[h1]Forced Evolutionary Virus - history and description[/h1]
This report is purely and solely on the FEV. It will not go deeper into underlying reasons for its creation, or its ultimate effects on the wasteland, but purely the direct reasons for its existence and direct effect on its subjects. None of this is necessarily true; it's only an analysis based on information.
History:
Sources: FEV Summary Digest, Alpha & Delta Experiment Disks, FEV Experiment Tape, Captain Maxson's Log, Captain Maxson's Personal Log, West Tech Records, Richard Grey's Audio Diary
In 2073, China became increasingly aggressive with their use of biological weapons. The countermeasure this, the Pan-Immunity Virion Project (PVP) was officially formed in September 15, 2073. The PVP was formed to counter-measure China's biggest biological weapon, the virus.
As viruses (viri) can be altered and mutated almost infinitely, the PVP needed to create a way to make the American soldiers immune to all types of viruses (both are quite obvious in its very name: Pan-Immunity (immunity against all) Virion (viruses) Project).
In all likelihood, many bases were set up to achieve this goal. One of these created the FEV and tested it on several subjects. Encouraged by the results, the higher-ups decided (against the advice of the scientists) the virus was sent to the Mariposa Military Base for testing on "volunteers". This base worked in co-operation with West Tech on its experiments.
Experiments were stopped on (or shortly before) the end of the war, not because of the war, but because there was a rebellion when the soldiers found out what was being done in the bases. The scientists were executed. The soldiers left the base and founded the Brotherhood of Steel.
The FEV remained until a party of men rediscovered it. Most of these died, but one of them, Richard Grey, had fallen into one of the FEV vats. The man's prior history is unclear and unimportant. By the FEV he was mutated into the Master, and formed the Unity.
Biological description and effects
Sources: FEV Summary Digest, FEV Experiment Tape, Vree's Experiment Tape, Alpha & Delta Experiment Tapes
FEV was batch 10-011 to 11-111 of the panimmunity virion. It was renamed FEV by Major Barnett because if its obvious nature. According to this man, the effects of the virus on individuals of any species showed the future of its evolution. This point is debatable, but not important.
FEV has several important effects. It increases the mass of the subject, with muscle mass growing the most and sensory cells being the least effected, by stimulating mitosis. This accounts for the increase of size, strength and intelligence. Mistakes as a result of mitosis are nearly non-existent, which eliminates any chance of cancer.
Immunity to any and all viri is another effect of the FEV, but this soon became less important for study as the government became more interested in the increased intelligence and strength factors.
The factoring out of any mistakes or infections by viri was done by introducing upon the subject a virus fragment consisting of ribonucleic acid (RNA) encased in a protein-lipid sheath. This virion contains a specially arranged sequence of radiated amino acids (RAA) that are capable of attaching to non-specific binding sites on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and force a non-replicating mitosis to occur. The resulting host cell is left with a quadruple-helix DNA structure.
In other words, FEV is a strand of RNA (encased in a protein-lipid sheath to ensure that it could be absorbed by the receiving cell and would not be attacked by the subject's immune system). (ribonucleic acid is an acid used in almost any form of life for several goals. The RNA is used for several means. This experiment was probably based upon was probably mRNA (messenger RNA), which is used to "communicate" between cells by sending out RNA to be absorbed by other cells.) The RNA disturbs the natural mitosis of the DNA strands (mitosis is simply duplication of the strands, which are then parted and made into two separate cells). In stead of natural mitosis, the RAA in the virion binds with its compatible amino acids in the DNA strands.
What you are left with is a quadruple-helix DNA cell. Half of this quadruple-helix DNA is from the subject itself; the other half is FEV-induced. The cell recognises this as normal quadruple-helix DNA, and as such splits it into two, creating a new double-helix cell out of half the quadruple-helix DNA.
