DescriptionGenome: Legacy of Mutation It is the year 2,000 and the main backdrop for the story is New York City. Mutants (homo-mutatio) have been slowly appearing for over 300 years, possibly longer, but were for the most part ignored by modern society because their numbers were low, thought to be less than 1,000 world wide, and the abilities they possessed did not pose a true threat to anyone. For decades mutants weren't even an issue in the halls of the government and considered more of a scientific curiosity until one man, one mutant, changed all of that. Dubbed Diablo by the media because of his demonic appearance and violent nature, one mutant single-handedly reshaped the entire face of mutant politics. Police, SWAT teams, even the military proved unable to stop, contain, or control this 'Diablo' when he began to sporadically rampage through cities across America. He proved to the world that mutants weren't just a scientific oddity but that they could indeed be threat to society, threats so powerful that the human government couldn't control them. Many people began to panic, others formed anti-mutant hate groups that began to give public demonstrations speaking out on the perceived 'evils' of mutation, and the entire geo-political landscape shifted in a matter of months. This change in the public view of mutants wasn't helped by the continuing rampages of Diablo who's death toll among the human population soon exceeded 39,000 and a public property damage bill exceeding 158.3 billion dollars. A.M.M.O. In light of this new development and in the face of a new threat that seemed to appear and disappear without warning while causing massive damage to areas of dense population the government formed a new task force, the Agency for Mutant Monitoring and Observation or AMMO for short. Under the leadership of Director Demitri Zaarin A.M.M.O. was tasked with not only monitoring mutant activity, but also with either containing or killing the public menace known as Diablo. Utilizing new state of the art weapons and armor technologies contracted from Edmond Enterprises A.M.M.O. has proven highly successful in containing any mutant threat that presents itself to the public with one exception, Diablo. Though his appearances have dropped dramatically in recent years he has still proven himself to be highly elusive and virtually impossible to stop even for A.M.M.O. agents using Edmond Enterprises technologies. Rumors have also began to surface about the true mission and intentions of A.M.M.O. as several unidentified sources have stated that many of the mutants taken into A.M.M.O. custody simply disappear never to be heard from again, but with no documentation on who any of these mutants are or where they may be going, they remain nothing but rumors that are staunchly denied by the government. RACES Humans Humans are bipedal primates belonging to the species Homo sapiens (Latin: "wise man" or "knowing man") in Hominidae, the great ape family. They were the only surviving member of the genus Homo until the inclusion of the sub species homo mutatio and Homo sapien mutatio at a science conference in London, England in 1954. Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the arms for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species. Mitochondrial DNA and fossil evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago. Humans are widespread in every continent except Antarctica with a total population of 5.8 billion as of November 1999. Like most higher primates, humans are social by nature. However, humans are uniquely adept at utilizing systems of communication for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organization. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nations. Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together form the basis of human society. Humans have a marked appreciation for beauty and aesthetics which, combined with the human desire for self-expression, has led to cultural innovations such as art, literature and music. Humans are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate natural phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills, which are passed down culturally; humans are the only extant species known to build fires, cook their food, clothe themselves, and use numerous other technologies. They also account for roughly 98% of the homo genus family on the planet Earth. Homo Mutatio Mutants are bipedal primates belonging to the Homo sapiens subspecies known as Homo mutatio (Latin: "change" or "changed man") and only account for roughly 1.5% of the homo genus population on Earth. Possessing a rare gene dubbed the Human Mutation Genome or HMG for short are those select few individuals who, most often at puberty, express extra powers and abilities that other people do not. Through scientific research and study it has been shown that either the mother or the father can possess the precursor genes for HMG and pass a fully functional HMG gene to their children. While the HMG gene can be detected through genetic screening the powers and abilities that it will give the carrier cannot be determined until it changes from a dormant to active state and it appears that no two HMG genes grant the same abilities. It has however been theorized that identical abilities could be exhibited in identical twins, though no case studies to this effect have been discovered to date. Homo Sapien Mutatio The oddest and smallest of the homo genus which many still debate as even being classified as such are Homo Sapien Mutatio who are in fact not mutants at all. They are humans that by means of some outside force of event have gained abilities, and while they can perform feats that normal humans cannot by means of genetic alteration, they do not possess the HMG gene and only account for 0.5% of the homo genus population. |
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Greg Lindahl