Chimera Synbiogen

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Q and A

Q: Do the bioluminescent cells interfere with her ability to camouflage? What about her hair?

A: She can control her Aequorin (photoprotein) bioluminescence in the same way she controls the chromatophores, with a micro-system of nerves and muscles. The bioluminescent cells are located just below the chromatophores and do not interfere with the camouflage. Her hair is specially tailored to utilize chromatophores in the same way as her skin.

Q: Could you explain the digestive tract?

A: Food enters through the esophagus and is broken down in the very elastic and powerful stomach. It then passes through the duodenum into the Laxus Ventriculus for further processing. The gallbladder filters powerful digestive agents into the LV, creating a very fine soup of nutrients that is absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestines. Chi’s digestive tract is 97% efficient and any unabsorbed materials or liquids are passed out in a small hygienic pack comparable to a soft-shelled egg. She has a fast metabolism and must consume a minimum of 5,300 calories per day to maintain her weight.

Q: Is there a urinary tract at all?

A: Nope. Liquids are processed on all the same equipment as the food. This is not unprecedented in nature; a similar design can be found in birds.

Q: Did you mean to imply that DNA could be stitched together like a quilt and how does the "glue" work?

A: The description of the creation process is dramatically simplified for the express purpose of not confusing the vast majority of laypeople who don't understand the complexities of DNA. The glue serves several key functions, not the least of which is to control DNA segments coding for certain proteins.

Q: How is her brain structured? It appears to be vastly different than a human brain.

A: Chi's brain is a modified human brain specifically engineered to maximize function and capacity. It is indeed quite different yet in many ways similar. One might (for the sake of simplicity) analogize it to compacting all the functions of a truck, boat, and plane into a vehicle the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.

Q: How intelligent is she?

A: That is a difficult question to answer. For one, we are not entirely sure. Every passing day yields new discoveries about her intellectual capabilities and limitations. Her problem solving skills are outstanding, she is highly communicative, and learns with exceptional celerity. Chi has difficulty recognizing some abstractions, subtexts, and innuendo, but can easily recount concepts, make predictions, and draw conclusions. This is a complex subject that could be elaborated on for hours upon hours. The simplified takeaway answer: Chi is roughly comparable to human beings in terms of intelligence.

Q: What is her temperament like?

A: Her temperament can be quite variable but generally, she is amiable, calm, and curious. However, when she does become frustrated, the fallout can be upsetting. She will dig her knuckles into her arms or chew on her fingers if stressed beyond a certain point. She can become jealous, most notably towards female researchers. This emotion is sometimes accompanied by spitting, hissing, and threatening gestures if a female researcher behaves in a way Chi perceives as challenging. Chi occasionally shows symptoms of depression, confusion, and irrational fear. Most of the time, she can be reasoned with and consoled into a better state. Overall, her temperament is positive.

Q: Does Chi-Syn come prepackaged with any Chi-specific morbidities?

A: As of yet, no serious or untreatable health issues have revealed themselves. This is one reason Chi is such a triumph. Previous attempts at creating spliced life forms yielded unfavorable results with high morbidity and mortality rates. Conversely, Chi is very healthy with only a few minor, treatable issues.

Q: Could you briefly describe the reproductive system?

A: Chi is specifically designed so that she cannot breed except under very specific circumstances set by her handlers. Her reproductive system consists mainly of a uterus and repurposed kidneys with ovaries. A fertilized egg will latch onto the uterine lining and grow from there, similarly to humans. Nutrients would be filtered through the kidneys and rid of all toxins then fed to the fetus through an umbilicus. There is more to it of course, but that’s the gist of it.

Q: Why does the reproductive system need to be so elaborate? Why not just make it more humanlike?

A: Her reproductive system is optimized. Gestation would last only 2 months and she would give birth to a being significantly further along in development than human infants.

Q: How do her lungs work?

A: Chi breathes through a set of gills on her neck into a pair of lungs that are merged with the diaphragm. She breathes air or water which are valve-sorted in the brachial tube then allowed into the blue sacs (water) or into the alveoli (air) after which the oxygen is disseminated into the bloodstream. Breathing water is slightly uncomfortable for her but she can stay submerged for up to 3 hours before experiencing signs of hypoxia.

Q: Why are her teeth black?

A: Scientists aren’t presently sure what caused her enamel to present black. They were not engineered that way and it doesn’t appear to have affected functionality of the teeth. It is one of many benign anomalies.

Q: Benign anomalies?

A: Yes. Chi has some unexplainable behaviors and physical characteristics that were neither engineered nor predicted. For example, she will rather sleep under a bed than on one. She is highly repulsed by the smell of citrus and celery. She will happily smear herself with peanut butter from head to toe if given the chance. Despite having excellent night-vision and bioluminescence, she is unnerved by darkness. The pads on her palms and fingers were not engineered in but are suspected to have come from stray tiger DNA. Her antennae present four times longer than they were intended to. When angered, she will begin flashing different color patterns and her antennae swish back and forth like windshield wipers. Her fingers default to black for some unknown reason. She is fixated by rubber, especially soft white rubber. These are only a few examples, the list goes on.

