Thread:Argali1/@comment-26084195-20160520061823/@comment-26084195-20160521035856

Changeling is the common use term for metahumans af- flicted by SURGE (Sudden Recessive Genetic Expression). Per definitionem, changelings are metahumans that have inherited one or more aberrant metagenetic traits from their genetic lineage. No matter how strange and different their appearance might be at first glance, genetically they are very close to normal metahumans. Changelings are neither a race nor a metavariant. Each is, in a sense, literally “a freak of nature,” a metagenetic mutation produced by molecular abnormalities in both the mundane genome and metagenome. Unlike metatypes, whose functional metagenome leads to a correct alignment of the astral shadows that govern the expression of defined metatraits characteristic to all the known metatypes (and their metavariants), changelings possess aberrant metagenes that are partly dysfunctional, mutated, or damaged (or all of the above). The aberrant recessive metatraits that define changelings are normally dormant but can be triggered in a manner simi- lar to Goblinization in the presence of intense mana fields or surges. Such spontaneous expression, designated SURGE, was first encountered in 2061, when the proximity of Halley’s comet placed the Gaiasphere in flux, causing localized spikes in ambi- ent mana levels. All current studies suggest that the mechanisms underlying these genetic aberrations are in fact natural and environmental. Over millennia of genetic drift, natural selection, assimilation, miscegenation, dysfunctional repair systems, mutation by envi- ronmental factors (such as radiation, pollution and chemicals), cross-genetic input (viruses, gene therapy), and possibly magic (or the absence thereof ), certain DNA sequences and related astral shadows in changelings have become anomalous and/or damaged. While, typically, this silences those specific gene expressions, and effected individuals develop phenotypically as a mundane me- tahuman (regardless of their residual metagenetic predispositions). The aberrant sequences do express in an unpredictable manner when triggered by exposure to intense mana fields. Since the genes expressed upon SURGE are incomplete or damaged, these sudden expressions are rarely without genetic complications or metabolic disorders (studies indicate allergies are particularly common, as are deformities and physical impairments). It is significant to note that changelings have been detected among several non-metahuman species as well.

Saura herself is a type 3 SURGE victim. Class Three SURGE is categorized by the most severe and radical mutations, sometimes leading to the death of the victim (the strain of fetal expression has been known to cause miscarriag- es). No known studies into Class Three SURGE have produced a viable working theory to the dynamics of this expression, with some subjects exhibiting traits previously thought impossible without systemic breakdown (even with the most sophisticated current gene therapies). Class Three changelings tend to combine a number of non-human physiognomic and biological traits into a functional gestalt: leading to “animal people” (or “furries” as they sometimes derogatorily called), human-plant hybrids, and other phenom- ena inexplicable by current science. Strangely, while the random expression of such potentially radical traits should result in a non- viable entity, an unidentified mechanism seems to harmonize Class Three metagenetics and reorganizing physiology as neces- sary. This may indicate SURGE metagenetics are not as random as originally believed. A good example of such a gestalt in Class Three changelings are the so-called “ganesha” changelings, named after the Indian elephant god whom they resemble. They are basically elephant- headed humanoids, with huge tusks, elephant-like grey skin, large ears, and a prehensile proboscis (or trunk). Astonishingly, this combination of traits mean ganesha “incarnates” have never been The object of hatred or marginalization amongst the Indian people.