• Nobles of Null is a forum based roleplay site where sci-fi and magic collide. Here, Earth remains fractured and divided despite humanity reaching out to the stars. Worse still, the trans-human slaves of one major power have escaped, only to establish their own Empire, seething with resentment at abuses of the past. Even the discovery of aliens, though medieval in development, has failed to rally these squabbling children of Earth together with its far darker implications. Worse still, is the discovery of the impossible - magic. Practiced by the alien locals, nearly depleted and therefore rare, its reality warping abilities remains abstract and distant to the general populace. All the while, unseen in the darkness of space, forces from without threaten to press in. For those with eyes opened by insight, it is clear that an era is about to end, and that a new age will dawn.

On Biological Development

Ray of Meep

Administrator
Wiki Moderator
There's this trope in sci-fi that all you need to recreate a living being is its DNA sequence. However, as our understanding of biology grows, this is very much not the case. This is seen primarily through epigenetics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics

The initial starting chemical composition of an embryonic cell and its environment matters greatly. There frankly is no difference between nature and nurture; both happen effectively simultaneously. Our growth as living beings are determined as much by what was in our mothers' wombs as what makes up our genes. On that note then, our biochemical environment is highly complex, made up of thousands of chemicals and proteins that interact with each other. Any slight increase in one element carries butterfly effects for the entire system.

The ability is mold biological species as the Daqinren, the Vrexul, and to lesser extent the humans do requires thorough understanding of how these thousands of factors interact with each other on a minute to minute basis. It requires the same complex coordination as space travel does, if not more so in certain aspects.
 

CadetNewb

Administrator
Staff member
Wiki Moderator
That is correct. Genetic sequences may not 'express' themselves unless certain criteria are met or are triggered. It's something that we've only scratched the surface of, so our understanding of this is not very deep. In order to figure this out, I imagine there's a lot of trial and error, as well as many failures.
 
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