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14 March 2004
Well. This plot bunny's been plaguing me for a long time now - I think it sprang up when my Biology teacher started discussing gene pools and whatnot around two or three months ago - and what better time is it to talk about biological traits than before a Biology exam?
I'm writing this thing so I could put my - ahem - "studying" into good use. Whatever I write here will be included in the exam and I'll check this thing for errors after posting it.
In the year 2504...
There was a young man named Jonas Jamilson. (Yes, he knew that his first name was rather old-fashioned - it existed before the first millenium, didn't it? - but his parents, unfortunately, rather liked the name so he was subjected to much teasing and jeering for his first seven years of schooling.) He was sixteen years old and rather good-looking, or so most of his family members maintained (the other members simply held their mouths shut).
Jonas wanted to date this very beautiful and extremely smart classmate of his, Kivvie Divinagracia, but he didn't know how to go about it until one of his cousins suggested that since the "Kivvie-cub" - "cub" is used as a euphemism for beautiful girls at that time the same way we say "chick" - was top of his class, he should show a pedigree chart to her to prove that he is worthy of her affections. Jonas, the desperate boy that he was, constructed a highly-detailed pedigree chart complete with color codes and legends - one hour, in fact, which was a feat since his chart dated back five generations.
***
Kivvie had a wonderful day. Her latest quiz in Advanced Calculus scored 100/100 and her flight instructor told her that she had good piloting skills. In fact, she was floating in euphoria until she crash-landed back to Terran Colony VIII, courtesy of her classmate Jonas Jamilson.
"Oy! Oy - Kevvie!" shouted Jonas.
Jonas is a very nice boy, but really, I don't think I'll ever be mated with him, thought Kevvie as Jonas walked towards her holding a titanium slate-pad (which could also be a projector).
He looked nervous, she noticed, and was sweating rather heavily. He looks like he's going to court me! she realized. But what should I do to discourage him? Dazzle him with her supreme intellect? Kevvie shook her head. No, he may not have high grades but he would not be intimidated that easily. Maybe point out his faults? Yes, she decided, I will deflect this attempt by pointing out his faults.
***
"Hello, Kevvie. Er...uh, what I would like to say is... Um, this may be a bit awkward...but, uh..." Jonas stuttered. Oh, but this was harder than he'd thought! "Mayicourtyou?" he finished in a rush. There. He said it. Now all he could do is to play it by ear.
Was he hallucinating, or was that an amused look Kevvie shot at him? "I'm sorry, Jonas," she said in that honey-toned voice of hers, "but I'm afraid I have to decline your request."
Jonas was ready for this response. "Why?"
"Because your mandibles are too jutting, the phalanges on your metacarpals are too short, your femur is too long, your hyoid is too stocky, your clavicle is too short and you have kyphosis," Kevvie stated slowly and clearly.
"Wha-what?" Jonas wasn't expecting that. "But I assure you, the imperfection of my body is nothing compared to my family's gene pool!" He proudly switched on the projector function of his slate-pad.
Kevvie scrutinized the chart. She grudgingly admitted to herself that his bloodline was mostly clear from several diseases, but one trait in particular caught her eye. "Yes, I agree that your family's pedigree is superb," she said. She saw Jonas perk up. "But I'm afraid that I still would not accept your request," she concluded.
"Why?" he asked blankly.
"Well, it seems that your mother is a carrier for having a beaky nose and so is your father. Unfortunately, both of us are also carriers of this trait. If we were to mate, we would have a chance out of three that our child will have a beaky nose. You don't want a child of yours to end up with a beaky nose, don't you?" she asked him sweetly.
Jonas paled. He had hoped that Kevvie wasn't a carrier for the beaky nose trait - why, oh why did both sides of his family had to have members that have beaky noses? - but it seemed that his hope was made in vain. Beaky noses are merely hindrances in the climate of Terran Colony VIII, which is extremely hot. Flat noses are more advantageous to the average TC-VIII inhabitant, not to mention more attractive.
He sighed. "I had hoped that I would mate with you," he said, defeated.
Kevvie immediately gentled. "If we couldn't be mates, then we could at least be friends," she said consolingly.
Jonas perked up. "Yes, I would like that very much," he said firmly. After all, he had read that the most stable relationships started off with friendship.
