THE MUTANT PHENOMENON by AnonymousPoster

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

THE MUTANT PHENOMENON

POSTED BY: ANONYMOUSPOSTER
UPDATED: Monday, October 18, 2004 08:08
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VIEWED: 3072
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Saturday, October 9, 2004 4:13 PM

No one ever really believed in superheroes. They were great for movies and comic books and cartoons and children's fantasies, but they were about as real as Santa Claus.

Then, in 1987, all that changed. At a suburban hospital in Sacramento, California, Leslie Finch gave birth to her first child--a small boy. It is a given that the doctor followed procedure, though he may have been surprised at the baby's initial appearance. After the routine smack on the bottom, the doctor ceased to exist. So did the baby's mother, the nurses, and most of the east wing. In a fiery explosion the small baby evinced the first publicly recorded release of mutant abilities. Several hundred patients and staff were killed or injured in the blast, but rescue crews discovered a small, blue-skinned baby, seemingly unharmed but deteriorating rapidly, amidst tons of charred rubble. The baby survived for three more hours, his skin nearly unbreakable by normal means and thus preventing the necessary medical attention.

The public went crazy, to say the least. The baby was an alien, some said, or the Devil incarnate. Even Christ reborn. Scientists labored relentlessly to find an answer, and eventually Dr. Charles Xavier, an American geneticist, discovered that in every organism on Earth there exists a mutator gene - the x-factor, as it has come to be known. It is the basic building block of evolution - the reason we have evolved from homo habilus to homo erectus, to homo sapiens Neanderthals, and, finally, to homo sapiens.

Taking it's cues from the climate, terrain, various sources of nourishment, the x-factor gene tells the body when it needs to change to adapt to a new environment. The process is subtle, normally taking thousands of years. Only in the last few thousand years did mankind begin to make clothes for himself, build shelters, use heat and grow food in large quantities. With this man-made environment remaining relatively stable, the x-factor became dormant. Until now. For reasons still not known to us, we are seeing what some are calling the beginnings of another stage of evolution.

At first the public was skeptical. The baby was a superman of sorts? Preposterous! Public opinion was soon swayed, however, as more and more individuals stepped forward and revealed superhuman powers of greater or lesser magnitude, or were discovered under the new scrutiny of a nation. Emily Thorinson of Dayton, Ohio could change the color of any plant she touched. She had been winning awards for her yellow and blue roses for years. Charles Keating could lift his Harley Davidson motorcycle over his head with one hand. Xian Chow of Beijing sneezed in a restaurant and shattered windows for nearly a mile in all directions. Suddenly the world had to deal with a brand new situation - the mutant phenomenon.

Government records indicate that some evidence of the x-factor existed prior to The Finch Baby in 1987, and later research indicated that the x-factor may have existed as early as the 1800's, but nothing had ever been proven and the exact cause of it's activation is unknown to this day, though speculation leads modern science to ambient radiation caused by the detonation of nuclear weapons. The Human Genome Project, by far the best funded and staffed of the projects, has determined that the x-factor is often psionic in nature, meaning that a person's power or powers are either directly tied in with the mind (mental powers), or seem to have some basis in their psyche. Even physical mutations have been related to an individuals mental state of mind, or even their current thoughts at the time of the change. Subconscious stimuli and psychological states at times of x-factor activation are being considered as both catalyst and x-factor programmer. The circumstances causing the activation may also have a bearing on what alterations in an individual take place. With the notable lack of hard data, however, further research is warranted, and everything from prehistoric genetic tampering to cosmic radiation is being investigated as a source for the x-factor's recent activity. In all cases, however, the x-factor is fundamentally uniform in structure. Also, no individual without the gene has ever demonstrated powers. If one does not possess the gene at all, one will not gain superpowers ever.

Many of the early mutants were gathered up for tests, persuaded one way or another to contribute to scientific research. Many of these individuals, though later released, spoke of mistreatment, physical and psychological abuse, and in some cases, death at the hands of their "doctors". Nothing was proved, but it wasn't too far fetched, all things considered, and people began to embrace the mutant population as a "needy cause". Some of the names heard in the news, however, were never heard from again.

By 1993 several more incidents of mutant births were recorded, but scientists had discovered a screening process to ensure the child's safe arrival into the world. The advent of Project: Lifeline was instrumental in finally bringing the reality home to the average citizen. Founded by Dr. Robert Mayer, Project: Lifeline was set up to be the foremost medical facility in dealing with mutants. Powers rarely manifested at birth, but the Project enables doctors to determine if the x-factor is present in unborn fetuses, and takes steps to ensure a safe birth as well as pre- and post-natal care of the infant. By the end of the decade mutants were being discovered or born on an almost daily basis. Virtually all demographic denominations were affected, though notably affluent countries experienced a higher presence of mutants than, for example, Third World countries.

