tippler 2023/05/09(Tue)20:21 No. 1063270 ID: 9ea24b
File 168368890660.png - (99.33KB , 500x500 , p1.png )

You are a young Salikai who recently moved to a lush resort planet with your two siblings, doting father, and a small army of servant Arkots. With the fortune made from creating the most exploitative gacha game in the galaxy, your dear papa commissioned an expansive estate, complete with an underground research facility, where you all could live in peace.

You’re currently standing in your bedroom. Your father is about to bring you a gift to celebrate your budding interest in bioengineering.

What is your name? What is your gender?

Your name is John Homestuck
Your gender is tentacle-dick

Salli, female. Sadly, your family is very bland.

Your name is Salad, male.

you are khat, a male Salikai with dreams of creating the bestest friend!

Siklikal, male.

Salad, female.

"Sallie"

>>1063279
Seconded

Salad

Gender is irrelevant!

Salad, male!

Saladin the Paladin.
Female.

Salliad, Female

>Budding interest in bioengineering
>Has siblings
...
Well, I guess I have to make the joke. Kitsiksu Iarem, male.

Salad, the only they/them/it mystery-gender crawling around.

>>1063277
I don't know about the name but I like the goal.

>>1063292
seconding this.

Imma hop on the Salad bandwagon - don't care about the gender.

What year is this? Are Salikai still officially in hiding due to the whole "death-grudge with the Neumono" thing, or is this late enough in the timeline that the casual "this species is illegal" mandate has since been relaxed? (I mean, I assume it's not early in the timeline if tobaks 'n' pals are in play.)

>>1063274
>>1063281
yep both good names and female

Your name is Dalas Salad. Best boy.

>>1063270
Salad, male

How soon can we possibly get some test subject? The regenerative abilities of the Neumono would be interesting to adapt around or with -examples being the few Neumono cyborgs that don't immediately reject their implants, and the Tobak which have the exact opposite problem, with their bodies being highly adaptable with implants of the mechanical variant. Tobak's would probably be the easiest of the two aliens to satisfy due to how disparagingly large male population, and their desires to eat tasty foods.

We could probably get away with experimenting with some Arkots too if we wanted to, maybe make them a little tougher? I'm excited! Image the possibilities! SCIENCE!

>Asteroid Quest poster in the background
In Kabot Quest, is Asteroid Quest a work of fiction, or actual events that happened in universe that people have been spectating due to how shenanigan's intense the Asteroid is? If the former, will we ever get a chance to get some autographs from the actors? if the latter, would it be possible to get into descrete, untraceable contact with any or the peoples/factions?

Fuck, idk what our gender is, but our name HAS to be Salad.

tippler 2023/05/10(Wed)18:35 No. 1063387 ID: 9ea24b
File 168376890679.png - (140.25KB , 500x500 , p2.png )

>Salad the male Salikai
You have two older sisters who were from the same clutch, while you came a bit later. Your sisters say you’re super annoying, which is mean and not true.

>Is that an Asteroid Quest poster?
Yeah! That’s the gacha game your dad got super rich for making. It’s based on real historical events and it’s really popular with Neumono.

>Speaking of, how are Neumono Salikai race relations?
Oh…well your neighbors in the Tourism hive are convinced your dad is plotting to kill them all, but a few Neumono work at the estate as servants and they’ve been polite to you.

tippler 2023/05/10(Wed)18:36 No. 1063390 ID: 9ea24b
File 168376900851.png - (101.97KB , 500x500 , p3.png )

You hear a knock at your door and you tell your dad he can come in. He’s dressed in his dapper hat and stylish pipe and is much larger than you due to his age.

You spot a neatly wrapped box in his pincers, which he hands to you. It’s making a strange sound, like a muffled laser pistol.

“This is a great day son. Your first test subject! Now they’re keeping a close eye on us so I had to find an unprotected native species and do some of my own fiddling.” he says, as you eagerly tear through the wrapping paper.

You open the box to find a rotund, spindly limbed lizard. It goes wild when it spots you, cheeping and scuttling around its cardboard prison.

tippler 2023/05/10(Wed)18:36 No. 1063391 ID: 9ea24b
File 168376901416.png - (128.91KB , 500x500 , p4.png )

“I’d say A1 here is about as smart as a baby Arkot. I decided to call the species Kabots, since it sounds similar. I left a few mutation genes for you to play around with and the help installed a nice big terrarium where he can live in the basement. Little things love heat and light.”

Stunned, you gently pick up the Kabot and test its weight in your claw. It looks up at you with its enormous eyes.

“And every few days I’ll give you a test to see how the research is coming along. How’s that sound sport? Any questions for your old man?”

What kind of teeeest?

>>1063391
Cool beans! We have a lot of testing to do:

-ask dad if he's able to get more kabots if we fudge some SCIENCE badly

-Test levels of sentience, sapience, consciousness and self awareness. We know dad said it's as smart as a baby arkot (pretty dumb as arkots go), but it's good check again.

-Review all current intel we have available of this species (what dad knows)

-Ask dad which planet he got the little thing from so we can do some extranet research to determine it's native biome, it's habits, how & why it evolved the way it did

-before any modifications can be done, some blood needs to be drawn and studied for any perceived irregularities, or what we might find weird things that are perfectly normal for it's species.

-make thorough records of it before and after every modifications

-a thoroughly examination of it's body for known and unknown viruses, diseases, parasite, symbiotes, and other foreign entities

-review gene modding materials and determine what they're "expected" to do to the test subject, their parameters, limitations, and if they can be passed down from generation to generation. What can be expected can vastly differ from what might happen, after all.

>>1063391
I feel real dumb about my post. I should had included:

-asking about it's dietary habits, what has it already consumed / what had dad been feeding it

-anything of note father has noticed from the creature

-the age, or an idea of how old the kabot is. Are they naturally this small as adults, or is this one still young? If young, then how young?

-do they lay eggs, live births, or other?

-what is the scientific fancy name for the kabot?

-is it social? reclusive?

>>1063391
Monster Rancher time.

Ask for your allowance. We'll need funds to fund our fun.

>>1063405
Yes! Allowance are important!

Are you plotting to kill all the neumono in the Tourism hive, dad?

If there will be tests that mean there are parameters to be judged. What skills do you want me to modify Mr. Jellybean with?

Can I have a cute little bed for his terrarium?

>>1063411
I vote Crouton for his(?) name. He's crunchy.

besides the basic what do you need to take care of them (like what do they eat, how much exercise do they need, ect) is their a specific end goal I should be aiming for or is this more of a "go wild and see what happens" kind of thing?

>>1063449
Think it already has a name. A1.

>>1063391
Perhaps we can get a female also to make more on our own

tippler 2023/05/11(Thu)16:52 No. 1063506 ID: 9ea24b
File 168384917080.png - (71.22KB , 500x500 , p5.png )

>What’s the test?
“Ohoho, I’d hate to ruin the surprise. I promise no physical harm will come to the participants.” Your dad is wearing a wicked grin and you know he’s scheming something dreadful.

>How old is A1?
Just a wee babe. You’ll have to see how fast it develops.

>What does A1 eat?
“I’ve been feeding him crude protein and carbohydrates in dehydrated nugget form. There should be plenty of food supplies by its terrarium.” He refuses to elaborate on any of A1’s other characteristics or whether he has a spare.

>Ask for an allowance
You have plenty of spending zeny already and your dad is providing all the expensive equipment.

>Can A1 reproduce?
You do a cursory check for genitalia. You don’t see anything.

tippler 2023/05/11(Thu)16:52 No. 1063507 ID: 9ea24b
File 168384917740.png - (96.14KB , 500x500 , p6.png )

You finally get to the question that’s been bothering you a bit. “Dad, you’re not planning to get me to bioengineer a Neumono killing species to destroy the Tourism hive, right?”

He sighs and crouches down so he’s eye level with you. “Salad, you remember the family motto, don’t you?”

“They can’t pay you if they’re dead.” you recite obediently.

“Exactly! Neumono are great consumers of software meant to manipulate their mental reward systems, son. Why would I want to hurt a potential customer? The grudge between our species is bad for business and I’m not trying to make it any worse.”

With that, he wishes you good luck and tells you to call for help if you create an unstoppable murder beast.

tippler 2023/05/11(Thu)16:53 No. 1063508 ID: 9ea24b
File 168384919647.png - (79.02KB , 500x500 , p7.png )

You carry A1 down to its new home and take stock of your options.

RESEARCH:
There’s a fixed list of 25 unique mutations Kabots can undergo. When you do research, you’ll learn which genes are linked to three randomly selected mutations.

MUTATE and/or CLONE:
You can randomly select a gene to activate or activate one based on your research. It’ll take until after the next test for a mutated Kabot to start showing signs of its mutation. To speed up the process, you can also immediately clone the Kabot and the clone will have the mutation. You can also choose to clone a Kabot without mutating it first.

INTERACT:
You can do all sorts of things with the Kabot besides hard science. You can study its behavior, play with it, train it, go into town to buy special items or food for bribes, or anything else you can think of.

You have two actions before the mystery test. What would you like to do first?

>>1063508
First thing's first, and that's the first rule of science: a control!

Produce a clone of A1 to serve as a baseline control specimen which will not be mutated or significantly trained, to provide important scientific data on the species' normal traits and behaviors.

>>1063509
Good point.
If we want to be methodical each test will require a control clone. Maybe we should't go that far because it's slow and require constant disposal of control subjects after each experiment.

It would be better to begin trying to understand as much as we can from observation of this creature biology and behavior before attempting to change anything. Unfortunately doing that would mean no mutation in time for the first dad test.

Since we were given no specific parameters how about we start with a simple change in pigmentation? We should figure out if doing so will cause any colateral effect, what unrelated mechanisms are controlled by the same genes and what colors are available for this class. (It could be unable to naturally manifest certain pigments like how mammalians can't evolve blue tones for their furs and skins.) If we are lucky it might even be capable of developing expandable pigmentation sacs.

INTERACT: gain it's trust before you do anything by feeding or playing with it. Research and experimenting will be much easier if it trusts you

We don't want to ruin the control group, yeah, but we need to act fast to prepare for the mystery test, and mutations won't be ready for the test anyway.