Cheesy ending, but I don't particularly care.
::yawn:: I think I should go to bed now, I have to wake up early tomorrow...
G'night, folks!
I'm writing this thing so I could put my - ahem - "studying" into good use. Whatever I write here will be included in the exam and I'll check this thing for errors after posting it.
In the year 2504...
There was a young man named Jonas Jamilson. (Yes, he knew that his first name was rather old-fashioned - it existed before the first millenium, didn't it? - but his parents, unfortunately, rather liked the name so he was subjected to much teasing and jeering for his first seven years of schooling.) He was sixteen years old and rather good-looking, or so most of his family members maintained (the other members simply held their mouths shut).
Jonas wanted to date this very beautiful and extremely smart classmate of his, Kivvie Divinagracia, but he didn't know how to go about it until one of his cousins suggested that since the "Kivvie-cub" - "cub" is used as a euphemism for beautiful girls at that time the same way we say "chick" - was top of his class, he should show a pedigree chart to her to prove that he is worthy of her affections. Jonas, the desperate boy that he was, constructed a highly-detailed pedigree chart complete with color codes and legends - one hour, in fact, which was a feat since his chart dated back five generations.
Kivvie had a wonderful day. Her latest quiz in Advanced Calculus scored 100/100 and her flight instructor told her that she had good piloting skills. In fact, she was floating in euphoria until she crash-landed back to Terran Colony VIII, courtesy of her classmate Jonas Jamilson.
"Oy! Oy - Kevvie!" shouted Jonas.
Jonas is a very nice boy, but really, I don't think I'll ever be mated with him, thought Kevvie as Jonas walked towards her holding a titanium slate-pad (which could also be a projector).
He looked nervous, she noticed, and was sweating rather heavily. He looks like he's going to court me! she realized. But what should I do to discourage him? Dazzle him with her supreme intellect? Kevvie shook her head. No, he may not have high grades but he would not be intimidated that easily. Maybe point out his faults? Yes, she decided, I will deflect this attempt by pointing out his faults.
"Hello, Kevvie. Er...uh, what I would like to say is... Um, this may be a bit awkward...but, uh..." Jonas stuttered. Oh, but this was harder than he'd thought! "Mayicourtyou?" he finished in a rush. There. He said it. Now all he could do is to play it by ear.
Was he hallucinating, or was that an amused look Kevvie shot at him? "I'm sorry, Jonas," she said in that honey-toned voice of hers, "but I'm afraid I have to decline your request."
Jonas was ready for this response. "Why?"
"Because your mandibles are too jutting, the phalanges on your metacarpals are too short, your femur is too long, your hyoid is too stocky, your clavicle is too short and you have kyphosis," Kevvie stated slowly and clearly.
"Wha-what?" Jonas wasn't expecting that. "But I assure you, the imperfection of my body is nothing compared to my family's gene pool!" He proudly switched on the projector function of his slate-pad.
Kevvie scrutinized the chart. She grudgingly admitted to herself that his bloodline was mostly clear from several diseases, but one trait in particular caught her eye. "Yes, I agree that your family's pedigree is superb," she said. She saw Jonas perk up. "But I'm afraid that I still would not accept your request," she concluded.
"Why?" he asked blankly.
"Well, it seems that your mother is a carrier for having a beaky nose and so is your father. Unfortunately, both of us are also carriers of this trait. If we were to mate, we would have a chance out of three that our child will have a beaky nose. You don't want a child of yours to end up with a beaky nose, don't you?" she asked him sweetly.
Jonas paled. He had hoped that Kevvie wasn't a carrier for the beaky nose trait - why, oh why did both sides of his family had to have members that have beaky noses? - but it seemed that his hope was made in vain. Beaky noses are merely hindrances in the climate of Terran Colony VIII, which is extremely hot. Flat noses are more advantageous to the average TC-VIII inhabitant, not to mention more attractive.
He sighed. "I had hoped that I would mate with you," he said, defeated.
Kevvie immediately gentled. "If we couldn't be mates, then we could at least be friends," she said consolingly.
Jonas perked up. "Yes, I would like that very much," he said firmly. After all, he had read that the most stable relationships started off with friendship.
Cheesy ending, but I don't particularly care.
::yawn:: I think I should go to bed now, I have to wake up early tomorrow...
G'night, folks!
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