Q: What is the purpose of the tail flower exactly? How is it not a redundant organ?

A: The tail flower is a way for her to understand objects beyond what can be discerned through sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing or to understand objects in a way that is safer than through the other senses. For example, researchers gave Chi a fruit that she had never encountered before. By using her basic senses, she could tell that it was a fruit, obviously. However, after “flowering it,” she reported comprehensive details: The rind and flesh are both edible. The fruit is similar in composition, taste, and nutritive value to an apple. The seeds contain low levels of a toxic chemical. The fruit is slightly infected with miniscule traces of a mild fungus and bacteria.

Q: How could she know that a fruit has fungus or bacteria and is similar in nutritive value to an apple?

A: Chi has a library of knowledge gained through experience against which she compares new information. This isn’t all that different from how humans function. When we encounter something new, the first thing we do is use previously ascertained knowledge to form analogies and comparisons.

Q: What kind of toxin does she have and how is it employed?

A: Her venom is a modified neurotoxic and hemotoxic concoction that owes most of its potency to conus purpurascens. Each of her pinky nails feature a small cannula for delivering the toxin. She controls the level of toxicity through glands in the nail-base by diluting the venom with water.

Q: Is there ever any danger of her using the venom on the researchers? What about accidents? Why would you engineer in venom?

A: We’ve never had any cause to worry and there have never been any accidents. However, just to be on the safe side, Chi wears rubber caps on each of her pinky nails. As for why, scientists engineered the venom in as a self-defense mechanism. Someday, beings like Chi might be employed as bio probes to discern the habitability of alien planets. In that case, strong defenses would come in handy.

Q: Is she dangerous?

A: Potentially, yes. Though as of yet, we have not had any cause to worry in twenty years since she was born.

Q: Is Chi considered a human being?

A: Legally, Chi is not recognized as a human being. However, there is currently legislation in the works to afford her and subsequent beings like her some basic human rights.

Q: Does she believe in God?

A: No. When introduced to concepts of the supernatural, she rejects them on the grounds that she cannot test them with her tail flower, see them, hear them, or touch them.

Q: Why does she have hair at all? It seems rather pointless.

A: Her hair was engineered in long after her birth. Around the age of twelve, she became very upset that she did not have hair on her head like the female researchers. She was inconsolable. We gave her a wig but that was met with furious indignation. Thus, she was genetically modified to have hair. This is not a preferable endeavor because such actions can come with serious consequences. Thankfully, nothing ill came of it and Chi was very happy with the result. Incidentally, her hair is not actually "hair" in the sense that we understand it. Her hair is quite different from standard human hair.

Q: What kinds of things does she like and dislike?

A: She likes chocolate, a lot, and peanut butter. She’s also very fond of cheese, pizza, hotdogs, cream-corn, butter-laden mashed potatoes, kielbasa, candy, and especially pistachio pudding. She likes quiet, soft music; classical, new age, trance, and such. Enya is her favorite musician. Chi does not usually like live action films but adores traditional animation. Her favorite movie is Disney’s the Lion King. In art, she favors landscapes and still-lives. Her favorite thing to do is explore. She likes dogs, cats, and zebra-finches. She hates taking written tests and doesn’t like reading but is and very curious and loves barraging people with questions. Scavenger hunts delight her intensely.

Q: Er, I'm noticing a distinctive lack of.... er... *cough*

A: Her nipples would begin to appear during the final weeks of gestation and they would be "reabsorbed" once her offspring are weened. She does not have a vulva because her excremental orifices have been combined into one. Birth would take place through a canal connecting from the uterus to the bellybutton.

Q: It is alluded to that Chi is not only composed of those main species. What other DNA is in her? And why bother putting in tiger DNA if only for aesthetics?

A: She has DNA sequences from many other species. Cheetah DNA helped create her lungs and heart. Her feet contain some chimpanzee and gorilla DNA. She’s part kangaroo, rat, rhesus macaque, and puffer fish, among other things. Tiger DNA was used to show that the outward appearance of an organ can be modified without affecting its efficacy, to some extent. Tigers are not known for their sense of smell yet having a tiger’s nose does not affect her silvertip grizzly olfactory capabilities. Also, the lead scientist likes tigers and campaigned from the beginning to find an excuse to shoehorn in tiger DNA.

Q: How would the electroreceptors work on land?

A: Chi is amphibious and could use those antennae underwater to detect the presence of aquatic life forms. She could also dip them in the water to discern whether there are fish in the area. As for use on land, her antennae are sensitive to electromagnetic fields.

Q: How tall is she? How much does she weigh? How strong is she? How fast is she and how far can she jump?

A: Chi is approximately 6'1" (standing flat foot) and weighs 150lbs. Her muscles are very dense and powerful but engineered to be lightweight. With her tail rolled into a tight knot behind her, she can reach speeds of around 30MPH. She is an excellent jumper and can leap 18 feet straight up in the air, 30 feet straight out in front with a running start.

If there are anymore questions, ask away!