Because each RAA of the FEV binds with an amino acid of the natural DNA, the FEV virus is split 50/50 into the two resulting cells. Presuming those cells have no more contact with pure FEV, the next four cells will each only have 25% of the original FEV RAA. But equally, only 25% of these cells would consist of the original DNA. The remaining 50% would be "new" duplicated amino acids, based for 50% on the RAA of FEV and for 50% on the amino acids of the original DNA. The end result would be:
25% original FEV
25% duplicated FEV
25% original DNA
25% duplicated DNA
Thus the balance remains 50/50. The RAA of FEV has been selected as to make any faults in this process impossible, which means the ratio between the FEV's RAA and "normal" DNA stays 50/50, which is why the subject retains its basic form and genetic structure, for the most part.
Writer's note: It's as good as certain that the RAA is not as infallible as was originally assumed. Human mutant subjects have lost their sterility after some time, which shows a growing ratio-difference between the FEV and original DNA, favouring the original DNA. Or, in other words, the mutants regain some of their humanity.
This process has not been shown to happen anywhere else in the subject's body. This may indicate that the fault in the RAA lies in the haploid nature of human reproductive cells. Further research on this subject would be necessary to prove or disprove this.
These are the genotypical effects of FEV. The phenotypical effects are derived from these. The increase in cells means physical growth, the increase in receiver-cells mean increased intelligence. The non-natural nature of the FEV virion has the basic effect as to change the phenotypical appearance of the subject. For instance, a human's skin has been known to turn tones of grey. These are slight and unimportant differences, though.
Writer's note: Insufficient information is available on the exact effect of FEV on several cells, such as sensory cells and normally non-replicating cells (including brain cells at an age where they normally stop replicating, presumably) are not available as most attention was paid to external effects. I will thus make no further notes on these, for fear of making too many mistakes.
Biological description and effects: Experiments on several non-human forms of life
Sources: FEV Experiment Tape, FEV Summary digest
Singe-celled animals and/or non-choroplast (batch 10-011): Quickening of mitosis and the effect of a quadruple-helix. Basal metabolism remains the same. Immunity against infection and radiation exceeded all expectations.
Single-celled plants and/or choroplast bacteria: No effect. The choroplasts in the cells of the bacteria and plants reject the virion. Further experiments on choroplast life forms (plants and some bacteria) ceased.
Inquiry: If the one-celled animal known as the Euglena were infected with FEV and then exposed to light (when exposed to light, the Euglena forms choroplasts), would it reject the FEV? Failure to look into this as an "antidote" for FEV apparent.
Flatworms: 28% increase in size, immunity to 39 separate viral contagions. The flatworms became incapable of sexual reproduction and could only reproduce asexually.
Insects: Unclear. The experiments with the insects were less successful than the experiments with the flatworms. It can be presumed that insects have at least partial resistance to FEV.
Note: There were no experiments with sponges, hollow animals, round worms, ring worms, molluscs, echinoderms or the vertebrates animals known as birds, amphibians, fish or reptiles, or the arthropods known as spiders, lobsters or centipedes. The jump from insects to mammals strikes me as curious.
White mice: 31% increase in size, largest increase in muscle tissue, liver, heart and kidneys. Increase in intelligence noted.
Rabbits: Increased brain activity after 3.2 seconds. Size increase, as well as increased aggression and posturing noticed. Brain tissue showed increased dendritic connection, especially in the limbic system and frontal cortex.
Racoons (batch 11-011: 43% increased mitotic cycle efficiency): Expected size increase occurred. Behavioural tests showed increased intelligence and dexterity by 19 points on the Schuler-Kapp index. Subjects dispatched after some escaped, two unaccounted for.
Dogs (batch 11-011a): Nearly immediate growth. Increased aggressiveness, no significant intelligence increase. Subjects terminated after 14 weeks.
Chimpanzees (batch 11-111: crossover between 11-011 and 11-011a): Unprecedented increase in growth and immunity levels. Immunity to cancer. Extreme aggressiveness. Subjects terminated.
There are no notes on increased intelligence with the chimpanzees. It is unknown if the crossover between 11-011 and 11-011a was successful in removing the apparent fault in 11-011a. It is also unknown if there was actually a fault in 11-011a or if something in the neural system of dogs and chimpanzees prevented brain stimulation.
