A Special Norn Friendship

Most of the excitement from this past week has centered around other topics, but Creatures 1 was not to be forgotten! A lively young Norn was just the way to revitalize Albia and provide more hope for the future. This little guy is the son of Eydis and Folkvar: Meet Kleppstad! I was very happy to find that he possessed few genetic mutations, and that both were slightly beneficial. Mutations can be positive, negative, or a little bit of both. With the amount of negative mutations in the second generation, Kleppstad was a welcome addition to the gene pool! The happiness in his eyes was also a factor that breathed a little more life into Albia. He reminded me of his older half-brother, Erikstad, and I wondered if he would be as potent! However, it was best to start from the beginning and take a look at his mutations in detail.

Stimuli

Stimuli genes define the chemicals that a Creature expects to receive in response to an action. These actions can range from interactions with the hand to involuntary actions like coughing or sneezing.

97 Emb B Mut ‘I bump into wall’ causes sig=0 neu=2(I’ve bumped a wall) int=255, , , Sensed Even When Asleep => 25*Pain++ + 0*NFP

Kleppstad inherited this mutation from his father, Folkvar. It has no effect on him, but Need For Pleasure (NFP) is replaced with NONE in the standard Norn genome. It is possible that another mutation could make a descendent become somewhat bored when bumping into a wall, which would deter this behavior a little more. Many creatures bump into walls consistently, and anything to decrease wall bonking is very welcome!

Instincts

Instincts define the expectations for certain behaviors. These genes do not state exactly what happens when the parameters are met, but rather provide the basis for Norns to base their decisions on.

302 Emb B MutDupCut Verb i/ps Left + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) + (Lobe/Cell=0/0) and I Left => 255*Reward

In the standard Norn genome, this gene is switched on in childhood. In the case of Kleppstad, this gene is active at birth. It is an instinct which rewards a creature when he or she hears the word “left” and then travels left. My opinion is that this gene does not normally switch on until childhood because Norns are not born understanding the language. Still, it might encourage Kleppstad to travel left more often than he would travel right as a baby. I was unable to stay with him for too long during his first twenty minutes, but he certainly seemed to linger around the incubator area, rather than traveling to the right and exploring the rest of Albia. This is a subtle mutation, but an interesting one, all the same!

The stockpile of eggs was suddenly the place to hang out! Halvor, the Grendel, quietly stared at one egg, as he pondered what it could be. Bolga was the only female amongst the Norns, and she was surrounded by Glein, Innhavet, and Erikstad. Naturally, there was a series of kiss pops. Glein was the lucky father-to-be, at least on this occasion! With so many males around, he was happy to take the opportunity. Who knew if this would be his last child?

Nearly everyone in Albia was enjoying themselves, aside from poor Arnes. It was impossible for me to spend every moment with him, but it was a sad sight to watch him suffer. He was still rooted to the same position he had been for hours, aside from some random turning. Try as I might, I was unable to convince Arnes to move, let alone pick up a carrot and eat it. His health had not deteriorated too far, but I felt terrible about what kind of existence he was leading. Some of the Norns stopped by to interact with Arnes every now and then, yet even they understood that something was wrong with him. I planned to still hold onto some hope. All it would take was a flash of inspiration, and he might move again.

Time seemed to simply fly by in Creatures 1! Pretty soon, Jetvika was an adult, and Kleppstad was just minutes away from adulthood. The two youngest Norns had formed a close friendship, and they never wanted to leave each other. They followed one another, and never strayed too far. I gradually caught them going their separate ways, yet it was a wonderful experience to watch them grow up together. Norns do not necessarily have the capability to form lasting friendships, yet these still pop up every now and then. Hopefully Jetvika and Kleppstad would never forget their time together.

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