Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread

[RedDwarfIV]

Why, at their tech level, do Loroi not clone/tube-grow a load of males to even it out?

Vat-growing a person isn't possible at this tech level. They could tinker with the conception process to make more embryos male, but why would they want to do that? There are enough males to keep all of the females constantly pregnant (if that was what they wanted), and if there weren't they could just use artificial insemination. The Loroi don't have a problem with how their system works. They consider the small number of males to be a good thing, since they're essentially economic dead weight.

Even at our tech level it would be possible to take a nucleus from a male, and put it in an egg cell (preferably Loroi or a closely related animal, but iSCNT is a thing too) and you'd get a clone. To avoid age problems, you'd use a young male. Of course, SCNT is very resource and time intensive, and we haven't figured out a way to automate it. But it would be possible. You'd then grow the embryo in a surrogate.

Would this, or a more advanced version of it, still be unfeasible?

[Arioch]

Even at our tech level it would be possible to take a nucleus from a male, and put it in an egg cell (preferably Loroi or a closely related animal, but iSCNT is a thing too) and you'd get a clone. To avoid age problems, you'd use a young male. Of course, SCNT is very resource and time intensive, and we haven't figured out a way to automate it. But it would be possible. You'd then grow the embryo in a surrogate.

Sure, you can clone a male embryo, or manipulate a female embryo to make it male. But why would you want to?

[RedDwarfIV]

Even at our tech level it would be possible to take a nucleus from a male, and put it in an egg cell (preferably Loroi or a closely related animal, but iSCNT is a thing too) and you'd get a clone. To avoid age problems, you'd use a young male. Of course, SCNT is very resource and time intensive, and we haven't figured out a way to automate it. But it would be possible. You'd then grow the embryo in a surrogate.

Sure, you can clone a male embryo, or manipulate a female embryo to make it male. But why would you want to?

For the possibility of the equalising, or at least reducing the imbalance a bit, of the female and male populations, and reducing the competition for males. More access to males could mean more babies. If you used non-Loroi surragates, you could do it without affecting how many Loroi are off work having maternity leave too badly.

[Sweforce]

If you used non-Loroi surragates, you could do it without affecting how many Loroi are off work having maternity leave too badly.

You mean human sex partners and insemination with loroi sperm? By the way is it safe for a human to have sex with a loroi from a biochemical point of view? I was thinking about things like bodyfluids being toxic to the partner.

[dragoongfa]

To have someone non Loroi become a surrogate that someone would have to both have the same biochemistry and their immune system recognize the embryos as their own.

I think that the gender imbalance works quite well for the Loroi in regards to population growth. Too well when you think about how 80% to 90% of the population would probably be pregnant if the males had anything to say about it.

@Sweforce

The only way that some aliens bodily fluids would be dangerous would be via an allergy, being deliberately poisonous or by being too alkaline or acidic.

[Sweforce]

To have someone non Loroi become a surrogate that someone would have to both have the same biochemistry and their immune system recognize the embryos as their own.

I think that the gender imbalance works quite well for the Loroi in regards to population growth. Too well when you think about how 80% to 90% of the population would probably be pregnant if the males had anything to say about it.

@Sweforce

The only way that some aliens bodily fluids would be dangerous would be via an allergy, being deliberately poisonous or by being too alkaline or acidic.

There are stuff that are lethal to some people but commonly harmless, this is an allergy but if it is the reverse you got people with an immunity. Now, there are things that are lethal for some animals that are harmless for humans and vice versa something that leads to tragedies when less knowledgeable pet owners feed their charge some treat from the table. Add in aliens to the mix and it get worse. Loroi may look human, the basic blueprint are the same but biochemically they are indeed totally alien. From a biochemical point of view we have more in common with a typical slug then a loroi. There is a reason Alex get the cramps trying to eat loroi food. It is thus entirely possibly that let's say loroi saliva include an enzyme that is harmful to humans. So if Alex would tougne kiss Beryl, one of them, or both may end up in the infirmary with repository problems due to a swollen throat or something. Behave like captain Kirk and you may end up in trouble.

