Eliza and Stumpy - A Case Study

With a little bit of prompting from Jessica of Discover Albia, I decided to try my hand at analyzing the genes of Eliza and Stumpy mentioned in my previous post. Unfortunately I don't know a whole lot about Creatures genetics, but I found the experience fascinating and hope to continue to learn more.

The first creature I took a look at was Eliza. Eliza does not walk, interact with, or pick up other objects. I wasn't sure what was causing Eliza's paralysis, but a look at her genetics seems to indicate a problem with the Decision and Concept Lobes in her brain. Using D-DNA Analyzer, I found this mutated gene in her Decision Lobe:  

120 Emb B MutDup Lobe #= 6 State Rule: state PLUS type0 MINUS type1 0 <end> <end>, WTA= 1

The "0" in red indicates the mutation in Eiza's Decision Lobe. The healthy gene in Eliza's mother looks like this:

120 Emb B MutDup Lobe #= 6 State Rule: state PLUS type0 MINUS type1 <end> <end> <end>, WTA= 1 

Unfortunately I do not understand fully what this mutation means. However, it seems that this gene relates to how a creature makes decisions. The "type0" and "type1" segments refer to the two types of dendrites that a creature can process. Here is a quote from The Creatures Developer Resource that explains this concept much better:

"The type 0 dendrites link from decision lobe cells to the 128 concept lobe cells indicate that that particular decision is good if those particular concepts are active. This means that if the concepts become active then the norn will be more likely to choose that decision over other decisions.

The type 1 dendrites link from decision lobe cells to the 128 concept lobe cells indicate that that particular decision is bad if those particular concepts are active. This means that if the concepts become active then the norn will be less likely to choose that decision over other decisions."

From what I can gather from my remarkably limited knowledge, this gene affects how Eliza is able to make decisions. The code adds and subtracts the total amount of dendrites from her current state so that she can select the best action to take. However, the extra "0" in the code seems to be affecting her ability to do so. This can be seen in-game by taking a look at the Science Kit:

 

All of Eliza's decisions are constantly stuck in the exact same location, which I presume interferes with her ability to select any one action over another. Again, I am not certain if my presumptions are accurate or correct by any means, but this is my theory based on what I have seen so far. She also has a mutation in the Concept Lobe which looks like this: 

122 Emb B Mut Lobe #= 8 State Rule: anded0 <end> <end> <end> <end> 0 <end> <end>, WTA= 0

Unfortunately I was unable to find much information on how the Concept Lobe functions, and I'm not sure if the "0" is applied to the calculation or if it is ignored as it is placed after several end statements. However, the "anded0" statements refers to the type 0 dendrites. It is explained from the Creatures Developer Resource as such: "If all type 0 dendrites are firing then this will be the value of the sum of these dendrites. If any of the type 0 dendrites are not firing then this value will be 0."

Because the type 0 dendrites indicate whether a decision is good, the "0" in the code (if it is being calculated) may be affecting the brain's ability to calculate the value of "anded0" and thus Eliza's ability to determine whether any action is good. However, if what I understand from reading Discover Albia is correct, then the state value rule should end once reaching an end statement, ignoring any variables that occur afterwards. If this is the case, then the "0" would be ignored and this mutation wouldn't be affecting Eliza. So in conclusion, I really don't know what this mutation is doing, if anything.

The second creature I'd like to take a look at is the grendel Stumpy.

Stumpy had an interesting mutation that caused him to run in fear whenever he saw another creature. Closer inspection indicates that he has a severe problem with his fight-or-flight genes located in Reactions:

336 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Collapsase + 1*Fear => 1*Anger + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 32.

Collapsase is Stumpy's "flight" chemical. Collapsase converts a creature's anger into fear, which activates the flight response and causes him to run. The chemical for "fight" is called Turnase, which similarly converts fear into anger and stimulates the creature's fight response. The problem here is that Stumpy's Collapsase gene is converting fear into anger, instead of the other way around.

The second problem is that this isn't a mutation with the Collapsase gene, it's actually a mutation with the Turnase gene. Stumpy's gene should look like this:

336 Emb B MutDupCut 1*Turnase + 1*Fear => 1*Anger + 1*<NONE>; half-life = 32.

Because of this, Stumpy does not have the gene that should stimulate his fight response. In addition, Stumpy's second Collapsase gene is actually working correctly, so he may actually be simultaneously converting anger into fear and vice versa. I'm not sure if both Collapsase genes are active, or if one is overriding the other, however. But because grendels, (or at least this breed of grendel) generally feel anger when seeing another creature, that anger creates fear for Stumpy. He is constantly both angry and fearful while in the presence of other creatures, which activates his flight response.

In related news, I have moved Stumpy and Winter into a new, unpopulated world. Almost immediately the two grendels kiss-popped, and I am looking forward to taking a look into the genetics of Stumpy's children.