Expanding the Second Generation of Norns
Written onIt was only a matter if time before Arnes was no longer the only Norn in the world! Out of this pretty little egg popped out the daughter of Arik and Eydis: This is Bolga! She looked almost exactly like her mother, and only inherited her father’s dark legs. It was wonderful to have the first mixed breed Norn! Arnes might have been the first second generation creature, but he had all the characteristics of a Horse Norn. Thankfully, Bolga possessed absolutely no genetic mutations! Arik had several minor mutations, but Eydis passed along her textbook genome. Although unmutated Norns might seem to be boring on the surface, they often create a balance and keep mutations from getting out of control too quickly. Judging by the look on her face, Bolga was very happy about her genome and genetics! I, too, shared in her happiness on a cellular level.
We spent a very short period of time going through the learning computer: Bolga was thirsty for knowledge, and I loved seeing her so happy. She reminded me so much of her mother, who had been the very first Norn in Albia. Bolga was soon fascinated with the teleporter, which she traveled through a few times and then began to push the button from the side. I would probably be more scared of the teleporter than anything, but she showed off her bravery to no end! At least I could count on Bolga to travel through the teleporter on her own.
Shortly thereafter, Bolga met Arnes in a somewhat awkward meeting. There were a couple of kisses, but Arnes enjoyed slapping the little Norn much more. Fortunately, Bolga moved along to explore other areas of Albia first! I believed that part of the behavior was due to the brain mutations that Arnes possessed. It would be some time before I could determine if he could lead a healthy social life. There were moments of enjoyment between the two, though, so again, all hope was not completely lost. Norns are amazingly adaptable little beings who often surprise us!
I was excited to hatch the next egg, which held the first child of Truett and Bera. This Norn would introduce some more genetic diversity into Creatures 1, and I had a feeling that the Purple Mountain and Forest Norn breeds would go well together. Meet Dalselv! She flew out of the incubator, and didn’t even stand still for the usual first picture. Energetic Norns are almost never a bad thing, though! Her genetics are a little complicated, simply because she inherited a lot of the newer genes that were not present in the original breeds. I plan on explaining these genes in more detail in a future update: Suffice to say that Dalselv inherited a lot of very useful genes! She should be very capable of taking care of herself and leading an independent life. Her mother, Bera, was one of the better eaters from the first generation! Her Purple Mountain Norn arms and legs matched the rest of her Forest Norn attributes beautifully. Dalselv possessed only one genetic mutation to look at.
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.
112 Emb B MutDup 3*Punishment => 1*Reinforcement + 1*PunishmentEcho; half-life = 16.
In the standard Norn genome, only 1 punishment is needed to create this chemical reaction. Dalselv requires three times more punishment in order to receive the same levels of reinforcement and punishment echo. These chemicals are all involved in the learning process, and specifically in any interactions related to punishment. Therefore, Dalselv may not learn that actions are bad as quickly as others. Where one spank might deter a Norn, she could require three spanks to get across the same message. Dalselv should have no problems learning about good behaviors, but bad behaviors might be a different story.
Luckily, I enjoy teaching through mainly positive reinforcement. Dalselv was very happy about this little fact! Once again, genetic mutations provide a challenge with each creature. Sometimes mutations are devoid or meaningless, while others require extra time and effort. As I went on my theoretical monologue, Dalselv waltzed over to the learning computer and soaked up the knowledge like a sponge. I enjoyed watching her master the language in just under five minutes: Quite impressive for such a tiny little being! Norns and Grendels may be very simple, but they put us humans to shame when it comes to learning!
I managed to capture a wonderful portrait of the three Norns. Not a bad mix at all! Unfortunately, Arnes was quickly back to staring at food and not knowing what to do. I hoped he would have at least one child of his own who did not inherit his learning disabilities. Perhaps he was a little on the slow side when it came to learning, but Bolga and Dalselv seemed to enjoy his company. The slapping had come to an end, thank goodness! Soon, a handful of other baby Norns would join them. Any ideas as to what theme the second generation names come from? There is a rhyme and reason to them!
The new little ones are so cute, but I’m really taken by Dalselv’s coat. I’ve wanted to see the PMN and Forest crossbreed for a while. Unfortunately both Tabby and Pollen in my world are female, so I’ll have to wait until at least the 3rd generation before I can have one of my own.
It’s good to see a couple of new Norns with limited mutations. It will be interesting to see how the punishment mutation works out for Dalselv. Who knows, it might work out to be a better balancing act?
Hopefully you’ll have some crossbreeds running around soon! I didn’t get to capture Dalselv in all her glory: The little white tummy is an added bonus! It will be interesting to see how she ages, since it will show off the different sprites a little better. It’s definitely my favorite breed combination at this point!
Interestingly, Dalselv is the only child of Bera and Truett. The next Purple Mountain and Forest Norn cross comes from Kari and Ranulf way later on. Not to worry, though: There are five of those little ones! Ha ha!
You might be right about the punishment mutation: Sometimes I feel like it’s just too easy for a creature to be punished. A couple of accidental slaps have actually been pretty harmful for some Norns: It takes a little bit of time to undo those! Maybe Dalselv will be better equipped for those times when I’m attempting a tickle, but end up delivering a spank.
Heh, I believe I can make a good guess at the names. :) I’m Norwegian, you see. All of those are all places in Norway. Arnes took me a moment, that would be Årnes, right? (To emulate the Å, you can type Aa, by the way.) Seems logical, since the first generation norns all had old Norse names. :)
Correct, Tarlia! I had a feeling you would figure it out! To be specific, I’m using a list of the Nordland villages. The list probably isn’t completely accurate, yet I thought it would be a nice tribute to an area rich in Norse heritage! Nordland reminds me of Norns, too.
Arnes is listed as such, but Wikipedia can’t always be trusted! I’ll keep the Aa in mind in the future, though. Thanks!
Oh, Arnes is probably correct, then! I just hadn’t heard of it, as it’s probably very small, and I’m more familiar with Årnes (which is much closer to where I live). :)
Good guess Tarlia. I wouldn’t have had a hope :P
Just wanted to say I got your last message about doing the Norn swap at some point. Still interested, and yes, I think Gen3 or 4 would be a good place to start.
Tarlia: It probably is pretty small, since the biggest list of names I could find was for the villages. Then again, I didn’t spend too long looking! Nice to know that the names mean something to at least one person. Ha!
ArchDragon: Sounds great! It still might take me a little while to get to the third or fourth generation, but I’ll be ready! I think two Norns to start with would be good: I would prefer to swap .gen files, just because we can hatch the Norns in our own worlds. I’m looking forward to it!