Deadly Genetics from Creatures 1

As Stokka finished up her vocabulary lesson, I learned that there was a new death in Albia. A quick visit to the island told me what I had expected: Kleppstad had passed away at 10 hours and 52 minutes. He had been King of the Norns for a time: All seven of his children were conceived in a row with no competition from the other males! Kleppstad’s death seemed a little untimely, though, since other Norns were living well into their eleventh or twelfth hours. I would miss the joyful presence of Kleppstad: It was only a matter of time before his offspring had the chance to carry on his memories. Rest in peace.

Pettvika certainly grew up very quickly: She was an adult before she reached 50 minutes old! With a little coercion, I brought her to Mevik, in the hopes of a first pregnancy. Oddly enough, Mevik seemed terrified of Pettvika! He constantly ran away from her, and he even escaped via the undersea cart. Bringing Pettvika to the other side was a nightmare, since she seemed convinced that she had to push the left button. I was surprised she was not feeling nauseous by the time she made it to the settlement! That was far too much movement for a sane Norn.

My Grendel, Skuld, had also taken up residence on the desert island. She was a very social creature, yet I figured she needed a little peace and quiet from the Norns. There was no indication that any eggs were on their way, so I took the time to help Skuld gorge herself and find a little more happiness. She was a very adventurous Grendel: I had spotted her near the incubator only a few minutes before she made it to the desert island. Skuld had also made friends with many of the Norns. There was still the anomaly of the kisspopping that seemed to happen with her and the male Norns, although I had yet to confirm it. In any event, she was a thoroughly happy Grendel!

With no pregnancies, I decided to hatch another second generation egg. Sadly, this was the one which contained the last child of Bera and Folkvar. One mutation changed the initial concentration of glycogen to starch. A lack of glycogen is grounds for death, and I feared that would be the case with this Norn. Sure enough, as soon as the egg began to heat up in the incubator, the observation kit indicated that the unborn Norn was not alive. I expected it, yet it was still a very sad moment for the little Norn.

This little one would have been named Toften. As his egg hatched, he actually did have a smile on his face for the split second before his body collapsed. I still remembered the moment when Bera became pregnant with him on the docks. Poor little Toften. Such is the way with Norns sometimes, since genetic mutations can not be controlled. He would have been a welcome addition to Albia, since the number of males had dwindled significantly. More than that, though, Toften would have been a joy to raise and get to know. His genetics held another interesting mutation, aside from the one that meant his early demise. At least science allowed me to take one last look at his genetic code.

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.

174 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Glycotoxin + 2*Glucose => 2*Pain++ + 2*Sleepiness++; half-life = 72

This gene controls how glycotoxin affects a creature. In the standard Norn genome, glycotoxin reacts with glycogen to create pain and sleepiness. Toften’s genome indicates that glycotoxin interacts with glucose, which is far easier to replenish than glycogen. Effectively, had Toften lived, glycotoxin would not be as dangerous to him. It still would have been very unpleasant, but his glycogen and life force would not have plummeted from a taste of the deathcap mushroom. If only he could have lived!

Initial Concentrations

Initial concentrations define the starting values of different chemicals at birth. The most important of these genes are for glucose and glycogen, allowing babies to survive without needing to eat immediately after hatching.

147 Emb B MutDup Initial Concentration of Starch is 122

Here is the gene which spelled the death of Toften before he could break out of his egg. A standard first generation Norn is born with a decent concentration of glycogen, or long-term energy. Toften had all of the mechanics to produce glycogen, but he was born with nothing to build upon. Even if he had a very small initial concentration of glycogen, he would have survived long enough for me to cram some food in his mouth.

There was a subdued mood around Albia, as if some of the Norns could sense the sad death of Toften. Nordmela and Oppeid had recently reached adulthood and made a very pretty couple. Their kisspopping had been fruitless so far, but they took a little break just to enjoy one another. Even though he had just entered adulthood, Oppeid had experienced almost a complete loss of testosterone production after stressing himself out. Males tend to need a little extra attention to keep them healthy and fertile. At least the Norn population was spread out with a male close to most of the mature females. Still, I hoped that another young male would hatch soon to ensure the next generation.