Guide to Genetics

In addition to the basic work of cloning, the Geneticist has access to a DNA Modifier. This device can, with enough luck and patience, reward you with superpowers. It can also undo genetic damage done to patients who have taken high levels of radiation, including those who have just emerged from the cloner.

The Building Blocks of Life

When a person (or monkey) is put into the DNA Modifier, the modifier's computer will display their genetic information in a manner like this:

Unique Enzymes : F3F33FCE3ACA0A2DD4A9AA18B2210364
Unique Identifier: 0CC000033000000000DC00000000002323BC21D
Structural Enzymes: 2013E85C944C19A4B00185144725785DC6406A4508

This data may currently seem indecipherable, but you can recognize each aspect as the following:

• Unique Enzymes hold the character's name data, and though it cannot be modified, can be transferred to other people to give them someone else's name.
• Unique Identifier hold's the character's appearance and gender data and can be modified.
• Structural Enzymes are the core DNA, and hold the potential for powers and disease alike. Modifying these is the main element of genetics work.

The data in UI and SE are encoded in hexadecimal (base 16) format. Numbers range from 0 to 9, then go from A to F. The block E85, for instance, would be equivalent to 3,717 in regular base 10. You don't need to worry about translating hex code, only recognizing that letter blocks are higher than numbers.

Cracking the Code

UI and SE are composed of a series of blocks of 3 digits each. SE consists of 14 blocks. The DNA Modifier allows you to move between blocks and between positions in blocks at will. What the geneticist is attempting to accomplish is figuring out what each block corresponds to. The simplest example is that block 14 will always correspond to the Species trait of the person inside the DNA Modifier. If that block is active, the creature inside is a monkey. If the block is inactive, the creature is a human.

The status of a block, whether its active or inactive, depends on its value. Unfortunately, there is no immediate indication that a block is active, and certain blocks activate at different levels. The species block may be active if the value is at least 803, but power blocks typically don't activate until they reach DAC. Disease blocks can activate at a point between these two.

Modifying

The tool to change DNA is radiation. Set the modifier to point to a specific digit in the DNA sequence, and then pulse it with radiation. There will be a brief pause, then the block may or may not have changed to another random digit. Each pulse puts some radiation into the test subject inside the modifier, which over time can build up to lethal levels. Additionally, there is a chance that each pulse will change another random part of the SE. Because Geneticists need to isolate blocks to test them, they must always be mindful of blocks that may have accidentally become active during modification.

The emitter has two settings that can be changed, duration and intensity. Higher duration lowers the risk of random SE mutations by 0.5% per extra second, and lower intensity lowers the risk of these mutations being bad. Higher duration means the process takes longer which may add to the already plentiful tedium.

Buffer

The buffer allows the geneticist to back-up the current DNA of the subject in the modifier, to load or save a sequence to disc, and to apply a sequence either to the occupant or to an injector. The machine requires a bit of time in between making DNA injectors. Both injectors and applying a sequence from the buffer will give radiation to their target. The DNA injectors are most useful for testing a DNA strand on yourself. If you are running out of room in the buffer, you also begin with a box of discs which can each store a single buffer item.

Testing

To begin testing, you will want a human test subject. The Geneticist begins with several monkeys who are a mere mutation away from being human, and once in this form will not complain about their horrific radioactive death, so they're perfect. Once you have created a human test subject that is free of disease, you should back up their DNA using the buffer, and create an injector of clean DNA. During the course of testing you may give yourself some horrible debilitating disease, so this injector will allow you to reset yourself back to normal. Wearing a VISOR is an added bit of protection, because once you are rendered fully blind, you won't be able to interact with anything are will be helpless.

Your goal is to isolate and activate a single block at a time (not counting the species block), then apply the DNA with the single active block to a test subject-- most Geneticists will test on themselves. One of a few things can happen at this point.

• The test subject is afflicted with a horrible genetic disease. You now know to keep this block inactive.
• The test subject gains an amazing superpower. Congratulations!
• Nothing happens. Either the block has no function, is a power block, or it was a disease block but you didn't properly activate it.

The critical difference between diseases and superpowers is that an activated disease block will give the disease 100% of the time, whereas an activated superpower block will give its power only a limited % of the time. The % depends on the power. If you are doing everything correctly and nothing happened, then it means you hit a power block but just didn't luck out to get the power-- try again once you can, while also trying not to kill yourself from radiation exposure.

There are 14 blocks in the SE sequence, but only 8 of them are of interest to you in the search for powers-- blocks # 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13. In any given round, four of these will be disabilities, and four will be powers. Their composition is randomized each round. You will know right away if you successfully activated a disease or power, because you will receive a little red message corresponding to that particular trait.

Superpowers

The minimum value needed to activate a superpower can randomize each round, but generally speaking, any value above DB* should be sufficient. Probability refers to the chance of you gaining that power with each application of the proper DNA.

Power	Probability	Message	Effect
X-Ray Vision	50%	The walls suddenly disappear.	Can see through walls, as if wearing both thermals and mesons.
Fire Resistance	30%	You feel warm.	You are immune to temperature changes and fire. You have a noticeable glowing aura.
Telekinesis (TK)	15%	You feel smarter.	You can interact with objects and people remotely, picking up things through windows, punching people over cameras, etc. Lots of fun! Your head will have a noticeable glowing aura.
Hulk	15%	Your muscles ache.	You turn into a green monster capable of punching people with incredible strength and bashing down walls.

Disabilities

Genetics is also host to a dazzling array of debilitating mutations and disabilities. Some of these will crop up outside of genetics testing-- radiation exposure, such as during a blowout or a mining accident, can alter people's SE enough to trigger random blocks.

Disability	Message	Effect
Radiation Poisoning	You feel weak.	Not a mutation per se, but occurs when you have built up too much radiation. In addition to toxic damage, you will occasionally pass out.
Blindness	You can't see anything.	Your screen goes black. You can't interact with anything, unless you have a VISOR, and even then you won't get immediate feedback on your actions.
Deaf	It's kinda quiet...	You can't hear anything. Blessed silence may come as a relief once you've gotten sick of the regular radio chatter. To fix this without modifying DNA, you can equip an auditory headset.
Clumsy	You feel lightheaded.	You occasionally fall over or drop things. All cluwnes are afflicted with this.
Epilepsy		You will occasionally have seizures, passing out for the duration.
Stutter		Your speech becomes more difficult to understand.
Tourettes		Your speech will occasionally come out as excited shouts in ALL CAPS!!!!
Cough		You occasionally cough, dropping anything in your hands.
Near-Sighted		Your vision becomes blurred, and darkened outside a small radius. Can be counteracted with Prescription Glasses.
Mutator Block	You feel strange...	Not a disability in of itself, but when this block is activated, it will activate another block at random.