Seems docile enough, let's try Interaction! Second should be training but I don't think we're voting for two actions at once.

Step 1: research! Step 2: Clone a mutant!

With the first test so close, I guess we gotta choose whether to blindly rush ahead or be slow and methodical.
I say we risk taking a hit on the first test and go slow. Interacting with it should help us figure out what a base Kabot is like.

Hmm, I'm torn between:
A. research then clone mutant
and
B. interact, then...dunno

Do you want to be methodical, or do you want to test out your new toys? Do you want to do science, or do you want to do Mad Science?

Interact first. Get to know what kabots are like. Test their reflexes by throwing a ball, and pet them to establish dominance.

Yeah clone the kabot now before anything else. Besides the good sense in having a control and the dilemma of time constraints and disposal of too many subjects, having an extra copy of the baseline kabot would be useful in case we fuck up at some point with our primary subject.

>>1063387
Okay, good; Current Year(TM) seems to be out of the "mutual genocide policies" phase, and that's what we really needed to know.

> WHAT DO
Can we take this one action at a time? If so, start with RESEARCH. If we end up discovering a gene that's obviously beneficial to flip, we'll want to CLONE a Kabot with those mutations. (Remember, guys; CLONING and MUTATING can be done in the same action while letting us retain a control specimen.) And if it doesn't seem like a safe or productive idea to make a Kabot with those mutations, we'll need to come up with a new plan. Really, knowing is half the battle here, so it'd be dumb not to start with gathering intel on our control specimen first and foremost.

Also, if it can be included as a free action within the scope of our RESEARCH, do pour over the local fauna databases to try and figure out which critter your father modded this little guy out of.

tippler 2023/05/12(Fri)17:54 No. 1063654 ID: 9ea24b
File 168393927948.png - (71.22KB , 500x500 , p8.png )

>Tough decision
You’re loath to mutate A1 without prior research and you don’t like the idea of tainting your only control sample even if you knew what the mutation would do. You’d like to clone A1 without any mutations so that you have a spare, but you decide to interact with A1 first to get a baseline understanding of its behavior.

You spend your first few hours observing the creature from outside its terrarium, taking as many notes on your tablet as you can. The main features of the terrarium are the heat lamp, bushes, a jumble of rocks, a sandy area, a mulch area, a pool of water with a constantly running fountain, and a sad looking nut tree.

A1 seems fairly sedentary, preferring to lie near the stifling light of the lamp with its eyes open, occasionally blinking. You see it excrete a brown pellet from its cloaca and leave it unburied in the sand, then stand in the fountain to sip the water.

tippler 2023/05/12(Fri)17:54 No. 1063655 ID: 9ea24b
File 168393928819.png - (79.93KB , 500x500 , p9.png )

When you move, A1 usually becomes alert and even skitters under the cover of the rocks. As the day drags on, it becomes more familiar with your presence and stops hiding. It sniffs out and eats the handful of kibble you toss into the enclosure.

What would you like to do for your second action?
A. Clone without mutation

B. Train A1 with kibble as a bribe

>>1063655
A.

A

>>1063655
A.
Need baseline clones as soon as possible. Modify the enclosure to keep 1 isolated in case they prefer isolation.

>>1063655
B.

A. What will it do when there are two?

>>1063655
A.
Good science needs control groups

>>1063655
Do you have any Salikai friends little dude, or do gou only know your family?

Did you make any friends with the hired help your family has hired to clean the manor?

Have you made any friends with memebers of the Tourism Hive?

Do you know any rogue Neumono?

tippler 2023/05/13(Sat)18:59 No. 1063743 ID: 9ea24b
File 168402955580.png - (105.77KB , 500x500 , p10.png )

>Clone
You have to enter the terrarium and grab hold of A1 to get a blood sample. The liquid is a proper red color and a bit fishy smelling and A1 wriggles mightily and runs into its hidey hole once you let go.

The cloning machine is a bit tricky to use, and you spend a day practicing with plants to get confident. Once you produce a healthy, intact head of lettuce, you start on creating A2.

>Are there any other Salikai on this planet?
Not that you know of. Your dad has half-joked that you’d have to clone yourself to get a friend your age.

>Are you friends with any of the servants?
No, not really. You’ve known some of them most of your life, but it’s hard to hold a conversation with an Arkot and the Neumono, most of them rogues, keep you at arms length.

tippler 2023/05/13(Sat)19:00 No. 1063746 ID: 9ea24b
File 168402964269.png - (84.95KB , 500x500 , p11.png )

>The production of A2
After an accelerated gestation, A2 emerges from the cloning tank perfectly identical to A1, if a tiny bit smaller. When you place A2 in the terrarium, it coexists peacefully with A1 though the Kabots don’t seem to socialize or have any interest in each other.

>The test
As if pops has been watching you on the security system and waiting for you to finish your second action, you barely have time to rest before he enters the lab with his personal butler Arkot.

“Here’s the first test son. Choose one of your Kabots and I’ll put it in the middle of a narrow corridor. You and Butler1 will stand on opposite ends and offer it identical food. Whoever it walks to first will get to keep it.”

Which Kabot do you volunteer? What’s your winning strategy?

>>1063746
I dunno if there are any penalties for "losing," but its not much of an issue if we can keep cloning them. My suggestion is to volunteer the cloned one, so even if we lose, we'll keep the original one, which we need to use as our base. I dont know if theres a genetic risk of continusly clone clones after clones of clones and so forth, but better safe than sorry.

It doesnt seem like a very social animal as we didnt see the two kabots socializing with each other, and it seems skittish of us. My suggestiong would be to put the food on the ground, lay down, and look away from it. Cuz some animals usually see directly looking at their eyes as either a challenge, or a predator searching for prey. By avoiding looking at it directly it might be less skittish to approach us.

>>1063746
Ask dad if we could clone ourself, and if that'd be a bad idea.

Enter A2. Eat a bit of the food and tell Butler1 it is delicious. Win by default when he eats his share of the food.

Does this sort of cloning produce a molecular copy, with like memories and skills and such? Not just a genetic identical twin? Can that parameter be tweaked?

...don't make any sudden moves, and toss the kibble into the corridor? You already researched what it takes to get a kabot to eat.

A2, A1 is currently upset with us due to the blood sample taking.

>>1063750
Brilliant.

>>1063750
???what??? Don't do that. Salikai aren't complete morons.

>>1063746
Volunteer the original, since you interacted with it more. You know how to feed it, just do that.

>>1063776
But the issue is did we not scare it with the sample taking

>>1063776
Pretty sure the butler is an Arkot.

Choose A2.
Take A1 and some spare food, and feed A1 where A2 can see. The hypothesis is that A2 will pursue the resource that is being consumed safely over the untested resource that will still be there later.
>>1063786
It is "butler Arkot", with the "A" capitalised, like a name. Clearly it is a neumono named Arkot!

Heh. Well, we could order the butler to eat the food in its hand. Outside the box enough that Dad may be fine with it once. However a backup plan would be needed, go with >>1063800

tippler 2023/05/14(Sun)18:27 No. 1063804 ID: 9ea24b
File 168411407910.png - (85.42KB , 500x500 , p12.png )

>Does cloning create a perfect molecular copy with the original’s memories and skills?
The machine in your lab isn’t that advanced. Your dad probably has the tech in his personal lab.

>Should you clone yourself?
That’s a choice you’d have to make yourself. You currently don’t have the skill or means to do so.

>Volunteer A2
A1 is still upset that you grabbed and stuck it with a big needle, so you have a better chance of winning with A2.

>Assess your opponent
Butler1 is your dad’s most trusted servant. Oh, this might sound weird but your dad pays all the Arkots. With money. He also designed a whole training program for them so they’re pretty competent as long as they’re given simple orders. You conclude Butler1 won’t fall for the eat the kibble himself trick or disobey your father, and go with your backup plan. You don’t have time to feed A2 or A1 to get them used to the idea that food comes from you.

tippler 2023/05/14(Sun)18:28 No. 1063805 ID: 9ea24b
File 168411410064.png - (85.59KB , 500x500 , p13.png )

>Strategy: Put the kibble down on the floor, avert eye contact, and stay very still
>Chance of success: Base 50% + good strategy 20% = 70%, Success
A2 doesn’t like being placed in a corridor with nowhere to hide. After squishing itself against the wall for a while, it smells the kibble coming from both sides and decides you look the least threatening. It snatches the nugget from the floor and retreats, but that’s good enough for the victory.

Your dad congratulates you and warns you that the next test will take place after three actions. The volunteered Kabot will have to fight an adult Arkot of comparable size and physical injury may occur.

What would you like to do for your first action?
A. Research (learn about 3 possible mutations)
B. Mutate and/or Clone
C. Interact (Kabots can be interacted with separately or together)

Can't do B without doing A first so that leaves the other two.
Sorta tempting to combat train the kabots, but we should probably do SCIENCE! before we do that type of stuff. Oh, clarify this, do the mutations show following one action or one test given by salikai dad?

>>1063805
>C. Interact (Kabots can be interacted with separately or together)
So we know some, if not almost all of the kabot can be cloned, so lets go with another experiment of sorts, that will prelude to another one -where we will clone A1 or A2 in the future to determine if their positive familiarity with us passes on to their clones, which would save us the time to socialize with a clone every time we make a new one. What we need to do is determine the effectiveness of the given cloning machines, and if instincts, feelings/attachments, and possibly memories can be copied. The controlling factors will rely on the base intelligence of the kabot and the science tools we're using.

First off, try to socialize with the two Kabots. Given that A1 might not like us too much, what we can is try to socialize with A2. If our socialization with A2 is successful, and A1 notices, he might be able see us as less of a threat as before -garanteeing a slight increase of building our rapport with A1. Of course, if we're super lucky with our social attempt, we might even get both of them to like us, which would probably occupy our full attention thus garanteeing a successful use of our action.

