Exploring Albia and Welcoming a New Face

Freya wasted no time in exploring beyond the confines of the garden! However, she is much less adventurous than I had originally imagined. She is still extremely intelligent and adorable, of course, and her preference for the garden and incubator area will most likely serve her well as she grows up. Freya is a lovely companion to travel around Albia with! She is still fascinated by the hand, and she loves to have little conversations about “push Jessica” or “get Jessica”. Having positive interactions with Norns very early on definitely pay off in the long run!

A somewhat annoying aspect of Creatures 1 is the fact that Norns and Grendels recognize immature carrots as full grown carrots that they can eat. A creature can sit about continuously staring at a carrot and trying to pick it up, with no success. Of course, the carrot eventually matures and the process is successful, but it still is frustrating! Smart little Freya even could not escape the powers of the growing carrot! Perhaps it had very intense telepathic powers…

I thought this pose from Freya was too adorable to pass up! She is almost playing peek-a-boo near the water pump. Such an impish face! Although she has shown a lot of promise, something tells me that she might just end up being a handful as she grows up. After all, Norns can have rebellious stages, too! I do hope that Freya will continue to have such a wonderful personality as she matures. A Norn’s personality can be a questionable sort of feature, though I always believe that each one is unique. They tend to change over time, so Freya could easily become a monster!

Breaking away from one Norn can be unbearable at times, simply because of the unknown. However, I had to make the decision to bring another Norn into the world eventually. This colorful treasure holds a female Norn, for good reason. I wanted Freya to have someone to bond with as a friend, so that they can hopefully go through a few pregnancies together. Holding off on a male means that Freya can mature a bit more before becoming a mother, since she will be a main role model. Finally, female Norns can still be fertile in the elder life stage, while male Norns are typically rendered infertile at the onset of old age. Stress plays a major role in this difference, since females can often remain mildly fertile through stressful times. Male Norns… Not so much! They tended to fall into a depressed state of mind.

After another period of anticipation on my part, out popped a very happy White Haired Pixie Norn! I adore the little curl in the middle of her forehead. It is difficult to see on such a tiny little face, but adds another element of cuteness! This little girl is called Vanadis, which is another name for Freya. They are, after all, somewhat in the same boat with the amount of responsibility for future generations. I just hoped they could get along in some way, and not get into slap-happy battles over males and whatnot. Even toys and food items have been known to cause all out wars between female Norns!

Freya was a tough act to follow, but Vanadis certainly did not disappoint! She took her time learning her vocabulary, although she showed a good deal of enthusiasm. The green stick figure diagrams are quite awesome, after all! The first ten to twenty minutes of a Norn’s life are vital, but there are many decisions to make. I take the route of teaching basic vocabulary before feeding a Norn, but only if I know that it will not take too long. Vanadis certainly enjoyed her first meal! As with Freya, Vanadis has two mutations that I am not sure how to interpret. Any explanations would be most appreciated!

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.

Mutation: 122 Emb B Mut Lobe #= 8 at X=12 Y=6 Perflags=1
Default: 122 Emb B Mut Lobe #= 8 at X=12 Y=6 Perflags=0.

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.

Mutation: 238 43 0 Emb B MutDupCut 4*FeverToxin => 2*Hotness + 1*Oestrogen; half-life = 80
Default: 238 43 0 Emb B MutDupCut 4*FeverToxin => 2*Hotness + 1*Hexokinase; half-life = 80