TWENTY ONE ✖ VOICE

[wedonot]

[Private to Tony, backdated to the end of the flood]

I'm afraid I'm going to need my wheelchair back, Mr. Stark.

[Private to Morgana, present dated]

Are you alright?

[Private to Erik, present dated]

I'd like to speak with you, please. [He doesn't sound angry or disappointed or too depressed, really, he just wants to talk to you re: his encounter with Wanda during dat flood. :|]

[Public, present dated]

[Charles has holed himself up in his room with a couple books for a while, because man, that flood was intense and he needs a break from everyone. :| But he's had some time to wind down and feels like saying something, so, good afternoon, everyone.] I've always enjoyed watching people try to put science in perspective to things that are a bit easier for most people to wrap their mind around. It grounds it, and does make it a bit more approachable for those with only a casual interest in the subject.

Because while I could bore you all for hours with scientific jargon, it never hurts to have a few interesting factoids on hand to catch people's interest instead of just letting them drift off to sleep in the back of the classroom wishing they were still enjoying their lunch period.

For example, while there are differences in the total number of cells in a human body, the number should be around 100,000 billion, and if the entire DNA from all nuclei in the human body were to be arranged lengthwise, it would measure around 180,000 million kilometers. The DNA length would thus be a thousand times greater than the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

It's interesting to think about, that within each of us, there's something that - in theory, obviously - could stretch that far. [He's quiet for a moment, almost a little distracted or maybe considering switching off the feed before continuing.] If anyone has some interesting facts they'd be in the mood for sharing about their own world, I'd appreciate it. It doesn't have to be about science if there's something they'd rather discuss.

Comments

[trenchcoatedly]

Yes, though there are humans who are aware of them and police them.

[wedonot]

How common is that?

[trenchcoatedly]

Not very, to the best of my knowledge. I don't have specific demographic information regarding this right now, though.

[wedonot]

It's alright, I was just curious.

[trenchcoatedly]

Do you have things that could be considered strange in relation to other universes?

[wedonot]

From my understanding, not every universe has mutants. Or, if they do, the people represented here aren't aware of them.

[trenchcoatedly]

Well, mutant can be a very broad term. How does one define that in your universe?

[wedonot]

Aside from the traditional definition, a mutant is a person who has a gene that's mutated in a way that allows us to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities. You know I'm a telepath, I've met a shapeshifter, someone who can release kinetic energy, another young man whose cells could change to adapt to his surroundings. There's no pattern we've established just yet as for why one person develops an ability versus another, but we are all genetically different from humans and similar to each other.

[trenchcoatedly]

Well, if your powers are genetic in nature, than it makes sense for them to be random; evolution being all about trying out what works best and passing that on, after all. Though, I must admit it's fascinating that the mutations your universe is displaying are so varied in scale.

[wedonot]

That's my point, it's not usual for them to be this random. You didn't have three otherwise genetically similar mammals in the Cretaceous Period trying out six eyes, three legs and two tails all at the same time, for example. Mutations are usually much more subtle than that, and even if there is a major development, it's unusual for creatures that aren't otherwise closely related to share similar traits. My parents weren't mutants, and neither were Erik's or my sister's, yet we still share the same gene, it just expresses itself in a different way. It would make more sense if, say, I'm a telepath, and then my children were also telepaths and so on and so forth.

But even that doesn't seem to be true for us, as in another universe, Erik's children's mutations aren't similar to his at all. There's a theory that the advent of the nuclear age sped along the process, and might have something to do with the extreme variation, but there's been no way to prove it yet.

[trenchcoatedly]

Correct. Although it's not uncommon for genes to jump generations, especially given that evolutionary traits usually start out recessive. A hypothesis could relate to nuclear power, or the various other chemicals humans have both placed into their water and atmosphere and more directly into their bodies. There have been other events in very recent human history where chemicals very severely and very quickly affected humans.