So the actual start to socialing with the kabots. We need:
-various types of toys and colors
-food pellets
-mimic their silly pew pew pew noises to see if they recognize us as just a strangely large kabot
-Copies of the research and gene mutation notes to study

we could enter the enclosure with a few toys ranging to simple balls all the way up to laser dots for them to chase, but we'll be primarily focusing on A2 for the moment. Oh, and we should also carry a few food pellets secured in a claw to see if either would be brave enough to try and pry food from us. If they make the attempt, that means they're not afraid of us, which is for the most part a good thing. Failing that, they would at the very least start associating our appearance and smell to "big green food providee snake thing." However, if they appear to still be skittish of us, but seem hungry, give them a pellet each, although i suspect A1 will be more hungry as we've just recently fed A2 and not A1.

If both A1 and A2 are unresponsive to the toys, scent of food, and are still scared of us, what we can do is chill in some unoccupied space in the enclosure so we can kill two birds with one stone by familiarizing ourself with the gene mods, and slowly letting the kabots familiarize themselves with our presense. Also making cute pew pew noises ourself so they at least pay some fraction of their attention to us. Even if they're both currently scared of us, continued exposure with no appearant negative reprocussions to their bodies will make consecutive social attempt that much easier.

Tl;dr
Successful social means 1 successful use of three, now down to two remaining actions until the next test.
Failure to social means "successful" use of two action attempts, as the next consecutive social will be easier, as we read our notes in the encloses.
Super successful success would be both sleeping on us as we research our notes, therefore fulfilling two actions at the cost of one.

>>1063810
Dunno? I dunno about you, but when we do combat tests (i would prefer we do that after we get the kabots ro like us more), we should probably do something relatively basic until after they've been genetially modified. The kabots do not seem to an actively agressive species like most carnivores. More likely, they're used to eating species of fish, mammals, and invertebrate and that are smaller (and slower) than them. To make them not instantly run away in few from a BADASS ARKOT, we would need to mod them with increased agression, but not too much where they wont listen to us. They need to be juuuuust agressive enough where they would consider attacking something their own size.
Now, onto training them to attack on command, or attack in general. What we need is to print out like like paper sized versions of random arkots, glue the cutouts over cardboard, then smear mushed up food pellets over the cardboard cutouts so they associate shape of arkots for food. To make this attempt more successful, we would need to forgo feeding them a while so theyre desperate enough to try and bite cardboard. If their mauling attempts are good enough, we can reeard them with quarters of a pellet for each attempt.

If that does work, we could instead show off the arkot cut out, show them us biting it, then pretend to eat a pellet in front of them before tossing each a fake arkot to see if theyre strong enough to put two and two together. If theyre successfull, we feed them only half a pellet and reward them with affection and a toy. If they fail, repeat again until successful.

Time for research!

>>1063813
Why not both?

>>1063805
A.

tippler 2023/05/15(Mon)17:56 No. 1063849 ID: 9ea24b
File 168419861062.png - (113.51KB , 500x500 , p14.png )

>From here on mutations will start to show in uncloned Kabots after two actions
>Actions are taken one at a time

>A to start
You discover the genes linked to:

2. Color changing and camouflage
6. Long tongues
25. Powerful hind legs for jumping

Mutating a Kabot will affect their temperament in a way related to the mutation.

What would you like to do next?
A. Socialize A1 and A2 with lots of food and exposure
B. Mutate (pick which gene) and/or Clone

Let's mutate A2 with the strong legs gene. That should mean it shows up before the fight.

>>1063851
A2 is the control, so let's use it on A1.

>>1063855
Shouldnt A1 be the control, as he is the original one?

>>1063862
Agreed

>>1063851
It will only show up if we clone them as well. Which I suppose we should do.

tippler 2023/05/16(Tue)18:18 No. 1063911 ID: 9ea24b
File 168428633588.png - (105.77KB , 500x500 , p15.png )

>Is A1 or A2 the control?
They’re identical so you pick A1 to be the control.

>Mutate and clone A2
You fetch A2 from the terrarium and gently irradiate it. This does not earn you any good will from A2 and it squeaks with dismay when you take a blood sample for the cloning process.

You produce B1! You can already tell its thighs are meatier than A2 and A1’s. It has a wider spread on its toes, a stubby tail, and is quicker to reach the food when you toss kibble into the enclosure.

What would you like to do with your last action before the Arkot combat test? You think some sort of training for the Kabots would be best. A2 won’t develop strong legs until after the test.

Interaction time, training sounds good. Are there any smaller arkots you can use to build up their antipathy to larger arkots? Otherwise using a long stick to keep their food out of reach will suffice.

>>1063911
Force B1 to remain in place until A2 is at the food, then release B1 to compete for the food and train it for aggression. Its attitude already seems more aggressive.

>>1063911
Train B2. Gotta get it to obey orders in the not-pokemon battle. Train it against not-alive targets. You have to maintain some semblance of goodwill with A1 and A2.

>>1063911
These fools keep making suggestions, yet they don't realize the kabots won't listen to us if they don't like us. Try socializing them, playing with them, and use positive reinforcements to make them listen to better like how people train dogs.
For example. We can hold a need next to their skin (don't stab them), then we can pet them and offer positive affection in addition to more food. If they start associating the needles with pat pats and food then they hold react negatively every time we stab em, and it won't snowball down.

tippler 2023/05/17(Wed)17:50 No. 1063975 ID: 9ea24b
File 168437102886.png - (95.01KB , 500x500 , p16.png )

>Socialize all of the Kabots a bit
At this point, all of the Kabots are fairly used to your presence and understand that you are the source of the best thing in the world, which is food. You start entering their enclosure to feed them so that they’re forced to come to you when they want to eat, and you start patting their backs and talking to them while they work on their kibble.

>Train B1 for aggression
You take B1 out of the terrarium and into a smaller side room to train it. As you’re handling it, it kicks you hard in the chest and you wheeze, but hold firm.

tippler 2023/05/17(Wed)17:50 No. 1063976 ID: 9ea24b
File 168437103486.png - (125.52KB , 500x500 , p17.png )

You have a few lower level servant Arkots come in and eat delectable slices of fresh bread with nut butter spread in the room while you restrain B1. After some repetitions and denying B1 kibble for a whole day, you put B1 down and it leaps at the nearest janitor, bowling her over. You praise B1 and give it treats whenever it attacks an Arkot. It doesn’t really know what to do besides knock them over and steal their food, but that’s good enough for the test.

tippler 2023/05/17(Wed)17:59 No. 1063978 ID: 9ea24b
File 168437159665.png - (88.78KB , 500x500 , p18.png )

With B1 as your Arkot destroying machine, you feel prepared for the battle. The test location is a miniature dirt arena with colosseum style seating. You give B1 an encouraging pat and place it on the ground in front of its opponent, Butler1.

Butler1 is competent, but no match for B1 without any weapons or tech to aid him. The Kabot is solidly twice his weight and stomps on Butler1 until the Arkot clicks a verbal surrender and you call for B1 to come get its treat.

Your father congratulates you and warns that Butler1 will be armed with an Arkot sized gun, for the fight in three more actions.

What would you like to do for your first action? A2 will be renamed to B2 at the end of this action as the mutation takes effect.
A. Research (learn about 3 possible mutations)
B. Mutate and/or Clone
C. Interact (Kabots can be interacted with separately or together)

Attempt to splice long tongue gene with strong leg gene to create punch tongue gene, and apply it to B1 since B1 is already fight-socialized. While we do other things, B1 should be developing their maybe ranged tongue attack.

>>1063978
Give butler1 an apologetic shrug. He probably gets played well, but you know, contemplating morality of midget pit fighting. Then again we're Salikai's.

C. try to socialize with the Kabot's all at once, maybe try spicing B1's food with a little bit of drowsy medication and try playing with it. Actually make this a new rule: to no longer get unruley Kabot's spike their foods with knock up drugs so they're not angry.

Hm, do some research to see if something in their genome can counter a gun. Right now, that long tongue might be able to disarm Butler1 at range, but at the same time I'm wary of mutating simply to meet the next test's criteria.
Also, our dad promised no physical harm would come to the participants in the test(s.) Maybe he only meant the first one, but maybe that gun won't be loaded with bullets.

B: Long Tongue on the B line so we have Long Tongue and Big Legs on the clone.

planning: Long Tongue could be enough to ensure victory: train the resultant leg-tongue clone to snatch weapons from opponents. That gives us an extra action, which we should use on research.

Be sure to isolate your control kabot from your experimental kabots. As you make them more powerful and aggressive, they might succeed in killing your control, which would ruin any chance of experimenting with new combinations of mutations. They might succeed in killing you.

tippler 2023/05/18(Thu)16:10 No. 1064046 ID: 9ea24b
File 168445145717.png - (96.47KB , 500x500 , p19.png )

>Free action: Isolate A1
With B1 and B2 growing more aggressive, you take A1 out of the terrarium and keep it in a smaller and unfurnished temporary enclosure. It gets a sad look in its big eyes.

>Growth
You notice the Kabots are elongating and losing some of their baby fat as they mature. All remain quadrupedal and nonverbal.

>No physical harm during tests
That statement only applied to the first test. Physical harm to the volunteered Kabot is very much possible in all future tests.

tippler 2023/05/18(Thu)16:16 No. 1064048 ID: 9ea24b
File 168445181407.png - (79.97KB , 500x500 , p20.png )

>Give B1 another ability and clone
You consider giving B1 the long tongue gene since it’s already socialized to fight Arkots and the gene will show just in time for the test. You decide to do this and clone it, because why not.

>Contemplate ethics of using Arkots as Kabot punching bags
The Arkots are paid extra for extraneous activities. Technically if the Arkots were upset with their compensation they could quit and find work elsewhere.

B1’s tongue will start to grow and it’ll be moved into the BC category at the end of your third action. BC1 is born. Its tongue can stretch as long as its body and it appears to spend more time searching the terrarium for live prey than the B line. The vermin that sneak inside the lab are too small for a meaningful meal, though local insect life would make a perfect sized snack for a creature like BC1.

What would you like to do next?
A. Commission another terrarium
B. Research more mutations
C. Train BC1

Ask Daddy to buy you a second terrarium.

C. Attach bugs to a mock gun and train it to tongue guns.

>>1064054
second this

>>1064054
Good idea

>>1064054
Yeah

tippler 2023/05/19(Fri)13:23 No. 1064112 ID: 9ea24b
File 168452783396.png - (119.44KB , 500x500 , p21.png )

>C, train BC1 to grab guns with its tongue using bugs
You ask a few groundskeepers to catch you some insects, which requires enough strength and coordination that you recruit one of the rogue Neumonos to the team. She looks permanently exhausted and groans audibly when you tell her about the job.

