Dirigible
Explorer
Here's an idea I want to throw out, see if anyone can help develop, criticise or extrapolate from it.
(I apologise for any mistakes in terminology I have made; I didn't pay a whole lot of attention in my Human Evolution lectures last semester).
As anyone who has done high school biology knows, non-genetic characteristics are not heritable; a mouse that has its tail cut off with, for example, a carving knife would not produce tailless offspring. What if there was a breed of humans, living alongside us and present for millions of years who could pass on acquired characteristics?
Let's call them Lamarckians. When they procreate, rather than the male contributing half a genome to the mix, the female's body takes a 'Kirilian photograph', an image of the male's bioelectric field that contains information on his biology, anatomy and other characteristics. The male's Kirilian photograph combies with the female's own Kirilian field and activates her egg cell(s), creating an embryo with a Kirilian field that consists of a mix of the two parents. The field dicates the childs growth and characteristics in the same way DNA does for a normal person. However, because there is no recombination, there is far less diversity in Lamarckian offspring; their characteristics are always a blend of their parents.
What are the implications of this, in practical terms? If either parent has, for example, a missing leg, their children will also have a missing leg; rather, it simply won't develop. They will have the scars of their parents, and will grow to similar levels of physical strength and health; the downside being, they will be born with any diseases their parents had, too. They will even have the same hairstyles as their progenitors (but they can of course change it at a later date).
The most relevant (in that it is the ones I intend the PCs to come across) community of Lamarckians is a village that lies snuggles deep and isolated in the forests of the US (maybe Washington state, maybe New England; I haven't decided). There is another community in Eastern Europe (the source of the American Lamarckians ), one in the midle of Siberia and another in the hinterlands of China. There are none at all in the Middle East or Africa; they were driven out hundreds of thousands of years ago by the ancestors of we 'normal' humans.
This small town, Rose Lake, is quiet, isolated and simple. While they do use some modern technology and have their own generators, there are no radios, TVs, phones or computers in the town. It is home to four hundred Lamarckians and a handful of normal humans. The people are small farmers, trappers, hunters and craftsmen, who make their living off the land and by selling their goods, like home-made furniture and weavings.
Variation: What if, in addition to acquired physical characteristics, a part of the parents' memories are passed to the children? The Kirilian field could transfer information fromt hebrain, as well as physical traits. Some Lamarckians may have ancestral memories stretching back countless millenia, albeit patchy and vague. The memories are gradually assimilated into the childs mind as it grows and learns and becomes capable of understanding them. This means very young children (by human standards) may be very mature, intelligent and knowledgeable, trusted with responsibilities at a remarkable age. This is part of the reason they abhor modern communications technology; not only might it inspire people to leave, but there is the risk of information overload.
Adventure Idea: The PC's vehicle breaks down in the middle of the forest, or they get lost on a hike, and they set out to find a mechanic / shelter. They come across Rose Lake, which at first seems like a perfectly normal, if isolated, town. The remarkable family resemblance everyone bares to their kin will probably be explained as, ahem, 'limited mate selection' (or evidence of Deep One influence, depending on the campaign...).
Then they start to notice some odd things: the bar owner has the same missing earlobe as her father; farmer O'Connell is missing his left arm from the elbow down and so are all four of his children; Robert Jr. talks, walks and acts exactly like Robert Sr. If the PCs consider this, they may rationalise it all as 'country ways', ritualistic mutilation or evidence of cult behaviour or child abuse. The townsfolk try to keep their nature secret at all costs, but initially bare the PCs no ill will.
Adventure ideas:
* The towns doctor is a normal human, essentially held prisoner to serve their medical needs. He was a researcher into isolated communities and genetic diseases whoa rrived in Rose Lake and got a little too close to the truth. He may emplore the PCs for help in escaping.
* The Lamarckians may view the PCs (particular young, fit, healthy ones) as potential new mates to help restore their damaged bloodlines (see below).
* Someone in town may have the ancestral memories of a serial killer. The arrival and interference of the PCs may trigger the urges they have long held in check.
Now, the questions...
* There must be a way for turning normals into Lamarckians, or at least cleansing defomities from the ancestral line. Otherwise, the gradual buildup of physical damage would render bloodlines non-viable after enough time. The simplest explanation is that there is a self-repair mechanism that clears deformities after several generations, so that little Susie may have her mother and father's scars and deformities, but not those of great (time a thousand) granny Zuug, the famed one-eyed Cro Magnon man The more interesting explantion, though, is that Lamarckians can transform humans. As to how this is accomplished and what the implications are, I eagerly await your suggestions.
* Would the Lamarckians be extremly physically adept and powerful? Knowing that your own acquired characteristics would pass on to your offspring, wouldn't you ensure that you were at the peak of physical perfection? Over generations, this continual progress could mean that Lamarckians are stronger and faster than normals. Not to mention the fact that they ahve access to dozens of generations of skills and learned talents (if the ancestral memory variant is used); by adulthood, every Lamarckians is a crack shot, an expert driver and skilled in every area their ancesters were, from animal husbandry to sewing to writing to blacksmithing.
* What would they be like psychologically? Would they feel alienated from their ancestors or would there be an incredible closeness to one's antecendants that not even the most devoted human geneologist and family historians could match? What palce is there for individuality if you are exactly like your parents?
So, think about all the above, and share any thoughts, ideas or problems you have.
