Shifters’ Scientific Background

*I am now — after ten years of being published only in Fantasy in long forms — getting used to the idea of being referred to as “Science Fiction Writer Sarah A. Hoyt” However, I’ve — for very long — been told that even my fantasy has an “sf flavor.” I guess this comes from not being able to write anything I don’t believe in. And here, to justify this thought is my friend and fan of Draw One In The Dark and Gentleman Takes A Chance (and the upcoming Noah’s Boy) Tedd Roberts, explaining the — er — totally scientific background of my Shifter Series.*

FOIA release 2011.214.b.morph

The study of “shifter” genetics began in the 1990’s with a Defense Advanced Mystic Research Agency effort to produce a “stealthed amphibious air assault force.” All investigations of shifter existence and capabilities was immediately classified, and identified shifters already in the armed services were instructed to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – or more appropriately, “Don’t Shift, Don’t Tell.” Faced with the literal usurpation of the role and prestige of Navy and Marine S.E.A.L. teams, the Secretary of the Navy, in his now famous* “The Shift Stops Here” memo convinced the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Congress to defund the DAMRA project, resulting in the famous agency shakeup of 2003-2005. The agency invoked a complex maskirovka in the form of the “Gambling on Terrorism” project and the dismissal of Admiral Poindexter to bury the evidence of the “Somatomorph Project.” The recent voiding of DADT regulations has had the unexpected side effect of unearthing the Somatomorph files, allowing the release of this report under the Freedom of Information Act.

The following is taken from the notebooks of Professor Tedd Roberts, faculty of epigenetics, Southern Medical School, West Carolina:

Origins

The North American Shapeshifter, Homo sapiens odo (HSO) was best described in the documentary writings of Professor d’Almeida Hoyt, and date from the original DAMRA project. The taxonomic label was later found to be in error, since the eponymous “Odo” was found to not be H. sapiens, but a member of Amoeba schlockii species of carbosilicate amorphs, however, the name had the virtue of brevity and was retained for taxonomic classification of H. sap. metamorphs. The first known appearance of HSO can be found in the indigenous Amerind writings of dragon and wolf shifters, the most famous being the tales of Coyote, the Trickster. The dragon variant shifter is believed to derive from the Asian Shapeshifter , Homo sapiens draco (HSD) which primarily emulates the form of a dragon. In contrast to HSD, the HSO can take any form, and that form appears to derive from epigenetic factors and is not gene-coded. All known members of HSD appear to be confined to the winged dragon shape, while the European and North American varieties are varied in species emulated by the metamorphic ability.

Genetics

A major finding of DAMRA’s Project Kafka was the identification of the shapeshifter gene locus on Chromosome 22, sequence 43.3. The 3,219 base pair sequence encodes a 1,073 amino acid protein named 3′-iso-5′-metamorph (HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee apbbreviation: mrph) by project staff. The essential basic amino acid sequence remains the same across all known shapeshifter variants except for a single three amino acid sequence at residue sequence 42 which exists as Cysteine-Alanine-Threonine in the HSO, Alanine-Threonine-Cysteine in the HSD, and Threonine-Alanine-Cysteine in the proposed stealth soldier variant developed by Project Kafka. The three gene sequences appear to be the result of a single loop-splice variant, and have no effect on the metamorphic properties of the gene product.

It was immediately determined that the mrph gene was not inherited by strict Mendelian genetics, exhibiting neither dominant nor recessive characteristics. Thus It is possible to have one or both parents with the mrph gene and still not exhibit the shapeshifter ability, said ability seeming to appear during puberty as a result of epigenetic factors. In addition, the animal species emulated by each ‘shifter is not hard-coded in the mrph gene, but appears to derive from a side chain substitution of the mrph protein – presumably at the C-A-T or T-A-C site. The A-T-C site is refaractory and does not support a side chain, and as stated above may be the source of the stable draco metamorphs of asian descent. It should be noted that the insect variety shapeshifters documented in d’Almeida Hoyt’s first volume of field notes from the Goldport metamorph preserve has a controversial taxonomy, and may be an offshoot of the Homo insecta parkerii and not H.sap. at all.

