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Message no. 1
From: finix@*******.snu.ac.kr
Subject: Metagene...
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 95 09:44:03 EST
While reading "ShadowTech", I found something about metagenes.
Was it mentioned in this list?

It said...'Metagenes do not bred true' or something. I am not so sure about
the phrase as I do not have the book on hand. The following sentences mentions
about elf parents' giving birth to a troll child, etc. Does it means that
the Elven country is not populated by elves?

Also, there is some phase, 'Seven metatraits have been found.' Seven?
Let me see...Elf, Dwarf, Orc, Troll, and maybe Human? Where is the other two?
Was there seven races in ED?

Just out of curiosity...

finix@*******.snu.ac.kr
Message no. 2
From: "Damion Milliken" <adm82@***.edu.au>
Subject: Re: Metagene...
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 1995 18:26:52 +1100 (EST)
finix@*******.snu.ac.kr writes:

> While reading "ShadowTech", I found something about metagenes.
> Was it mentioned in this list?

It hasn't been excessively discussed as far as I can remember.

> It said...'Metagenes do not bred true' or something. I am not so sure about
> the phrase as I do not have the book on hand. The following sentences
> mentions about elf parents' giving birth to a troll child, etc. Does it
> means that the Elven country is not populated by elves?

What it actually says is that "metahumans do not necessarily breed true."
And it means that two elves will not _always_ give birth to an elf. Just
the same as the offspring of two people with blue eyes will not neccessarily
have blue eyes. A decent amount of genetics is random after all.

> Also, there is some phase, 'Seven metatraits have been found.' Seven?
> Let me see...Elf, Dwarf, Orc, Troll, and maybe Human? Where is the other two?
> Was there seven races in ED?

A metatrait does not refer to a metatype. A metatrait (aka metaeffect) is
simply a single trait expressed by a metahuman. Similar to a single trait
expressed by a human, such as black hair, a single trait expressed by a
metahuman can be dermal skin deposits, or pointy ears.

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong E-mail: adm82@***.edu.au
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Message no. 3
From: "Gurth" <gurth@******.nl>
Subject: Re: Metagene...
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 1995 10:35:21 +0100
finix@*******.snu.ac.kr said on26 Nov 95...

> It said...'Metagenes do not bred true' or something. I am not so sure about
> the phrase as I do not have the book on hand. The following sentences mentions
> about elf parents' giving birth to a troll child, etc. Does it means that
> the Elven country is not populated by elves?

There are some other metahumans in Tir Tairngire, yes, but the majority are
elves. Figures are: human 1%, elf 85%, dwarf 7%, ork 5%, troll +-0%, other 2%.

Metahumans in SR are usually born to parents of their own metatype -- although
humans may have a dwarf child, this is very uncommon by the 2050s. Also
important is to note that, in 2011, dwarves and elves were born to human
parents, while in 2021 orks and trolls came into existance because already-born
humans started to change.

> Also, there is some phase, 'Seven metatraits have been found.' Seven?
> Let me see...Elf, Dwarf, Orc, Troll, and maybe Human? Where is the other two?

I think what the metatrait sentence means is that those 7 genes found so far
are responsible for people being magically active or mundane, although I'm not
quite sure...

> Was there seven races in ED?

Eight, if you include humans: dwarf, elf, human, obsidiman, ork, troll,
t'skrang, and windling. Of those, obsidimen and t'skrang would be least likely
to be classified as metahuman in SR, I think (obsidimen come from a "liferock"
and t'skrang are lizard-like).

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
I seek a thousand answers, I find but one or two
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Character Mortuary: http://huizen.dds.nl/~mortuary/mortuary.html <-

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Further Reading

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