She asks what you’re working on in the lab so she can sell the information to the Tourism hive and you stammer and excuse yourself. Your dad would be disappointed at your lack of enterprising spirit.

At the end of the day the Neumono delivers a selection of alive and dead pests.

tippler 2023/05/19(Fri)13:24 No. 1064113 ID: 9ea24b
File 168452784770.png - (132.42KB , 500x500 , p22.png )

You feed BC1 a few bits of bug to get its appetite working, then check out an unloaded pistol from the armory and start the training. After some repetition and positive reinforcement, BC1 becomes adept at snatching the gun out of your grasp with its sticky tongue. The BC line seems more patient and less physically active than the B line.

What would you like to do for your last action before the test? BC1 has not been trained to jump on Arkots.

>>1064113
Rip in pepperoni Vibrava.

I suppose we should train BC1 to jump on Arkots. Teach it a game for jumping on top of things using A2. The winner gets a treat and pets if they hold the loser down long enough.

Socialize B1 and BC1 with arkot stomping day.

tippler 2023/05/20(Sat)14:00 No. 1064197 ID: 9ea24b
File 168461643889.png - (95.61KB , 500x500 , p23.png )

>Current Kabots
You have A1 the original, B1 the soon to be BC2 at the end of this action, B2 the formerly A2 who has not been trained in Arkot obliteration, and BC1.

>Train BC1 to be aggressive with B1 as a model
This doesn’t work very well. B1 isn’t as interested in insects as an incentive and BC1 is unwilling to jump unless it needs to. This leads to B1, who’s already a pro Arkot stomper, repeating what it learned while BC1 watches from the sidelines. They don’t show any understanding when you try to explain your intentions. You’re starting to run into the limits of what the Kabots can learn without an intelligence boost.

Which Kabot do you volunteer for the test vs. an armed Butler1? If a Kabot loses Butler1 will adopt it if it’s still alive.
A. BC1
B. BC2
C. B2

Time to test BC1 on what we've taught him.

>>1064197
A. BC1 can at least disarm the arkot. It might figure out that Butler1 is hostile and use its legs during the fight enough to win...

>>1064197
BC1

>>1064197
BC1

tippler 2023/05/21(Sun)09:21 No. 1064278 ID: 9ea24b
File 168468611330.png - (71.02KB , 500x500 , p24.png )

>BC1
You take BC1 to the arena where your dad and Butler1 are waiting, and place it in the sand. There’s newly installed clear bulletproof shields in front of the spectator seating.

When Butler1 raises his tiny pistol, BC1 immediately snags the weapon with its tongue. Expecting an attached tasty treat, it hunches over the gun and starts pawing at it.

>Gun safety check: Failure
There’s a sharp pop and BC1 squeaks and thrashes around for a moment before collapsing. Butler1 cautiously approaches the body and retrieves his gun before confirming the kill with a point blank headshot.

tippler 2023/05/21(Sun)09:21 No. 1064279 ID: 9ea24b
File 168468611946.png - (82.91KB , 500x500 , p25.png )

You gape at the poor crumpled corpse of BC1 as your dad pats you on the head.

“How about you give this test another try in three more actions, son? I’ll take care of the cleanup.”

You have three Kabots remaining. How do you feel? What’s your first action?
A. Research (learn about 3 possible mutations)
B. Mutate and/or Clone
C. Interact (Kabots can be interacted with separately or together)

That uh... that... wasn't a failure. Technically not a failure! The arkot was good as defeated without that gun, against those thicc phat thighs. You simply need to adjust the gun capturing behavior so that the kabot doesn't shoot themselves dead pawing at it.

...you may want to use one of your actions to clone a backup of the experimental kabot in case the next trial is also "technically not a failure."

A. We need another plan, which means a different mutation. If we don't get anything good we can just do extra training.

A. Get more mutations.

>>1064279
>you did not need to shoot it i could just have patched it up

>>1064279
C. Cuddle A1. Since we've got him separate from the others, it seems like we're not training him to fight, so we migjt as well treat him like a pet and cuddle with him!

>>1064279
A.

A. Let's do some more science. Gun safety is not currently in their repertoire.
As a plan B, you could also teach them to drop the item and come to you on command, preventing them from poking at the gun.

tippler 2023/05/21(Sun)19:07 No. 1064333 ID: 9ea24b
File 168472127941.png - (90.03KB , 500x500 , p26.png )

>You could have healed BC1 after the accidental first gunshot
You’d feel worse about that if BC1 was sentient or irreplaceable.

>Research, you need a new strategy
You discover the following three mutations:

12. Improved digestion (Kabots need less food to survive)
14. Flexible body
24. Friendly/Socialization (you think this could have the side effect of making the Kabots more intelligent!)

Mutation 24 looks very promising. You can also now trigger multiple mutations at the same time, if you’d like.

Which Kabot out of A1, BC2, and B2 do you mutate and clone, and with what?

Give B2 mutations 14 and 24. Let's try an alternate approach of dodging instead of disarming. Hopefully Butler1's a bad shot against moving targets.

>>1064333
Give BC2 mutation 24, start training it (and its clone) to dodge away if someone points a gun at it.

>>1064337
Seconded

tippler 2023/05/22(Mon)16:37 No. 1064366 ID: 9ea24b
File 168479867349.png - (99.76KB , 500x500 , p27.png )

>Mutate and clone B2 with 14 and 24
You name the resulting clone BDE1. It comes out of the biotank long and lanky, even with the strong legs mutation. BDE1 is prone to bursts of rapid movement and is better at running than hopping.

You notice that BDE1 rubs against your legs when you come into the terrarium to give food and pets. It chirps in response when you talk to the assembled B Kabots and you get the sense that it’s picking up simple words.

How would you like to interact with BDE1 for your last action?

>>1064366
Use a dart gun to train BDE 1 to avoid being shot.

Well, I was gonna suggest teaching it to zig-zag to a hostile, but the non-lethal gun thing is especially gud. Grab an arkot to fire at it - feed it once the arkot's gun is gone and it's subdued.

Teach him to dodge your shots and to tackle.

>>1064366
Poor A1 is feeling neglected back there. Go give him some attention!

>>1064366
If we have to use projectiles to help our new buddy dodge, make sure we use a nerf foam dart gun as a starter, and maybe throw in some incentives to make them dodge more often like snacks and play time.

tippler 2023/05/23(Tue)16:22 No. 1064425 ID: 9ea24b
File 168488417344.png - (110.59KB , 500x500 , p28.png )

>How’s A1 doing?
Still sad and isolated in an unfurnished cell. You haven’t had the time to spend an action on installing a heat lamp or running water.

>Use a foam dart gun to train BDE1 to avoid being shot
BDE1 is thrilled when you take it aside to play–er, train. It loves the Arkots you bring in for practice, often licking their pointy faces and vocalizing to imitate their clicks. You notice it imitating your stance and mannerisms, so you show it how to be evasive by zigzagging across the floor.

The hard part is getting BDE1 to attack the Arkots. You have to disguise it as more play and have the servants make happy clicks when you show BDE1 how to tackle them from behind.

tippler 2023/05/23(Tue)16:23 No. 1064426 ID: 9ea24b
File 168488420018.png - (92.00KB , 500x500 , p29.png )

Finally it’s time to retry the test. BDE1 starts talking in a mix of clicks and your language when it spots Butler1 in the arena. Butler1 seems less willing to shoot at the creature.

>Butler1 shoot check: Failure
Butler1 keeps the gun pointed at the ground as BDE1 wiggles towards him. It licks his cheek and looks up at you. You give the order to tackle and it takes Butler1 down and lays over him.

tippler 2023/05/23(Tue)16:23 No. 1064427 ID: 9ea24b
File 168488421551.png - (89.80KB , 500x500 , p30.png )

Your dad is very pleased with the improvement. The final test against Butler1 and Arkots in general will be a test of wits in the highly intellectual game of Tic-Tac-Toe. You have three more actions.

Honestly BDE1 could learn Tic-Tac-Toe in one action, which means you have two actions to improve your operation.

What would you like to do first? B2 will be renamed to BDE2 at the end of your first action.

>>1064427
Fix A1's enclosure. Install a heat lamp and running water!

>>1064428
Yup.

And for the second free action, more research.

Upgrade second enclosure. What else could improve our operation? Refinements to the mutation process, or maybe just sitting down and making an org chart to track which specimens have which traits.

UPGRADE 24 FOR ERRYBODY because D'AWWWWWW!

tippler 2023/05/24(Wed)17:12 No. 1064501 ID: 9ea24b
File 168497352381.png - (125.35KB , 500x500 , p31.png )

>Get another nice terrarium for A1
Your dad puts you in touch with the contracting company that does all the construction on the estate. The foreman in charge of the work on the first terrarium comes over to discuss payment and timeframe.

He’s a dingy brown Tobak with a bulky pair of cybernetic goggles fused to his face. Understandable, since it’d be hard to work above ground with only standard issue light protection.

tippler 2023/05/24(Wed)17:12 No. 1064502 ID: 9ea24b
File 168497353967.png - (64.57KB , 500x500 , p32.png )

You let BDE1 out of its cage to scamper after you during all sorts of activities, so it’s out in the open and listening while the foreman speaks. BDE1’s language skills are improving every day, at a rate that makes you worried and just a tiny bit jealous. It doesn’t show any interest in research or computers, so you’ll let it slide for now.

What would you like to do next?
A. Research more mutations
B. Mutate and clone BC2 with the friendly gene

B, social creatures need friends after all.

>>1064502
B. It'll be good to have some spares.

>>1064502
A.

>>1064502

Do you remember when you were improving your language skills? How do you know you didn't improve them even faster? No jealousy allowed, only science!

Pay the tobak in all the ice cream and steak he wants. (Don't tell him the steak came from BC1.)

>>1064501
>in regards to payment
Tobak's are really food oriented. Hook him up with some of the planet side fooderies you know of within his price range, and usual pay.

