from a group of males who kept her occupied with many, many kisses. The isolation was a welcome respite for the young Norn. Though the docks were glum and rather damp, Henwen brought her special smile out to shine a little light into a dark place in Albia. She apparently was waiting for the submarine, though I convinced her to stay on the mainland for the time being.

Gwydion managed to escape from the large group to find Henwen again. They were the two youngest adults, yet I figured they would enjoy a cordial journey on the lift. Before Henwen fell asleep, she was pregnant! Gwydion was a sneaky little guy, but I was happy for him. He was the only adult without a child at that point. The monotonous sound of the other Norn’s sleep would have sent many off to find something more interesting, yet he laid down to keep her company. That, or he wanted to get a really close look at the deathcap mushroom just in front of his eyes!

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