Freya and the Unknown Toxins of Creatures 1
Vanadis, Freya, and Odin lined up for a nice group shot of the original three Norns. These three knew their importance from the very start, although each one has shown that in a different way. During my time in Creatures 1 on this visit, Freya would be the one who would require the most attention and care. And it was a life and death situation.
It all started with an indication in the Observation Kit that Freya was sick. With the frequency of antigens popping into the air, as well as many of the Norns’ affinity for eating weeds, I was hardly worried. Indeed, Freya even smiled after I brought her some carrots and a honey pot! Could she really be that ill? I was about to learn how deceiving appearances can be. Norns know just how to hide their illnesses! Freya might have earned some sort of award if I hadn’t known better. There were no predators, so this hiding business was unnecessary.
Never fear! The sleeping icon was missed in this photo, but Freya was perfectly alive. I had quarantined her from everyone else to avoid a spread of whatever infection she was carrying. I quickly noticed that she exhibited no signs of being sick: There were no tiny coughs or sneezes, and she only was tired out after following the robot around for a bit.
Upon my examination of her chemical levels via the Science Kit, I was quite surprised by the findings. First of all, I wanted to thank antigen 0 for making its first appearance in Albia. No surprise there. What was surprising was the fact that she had two unknown toxins in her system, and no other sickness chemicals, such as histamine A or sleep toxin. Note that this graph was captured after quite a long time: Antibody 0 took its time building up in Freya’s system!
I was still surprised that Freya was suffering from such a strange illness. Her face and activities showed no sign of being affected, and she seemed to always have a smile on her pretty little Norn face! She did end up freezing in this position for some time: It was an odd spot with the graphics glitch that made the teleporter button appear on her body! I had hoped to get a better idea of the levels of other chemicals in her system, but I really wanted to focus on the unknown toxins. The Science Kit was very powerful for this purpose, yet I felt it was also very limited in some respects.
Fortunately, the illness ran its course and was eventually defeated by Freya. The activity of the unknown toxins begs the question: What type of chemical are these? Could they be similar to antigens, in that they interact with antibodies? What type of reaction do they cause in a Creature’s body? Above all else, why was Freya the only one to catch the illness, even though she started off in a group of Norns? Creatures surely is interesting from a scientific standpoint!
How bizarre! I’ve never seen that before. I always sort of assumed that the unknown toxins were placeholders for something, I didn’t know they were actually used. I’m glad Freya’s okay, though. How old is she now?
Also, I started a little C1 game of my own. :) Only half an hour in, so far, with two norns.
I always thought the unknown toxins were unused, too! Even after ten years, there are still new things to discover within the Creatures games! I was a little worried since there were no unknown healers or something of the sort. Freya is a little over six hours old at this point: Definitely no signs of aging yet! Ha ha!
That’s so great to hear about your new world, Tarlia! I know I beat the topic to death, but have you considered blogging? I really do enjoy reading the new blogs that have popped up: No two worlds are ever alike! In any event, good luck with your new Norns!
Hm, well, we’ll have to see about the blogging. I don’t know if I’ll have the time. :) Thank you, though, it’s kinda fun to play this game again. I named the two first norns after the two founders of my first big breeding project back in early 1997. :D Lisa and Odin. They’re even the same breeds as the originals.
Odin! Such a great name. Ha ha! I wish I remembered the first Norns I had… It was just so long ago, and I often restarted the world. I do remember my brother naming the first male he had Alphonimore. I tended to try the tip of naming alphabetically by generation, but that never worked out for me. Ha ha!
Have a great time with C1, Tarlia! I should mention that I posted a bunch of my original Norns on Creatures Caves for download, if you ever want some genetic diversity.
Unknown toxin :o maybe that is a toxin the shee have not yet figured out either.
Biochemistry in Creatures certainly is interesting! To your point, Kittie, perhaps the Shee left because they were worried about the unknown toxins. Calling them “unknown” is a little worrisome… Imagine going to the doctor and being diagnosed with an unknown illness!
The next time someone becomes ill, I plan on taking a close look at the activity of the unknown toxins. With Freya’s illness, I feel like they are unnamed antigens without a corresponding antibody… Maybe that doesn’t make complete sense, but I definitely need a few more cases to figure it all out!