Nanites represented the most direct means of both observing and manipulating genome structures. With their loss, a new method of work had to be found that could equal it in utility. It took a surprising length of time for scientists to abandon the freedom they en-joyed previously and make trade-offs when it came to effectiveness vs. precision.
>
In other words, genetic engineers had gotten used tohaving perfect control, and its loss meant they would have to take a few steps back in how they approached their work. A notable few actually had themselves extracted to defect to other corporations, convinced their employer was stifling them beyond reason or withholding necessary tech for their life’s work.
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The Smiling Bandit>> CHROME FLESH <<
132
HACKING THE METAHUMAN CODE >>The scramble for new genetic sequencing methodolo-gy sparked a quiet arms race. Scientists and research trad-ed hands quickly, and valuable time was lost in one-up-manship and broken teams. Luckily, Shiawase researchers stolen away to Universal Omnitech managed to develop a new tool before being split up again: plasmid delivery systems, or PDS. Utilizing research into the Human Meta-human Vampiric Virus, it was found that a stripped-down model of its viral design could be utilized as a rapid deliv-ery vehicle for customized genetic splicing.
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Wait, what? You’re saying geneware is all based onvampire genetics, now?
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Clockwork>
I did warn you.>
The Smiling Bandit>
You’re not quite correct. It’s just the design of the retrovirusthat is used.
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KAM>
Why spare them the truth, doctor? The uncomfortable factis DELETED BY SYSOP
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The Smiling Bandit>
Give her a chance to explain it, then you can correct her.>
Glitch>
Fair enough.>
The Smiling BanditThe initial attempts to utilize designer mutagens ran across flaw after flaw, while in-vitro samples were too costly and time-consuming to produce. It was only after the successful revisiting of retroviruses that any progress was made. The only remaining problem was the virus itself. Initial attempts to utilize a Shiawase vaccine pro-totype against HMHVV infection proved the formula in-effective for it’s intended purpose,
>
Shiawase developed a vaccine against HMHVV? When?Why haven’t we seen it marketed?
>
Mihoshi Oni>
She just pointed out that the vaccine was ineffective,though it took a greater degree of understanding of the virus for that to become clear. It was assumed at the time that infection was more virulent than previously thought.
So when Hitomi Shiawase was immunized after an attack by a vampire pop star, they assumed it worked.
>
The Smiling Bandit>
And they meant to sell it to the highest bidder, I assume?>
Mihoshi Oni>
Wait, you mean Empress Hitomi?>
/dev/grrl>
So, wait. She’s infected, a technomancer, the Chairwomanof Shiawase’s Board, and Empress of Japan?
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Mika>
Infection doesn’t work like that, at least not with vampires.She could be a carrier, but a vampire has to take enough to effectively kill you to make you a vampire.
>
Red>
Plus, she’s a technomancer. I’ve never, ever heard of atechnomancer vampire.
>
Netcat>
And you almost certainly never will. All the researchshows the magical nature of the virus is anathema to virtuakinetic abilities.
>
Pistons>
Well, for HMHVV-1. Some ghouls have shown otakuabilities in the past. Maybe they can express as technomancers the same way. It’s possible HMHVV-2 victims might as well, but never if they are already a mage.
>
Hannibelle>
I’m afraid not. Whatever changes HMHVV has beengoing through of late—increasing sensitivity to sunlight and other allergens, sharpening hunger and developing mutations—seems to have weeded out Resonance from its nature. It can be argued that the resistance the infected has against rival pathogens or toxins is part of its monopolizing nature.
>
KAM>
So ghouls who were otaku have Faded completely, then.>
Netcat>
Otaku and technomancers are only as related asCro-Magnon and Homo Sapiens. Evolutionary steps. Some things are discarded.
>
Puck>
Back on topic, everyone.>
GlitchThe initial tests to modify HMHVV-1 for customized retroviral mutation proved problematic, to say the least.
The virus remains one of the most complicated and frustrating subjects of research in the world. However, it was found to be possible to model customized viruses on its genetic template, allowing for key changes to be
made in a host genetic structure. What’s more, the for-mat of the retrovirus has been shown to unlock dormant genetic traits in normal cases of infection, most often in the form of latent SURGE expression potential. The engineered form currently seeing use has offered new paths of research in altering genetics in living organisms, directly rewriting and altering the inherent genome in-stead of introducing external material.
>
So, no cures for the Infected, then.>
Hannibelle>
Unfortunately not. The virus is Awakened, so while theviral template is quite capable, it is still mundane. So before you ask, it can’t be used to stimulate Awakening in a subject either. What it can do is emulate mundane mutations that are effectively the same as SURGE, but with a greater degree of decision.
>
The Smiling BanditThese retroviral plasmids are remarkable in that they auto-align genetic coding around themselves, com-pensating for imbalances by adapting the entire code to accommodate new data. “Strand fraying” is kept to a minimum, reducing risks of mutations and cancer in subjects. The acclimation and shifting period, however, is as grueling as it ever has been, as the body needs to be kept in a suspension solution with continual moni-toring and support while the host stabilizes and adapts to their new genetic template. Depending on the com-plexity of the mutation, the process of mitosis and ac-climation can take anywhere from three days to several weeks. Without the aid of a dedicated care system, the mutations almost always kill the subject.
