The Birth of a Norn and a Terrible Case of Cave Flies

After nursing Angharad back to health and succeeding in feeding her a few carrots, I was ready to bring another Norn into Albia. A little male named Coll popped out of his shell and was ready for action right from the get go! He was the son of Glein and Bolga: Although he had some similarities with Angharad, they were not directly related. Coll had a mixture of standard Norn genes and Forest Norn genes, along with one interesting mutation. Fortunately, his brain lobes were unchanged! As I had seen with Angharad, any mutations related to the brain lobes could equal serious problems. Little Coll appeared to be a strong and sturdy Norn from the beginning: He was ready to charge off into the garden, although I cut him off at the lift! No sense running around not knowing any of the language!

Receptors

Chemical receptors define parameters for a certain chemical. When these parameters are met, an element in the Creature is affected. These genes can increase drives, define life stages, control fertility, and more.

162 Ado M MutDupCut Creature, Reproductive, become fertile if high, chem=Testosterone, thresh=1, nom=0, gain=255, features=Analogue

This gene controls a male Norn’s fertility based on his level of testosterone. The standard Norn genome has a threshold of zero: Coll’s mutation is extremely minor, and will probably have no effect. It would have a much more obvious effect if the threshold were set at 50 or 100, for this would mean that he would require a large amount of testosterone before he could be fertile. With the difficulty in keeping stressed out males full of testosterone, Coll was lucky that this was a minor mutation!

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.

230 Emb B MutDupCut 2*Antigen4 + 4*Ageing => 1*Antibody4 + 1*Hotness; half-life=80

Normally, this is a simple gene which controls how the immune system in C1 Norns works. Antigens usually react with glucose to produce corresponding antibodies and, usually, hotness. This is why sick Norns require extra food: Their bodies use up glucose from any that is currently in the system, and then additional glucose is converted from glycogen. This is a rather dangerous mutation for Coll: Rather than reacting with glucose, antigen 4 will react with his aging chemical. This is something discussed in a recent Creatures 2 case study, only in relation to a much more serious mutation. Coll will be perfectly healthy and live a normal life span if he never contracts antigen 4. However, if he does, it will shorten his life, and maybe even lead to immediate death if caught late in life.

As Coll began his vocabulary lessons, I noticed that Angharad was labeled as sick in the observation kit. I had last left her near the weeds on the outskirts of the garden, so I thought nothing of it… Until she was still sick after a few minutes, and her life force began to slowly fall. She and Ellidyr were caught in a swarm of cave flies! Luckily, Angharad did not have the genes that made geddonase so deadly, but she was still not immune to the insect attacks. Those little buggers were relentless and annoying!

Everyone safely made it back to the garden, where little Coll was thrilled to meet another Norn! Angharad was more focused on her insect bites, and drifted off into a much needed rest. Ellidyr stayed right near her, but seemed unharmed from the cave flies. A few sips from the honeypot made him feel completely refreshed. I will be testing out another effect of injecting the cave flies soon, which involves the pianola. For the time being, everyone seemed relieved to be kept in the warm garden. They made for one very snuggly family group.

Achren had kept to herself near the fire for a long time, but she was thrilled when Ellidyr returned from his long journey. She kissed him as though she had not seen him for hours! It was a wonderful sight to see the Grendels and Norns living together peacefully. Perhaps Achren and Ellidyr would have Grendel babies of their own. They seemed to be excellent future parents!