>>1064502
>just a tiny bit jealous
lmao just clone yourself one day and try to apply an intelligence booster to your clone before considering doing it to yourself. Two heads are better than one, and hey! You'd maybe finally, technically have a brother!

A. Research more mutations
The more the merrier.

>>1064515
Now, origianlly i thought paying him in only food, or mostly substituting his pay of mostly food was kind of a dick move, but then i more or less remembered that most Tobak's from their homeworld and in some corperations more or less only get payed in corperate currencies, as opposed to universal credits. So, paying him in food might work if his company doesn't have any food (or at least tasty stuff) that he can purchase for a reasonable price.

Wait no that still wouldnt work. Assuming that he does not own the company, then his bosses would still need to be payed in normal munies for the services they and their employees provide, so the better thing to do would be to pay him normally to satisfy his superiors, and then maybe offer to buy him foods stuffs his company cannot provide (ice cream, donuts, steaks, pies). Assuming his company job is as shit as i think it is.

tippler 2023/05/25(Thu)18:36 No. 1064556 ID: 9ea24b
File 168506496587.png - (55.76KB , 500x500 , p33.png )

>How fast did you learn to talk?
Slower than BDE1. Your dad has records on you and your siblings’ development.

>Don’t be jealous, just do science!
That’s right! The Kabots are your test subjects no matter how linguistically adept they are.

>Are you paying the Tobaks in food?
The servant Arkots may be trained, but definitely don’t have the dexterity to make a pie or other dessert. No, you’re paying the contracting company in zeny, with plenty under the table for the foreman so he actually does a good job. He’ll have to go to the restaurants in town if he wants something other than a fruit smoothie or your namesake.

tippler 2023/05/25(Thu)18:36 No. 1064557 ID: 9ea24b
File 168506497485.png - (86.59KB , 500x500 , p34.png )

>Split decision check: B
You now have the following Kabots:
A1, who’s much happier with its new private terrarium

BC2, who’s terribly confused why all of its other Kabot brethren are being so chummy with each other

BDE1, who’s teaching the other friendly Kabot how to talk

BDE2, the freshly minted friendly and long Kabot

And newborn BCE1, who has trouble talking with so much tongue in its mouth

tippler 2023/05/25(Thu)18:36 No. 1064558 ID: 9ea24b
File 168506498346.png - (127.65KB , 500x500 , p35.png )

For your last action you teach BDE1 Tic Tac Toe, which it masters easily and plays Butler1 to a draw in a best of three, chattering the whole time. Butler1 looks sad when he has to leave.

You’re startled when your dad brings in the Tobak foreman and explains that the next test will be against him. The chosen Kabot will have to race the Tobak to a cake on a pedestal and eat the first bite, violence allowed.

You have three actions. What would you like to do first?
A. Research (learn about 3 possible mutations)
B. Mutate and/or Clone
C. Interact (Kabots can be interacted with separately or together, you can also interact with family members and future opponents)

>>1064558
Firstly, mutate and clone BCE 1 into BCDE 1. Legs for speed, tongue for reach, and brains for intelligence will make it a fine cake stealing rapscallion.

C, teach BCE1 to talk around its speech impediment.
Hmm, we'll need to lengthen those legs for a race.

May need research for this. No tobak is going to give up the chance for cake without a fight.

A. Research.

I don't think we really need long tongue for the race. It's interfering with the smart gene too; we should avoid mutation conflicts when reasonable.

>>1064558
I just wondering if dad is really doing this to advance our capability for problem solving and working around odd research objectives in the future, or just wants to have a hoot of a time while we do research.

You know, dad never explicitly mentioned what this violence might entail. For all we know the Tobak forman might be allowed to use a nailgun to shoot one of the kabots. Maybe we can bribe/feed him a cupcake with laxatives inside so he bails out mid race.

I assume that we are as much of a test subject as the kabots are, but maybe I am reading too much into old salikai stereotypes.

>>1064612
Oh its called chores or a test you gice children a managable but challenging task so they learn things like responsibility, work ethic, criticall thinking

tippler 2023/05/26(Fri)18:43 No. 1064627 ID: 9ea24b
File 168515179688.png - (90.16KB , 500x500 , p36.png )

>Wait, is this whole thing some kind of experimental test on you?
Your dad always said fatherhood was the greatest science project of all. He’s probably studying how well you’re practicing responsibility, critical thinking, and work ethic.

>Is the foreman allowed weapons?
For this first test, no, he’ll be empty handed.

>Can you bribe the foreman?
Your father encourages this strategy, though it’ll take an action and become less effective after the first time.

tippler 2023/05/26(Fri)18:43 No. 1064628 ID: 9ea24b
File 168515180595.png - (107.63KB , 500x500 , p37.png )

>Can long tongue Kabots be taught to speak?
No, it seems like they’re physically unable to. They can learn to understand language though.

>A, research
You discover the following mutations:
5. Straight up intelligence boost without physical side effects
10. Sexual reproduction
19. Gills for breathing underwater

You found some super cool mutations this time. What’s your next action? BC2 has become BCE2 so all of the B Kabots are socializing and sharing information now.

Wait, your father gene modded them to be incapable of breeding? ...this is for the best until we get a good baseline minion. Intelligence boosts all around! No clones necessary.
Maybe we can teach our long tongued minion to trip the tobak instead. Save the bribery for a more complex trial.

Train the long-legged kabots to race.

Posit one. Don't have a high enough population for hot kabot sex to be more useful than induced mutation and cloning.
Posit two. You are a horny teenager.
Conclusion: hurr hurr

>>1064628
Maybe we should put off more intelligence boosts for now.

Mutate and clone BCE1 to have strong legs as well as tongue. Maybe when there are two they'll figure out sign language.

tippler 2023/05/26(Fri)20:37 No. 1064639 ID: 9ea24b
File 168515863110.png - (84.15KB , 500x500 , p38.png )

I can see the letter system for mutations is getting confusing, so everything is now summarized in the new wiki page here: https://questden.org/wiki/Kabot_Quest

Note that all of the B Kabots have the strong leg gene already.

>>1064629 This. Perhaps also place food near a faux-cake, give the food to the first to bite the prop.

tippler 2023/05/28(Sun)08:57 No. 1064682 ID: 9ea24b
File 168528944984.png - (102.31KB , 500x500 , p39.png )

>Train the B Kabots to race
At the moment, you’d say the B Kabots are as intelligent as Neumono children in primary school. Herding all four at once is near impossible, especially with BDE1 distracting you with increasingly difficult to answer questions.

“Salad, are you our papa? Do we have a mama? Is that machine in the room our mama?”

“Salad, can I see Butler1 again? I liked playing with him.”

“Why do we want to take the cake from the nice Tobak man? He seemed like he wanted the cake more than us.”

Training turns into unstructured playtime and exploration despite your best efforts at kibble bribery. The Kabots need better incentives, positive or negative, to do what you want.

What is your last action before the test?

It's time for fatherly encouragement.

Tell your wonderful kabots that you are trying to become a great creator of life, and want your kabots to be the best being they can posibly be.

That's why your father, their grandad, gives you challenges and tests to prove that you are actually making an effort.

If he keeps failing, grandpa will call him a bad creator and give away all the kabots to the workers.
That's why it's important that we train fast, train hard, and get. That. Cake!

>>1064682
Do we still have the original untainted? If so goodm
Culling is always a option or starting a religion

Interact, try to come up with better motivation. Make up medals for them to win, they look good and can be turned in for new toys. You're not taking the cake from the tobak man, you're trying to win a game, and the tobak doesn't want the medals as much as you do, because he can't turn them in to get toys. He can get his cake and toys elsewhere.

Alright if we can't train all of them, just train two.

Yes! No. Yes.

Ask him.

You don't have to take the cake from him; you only have to get it first, to show you are the fastest. You can give it to him after that and make him happy, or eat it in front of him and drink his tears to wash it down. Wait no don't say that last part.

Unstructured playtime is important for intelligence. What do you want them to do, even? Only one can race the tobak, and your father has not hinted at what further challenges await. Ask for their help to escape your father's elaborate prison complex.

If all else fails, an excellent incentive would be to allow them all to watch while the latest version gets ripped in half by a tobak bound and determined to get that cake. That might reduce your standing in the eyes of your father, but it would allow you to train the next ones more effectively.

>>1064682
Oh god, is dad training you for fatherhood? Is this his twisted version of 'the talk'?

tippler 2023/05/29(Mon)12:18 No. 1064747 ID: 9ea24b
File 168538791052.png - (85.56KB , 500x500 , p40.png )

>Is your dad training you for fatherhood?
You’re much too young to have your own clutch, not to mention that the only females around are your sisters.

>You still have A1 and A1’s genome sample
If you really needed to, you could do a full purge at any time.

>Is your father keeping you prisoner?
Uh, no? As a side effect of being a child it’s in your best interests to live with your wealthy guardian in the giant awesome mansion, but you’re not forced to stay there or anything.

tippler 2023/05/29(Mon)12:18 No. 1064748 ID: 9ea24b
File 168538792377.png - (100.05KB , 500x500 , p41.png )

>Sit down with the B Kabots and have a serious talk
You speak honestly about your dream of becoming a great bioengineer and how you really want the Kabots to do well in their tests, or else they’ll be taken away.

The Kabots look uneasy at the thought of losing their other friends. You reassure them that they’re strong and smart, and all they have to do is follow your instructions for the tests and they’ll be fine. They can even give the rest of the cake to the Tobak after they take the first bite!

You invite all of the B Kabots to spectate the test. Which Kabot do you use? Within the same set of mutations the Kabots can be considered identical.

A. Use a BDE Kabot (flexible and long)
B. Use a BCE Kabot (tongue)

>>1064748
BCE. They only need to take the first bite, and snagging some with their tongue should count.

BCE.

B. Losing one won't be a big loss since they can't talk anyway.

>>1064748
I dont remember if we've done this or not, but dont forget to retroactively get extra samples to put in cold storage in case the ones we pick die, or we need to start over from square one.

tippler 2023/05/30(Tue)16:38 No. 1064809 ID: 9ea24b
File 168548993667.png - (82.95KB , 500x500 , p42.png )

>Do you have genetic records of the other Kabots?
Yes, you can recreate any strain of mutation you’ve seen before.