[dragoongfa]

Yes, I get what you mean. The problem is that even when dogs and cats eat chocolate (which can be lethal to them) it ain't any short of toxicity on them that does the killing but the animal's own digestive system that goes berserk due to the cocoa seed stimulants. This is down to the fact that dogs and cats have carnivorous digestive tracts while chocolate is basically the combination of cocoa seeds and milk. Cocoa holds a lot of stimulants which combined with its plant nature make it impossible for a carnivorous animal to metabolize it, it's something that their stomachs can't handle. Dogs and cats do tend to consume some light plants in order to get some plant fiber in their digestive tracks but that doesn't mean that they can eat hard plant based food like cocoa.

Farm animals like pigs, goats, sheep and horses can eat cocoa. They do tend to get uppity due to the stimulants (the same way a human does after their first ever strong coffee) but its perfectly safe for them.

What you describe however isn't the consumption of Loroi bodily fluids but what their effects would be during a sexual encounter, which comes down to allergies, poison and alkaline/acidic nature of the fluids in question.

[Krulle]

Even at our tech level it would be possible to take a nucleus from a male, and put it in an egg cell (preferably Loroi or a closely related animal, but iSCNT is a thing too) and you'd get a clone. To avoid age problems, you'd use a young male. Of course, SCNT is very resource and time intensive, and we haven't figured out a way to automate it. But it would be possible. You'd then grow the embryo in a surrogate.

Sure, you can clone a male embryo, or manipulate a female embryo to make it male. But why would you want to?

For the possibility of the equalising, or at least reducing the imbalance a bit, of the female and male populations, and reducing the competition for males. More access to males could mean more babies. If you used non-Loroi surragates, you could do it without affecting how many Loroi are off work having maternity leave too badly.

Vat-growing a person isn't possible at this tech level. They could tinker with the conception process to make more embryos male, but why would they want to do that? There are enough males to keep all of the females constantly pregnant (if that was what they wanted), and if there weren't they could just use artificial insemination. The Loroi don't have a problem with how their system works. They consider the small number of males to be a good thing, since they're essentially economic dead weight.

The Loroi male do need to do a bit work to get emancipated... But then, if everything is provided, and your psyche does not need to be recognised as equal, why would you put in the effort?

I find the quote of 1:8 still not high enough to warrant a social development excluding the males from everything outside closed doors. Or the evolutionary "need to"
I mean, for reproduction purposes, if a man changed women once a month, she could be pregnant, and he would be able to impregnate easily 12 a year...

[RedDwarfIV]

Sure, you can clone a male embryo, or manipulate a female embryo to make it male. But why would you want to?

For the possibility of the equalising, or at least reducing the imbalance a bit, of the female and male populations, and reducing the competition for males. More access to males could mean more babies. If you used non-Loroi surragates, you could do it without affecting how many Loroi are off work having maternity leave too badly.

Vat-growing a person isn't possible at this tech level. They could tinker with the conception process to make more embryos male, but why would they want to do that? There are enough males to keep all of the females constantly pregnant (if that was what they wanted), and if there weren't they could just use artificial insemination. The Loroi don't have a problem with how their system works. They consider the small number of males to be a good thing, since they're essentially economic dead weight.

The Loroi male do need to do a bit work to get emancipated... But then, if everything is provided, and your psyche does not need to be recognised as equal, why would you put in the effort?

I find the quote of 1:8 still not high enough to warrant a social development excluding the males from everything outside closed doors. Or the evolutionary "need to"
I mean, for reproduction purposes, if a man changed women once a month, she could be pregnant, and he would be able to impregnate easily 12 a year...

punches self in face in effort to correct eyesight

[Siber]

It's worth mentioning, though I can't find an exact quote about it in the inside I'm reasonably sure this is accurate, that the Loroi gender ratio is much closer to 1:10 and the 1:8 quote in the comic is a product of the Loroi base 8 numbering system biasing their causal speech.

[Arioch]

Humans would be unsuitable as surrogate mothers, as the biochemistry is incompatible. Neridi and miros might be compatible, but are too small to carry a Loroi fetus to term. Barsam are large enough, but I think their hermaphroditic process is too different to be compatible. However, the Loroi don't have a need for surrogate mothers as they have reproductive capacity to spare; the Loroi child care and education system is already completely saturated.