The nineties were a time of great social upheaval and tension for mutants. The world was having a difficult time adjusting to the rise of mutants in it's midst. Organizations were formed for the advocacy of mutant rights, such as Project: Lifeline, and even MetaFriends--a national support group for mutants and their friends and family--as well as SANE (Superhumans And Normals as Equals). Other groups rose up to condemn mutants as being "freaks of nature", and a potential danger to humanity in general. SLAM (Stronger Limits Against Metacriminals) was one of the first and is possibly the best organized and reasonable of these groups. The Friends of Humanity (FoH) are one of the most vocal and notable of these organizations, and exist in one form or another even today. The FoH is known for their aggressive stance against mutants, going so far as to picket the houses of known mutants. Thus far, violence and hate crimes that can be tied to them have been held at a minimum though suspicions run high when such a crime is committed. A splinter group, however, used private sector funding to move underground, becoming a paramilitary organization with vast resources, eventually emerging in early 2000 as Genocide. Their views are public and violent, and they hold that only through genetic cleansing can the human race save itself. They have extensive international political and economic support, though rarely is there open support for the group.

Nations across the globe reacted in a variety of ways. Some adopted an open-arms policy, believing the mutants to be the blessed of God. Certain Muslim nations are wel-known for this. Others believed them to be some sort of planted threat, either by neighboring countries, aliens, or an as yet undetermined foe. A few countries instigated a "collection" of known and suspected mutants, utilizing them in research, national protection, or slave labor with little regard for human rights. Many mutants were captured, or enslaved, or killed outright. In recent years there has been a certain amount of restructuring in regards to their stance on mutants, but Third World mutants still face oppressive governments. Amnesty International began working to free some of these mutants in the mid-nineties, thus giving the mutant population a certain amount of credibility.

The new millenium has seen the beginnings of a new era for humanity, as human and mutant learn to live in relative harmony. Their rate of discovery has also tapered off greatly. In America, roughly 1 in every 1000 has the x-factor, though not necessarily active. About 1:10,000 is currently active in a mutant sense. However, many of these remain low-level (designated Beta's by scientists and the public). Low-level telekinesis, minor energy manipulation, cosmetic transformations--all these constitute Beta level mutant abilities, and occur in roughly 68% of the mutant population. The remaining numbers are made up by "Alpha's", those mutants with significant powers. The ability to fly, generate high levels of energy, invulnerability--this is what makes an Alpha, and these are the individuals who become superheroes and supervillains.

The x-factor's effects usually appear during puberty, but sometimes manifests spontaneously in situations of great personal danger. No one understands where it comes from or what activates it. The Human Genome Project proved that there is no common DNA sequence that codes for the x-factor; however, most of the few mutant marriages have in fact produced mutant offspring. It should also be noted that the x-factor itself remains constant in structure regardless of the subject's DNA. Mutant detectors work by cell sampling (98% effective) or by detecting certain EEG patterns typical of affected nerve cells (about 80% effective).

The origins of super powers and nuclear power are inextricably linked. The advent of the atom bomb and nuclear power plants added the final change to human DNA necessary for super-powers to arise. Like nuclear energy, superhuman abilities can be a great force for good, or an extremely destructive one. Therefore, it is understandable that peoples' attitudes towards super-powers are very similar to their feelings about nuclear power.

The vast majority find mutants to be a distasteful necessity. They don't mind having them around, and in fact they can be quite useful, but they'd rather not have them next door. A sizeable minority on one side is enthusiastic in its support of super-powers, while a similar minority considers them dangerous. And, as with any emotionally-charged issue, there are fanatics on both fringes, advocating or engaging in violence to advance their viewpoints.

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Sunday, October 10, 2004 10:35 AM

CREVANREAVER

I just want to say this is some really interesting and informative stuff you've posted AnonymousPoster, you rock!

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Tuesday, October 12, 2004 3:30 AM

MANTICHORUS

Wow, this is quite good. But I have a question:
What about Omega level mutants, such as Jean Grey?You cover Alpha and Beta power levels, but not Omega's.

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"To do just the opposite is also a form of imitation." -Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Aphorisms.
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"Never ask for a name. Ask instead what those you meet would like to be called" - Doctor Occult.

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Monday, October 18, 2004 8:08 AM

CONSCIENCE

Wow, that's a really impressive backstory to the X-Men storyline. AnonymousPoster was a rather smart poster.

It's to bad some sour pusses annoyed AP enough for him to leave.

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