>Use a BCE Kabot for the test:
BCE Kabots have a long tongue and are sturdier than the BDE strain. As they age, they seem to grow squat and sedentary. Even if the foreman attacks one, they’ll probably survive.

The foreman and BCE1 are placed side by side about 10 meters from the cake, some dense coffee smelling mass, which rests on a plain table.

tippler 2023/05/30(Tue)16:39 No. 1064810 ID: 9ea24b
File 168548994989.png - (120.10KB , 500x500 , p43.png )

>Tobak attack check: Success
The foreman immediately dives for BCE1, who’s so startled at the aggressive moment it doesn’t leap away. The Tobak gets a good grip around the Kabot’s middle, then starts walking toward the cake.

>BCE1 tongue check: Failure
BCE1 is being held in an awkward position facing backwards, so it can’t steal away a bit of cake despite its desperate wiggling. The foreman reaches his prize and takes a huge bite of the dessert.

You’ve lost! The foreman hands over BCE1 to your father while the other Kabots wail in dismay.

Your dad talks over the crying Kabots, telling you that he’ll take care of BCE1 and that you can try again at the same test in three more actions. What do you do first?

Research. Perhaps there's some Salikai DNA in them somewhere that can teach them to be cunning.

Research.

>>1064814 We already have that one. See #5.

>>1064861
Clearly there is more than one mutation that affects intelligence.

>>1064870 Well, yeah. Just pointing out we have not applied #5, as opposed to #24, which we have applied.

Research.

>>1064875
Wait, we haven't? Oh, changing to that then. Don't clone a new one, apply to all but A1.

tippler 2023/05/31(Wed)16:51 No. 1064915 ID: 9ea24b
File 168557708747.png - (89.96KB , 500x500 , p44.png )

It was plain bad luck that you lost, but surely there are more mutations that could give your Kabots an even better chance of winning against a Tobak.

>Research
You discover the following mutations:
1. Hard scales
3. Fins for swimming
8. Poisonous (skin toxins)

The wiki has been updated with your current Kabots, their mutations, and known potential mutations: https://questden.org/wiki/Kabot_Quest

What would you like to do next?
A. Mutate and clone a B Kabot with the intelligence mutation
B. Other (suggest)

Well, poison would mean the Tobak can't touch the Kabot. We can mutate+clone one of the BDEs to have that mutation... meh. I'm more partial to training the two BDEs to race. They're flexible which means they probably can't be restrained.

...okay I just noticed Kabot is Tobak backwards. I'm guessing Kabots are related to Tobaks somehow. A genetic ancestor? A species put together from various inactive genes in Tobak DNA? Eh, maybe it's exactly as was stated and the name is just a joke.

Mutate & clone BDE1 with more intelligence.

>>1064915
Is there a reason we haven't been giving anything to A1? I think if we give it some intelligence boosting mutations, that'll result in us getting a lab assistant that could help us out by offering strategies or something!

>>1064957
I don't think we should do poison. Sure, it's useful for the challenge, but then after the challenge that poor Kabot won't be able to interact with us or the other Kabots because we might get poisoned also!

>>1064959
A1 is our control. We can't undo mutations, so having a Kabot with no traits is an excellent fallback point. I wish we could mutate *only* the clone...

That said it might be a good idea to make an A2 at some point.

>>1064810
Mutate BCE2 with hard scales. Poison would limit a Kabot's ability to interact with others, but hard scales would provide defense against Tobak grabbing too.

Adding too much intelligence could result in a Kabot revolt, as a budding bioengineer we must always be wary of being overthrown by our own creations.

tippler 2023/06/01(Thu)16:21 No. 1064977 ID: 9ea24b
File 168566166329.png - (94.53KB , 500x500 , p45.png )

>Mutations can’t be undone
True.

>Kind of inconvenient that creating new strains of mutant Kabots from A1 takes two actions
Also true. Let’s say that after this action you’ll be skilled enough to create mutated Kabots without needing to clone a predecessor.

>Making Kabots more intelligent would be bad
Yup, your actions towards them at this point are decidedly unethical since they’re sapient. Any smarter and they’d rebel for sure.

>Poisonous skin would also be bad
Yes, you’d be unable to handle the Kabots and they’d pose a threat depending how strong the toxins were.

tippler 2023/06/01(Thu)16:51 No. 1064979 ID: 9ea24b
File 168566351452.png - (70.88KB , 500x500 , p46.png )

>But for this action…
>B tie between mutating for hard scales and training: Mutate and clone BDE1
BDEF1 has a tough exterior and an almost armored head. It moves methodically and enjoys basking in the light of the heat lamp even more than the other Kabots.

What would you like to do next?
A. Make an entirely new kind of Kabot
B. Work with what you have

>>1064979
B. Spiky here will need some training and instruction before the test. Maybe the others can help.

>>1064977
So, where on the scale of legality are we at the moment?

>>1064977

Your actions can't be unethical. That would make fatherhood unethical! You're pretty sure this is what fatherhood is, right?

Darn, hard scales didn't make him any more better at achieving the cake. Fins would help if the cake were submerged in water, but it's not! The tobak isn't nearly as violent as anticipated, but the only way to stop him from just grabbing the next kabot is... the dangerous toxic skin.

Perhaps an earlier mutation? Reviewing your list, the camoflage mutation could be good, in an experiment where the kabot gets to hide first, which this is not. Darn it!

B, train the hard-scales kabot and the remaining non-scaled flexible kabot to race. It's possible that scales made the kabot too sedentary to want to race, so we need to hedge our bets.

Also it's much easier to train racing when there's someone to race against, so having two kabots doing it just makes sense.

B.
I think the strong legs and flexible body mutations are probably enough to win the race by simply rushing the cake.
Right now we should train all of them to race and pick the one with the best results.

In the future maybe we could create two distinct strains, one sapient and one non-sapient, so we don't end up forced to send friendly sociable kabots to a cage match to the death or something like that. We probably won't be able to optimise one strain for every challenges anyway, so having one smart/sociable strain and one physical/combat strain should be useful.
And trying the more experimental combinations on the non-sapients could help limit the chance of a "turned against their masters" situation.

tippler 2023/06/02(Fri)18:05 No. 1065045 ID: 9ea24b
File 168575433664.png - (105.96KB , 500x500 , p47.png )

>How legal is all this?
Kabots are a new species and have no legal protections. You’re not mistreating the Kabots, but you are kind of keeping them as test subjects aka prisoners and if they were Neumono or something similar you’d be in huge trouble with the Tourism hive.

>B, train the Kabots to race
The scaled Kabot can’t move as fast as the BDE Kabots, who are very eager to practice running with the fear of the foreman in them. You nominate BDE2 for the test.

You bring all the B Kabots to watch again, and are surprised to see a new servant trotting after your dad when he enters the room. It’s BCE1, but bipedal and stuffed into a darling little uniform. The other Kabots rush their old friend and demand to know what happened, but BCE1 still can’t speak and seems overwhelmed.

tippler 2023/06/02(Fri)18:05 No. 1065046 ID: 9ea24b
File 168575435092.png - (110.46KB , 500x500 , p48.png )

Your dad shoos away your Kabots and starts the test.

>Tobak attack check (1/4 chance success): Failure
BDE1 takes off in a sprint the moment it’s given permission, reaching the table with the cake in record time. There’s a tense moment when it’s trying to jump to get a swipe of coffee cake where the Tobak catches up, but it’s able to grab a handful and stuff it in its mouth before it takes any damage.

For the next test, your nominee will have to fight the foreman (neither party will be allowed weapons) until one side gives up. You have four actions. What would you like to do first?

A. Research
B. Create a new Kabot (combine any number of mutations)
C. Interact (with anyone)

Interact with Butler-CE1, perhaps via tea with father. See how taking in your failed test subjects factors into his plans.
Can you discreetly get a DNA sample on the side (tongue swab?) to see if your dad got him bipedal with further modification or just training?

Dad must be angling to profit from this somehow. Maybe selling Kabots as servants in a Ponzi scheme until some rights committee shuts it down.

Train BDEF1 for combat by cloning it and training them with each other.

A. We've already got a winning genetic combination with hard scales, legs, and flexibility.

>>1065046
Contemplate how morality is viewed by your species, then idividually by your family members, and if your father is just being lazy and wants you to do science for him. This is weird but still kinda cool.

Hopefully once you're done with these trials you can do a little more independant experimenting, like maybe cheap growable power armor to sell so you can fund your 40k miniture collection.

A. We can always use more mutations.
We do have a winning combination (probably more than one), but we should make sure it's not friendly or the tobak might win by just being more willing to fight and not surrendering. Although if we do go this route we may need a separate terrarium for the unfriendly kabot.

Or we could just bribe the foreman, that's probably still a thing we can do.

>>1065056 Probably cost cutting. He paid butler arkot but does he have to pay butler kabot here? Without legally being sapient he can probably get away with paying in food.

tippler 2023/06/03(Sat)20:26 No. 1065137 ID: 9ea24b
File 168584916955.png - (79.42KB , 500x500 , p49.png )

>Contemplate morality as practiced by your family members
You’d say your dad is all about maximizing profits and his ability to stay alive long enough to enjoy those profits. Sort of a self-serving benevolence? It’s worked so far, since none of the Neumono government agents who have broken into his lair have blown him up.

Your sisters are more Salikai traditionalists when it comes to considering the consequences of their actions. Salli begged your dad to allow a CAI at the estate for her to toy with, and threw a fit when he refused. Your other sister, Salliad, is more interested in weapons systems and armored vehicles. Personally, you’re getting a touch uncomfortable with where the Kabot tests are going, though it’s your first real foray into advanced science.

tippler 2023/06/03(Sat)20:26 No. 1065138 ID: 9ea24b
File 168584917723.png - (126.52KB , 500x500 , p50.png )

>Take two actions
>First interact with your dad
You ask to have tea with your dear old pops to clarify a few things about his intentions with the Kabots. BCE1 serves you both, arms shaking slightly when handling the heavy teapot. You surreptitiously take a blood sample, which makes BCE1 squawk and hurry to your dad’s side of the table.

You voice your concerns to your dad, who praises you for feeling comfortable talking to him.

