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Warning: Here Be Dragons
The lore presented on this page is no longer being updated. For an up-to-date, freshly-minted version, check out the new page: Felinids. |
Humans spread from arm to arm of the galaxy. But something happened along the way. A story of technological advancement and controversy in the field of genetic bioengineering.
The "species" that started for many years as niche genetic body modding became the Felinids, now widespread after an recent bioterror attack involving Nanotrasen's once common cloning technology. Cloning has been kept away from the public intentionally for this reason, and is only kept internally (places like Central Command) and under exceptionally tight quality control to avoid future incidents.
Mutants like Felinids, though closer to humanity than other species, are still barred from higher positions in the chain of command.
Gameplay
Felinids (sometimes referred to as catpeople) are an optional playable race. You can make a felinid character in the character panel, and change aspects of its appearance such as the presence of tails or ears.
Felinids "meow" when speaking which betrays their identity even if their tail and cat ears are removed. They don't have any specific naming scheme and are usually named just the same as any human would. Felinids can also speak in their own language, Nekomimetic, an incomprehensible and annoying mess of broken Japanese and cat sounds. Speaking Nekomimetic in front of the the rest of the crew might cause problems (for you), especially over the radio.
Unlike most other playable races within Space Station 13, felinid are extremely similar to humans in terms of function. At best, their benefits and disadvantages can be seen as small quirks.
Differences from Humans
- Felinids can lick wounds to reduce bleeding, though it's unsanitary and can transfer diseases between others.
- Likes having their tail pulled!
- Like being tabled (🤨)! Cats love playing on tables!
- Sensitive ears are hit harder by flashbangs.
- Distracted by laser pointers.
- Being sprayed with water interrupts any action they were in the process of doing (think climbing a table) and gives them a negative moodlet.
- Losing their tail ruins their mood!
- Hulks can spin them around by their tail and throw them for a lot of damage.
Note that as a felinid, the AI does not consider you human and is not obligated to listen to you and an Asimov AI will often respond lethally should they find you harming a human. Also, many crew members will show you depths of racism previously reserved for the clown and lizardmen. Centcom also maintains a strict "Human-Only" policy for Command Staff appointments, as mutants are considered non-human.
Roleplay
";Nya!"
Being shunned from the public as a whole for being genetic freaks, felinids are often known for sticking together for protection and company. More adventurous individuals among them are known to attempt to make friends outside the catpeople communities, but are rarely successful outside a few instances from more welcoming crew members.
Some people might find the tail and ears "cute", though perhaps these are the kind of individuals one would best to be avoiding when possible.
Being an extremely new "race" with no history or prior ties besides their time as a human most felinids aren't that different from humans in personality aside from the odd feline trait/instinct.
History
The following information was copied over from /tg/station's Common Core Lore github.
It is as close to canonical lore as you will get for the /tg/station codebase, however people are not required to use this lore, nor are maintainers bound to it.
https://github.com/tgstation/common_core/blob/master/Species of the Galaxy/Felinids/felinids.md
Felinids- the great genetic controversy of the Ages
- Advertisement for litigation against Nanotrasen, following the Cloning Incident of 2560.
As Humanity's knowledge of genetics and the code behind it expanded, gene clinics became a common sight across Earth, offering miraculous solutions to previously debilitating illnesses. Everything from cancer, to Parkinsons, to prion diseases, became a concern of the past. And soon, bespoke genetic treatment for cosmetic purposes became commonplace, too. Humans became the masters of their own bodies, able to change their appearances to fit their whims, and so, inevitably, came treatments that were broader in scope.
One of these many available treatments was Animalisation- utilising specific aspects of animal DNA, humans could be altered to have desired traits from them. Despite their availability, animalisation treatments were (and are) viewed as a step too far, as they go beyond simple alteration of the human genome and into the realms of adulterating it with foreign DNA. Mutants of these types came to be viewed as no longer human, both by the public consciousness and by laws, and those receiving the treatments were shunned, leading them to coalesce into insular communities, and (many) to leave life in the Home Sector for the colonies.
And so, Felinids would remain a curiosity, an uncommon sight in human space but not unheard of, until a scandal would rock the species as a whole: the Cloning Incident of 2560.
The Cloning Incident of 2560
Not long ago, Nanotrasen scientists discovered the secret of cheating death. Cloning technology was one of the many great scientific advancements of the 26th century, allowing those rich (or lucky) enough to have access to it to be returned to life in the event of their untimely demise. The technology was, understandably, heralded as a miracle for modern medicine, but beneath the surface lurked a dangerous secret.
It was known during development that the genetic code that is used by cloning to reconstruct the body was exceptionally fragile, and even the smallest impurities in the reagents used for the process could result in genetic deformities. Usually, these deformities manifested as small, undetectable issues- a little change here, a loss of function there, perhaps a "healthy" dose of cancer. These could be corrected by genetic treatment, so were not particularly concerning. But what could happen if there was a large scale contamination? Scientists had been limited in their capacity for experimentation in this field by regulations against human experimentation, but it was theorised that it would cause massive, irreversible damage to their genes, beyond even the reach of humanity's sophisticated genetic science. Unfortunately, this theory would finally be proven accurate on Monday, the 14th of January, 2560.
Eleanor Normandy, the chief chemical engineer at the Nanotrasen-Pauling Chemical Plant on Prosperity, was finally putting into action a plan which had been years in the making. At the reactor being used to produce Hyperclone Reagent A, a genetic soup that was used as a key genetic additive for cloning, she stopped, withdrew samples for sending to QA, and then produced a small tank, which she discreetly poured into the mix. Within the tank was several litres of Interdyne Pharmaceutics' KitX Serum- a new genetic mutation serum designed to induce the Felinid mutation in a safer, more rapid, and more predictable form. And so, an entire batch of Hyperclone Reagent A was contaminated, and nobody would be the wiser. This plant serviced every Nanotrasen cloning clinic within the Home sector, as well as several Spinward Stations which were experimenting with new cloning techniques, and over the next few weeks, they would each receive their new shipments.
And so, nothing seemed to be wrong, until the 28th of that month, 2 weeks after the incident.
Customers who had been cloned were found to be developing alarming side effects. There were the large and obvious ones, of course. The ears. The tails. Fixations on bright lights. But also a number of more subtle changes were observed too- altered mental states, changed tastes, new personalities. They were exhibiting all the signs of felinisation- but that was impossible, surely? Ordinarily this required months of intensive genetic therapy, and cloning was unlikely to produce such specific results over such a wide range.
Of course, this prompted a massive outcry by the public, as this was far too large scale to cover up. Nanotrasen's immediate response was to close all cloning clinics immediately, and begin an investigation as to what went wrong. Before long, the contamination was found in samples of HRA, and the sudden disappearance of Ms. Normandy was noted. She was apprehended by Terragov police at a spaceport while attempting to board a flight to Harvest- presumably to lay low. However, during questioning, she suddenly died- having had a remote implant in her brain detonated by her unknown employer. And so, with no effective scapegoat, Nanotrasen was forced to bear the brunt of the incident.
Knowing that the public would never regain trust in the process following an incident of this scale, Nanotrasen officially permanently closed all cloning facilities on the 4th of February, 2560, and cancelled all official research into the technology. Cloning would remain in use by the company afterwards, but only internally with exceptionally tight quality control.
