Just before the fall, Mother's Milk of Extropia were developing a medichine variant that would be passed from mothers to offspring, intended to save animal breeders and engineers significant amounts of money. They had created a successful prototype in a breeding population of smart rats, and were poised for full commercial release when the rats escaped during the chaos of the Fall. Mother's Milk went under, but their legacy remains.
Everlasting rats are smart and immortal. Rats can be smart to begin with, smart rats are genetically engineered to be even smarter, and their medichines mean that everlasting rats never stop learning. An everlasting rat will know the habits and schedules of every transhuman in the area. They recognize types of robots and vehicles, avoiding them or hitching a ride. They exploit the fractured landscape of Extropia, simply shifting to a neighbor whenever one person or organization attempts pest control. The sophisticated games of hunting and evasion by everlasting rats and smart cats have inspired a children's story and a pamphlet on small-unit tactics.
Their medichines render everlasting rats virtually immune to poisons and toxins, and the enhanced healing means a full recovery from any non-mortal wound. Currently, the only way to control the population is with rat-oriented disassembler swarms (generally discouraged by worried neighbors), tailored nanoplagues (generally discouraged by everyone) and engineered predators, mainly smart cats, cheshires, and small bearcats.
Mechanics
Everlasting rats are as smart rats, plus medichines.
Showing posts with label ferals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ferals. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
13. Cheshires
A cheshire is different from a house cat in only two ways: it is completely hairless, and its skin shifts color like a chameleon. Cheshires are therefore extremely efficient hunters. On many habitats, such as Valles-New Shanghai and Extropia, they are prized for their skill in reducing pest and vermin populations. On many others, they are banned, for fear of their effects on carefully cultivated ecologies.
The first cheshire was a gift presented to the daughter of a biotech executive. The cat bred with other house cats, and it was discovered that someone in the genetic engineering department had not done their due diligence: the chameleon skin trait was both heritable and dominant. Within the decade, cheshires seemed to be everywhere.
Some Triad members in Valles-New Shanghai have been experimenting with the use of trained or goaded cheshires as spies. The cats are everywhere in the city, after all, and by their nature are rarely noticed. Pax Familia may have beaten them to the punch, at least judging by the spate of Nine Lives members who have been assassinated by small, venomous claws.
Mechanics
As smart cats, plus chameleon skin.
Notes
Based on the cheshires from Paolo Bacigalupi's excellent The Windup Girl.
The first cheshire was a gift presented to the daughter of a biotech executive. The cat bred with other house cats, and it was discovered that someone in the genetic engineering department had not done their due diligence: the chameleon skin trait was both heritable and dominant. Within the decade, cheshires seemed to be everywhere.
Some Triad members in Valles-New Shanghai have been experimenting with the use of trained or goaded cheshires as spies. The cats are everywhere in the city, after all, and by their nature are rarely noticed. Pax Familia may have beaten them to the punch, at least judging by the spate of Nine Lives members who have been assassinated by small, venomous claws.
Mechanics
As smart cats, plus chameleon skin.
Notes
Based on the cheshires from Paolo Bacigalupi's excellent The Windup Girl.
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