Re: The Gradual Massacre (GBS2G4) [Round 3: Las Orbitas]
11-15-2010, 08:17 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Godbot.
Countess, the Controller began.
“Mhm?” she asked the empty room. She stood attentively, even though she had no idea where to look. Controller was just a voice in her head watching her on a computer screen.
I have a task for you.
His agent clicked and whirred but remained silent, so he continued. He traced his finger along a fractal superimposed over a screen, mapping out an intricate pattern. The computer responded in time with his movements, searching universes, then timelines, then worlds. It took a fraction of a second to hack into files not yet written a computer yet to be built in a research facility that hasn’t been destroyed quite yet.
Day 26 of Ouroborous Project
Ouroborous has recently split into two strains that are operating separately. Ouroborites don’t have a concept of imprinting, but they don’t harm their young, to ensure progression of the species. But since the new strain developed separately, they will fight each other.
I am beginning to suspect some part of the experiment has gone awry. The sudden influx of mutations observed in previous generations has all but stopped altogether - but only in two specific test groups. Specifically, groups A and C have halted their progress. Curiously, these groups have been kept entirely separate since the fifth generation, and there are few to no notable similarities between the two groups, barring their recent and sudden development of specimens with oversized pincers that almost resemble those of a stag beetle. Besides the different overall appearances of the two types of pincers, testing would seem to indicate that they are composed of two different derivatives of chitin, and dissection results show that they are attached to the carapace in entirely different ways. However, despite the differences between the A and C breeds, both types of large-pincered Ouroborites (name cleverly coined by Dr. Jameson, as in individual units of ‘Ouroborous’) continue to thrive, and their numbers grow steadily.
The theory shared by most of my colleagues is that the corruptions in the specimens’ biopolymer DNA equivalent are taking on a similar role to a dominant trait, as observed in all natural forms of life on Earth. In other words, the "giant pincers" mutation is shutting out the comparatively recessive trait for normal-sized pincers - a sort of "hyperdominance" that presides over all the other observed phenotypes. At first, I had assumed this was the case, but the common trend between groups A and C makes me skeptical. I hesitate to apply the rules of "traditional" genetics to the Ouroborites’ large breeding groups and multistage fertilization - especially since they share no common ancestor with anything else on Earth. Why would our rules apply?
My hypothesis, which I can back with very little besides Occam's razor, is that the large-pincered Ouroborites are simply more effective at killing than the small-pincered specimens. This also accounts for why the evolution has stopped even as breeding continues: Even the specimens with superior traits are being overwhelmed.
No matter what the cause is, we need to get the enhanced evolution of the specimens back into motion. Tomorrow we will attempt cross-breeding between test groups A and C.
Countess, Controller continued, I want you to kill the first strain of Ouroborites, and lead the others to believe that that Ouroborous is dead.
Countess, the Controller began.
“Mhm?” she asked the empty room. She stood attentively, even though she had no idea where to look. Controller was just a voice in her head watching her on a computer screen.
I have a task for you.
His agent clicked and whirred but remained silent, so he continued. He traced his finger along a fractal superimposed over a screen, mapping out an intricate pattern. The computer responded in time with his movements, searching universes, then timelines, then worlds. It took a fraction of a second to hack into files not yet written a computer yet to be built in a research facility that hasn’t been destroyed quite yet.
Day 26 of Ouroborous Project
Ouroborous has recently split into two strains that are operating separately. Ouroborites don’t have a concept of imprinting, but they don’t harm their young, to ensure progression of the species. But since the new strain developed separately, they will fight each other.
I am beginning to suspect some part of the experiment has gone awry. The sudden influx of mutations observed in previous generations has all but stopped altogether - but only in two specific test groups. Specifically, groups A and C have halted their progress. Curiously, these groups have been kept entirely separate since the fifth generation, and there are few to no notable similarities between the two groups, barring their recent and sudden development of specimens with oversized pincers that almost resemble those of a stag beetle. Besides the different overall appearances of the two types of pincers, testing would seem to indicate that they are composed of two different derivatives of chitin, and dissection results show that they are attached to the carapace in entirely different ways. However, despite the differences between the A and C breeds, both types of large-pincered Ouroborites (name cleverly coined by Dr. Jameson, as in individual units of ‘Ouroborous’) continue to thrive, and their numbers grow steadily.
The theory shared by most of my colleagues is that the corruptions in the specimens’ biopolymer DNA equivalent are taking on a similar role to a dominant trait, as observed in all natural forms of life on Earth. In other words, the "giant pincers" mutation is shutting out the comparatively recessive trait for normal-sized pincers - a sort of "hyperdominance" that presides over all the other observed phenotypes. At first, I had assumed this was the case, but the common trend between groups A and C makes me skeptical. I hesitate to apply the rules of "traditional" genetics to the Ouroborites’ large breeding groups and multistage fertilization - especially since they share no common ancestor with anything else on Earth. Why would our rules apply?
My hypothesis, which I can back with very little besides Occam's razor, is that the large-pincered Ouroborites are simply more effective at killing than the small-pincered specimens. This also accounts for why the evolution has stopped even as breeding continues: Even the specimens with superior traits are being overwhelmed.
No matter what the cause is, we need to get the enhanced evolution of the specimens back into motion. Tomorrow we will attempt cross-breeding between test groups A and C.
Countess, Controller continued, I want you to kill the first strain of Ouroborites, and lead the others to believe that that Ouroborous is dead.