fandomhigh | The Kludge's Guide to the Universe | Dangershop, Wednesday Afternoon (Week 2)

Wednesday afternoon once again found Harper in the dangershop, with his feet up and a can of Sparky.

After the class had signed in and found places to sit or lean, Harper stood up. "All right, last week we studied team-building. Today comes the important collaterally to team building, a little thing I like to call threat recognition."

"Now you don't want any team you might build to be made of people who'll throw you to the Magog the first chance they get. Unfortunately, in this big, bad, universe, people don't go around wearing signs proclaiming their back-stabbing abilities. In fact they'll go to great lengths to hide it until they can take advantage of you. For example the hot babe charmed by your wit might really be a phase-shifting, tesseracting, servant of evil, or your ship's avatar's slimy new robot boyfriend might really be a psychotic High Guard warship, intent on wiping out all spacefaring life from the universe." Harper did not sound the least bit bitter of those two examples. Really.

"Clearly, if you want to survive, and not end up dead or worse, you have to find a way to uncover the level of threat someone poses to you," Harper said. "Which brings me to the lesson."

Harper fiddled with his remote and three people appeared at the front of the room.

The first was a furry, batfaced creature, with nasty sharp pointy teeth and large claws, dressed in a robe.

The second was a tall, muscular man with a stern expression, laden with weapons. An astute observer would have notice three nasty looking bone spurs sticking out of each forearm.

The third was…purple. And bouncy. With a forked tail.

"These are Rev, Tyr, and Trace," Harper said, pointing at each in turn. "Your job today is to determine who exactly out of these three is the most dangerous, and why."

[ooc: OCD threads ~~coming~~ are up! Post away!]
[Workshop Information]
[~~HARPER HAS LEFT THE BUILDING! There will be tags when I'm conscious again~~ Back.]

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"Random mutations are a primary cause of evolution, and are impossible to predict," said Janet. "How would your marriage customs counteract that?"

"Genetic cross-matching to help ensure compatibly between a female and her chosen mate for a start."

"So there's no overbreeding?" asked Janet. Oh, hell, why not? "Like, say, with poodles? I mean, dog breeders use genetic cross-matching all the time, and they're still subject to problems such as anemia, epilepsy, and heart disease. Are Nietzscheans the poodles of humanity, then?"

"Poodles?" Tyr did not yelp. Neitzscheans do not yelp.

Janet didn't snicker. Much. "Why, yes, poodles," said Janet. "Tiny little dogs. Very adorable, but certainly overbred. And they're very yippy." She paused, then smiled innocently. "You know, I've noticed that breeding for physical characteristics usually ends up causing a corresponding decrease in--oh, say, other attributes." Like intellect. "The genetic factors are simply too complex to be able to be completely controlled."

"I know what a poodle is," Tyr was likewise not flailing. "And we do not just breed for physical attributes. Intellect is very highly valued!"

"Of course you do." Why, no, she didn't sound patronizing at all. "Careful there, you might be getting just a little yippy yourself." Janet's smile was bright and cheerful. "Well, you know, I'm sure it is, but it's just not possible to take into consideration every single factor in the human genome. You can't breed for a large number of positive traits without having a few negative ones slipping in. Tell me, do Neitzscheans tend towards splayed hips? Some poodle breeds are susceptible."

"Genetic engineering is as commonplace as basic immunization," Tyr said. "Just because your standard of technolgy is several thousand years behind ours."

"I'm sorry, did you think I was from this universe?" asked Janet. She snorted. "Or unfamiliar with the minutia of genetic engineering?"

"Considering you compared the height genetic technology to poodles? Yes." Tyr? Totally not pouting. "Next you'll be saying scapels are better than nanotech."

"Never be too dismissive of the intimidation potential of a well cared for scalpel," said Janet, who was totally not smirking at all.

OOC: Sorry, had to vanish to pick up a sick kidlet from day care. :(

The Kludge's Guide to the Universe | Dangershop, Wednesday Afternoon (Week 2)

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