It's worth mentioning, though I can't find an exact quote about it in the inside I'm reasonably sure this is accurate, that the Loroi gender ratio is much closer to 1:10 and the 1:8 quote in the comic is a product of the Loroi base 8 numbering system biasing their causal speech.

That's true, though in this case both of the numbers are correct. The ratio of male births is closer to 1 in 10, but due to lower male mortality rates the population ratio is closer to 1 in 8.

[Krulle]

punches self in face in effort to correct eyesight

Don't. Please. I don't want a gigantic solar flare going anywhere.

Oversights like that happen, constantly in my case, yet I find errors in other persons texts as though they have not been thinking... I constantly need to remind myself how bad I am in such cases, and put myslf in perspctive again...

[Siber]

That's true, though in this case both of the numbers are correct. The ratio of male births is closer to 1 in 10, but due to lower male mortality rates the population ratio is closer to 1 in 8.

Interesting! It occurs to me that in a stalemate like this, they might push for embryo selection to make the gender ratio even steeper towards female, but admitting the war could continue enough longer to make that worthwhile might be unpopular. And considering the prestige of having a male child, that seems like it could generate extra morale issues too.

[Siber]

So here's a curiosity. Amps have been said to range from small wearable items like those we've seen so far to room sized amps for interstellar farseering. I wonder what the latter looks like, since the small ones are pretty decorative. Is it some sort of fully enclosing coffin? A throne? A good old classic sci-fi tube you float in? Any intermediates, like an amp suit? Probably not, since on review the size difference is pretty discrete between 'active' and 'passive' abilities.

[Arioch]

A good old classic sci-fi tube you float in?

Yes. It's part passive amplifier, part sensory deprivation chamber.

Any intermediates, like an amp suit? Probably not, since on review the size difference is pretty discrete between 'active' and 'passive' abilities.

There are some intermediate sized active telepathic amplifiers, which could be used for longer-distance communication or something like interrogation.

[Sweforce]

So here's a curiosity. Amps have been said to range from small wearable items like those we've seen so far to room sized amps for interstellar farseering. I wonder what the latter looks like, since the small ones are pretty decorative. Is it some sort of fully enclosing coffin? A throne? A good old classic sci-fi tube you float in? Any intermediates, like an amp suit? Probably not, since on review the size difference is pretty discrete between 'active' and 'passive' abilities.

Personally I associate to the global room by professor X in the X-men movies. I do not know if it look like that in the comics thou. A room like that could be part of a starship where the startship size would limit the size of the room. Planetside versions could be even greater in size. I can also imagine entire space stations built around one of these as it's main purpose. Who knows, maybe the loroi have some "psychic weapon of mass destruction" laying around somewhere. Want to go nightmare? Try a gigantic amplifier "the size of a small moon" intended for a loroi "Sampson Option" in case they are on the verge of getting overrun. Also a good way to keep your "allies" in line.

[cacambo43]

Where is Fireblade's biographic information? I saw her GURPS sheet which alludes to some of her "issues", but where in Insider are some these other behaviors and actions you're referring to?

CJSF

[Krulle]

Fireblade lost her home and everyone she knew when Seren was occupied (and later purged) by the Umiak, and has survived two lost ships (a distinction not appreciated by her fellows).

There's more in the first forum compilation. Just search for "Fireblade" when you scroll through them. There's no section that includes all at once.

[cacambo43]

Fireblade lost her home and everyone she knew when Seren was occupied (and later purged) by the Umiak, and has survived two lost ships (a distinction not appreciated by her fellows).

There's more in the first forum compilation. Just search for "Fireblade" when you scroll through them. There's no section that includes all at once.

OK, thank you. It's amazing the time and effort put into all the "behind the scenes" stuff in the comic itself. It can be hard to keep track of it all.

CJSF

[Hālian]

I think it would be cool if we could compile everything from the Insider static website into a wiki, that it might be easier to search and add to.