(I apologise for any mistakes in terminology I have made; I didn't pay a whole lot of attention in my Human Evolution lectures last semester).
As anyone who has done high school biology knows, non-genetic characteristics are not heritable; a mouse that has its tail cut off with, for example, a carving knife would not produce tailless offspring. What if there was a breed of humans, living alongside us and present for millions of years who could pass on acquired characteristics?
Let's call them Lamarckians. When they procreate, rather than the male contributing half a genome to the mix, the female's body takes a 'Kirilian photograph', an image of the male's bioelectric field that contains information on his biology, anatomy and other characteristics. The male's Kirilian photograph combies with the female's own Kirilian field and activates her egg cell(s), creating an embryo with a Kirilian field that consists of a mix of the two parents. The field dicates the childs growth and characteristics in the same way DNA does for a normal person. However, because there is no recombination, there is far less diversity in Lamarckian offspring; their characteristics are always a blend of their parents.
What are the implications of this, in practical terms? If either parent has, for example, a missing leg, their children will also have a missing leg; rather, it simply won't develop. They will have the scars of their parents, and will grow to similar levels of physical strength and health; the downside being, they will be born with any diseases their parents had, too. They will even have the same hairstyles as their progenitors (but they can of course change it at a later date).
The most relevant (in that it is the ones I intend the PCs to come across) community of Lamarckians is a village that lies snuggles deep and isolated in the forests of the US (maybe Washington state, maybe New England; I haven't decided). There is another community in Eastern Europe (the source of the American Lamarckians ), one in the midle of Siberia and another in the hinterlands of China. There are none at all in the Middle East or Africa; they were driven out hundreds of thousands of years ago by the ancestors of we 'normal' humans.
This small town, Rose Lake, is quiet, isolated and simple. While they do use some modern technology and have their own generators, there are no radios, TVs, phones or computers in the town. It is home to four hundred Lamarckians and a handful of normal humans. The people are small farmers, trappers, hunters and craftsmen, who make their living off the land and by selling their goods, like home-made furniture and weavings.
Variation: What if, in addition to acquired physical characteristics, a part of the parents' memories are passed to the children? The Kirilian field could transfer information fromt hebrain, as well as physical traits. Some Lamarckians may have ancestral memories stretching back countless millenia, albeit patchy and vague. The memories are gradually assimilated into the childs mind as it grows and learns and becomes capable of understanding them. This means very young children (by human standards) may be very mature, intelligent and knowledgeable, trusted with responsibilities at a remarkable age. This is part of the reason they abhor modern communications technology; not only might it inspire people to leave, but there is the risk of information overload.
Adventure Idea: The PC's vehicle breaks down in the middle of the forest, or they get lost on a hike, and they set out to find a mechanic / shelter. They come across Rose Lake, which at first seems like a perfectly normal, if isolated, town. The remarkable family resemblance everyone bares to their kin will probably be explained as, ahem, 'limited mate selection' (or evidence of Deep One influence, depending on the campaign...).
Then they start to notice some odd things: the bar owner has the same missing earlobe as her father; farmer O'Connell is missing his left arm from the elbow down and so are all four of his children; Robert Jr. talks, walks and acts exactly like Robert Sr. If the PCs consider this, they may rationalise it all as 'country ways', ritualistic mutilation or evidence of cult behaviour or child abuse. The townsfolk try to keep their nature secret at all costs, but initially bare the PCs no ill will.
Adventure ideas:
* The towns doctor is a normal human, essentially held prisoner to serve their medical needs. He was a researcher into isolated communities and genetic diseases whoa rrived in Rose Lake and got a little too close to the truth. He may emplore the PCs for help in escaping.
* The Lamarckians may view the PCs (particular young, fit, healthy ones) as potential new mates to help restore their damaged bloodlines (see below).
* Someone in town may have the ancestral memories of a serial killer. The arrival and interference of the PCs may trigger the urges they have long held in check.
Now, the questions...
* There must be a way for turning normals into Lamarckians, or at least cleansing defomities from the ancestral line. Otherwise, the gradual buildup of physical damage would render bloodlines non-viable after enough time. The simplest explanation is that there is a self-repair mechanism that clears deformities after several generations, so that little Susie may have her mother and father's scars and deformities, but not those of great (time a thousand) granny Zuug, the famed one-eyed Cro Magnon man The more interesting explantion, though, is that Lamarckians can transform humans. As to how this is accomplished and what the implications are, I eagerly await your suggestions.
* Would the Lamarckians be extremly physically adept and powerful? Knowing that your own acquired characteristics would pass on to your offspring, wouldn't you ensure that you were at the peak of physical perfection? Over generations, this continual progress could mean that Lamarckians are stronger and faster than normals. Not to mention the fact that they ahve access to dozens of generations of skills and learned talents (if the ancestral memory variant is used); by adulthood, every Lamarckians is a crack shot, an expert driver and skilled in every area their ancesters were, from animal husbandry to sewing to writing to blacksmithing.
* What would they be like psychologically? Would they feel alienated from their ancestors or would there be an incredible closeness to one's antecendants that not even the most devoted human geneologist and family historians could match? What palce is there for individuality if you are exactly like your parents?
So, think about all the above, and share any thoughts, ideas or problems you have.
Last edited:
to 'refresh the stock'. A more horrible means of 'resetting' would be to eat a normal human, so that they assimilate what they eat and it resets their genetic drift.
