A Tiny New Norn for Albia

My Norns and Grendels of Creatures 1 had long grown into adulthood, and a new baby was definitely greatly needed! After a few moments of waiting and a great deal of crackling, a little baby male emerged. Gwydion is the son of Oppeid and Pettvika. I enjoyed his unique appearance right away: He seemed so bright and cheerful! Gwydion was not entirely free of mutations, though. There were a number of minor ones that wouldn’t make much difference, yet there was one very important brain mutation that would change how he acted. He would be a lovely challenge!

Lobes

Brain lobes include important information about how the different parts of the brain work, from how concepts are learned to how a Norn goes through the decision process. These genes can greatly affect the learning process.

121 Emb B MutDup Lobe#=7 State Rule: chem3 PLUS type0

Ah, the wonderful world of state variable rules! I still have yet to fully grasp how the different variables work. I highly recommend checking out the Creatures Developer Resource for a list and description of these codes. In a standard Norn, the rule reads “state PLUS type0.” This gene is in relation to lobe seven, which is the attention lobe. In extremely loose terms, Gwydion should have trouble focusing his attention on one object for a long period of time, since his attention lobe relies on chemical 3, rather than its actual current value. As I was about to find out, this mutation was omnipresent in Gwydion, though not a complete handicap!

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.

90 Emb B Mut ‘Disappointment’ causes sig=0 GS neu=255 int=0 => 16*Boredom++ + 16*NFP++ + 18*Anger++

This is a rather minor mutation, though one that could have some effects on Gwydion. A standard Norn experiences 16 anger increase when disappointed, but Gwydion experiences a slightly elevated 18 units of anger increase. I doubt that this will be readily apparent, yet it could be easily noticed if he experienced constant disappointment.

105 Emb B Mut ‘I’ve Deactivated’ causes sig=0 GS neu=255 int=0 => 2*Tiredness++ + 0*NFP

Gwydion’s final mutation is another minor one, and actually has no effect upon him. The second chemical in this gene is typically NONE, and is not used. The second chemical still has a value of zero and will not be used, but it has been mutated to be Need for Pleasure (NFP). With a further mutation, a descendant of Gwydion could potentially experience NFP when deactivating an object. This could be quite good!

Gwydion was one of the most difficult Norns to teach at the learning computer, for he was so easily distracted! I was very understanding, though, since he really couldn’t help it. To make up for his lack of attention, he seemed to grasp each word more quickly than some of the others. Getting him to eat was even more difficult: He seemed to want to cuddle up with the carrot, rather than eat it! Again, though, his attention lobe mutation was to blame for his difficulty, and not typical Norn stubbornness. It took a few tries and a lot of tickles, but Gwydion soon had a full tummy and a happy smile to show off!

Fflewddur was the first to meet the newest member of Albia, and he was rather thrilled to see such a tiny Norn! Gwydion was a little more cautious, and I wondered if his short attention span seemed a little rude to the older Norn. Fflewddur didn’t seem to think much of it, especially since most Norns are easily distracted under the best of circumstances! The little Norn was even offered a carrot seedling to eat… Not exactly the best way to feed a growing youngster, but Fflewddur did his best to welcome the little guy to the group!

Most of the Norns were clustered on the desert island, trying to enjoy the summertime. Eilonwy took a long time to recover from her last egg, just as she had before. She was very relieved to have that ordeal finished with! Dwyvach followed her around faithfully, perplexed over some of her walking habits. Doli stood by with a goofy grin. It was probably one of the oddest pictures, yet it created a few giggles!

All of the commotion that the Norns made drove Eilldyr to take a nap. He also had his lovely mate, Achren, to entertain all the time. It was enough to send a Grendel into dreamland several times a day! He was adorable to watch, since he had benefited greatly from the updated sprites and body data files. Sleeping looked so much more comfortable and enjoyable for Ellidyr!

Before I knew it, Gwydion had grown into a child! He still preferred the sanctuary of the garden, where there were plenty of things to occupy his mind. I made a point of feeding him from time to time, just to make sure he was staying healthy. Coll decided to become his friend, although it wasn’t exactly the best match: He was the worst eater, and had stopped producing testosterone shortly after his only egg was laid by Eilonwy. Although he probably couldn’t teach the younger Norn very much, I wondered if Gwydion might set Coll back on the right track. My attempts to feed him were thwarted by the shiny butterflies! Life in Albia was, overall, a fun and peaceful time. Could it last?

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