| From: | Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | ED Races in SR; why it can't happen (long) |
| Date: | Wed, 6 May 1998 17:15:57 -0400 |
<snip chupacabras = "ghoul t'skrang" theory by Jeremy Fisher>
Well, that idea makes a certain amount of sense. Though I don't believe
that the t'skrang had any real genetic compatibility with humans, so the
fact that chupacabras seem to have primate DNA probably throws this out,
right there. They are probably "ape ghouls" or something similar. Which
makes sense to me.
But let's just take this arguement forward for a moment, since this is an
old, old idea on RN. But I don't recall the most important question ever
being asked.
The question becomes this then. If the various incarnations of VITAS
(we're on what, 4? 5? now?> were engineered by someone to eliminate
t'skrang, windlings (I'm one of the minority that isn't sure
windlingúerie) and obsidimen, then who?
Who designed this virus and why?
The dragons? VITAS hits far too soon for them to be any kind of a real
impact, not to mention Dragons are only now becoming "tech-savvy." And
since they usually seem to be so seperate from metahumanity, why would they
care? If it were them, they probably would have designed VITAS to kill off
the elves.
The immortal elves? As much as I dislike them being the answer to
everything, they are the most likely candidates. They were around to see
the birth of genengineering. They are supposedly almost all somewhat
tech-savvy. It's entirely possible that with adequate resources, an "evil
'Leonardo'" could have designed VITAS to seek out certain genetic sequences
that are tied to the other ED races.
And I don't see anyone else even being a candidate.
But as I mentioned before, this all assumes that t'skrang, windlings and
obsidimen would be a part of metahumanity, that is, they would be
"goblinized" humans. Which is a huge assumption, and one I think is
erroneous to make.
Obsidimen seem to have some sort of relationship with their Liferock; I
have no recollection of anything regarding obsidimen mating or of
obisidimen babies. So they probably arise somehow direct from the
Liferock. This, if I'm right, would automatically eliminate the obsidimen
from being goblinized humans.
Windlings seem to be normal mammals, but they don't seem to be able to
breed with any of the other races. This could simply be sheer mechanics (a
troll and a windling? Physically impossible), but the fact that they have
magical wings also would seem to indicate that they are an entirely
different species. If windlings are the same as SR's faeries, this
supports the argument; they have a different genus (is that right? they
aren't homo sapiens mutablis or something is what I mean).
T'skrang? Sure, they're humanoid. But they are essentially lizards.
Overgrown iguanas. They probably share more genetic code with the lizards
of the Gallapagos Islands than they share with humans (similar, actually,
to how we share a sizable portion of our genetic code with chimpanzees).
T'skrang are evolved lizards just like humans are evolved apes.
So basically, I really don't think VITAS necessarily wiped out any of the
Earthdawn races. What did happen? Here's a speculation.
Okay, a lot of people believe that when the magic goes (4th to 5th worlds),
the metahumans begin to breed as humans. Trolls have human babies and so
on. But what about the non-human humanoid races?
Obsidimen probably just go back to their Liferocks and try to sleep it out.
It's possible that their Liferocks are actually uranium of some other
valuable mineral, so we've mined or damaged nearly all their Liferocks.
Perhaps continuing tectonic activity destroyed any number of Liferocks. Or
perhaps we've simply poisoned too much of the Earth, and their Liferocks
have been similarly poisoned. But even if they are still around, the mana
level would almost certainly have to increase before the Liferocks became
"active" again and those obsidimen are slow beings anyway, they would
certainly take their time waking up from a 5000+ year slumber.
Windlings, I'm not sure. Perhaps their numbers dwindle down to mere
hundreds and they hide in forests and such, inspiring our modern faerie
legends. If so, the faeries of SR are probably inbred and essentially
feral windlings. I think it would be difficult to breed true with a gene
pool of maybe a few hundred over at least 5 thousand years. Not to mention
retaining their culture. They're the "inbred Jeds" of the bunch.
The t'skrang are problematic. They aren't human, so they wouldn't have
human babies like trolls would. They would have to breed true I should
think. So where the frag did they all go? Did they all have normal
lizards as babies? Did their culture collapse in a catastrophic way,
killing all or nearly all of them? Are they simply so dependent on magic
that they either became infertile or ill and died when the magic went away?
Or is it possible that there are t'skrang still around, a few of them,
still living in the underwater cities that a few of them live in?
Basically, if you really want to use those races, my explanation doesn't
totally close the door on you. But these races would be so incredibly rare
that they would be more likely to be a scientific prize than a
shadowrunner. Not to mention they would probably stick with their own kind.
Anyway, these are my thoughts on the matter.
Erik J.
"This job has taken my dignity, my self-esteem, my creativity and my
precious time on this earth. YOU'VE TAKEN ALL I HAVE! THERE'S NOTHING
LEFT TO GIVE!!!"
"The blood drive is next week; this year it's mandatory...and a three-pint
minimum."