“Son, the Kabots were a gift. If I wanted a new species to exploit, I could have engineered them myself. I’m paying Butler2 here a very competitive salary and I have Butler1 looking after him, which benefits them both. The tests are to help you hone your skills in a relatively low stress environment.”

Your dad takes a long sip of hot mint tea. “If you want to stop your experiments, you may do so at any time and I’ll take care of the Kabots.”

tippler 2023/06/03(Sat)20:26 No. 1065139 ID: 9ea24b
File 168584918657.png - (144.03KB , 500x500 , p51.png )

>Second action
>Research
You discover the following mutations:
13. Omnivore (Will eat and enjoy all edible foods)
18. Regeneration (Can regrow limbs and recover from moderate injuries, similar to a Neumono)
21. Night Vision (Will be able to see better in the dark)

From BCE1’s blood sample you discover an additional mutation:
22. Bipedalism

What would you like to do next?
A. Make a new kind of Kabot
B. Bribe the foreman
C. Train existing Kabots to fight

Create a new Kabot with mutations 5, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 21 and 22, then send the strong legs kabot against the foreman's challenge.

>>1065139
C, train the hard scaled kabot to fight.

>>1065141
That's a pretty good kabot, but I'd swap Reproduction (10) for Friendly (24) until we have done some tests to understand how mutations are carried over from one generation to the next. Also it's probably going to turn against us quicker than you can say "perfect lifeform", but that's not that big of a deal, we will just need to handle it with care and be nice to it, it will be fiiiine.

Anyway, for the next challenge I'd say make a Strong leg (25) Flexible body (14) and Regeneration (18) kabot. And try adding Omnivore (13), to see if it makes it more aggressive. It's probably going to need more food anyway to sustain the Regeneration and this way we can more easily bribe it with food.
Then train it to fight targets you designate and only those, using food as an incentive.

>>1065145
Friendly and Intelligent is a forbidden combination. Friendly gene also interferes with combat training.

IMO, an optimized "soldier" kabot would be:
1. Hard scales
2. Color/camouflage
5. Intelligence
12. Improved digestion
13. Omnivore
14. Flexible body
18. Regeneration
19. Gills
21. Night Vision
22. Bipedal
25. Strong leg

I left out fins because they'd probably get in the way of on-land action, just like long tongue gets in the way of talking.

>>1065147
The first one is not a combat combination, at least it doesn't look like it to me, it's got things like Bipedal, Intelligent and Reproduction. More like an uplifted kabot ?
And it's already a combination that would cause some issues, so I think it's better to make it friendly rather than have a strong regenerating omnivorous nocturnal predator that's individualistic to boot. It's already smart and strong, at least this way you can interact with it more easily and being nice to it can give results.

The real danger I think comes from the Reproduction mutation. Aside from the risk of uncontrolled crossbreeding and the kabots making more kabots in secrets, there also the fact than once you introduce the means to reproduce you also introduce a need to reproduce. Then the uplifted kabot asks for a mate, it ends badly for a whole lot of reasons, the lab is burning, the kabots are escaping toward the nearby hive, pitchforks, torches, neumonos out for blood, and then dad wont let us play with genetic engineering ever again.

>>1065148
Yeah, that's probably the best we can do with the mutations we have, maybe add Poisonous too ? It's intelligent, it probably can manage to use its poison only as needed.
But we don't really need a killing machine for now, and with Intelligent + Flexible body + Color/Camouflage, it's going to be a nightmare to keep contained. And it would have no reason to obey us, or see us in a positive light.

Oh there's a whole spiel about how messed up it is that we're building purpose designed lifeforms for specific arbitrary tasks, though I'm pretty this (admittedly fictitious) quote says it all.
"My gift to industry is the genetically engineered worker, or Genejack. Specially designed for labor, the Genejack's muscles and nerves are ideal for his task, and the cerebral cortex has been atrophied so that he can desire nothing except to perform his duties. Tyranny, you say? How can you tyrannize someone who cannot feel pain?"
— Chairman Sheng-ji Yang
Even so, there's a way forward. Just complete the arbitrary tasks, then do what you should when you love something. Set it free. Give them the minds to decide their future for themselves. Give them the mutations they choose to have and let them go.

Oh, and I have to advocate always using 24 over 5 when we have to choose. Why? Simply because without the social framework they may use their minds in less moral ways.

>>1065142
+1 vote

tippler 2023/06/05(Mon)15:53 No. 1065217 ID: 9ea24b
File 168600562156.png - (109.54KB , 500x500 , p52.png )

>Make a super Kabot with a bunch of mutations
The unlucky Kabot emerges from the cloning tank stillborn and covered in tumors. Ah, there must be some kind of limit on how many mutations a Kabot can have before it becomes ill. BDEF1 and BDEF2 are still okay, but you’ll have to be careful as you add more mutations.

What would you like to do for your last action before the test?
A. Bribe the foreman
B. Train the BDEFs to fight
C. Other

A. They're just too good natured for a proper fight.

>>1065217
??? but there were two votes for training and only one vote to make a new mutation line... I thought we were just *discussing* making one with a bunch of mutations, not voting for it.

Anyway, B.

>>1065217
B.

>>1065227
I think it was a convenient moment to inform us of the mutation limit mechanic.

>>1065238
Well, true, but it's a difficult problem to even observe the full ramifications of. how many is too much? It's not clear how many mutations were even chosen there, since there was no consensus on what mutations to pick. Not to mention, calls into question what technology is being used to mutate the clones. Precise DNA manipulation wouldn't cause tumors.

>>1065240
could be regeneration bypassing some replication limit

It's a good thing we didn't discover that while trying to mutate some of our current kabots. We urgently need to experiment to learn what the limit is.

Anyway, I vote A, let's just bribe the guy. Promise him another cake. Freshly baked. With extra frosting.
We haven't got much to show for our efforts this time around, no point sending a kabot to a losing battle.
But if we absolutely must train them to fight, teach them to tickle. It's a way to force the foreman to submit without hurting him, and I don't think the kabots would have any problem with it, it's non violent enough. In fact, tell the kabots to do that event if you bribe the foreman, just in case.

>>1065217
Work on your bed side manners for fucks sake. Having the Kabot'a freak out every time you stab them to withdrawl blood isnt doing you any favors for them, especially the ones that are intelligent.

Also have you considered that, instead of giving the kabot's multiple genes at ones, give them a max of 3 genes, with mutations 10 and 24 being the base so they can keep breeding intelligent babies, then injecting the babies with mutations every off generation to ensure their genetics are stable.

tippler 2023/06/07(Wed)16:00 No. 1065307 ID: 9ea24b
File 168617885874.png - (111.46KB , 500x500 , p53.png )

>A/B tie check: A
You don’t have much to show for your previous three actions, and you want to keep all of your current Kabots safe and healthy. This means you decide to call in the foreman ahead of the test and pay him to throw the fight.

You wish he would bother to put in a little more effort to make it look convincing. When your father summons you to the little dirt arena, the Tobak basically lies down in the sand and lets BDEF1 sit on him.

tippler 2023/06/07(Wed)16:01 No. 1065308 ID: 9ea24b
File 168617886858.png - (102.89KB , 500x500 , p54.png )

Your father dismisses the foreman and congratulates you on learning the wonders of bribery. He gleefully informs you that the next time you try to bribe your opponents, he’ll pay them more to ignore you.

The next test will be a team endeavor, with three of your Kabots trying to complete a 200 piece puzzle before a Sect queen and two of her drones. You have four actions. You know having four mutations on a Kabot is feasible.

What would you like to do first?
A. Research
B. Mutate and/or Clone or create a new kind of Kabot
C. Interact (with anyone)

>>1065308
C

Let's teach all the Kabots how to put together 200 piece puzzles. Because if all of them learn how to do it, then it won't matter who is chosen as part of the team for the test!

The puzzle team needs a third who is limber enough to assemble puzzles dextrously and quickly, which the hard scale kabots are not. Clone a new kabot with bipedal, strong legs, social smarts and a flexible body.
Set aside some of the kabots' treat budget to 'bribe' the sect drones with, possibly causing them to disassociate from their hive and be thrust into a scary new world of sensations alone so that you can win at jigsaw puzzles.

>>1065308
C. Play puzzles with the kabots as a group. Figure out which ones work well together.

We can use our second action to research. And for our third action we can spray the kabots with stinky cologne that will distract the Sects from their communication pheromones.

C. We have four kabots, let's have them all try the puzzle together. If one of the kabots doesn't perform well then we'll know which one to leave out of the test.

Mutate BCE2, BDE1 and BDE2 with the bipedal (22) mutation so they have free limbs to better manipulate things with. Then train them to work as a team.

tippler 2023/06/08(Thu)15:35 No. 1065348 ID: 9ea24b
File 168626372320.png - (128.96KB , 500x500 , p55.png )

>C, teach all the B Kabots how to do a puzzle
They’re surprisingly receptive to the new activity. You show them the basics of finding the corner and edge pieces first and then building in from that, as well as how to work on separate pieces of the puzzle then put them together at the end.

Once you leave them unsupervised, BDE2 gets distracted pretty quickly while BCE2, BDEF1, and BDEF2 stay focused. BCE2 can’t communicate with its fellow Kabots, but putting together a puzzle doesn’t require much talking anyway.

You do notice they have trouble handling the small puzzle pieces. Their three-fingered feet aren’t as dextrous as your pincers or Sect hands, though they can kind of squat and work with their front limbs well enough despite being quadrupedal.

What is your second action?
A. Research
B. Mutate and/or Clone or create a new kind of Kabot
C. Interact (with anyone)

It would really help your team to mutate and clone one of them to gain some bipedal puzzle pioneers. I nominate BCE2 because you can teach them sign language subsequently.

Pipedal mutation doesn't change their hands, so we have no useful mutations here.
Looks like we have our 3 candidates.

Next action:
A, research.

>>1065348
A Research.

B. Mutates BC2 with the bipedal mutation.
I think being bipedal would help, the butler kabot was bipedal and was able to serve tea and act as a butler. At the very least it would help them move around while holding puzzle pieces, even if it doesn't improves their hands.

