@kylo.ren

[warfares]

Tests on the biological samples gathered earlier this week have returned.

[ some of you might know what he's talking about, most of you probably don't. regardless, moving right along: ]

Blood and tissue samples contain genetic markers for crabs, canines and snails, in addition to markers the lab was unable to isolate and match.

Tests on the crab venom bear similarity to something called a black mamba and some kind of snail venom, but also included unidentifiable markers.

The tissue and blood samples showed signs of DNA degradation [ which he attributes to the carcass having been out in the sun for awhile, though it had seemed fresh at the time, ] while the separate markers themselves appear to be both linked and disparate in their presentation.

It was still evolving.

Comments

@rey.nolo

[forcevisions]

How can it be all of them?

[warfares]

It was engineered.

[forcevisions]

Who would engineer a monster?

@leo.fitz

[retravel]

[ !!! ]

The black mamba is one of the deadliest snakes (a reptile). A bite would be fatal without antivenom, under normal circumstances.
Seems as though these creatures were engineered to cause damage.

[ but not straight up instakill, maybe. ]

[warfares]

I'm familiar with reptiles but not this particular species.

[ thanks for enlightening him, bro. ]

And it would seem so. The question then becomes: who, why and whether or not the larger creature's release was deliberate.

[retravel]

[ no prob, space bro. ]

And if it was deliberate, was our intervention expected?

[ they're as anomalous as the hybrid creatures, aren't they? the conspiracy's a little grand for his tastes, but it's worth considering. no better way to draw out superpowered individuals than a crisis. ]

@clarke.griffin

[strove]

You think it was engineered? Is it even possible to cross those different types of creatures?

[Clarke doesn't know, but they're working on a lot of "impossible things" right now, while trying to ground it in reality.]

[retravel]

[ He wishes Jemma was here to talk biotech. ]

I’ll admit it’s not my specialty, but it seems possible. You can already “cross” some species in my time.

[ even alien and human. ]

@mei.zhou

[frostedplum]

Oh my gosh! There's no way it could have all those markers unless it was forced together through genetic modification.

[warfares]

My thoughts, exactly.

[ a pity that they hadn't managed to gather samples for the other creatures, if only to see if there was any overlap. ]

{ private }

[frostedplum]

[ She double checks to make sure this is as private as she can make it. There's still the possibility of this being hacked, but she'll have to risk it. ]

So now we have to wonder whether the authorities in the city knew about this and it got loose, or if some group outside the wall created it and its little hangers-on.

@clarke.griffin

[strove]

Has anyone begun to look into what genetic advancements have been made by this point? We know cloning is illegal, but we might want to get a sense of where we are on this. Where ... humans are. I guess.

[warfares]

Not to my knowledge.

[ though it feels like a good next step. reliance on implant-based technology could mean a number of things, but it doesn't seem like too big of a stretch to think that people would be looking at ways to tweak themselves on a genetic level. even if the research itself is still in its infancy. ]

Given the selection of markers present I would find it difficult to believe that this particular creature evolved naturally.

[strove]

No, but we have to be certain that it could have "evolved" via genetic engineering.

@loki.odinson

[selfimage]

Tell me this is from the larger beast.

[ he's not entirely sold on anthropocentric point of view, as "genetic marker" is a tad nebulous in terms of Earthly species, but he's listening. ]

[warfares]

No.

[ alas. going after the larger beast would certainly have been preferred. getting through the layers of security, however, would have been difficult. difficult enough that even Kylo Ren, king of reckless decision making on the fly, had been given pause.]

One of the crabs.

[ he'd gone after it for the venom, but hadn't managed to avoid notice. so, here he is, absent his venom and trying to field questions when this really isn't his area. ]

The smaller creatures grew from the larger, according to several of the earlier reports.

[selfimage]

You're certain it's not alien? Genetic markers known and unknown, of course.
Even if mortal science isn't really my thing.

[ as that also seems somewhat reasonable at this point. ]

[persists]

[ ugh. The evolving part is what gets Ciri's attention, one that makes her a bit more uncomfortable than she'd like. ]

Great.

Have you heard of Moon Dust?

[warfares]

No.

Some kind of substance, I assume.

@connor.resnik

[cyberlife]

Could it be possible they've mutated due to direct and constant exposure to radioactive chemicals in the atmosphere of the wastelands that lie beyond city walls?

If this cocktail of DNA is from one creature it may stand to reason that, in the hundreds of years that have passed since the fission from nuclear weapons used in several world wars began to take place, their properties were being broken down and shared in reproduction. Left untouched for centuries, who knows what monsters are liable to form?

It would certainly explain the degradation. Radiation causes chromosomes to decay, if the levels are high enough.

[warfares]

A fair point.

[ he thinks of the recent mission to the wall, of the refugees disappearing into the treeline. ]

I confess my knowledge of such matters is limited. Though would that explain how the smaller creatures were able to beㅡ

[ he casts about for an appropriate word; ]

Secreted from the larger?

@katelin.philips

[covertness]

was there any indication whether the mutations were spontaneous or induced?

[warfares]

No; though I've yet to encounter a snail-reptile-crab hybrid in the wild. Have you?

[evenslimmer]

Either somebody's having a lot of fun with transgenic homebrew monsters, or somebody's been careless with their radioactive waste.

How many of these did you manage to sample?

[warfares]

Neither option is particularly encouraging.

Three crabs. A broader sampling would have been more beneficial but there were other factors to consider.

[ he did basically pull a Jack Ripper in broad daylight, after all. ]