Size increase has been noted to be up to 60% in the final tests.
No records of the effects of FEV on hormones or blood cells have been recovered.
Biological description and effects: Experiments on humans
Sources: Vree's Experiment Tape, Alpha & Delta Experiment Tapes, Richard Grey's Audio Diary
Statistics of the mutant dissected by Vree:
Height: 3.2 meters
Mass: 363.21 kg
Gender: Indeterminate
Skin Colour: Predominantly grey with tints of green under the current lighting system. Uncertain if this is due to decay or exposure in the wastelands. Note: The skin is extremely though with respect to scalpels.
Mass Breakdown:
Muscle Mass: 77.41%
Bone Mass: 10.23%
Fat Mass: 3.02%
Tissue Mass: 9.34%
The effects of FEV on humans are apparently much the same as those on animals. Increased mass, especially to muscle mass has been noted. The sterility noted with the flatworm experiments would explain the indeterminate gender. Aggressiveness probably made further procreation experiments impossible. Increased size of neural and synaptic transmitters noted. This results in heightened reflexes, as noticed with earlier experiments.
Mitosis occurs at 15% quicker than with normal humans. Recessive genes were removed from the DNA to make it more effective. The same applies to RNA.
Life expectancy increased by 10%. Intelligence increased by 30%.
Richard Grey's journal makes it apparent that FEV can be ingested by simply "dipping" the person in a vat of the goods. Whether this method was used earlier or if it used to be injected into the subjects is unknown. This was probably an unknown side effect, though, as sensitivity of the human skin to the virus has several disadvantages.
Richard experiments with something very knew. He dips a dog and a rat at the same time. The increased growth rate probably meant the masses of the dog and rat collided, and as both their DNA's are half-FEV based, they were not completely incompatible, allowing for a merger.
He also ingests a human being. As he described it himself, it becomes apparent he also gains the person's mind with it. Or, in other words: Super-mutants with the extreme overdose Richard received can steal knowledge from a person by ingesting him. Richard also describes a neuro-link with a computer, which shows an incredible increase in intelligence and adaptability of his neuro-system.
Grey also succeeds in making another intelligent mutant (and then ingesting him). This human's radiation count was much lower than that of the others. This will be discussed later.
Richard obviously turns mad afterwards as the many minds inside himself turn him to insanity. He wanders off and is of no more important to this study.
Biological description and effects: Radiation and FEV
Sources: Vree's Experiment Tape, Richard Grey's Audio Diary
Radiation has a definitive effect on FEV. This becomes apparent from the fact that Vree's mutant had less brain mess and a radiation count of up to 12 rad, while Grey had a definitive increase of intelligence and less radiation. The same goes for one of Grey's test subjects.
The reason for this is obvious. The radiation mutated the human subject's cells, making them partially immune to the effects of FEV, which had an RAA structure based upon non-mutated humans (and other life forms).
Or, to put it in other words, radiation causes a human's DNA to "alter". Several of the amino acids in the DNA's double-helix strands alter, and since there's only one possible match for each of the known amino acids, it can no longer completely bind with the RAA of the FEV.
This also explains why only the brains are involved. Each of the cells of a human with a certain function has a different type of DNA. Apparently, the DNA of the human brain cell is altered in such a way as to reject the FEV, while the effects on the DNA of other human cells are such as to not reject FEV or (perhaps) even increase the effects it have.
The question remains if the same goes for all types of creatures. Presumably, the more the creature's genetic structure differs from our, the more chance there is for it to have an intelligence increase as an effect of the FEV instead of a decrease. For instance, a radiated monkey would probably also become less intelligent, while a mutated ringworm might gain in intelligence.
And I must also note that FEV might not be as immune to radiation as the creator's assumed. While the subjects have been proven to be immune to high levels of radiation, prolonged exposure to radiation might explain the mutation in FEV that removes their sterility. Again, this might be related to the haploid nature of reproductive cells. Further investigation on this subject advised.
I believe this entire thing is still riddled with countless mistakes, errors and the like. Someone take out the historical and scientific errors AND KEEL THEM!