C: interact with our estranged father

tippler 2023/06/09(Fri)13:37 No. 1065458 ID: 9ea24b
File 168634302581.png - (76.96KB , 500x500 , p56.png )

>Think about your mother
She’s dead, you never got to meet her and honestly you don’t feel bad about it. You don’t think she and your dad got along, they had an arrangement for reproductive purposes only.

>B then A for the third action
If you mutate BCE2 with bipedalism now, it’ll be walking by the time of the test, so you decide to do that first. The clone is named BCEG1 and toddles around over the heads of the other Kabot.

tippler 2023/06/09(Fri)13:37 No. 1065459 ID: 9ea24b
File 168634303686.png - (72.56KB , 500x500 , p57.png )

While you’re preparing BCEG1, you notice some quiet footsteps coming from the vents above you. You’re already planning to do research for your next action, but what do you want to do about the potential intruder?

A. Ask your sister Salliad to take care of it
B. Try to talk to them yourself
C. Nothing

>>1065459
B. Sis will probably just shoot it and it might be one of the kabots that got lost.

>>1065459
B

B.
But make sure your kabots are safe first.

B: You gotta take responsibility, and if you run to your sisters they're going to lord it over your head.

A. Siiiis, there's a bug in my room!

tippler 2023/06/09(Fri)19:02 No. 1065484 ID: 9ea24b
File 168636252989.png - (99.09KB , 500x500 , p58.png )

>B
Salliad would almost certainly make fun of you for asking for help and then also activate the autonomous turret system she built into the air ducts. The whole estate would smell like rotten meat for weeks. Better for you to take care of this yourself.

You’re a little nervous as you fetch a tall broom and make sure the Kabots are safe inside their terrarium. Having a spy infiltrate your lab is practically a Salikai rite of passage but you’re not sure how they’ll react when you get their attention. They’re not going to shoot you, right? You’re not a fan of being shot.

tippler 2023/06/09(Fri)19:03 No. 1065486 ID: 9ea24b
File 168636263038.png - (109.41KB , 500x500 , p59.png )

You putter around until you hear the footsteps again, then thump the metal vent with the broom handle.

“Hey, I know you’re there! Please come out, I’m not going to hurt you and we can talk about why you were sent here.”

You wait anxiously until the nearest vent pops open and the Rin-Reida crawling around your pipes turns off his cloaking suit.

“I’m being paid to find out what you’re doing with these creatures. Bioengineering tends to make the higher ups pretty nervous.”

A. Tell him everything
B. Smack him with the broom
C. Other (suggest)

C - Harvest him for Genmat Tell him this is your apprenticeship and your dad explicitly told you he gave you this job for the work experience, he doesn't have any plans for 'illegal' bioengineering other than as your student workshop.

B. Says the half-spider rabbit making scary noises in my ducts! Alexa, turn on the ceiling ventilators.

Perhaps you could flip this... go on the offensive with questions yourself! ..."Higher ups?" Who are they, the tourism hive? For that matter why am I considered more worth watching than my sis who has a whole arsenal? Like, seriously, you're lucky I didn't get her to deal with you. Seriously though, I'm just starting out - get a bureaucratic regulator down here if you really to keep an eye on my work stuff. Why, I'd almost encourage that so that there's no doubt I'm within ethical bounds. Seriously, does anybody ask nicely before sending spies? Sure, perhaps if I was working on virological gain-of-function I'd get this, but I'm nowhere close to microbial testing! ...Oh wait you're a Rin-Reida? Like with psychic powers? How about a deal, one lab inspection for a blood sampling? (Oh, and if he does let slip who the higher ups are have your dad sue the pants off them for violating private property of his)

>>1065486
C, tell him the minimum. Basically, it's just some kind of test your dad is putting you through. No end goal as far as you know. He's wasting his time snooping around here, not worth risking his life over. Now get out before someone turns on the turrets.

>>1065495 Oh, new idea here. He's getting paid like a mercenary so perhaps that could be used. Like, ask what they pay him to do this. Have your dad offer 3x, 5x, 10x, whateverx, to flip on his employers so he has a witness that he can use to sue the pants off these guys.

>>1065497
This.
"It's a student project. Please leave, if my sisters hear you you'll die and my room will smell like your ass forever."

I'm learning the basics of bioengineering! I don't know what the ultimate purpose of this is beyond that! And who are these higher ups?

Teaching them to put together a puzzle? Trying to be a responsible pet owner?

>>1065486
B.

Maybe we should consider making a non-sapient kobot to use as an attack dog so we dont have to deal with things like this.

>>1065486
Tell the truth but without detail

"My dad is testing me and wants me to make them able to play chess"

C.
Tell him you will reveal everything if he accepts to face your creations... in a puzzle competition. They need to practice against an opponent. The kabots are harmless, it will be easy to tell if he interacts with them.
Even if he refuses tell him it is a student project, your kabots are friendly and harmless, and you are currently trying to train them to solve puzzles as a team. Reassure him you are trying to be ethical about it.
Don't tell him you could make dangerous kabots with the mutations you have discovered or that they can be trained to fight, that would make him worry.

tippler 2023/06/10(Sat)12:20 No. 1065555 ID: 9ea24b
File 168642483646.png - (92.80KB , 500x500 , p60.png )

>Higher ups?
He clarifies that he’s been hired by the Tourism hive and refuses your obligatory bribe offer.

>Take a blood sample
You’ve heard rumors that Rin-Reida have psychic powers and you’re suddenly dying to get a blood sample. When you inch forward the spy gives you a warning glare and you ruefully stay put.

>C, tell the truth but be vague
You summarize how your dad is helping you improve your bioengineering skills and that the Kabots are harmless and well-treated. You also politely point out that the estate is private property and that everything you’re doing is legal and that your sister is really into putting guns everywhere.

tippler 2023/06/10(Sat)12:20 No. 1065556 ID: 9ea24b
File 168642484310.png - (164.54KB , 500x500 , p61.png )

The spy mulls over the information for a moment. “So this is a sentient species that you’re experimenting on.”

“Er…they weren’t sentient before.”

“Right. I’ll leave you alone now, thanks for talking to me.”

The spy shuts the vent and you listen closely until he’s out of earshot before going back to your workbench.

tippler 2023/06/10(Sat)12:20 No. 1065557 ID: 9ea24b
File 168642485060.png - (115.16KB , 500x500 , p62.png )

>Research
You discover the following three mutations:
4. Frills (purely cosmetic)
16. Slime (layer on the skin)
20. Warm-Blooded (Kabots are default cold-blooded)

You’re a little disappointed by the new mutations, since none seem like they’d help with doing puzzles or fighting a swarm of giant bees.There are six unknown mutations left to study.

What would you like to do for your last action?
A. Research
B. Mutate and/or Clone or create a new kind of Kabot
C. Interact (with anyone)

C: More puzzle lessons.

C. Interact with the kabots

>>1065557
C: ask your father what the mutation limit is caused by. Reproduction is classified as a mutation so if the system is consistent then somehow that's contributing to instability despite it being definitely part of the baseline animal. It's strange, and suggests that maybe it's a limit built-in to the machines you were given for the task.

>>1065557
C. Put stinky cologne on the puzzle doing kabots to distract the bees.

>>1065576

You monster. I love it.

B. Try creating a brand new kabot with 5 mutations, to see if it's the limit.
I suggest Fins, Slime, Gills, Night Vision, Strong leg. A fish-kabot.

>>1065557
Consider adding tiny needles to the vents around your room so that you can automatically collect blood samples from future intruders

>>1065607
Brilliant. Let's add this to our to do list.

tippler 2023/06/11(Sun)08:50 No. 1065613 ID: 9ea24b
File 168649862257.png - (117.69KB , 500x500 , p63.png )

>C, more puzzle training
Puzzle time is once again an enjoyable and productive experience. You also steal some of Salli’s perfume to spray on the Kabots, who don’t seem to mind the cloying smell.

>Where does the mutation limit come from?
Once you arrive at the test, you ask your dad and he confirms that he put a five mutation limit on A1 and subsequently every Kabot you cloned from it. Butler2 is also there and gazes at your chattering group of Kabots with longing.

>Puzzle test success check (85% success): Success
As you watch the test, you realize Sect are uniquely bad at doing puzzles because of their poor eyesight. It doesn’t help that they’re getting distracted by the sweet perfume you doused the Kabots with. Your team easily finishes the puzzle with plenty of time to spare.

tippler 2023/06/11(Sun)08:50 No. 1065614 ID: 9ea24b
File 168649863232.png - (139.52KB , 500x500 , p64.png )

As expected, the next test will involve unarmed combat against the Sect trio. Your father also warns you that the Tourism hive got word of the Kabots and is currently drafting legislation to make them a protected species. Once that happens, you’ll have to stop your experiments and the remaining Kabots will be turned over to the Neumono. He estimates this will happen sometime after the next test.

You have four actions. What would you like to do first?
A. Research
B. Mutate and/or Clone or create a new kind of Kabot
C. Interact (with anyone, including the Tourism hive)

Could a sufficiently mutated kabot be far enough from the genetic baseline that you could argue it isn't covered by the legislation?
Clone a new kabot: bipedal, strong legs, social smarts and flexible body.

Set up a meeting with the tourism hive. With lawyers. Worst case, we delay them with lawyer bureaucratic requests, while best case we set up a deal positive for both sides.

>>1065615
Oh, and one more mod: chameleon.

You know, if they want them that badly you could spend some time making some very annoying combinations, all of them with reproduction, so they would end up with fast reproducing pests that they just prevented themselves from being able to harm because now it's a protected species. Anything with Reproduction, Omnivorous and Warm-Blooded should be able to survive on its own, which leaves two slots to improve survivability or potential to be annoying.
Like Reproduction + Omnivore + Warm-Blooded + Improved digestion + Regeneration. Good luck stopping it from proliferating.
Or Reproduction + Omnivore + Warm-Blooded + Flexible body + Slime. Gross to handle, extra likely to escape, leaves slime everywhere.
And with some luck you could try hiding away your current kabots while you surrender the horde of new kabots to them.

The responsible thing to do would be to start by talking to the hive. Plead your case, you are not causing harm and the experience of being responsible for a new species has made you more responsible and empathetic.
Then once they inevitably refuse, you still have three actions to be as petty as possible, and at least you have tried.