The exception to this is a “gene infusion,” something of a dangerous take on temporary mutations and still a burgeoning science. Infusions utilize a highly special-ized and adapted form of retrovirus that grafts itself onto genetic strands, causing a rapid mutation in a very selective form for a limited time. The graft overlays RNA, creating a bypass of processes and resulting in tempo-rary alterations. The length of time is determined by the overall health of the subject, as the RNA is eventually purged from the system as superfluous material. A bet-ter immune system will not enjoy the benefits of the in-fusion for as long as a poorer one, but it is more likely to withstand the process without long-term damage or genetic fray.
>
In other words, it shunts your body’s natural functions toa more “desirable” result.
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The Smiling Bandit>
Doesn’t that run the risk of skipping over essentialinformation, or dual-strands resulting in mutagens?
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Butch>
Oh yes. That’s what makes infusions so damn dangerous.There’s a possibility it’ll work just like it’s intended and wear off after a while, but there’s the outside chance the RNA will transcribe permanently into the strand. If you’re very, very lucky, the genetics will work out and you get the benefits of the infusion permanently. It’s more likely that it’ll cause gene damage, maybe even become a full-blown cancer and kill you.
>
The Smiling BanditAlternatives are still being explored, and several show a great deal of promise, but for the time being, the most effective means are found in the legacy of the Infected.
>
Any examples of the alternatives?>
Mihoshi Oni>
The safest but most expensive and least reliable is clonaleugenics. Nulls are force-grown and effectively bred together until desirable genetic traits express. Cytoplasmic transfer after gamete manipulation, which is one of the only points where nanotechnology could theoretically still be used without any real risk of CFD.
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KAM>
By “bred together,” you mean…>
Mihoshi Oni>
See, when a mommy and daddy love each other verymuch…
>
Slamm-0!>
Harvested ovum and sperm are combined for in vitrocreation. Simple biopsy arrays and a round of single-cell genome sequencing determine viability of the product. We’ve come a long way since fluorescent in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reactions.
>
KAM>
Ghost alive, that seems pretty fucking evil.>
Baka Dabora>
Do you really believe bioware is grown in isolation? Everyenhanced organ comes from a complete body held in effective brain death. It’s been done for over twenty years, now. No one complains about a brain-dead, non-sentient donor on their death bed donating an organ to save a life.
Why not just make them that way?
>
KAM>
It’s similar to the classic methods of creating different dogbreeds.
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Nephrine>> CHROME FLESH <<
134
HACKING THE METAHUMAN CODE >>>
Metahumans aren’t dogs.>
Goat Foot>
From a genetic standpoint, the difference isn’t that vast.>
KAM>
Any others?>
Mihoshi Oni>
Traditional recombinant DNA work utilizing nucleotideresequencing is making a comeback, especially among lower-level hitters and independent biohackers. Past that, the usual chemical synthesis, molecular cloning, NAPs …
>
Nephrine>
What’s getting in the way of fully customizable genetics?Why the menu? Seems like you’re playing with the clay of the gods, here.
>
Glitch>
It’s nowhere near as simple as that. Genetics isn’t likefilling a plate at a buffet. It’s not simply punching code.
Every metahuman’s code is different, and a thorough analysis of their genome has to take place to determine the proper genetic alterations to take place to achieve the desired result without setting the code or system off-balance. What’s more, a single gene can code for multiple traits. You have to minimize undesirable traits while maximizing desirable ones.
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KAM>
By “off-balance” she is referring to cancer, rampantcascade mutations, total organ failure, catastrophic metaphysical damage, or at best constant corrective gene therapy. Remember what happened to Roxborough.
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The Smiling Bandit>
Couldn’t you just use another plasmid to counteract theproblems, or to hunt down and kill new problems as they occur?
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Mihoshi Oni>
Nanotechnology would be much more efficient atthat kind of work, were it still safe to use. Even then, introducing additional modifications to compensate for the flaws of others becomes a cumulative problem, like stacking weights on one side of a scale once it is already off balance. Even if a proper balance can be achieved again, the continuing evolution and development of the body’s systems can push it back into imbalance. Again, there is precedent of this turning you into a amorphous blob of flesh that takes hundreds of thousands of nuyen worth of treatment every day to keep alive.
>
The Smiling Bandit>
So why would anyone mess around with this drek at all?Sounds like a whole lot of money and work for something you could get with cyber, anyway.
>
/dev/grrl>
The plasmid templates are exceptionally stable, solong as proper precautions are taken. The benefit is the improvement of the baseline metahuman genome. For career criminals, I imagine the use is obvious: there is no way to detect subtle genetic augmentations without an in-depth genetic scan, and even then, the reorganization of genetic material to accommodate changes make these very hard to detect. I obviously can’t speak for home-brewed infusions some half-cocked biohacker comes up with in a barrens lab. As far as the limited selection, our understanding of what is possible and how to do it is expanding all the time, but the metahuman body can still only take so much alteration, even with the modular and self-assembling qualities of HMHVV plasmids. We are at the mercy of discovering what the body can do. Once our understanding is more complete, we’ll be able to not only unlock understood possibilities, but to dictate new ones limited only by our imagination.
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KAM>
Tampering with the natural process of life takes onefurther away from it. The only direction to go is death.
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Man-of-Many-Names>
And this is what the dear doctor has been dancing around.For all that the plasmids may be capable of keeping a host stable, the holistic interaction between the physical and metaphysical states of the subject are still thrown out of balance, not unlike with cyber and bioware. It may be more subtle, but the soul seems to know the body is less familiar than before.
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The Smiling Bandit>
I refuse to believe that some mystical power is at workenforcing genetic determinism.
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KAM>
Then you are blinding yourself to a critical facet of yourwork. I pity you, and I fear for the beneficiaries of your
“progress.”