Epigenetics

The counter-Mendelian nature of mrph gene inheritance means that the when one or more of the parents are shifters, offspring that exhibit shifter behavior may emulate a form similar to one parent or the other, or may adopt an entirely new form. The case study of Tom Ormson (draco) and Kyrie Smith (felis) led to much speculation among researchers as to the potential shifting ability of potential offspring. However, one thing that was made quite clear by the DAMRA study was that shifter emulation was not subject to base genetic sequencing, and could not be combined, thus Tom and Kyrie would not have “kitty-dragon” offspring as was speculated by some program staff. Rather, the epigenetic tag attached to the mrph gene appears to have a mitochondria DNA origin, and as such may have originated from a retroviral source. As of this date, at least 65 epigenetic side chains have been identified, ranging from Ms. Smith’s pnth sequence to Mr. Ormson’s drac epigene. It should be noted that Mr. Ormson’s shifter form varies subtly from the Asian draco form due to the epigene sequence and the invariability of the HSD genome.

Another epigenetic factor is the immediate early gene (IEG) activation of the mrph protein into active form. In some cases, onset of shapeshifting ability appears in puberty, in others, not until a particularly severe stress. It was subsequently found that the stress-produced Heat Shock Protein-90 (HSP-90) has been demonstrated to induce the IEG cyclic-AMP(adenosine monophosphate) response binding protein (CRB), and it’s phophorylated active form (pCRB) which in turn triggers expression of the mrph gene and binding of the side chain. While abundant CRB is found in pre-adolescents, pCRB is typically low and only elevated post-puberty. Sudden stress or extreme emotional state trigger phosphorylation of CRB to pCRB and thus the metamorphic abilities of the shifter. Depending on the metamorphic emulation, and hence the mrph side chain, the scent of hemoglobin has also been demonstrate to trigger involuntary metamorphosis, most likely due to iron binding of the serine phosphatase which metabolizes pCRB. Blockade of the metabolic pathway results in overproduction of pCRB and consequent overstimulation of the mrph gene.

Interbreeding

The epigenetic control of the mrph gene results in a low incidence of shapeshifters in the second and third generation crosses. One of the difficulties of DAMRA Project Kafka was obtaining *any* ‘shifters in the F1 generation. Fortunately the DAMRA labs produced a mouse transgenic model to track the mrph gene and epigenes – at least until the Mus loxodonta cross destroyed the laboratory in 2004. Only when the exogenous side chains were supplied was there any control over the metamorphic outcome. Several findings immediately became apparent – (1) shapeshifting was *rarely* inherited (1 in 100,000 crosses) when mating two ‘shifters in the F0 generation , (2) there was a higher incidence (1 in 1,000) when mating one shifter with a non-shifter, (3) mates with incompatible epigenetic side chains produced incompatible chimerae, resulting in extremely low fertility and no metamorphic abilities in the few F1 through F5 generation offspring produced, (4) the only way to guarantee shapeshifting offspring was for the parents to mate while shifted – again precluding any chimeric species. The latter resulted in offspring that were genetically similar to the emulated species, rather than Mus musculus, occasionally shifting from emulated to base form, but mostly exhibiting characteristics of the emulated animal form. The relatively few tragic cases of shifted human crosses resulted in offspring that spend most of their lives in the emulated animal form and find themselves unable to function as human adults.

Project outcome

DAMRA Project Kafka was quietly closed down in 2005 and the subjects moved to the Goldport preserve under the auspices of the witness protection program and the Treasury Department. The NSA ODO database was established to track the movements of wild-type shapeshifters and target them for relocation to Goldport if necessary. Tactical shifters were treated with silencing RNA (siRNA) delivered via adenovirus vector to suppress the epigenes. To date there has been one reported failure of the gene therapy, resulting in the temporary release of a single H.sap.odo carcharodon which was quickly contained by DAMRA agents within the Goldport community. The ODO search is currently monitoring known shifters in California (eudyptes), Oregon (castor), Colorado (erinaceus), North Carolina (rattus) and Texas (eerex).

In retrospect, Project Kafka was deemed a failure, except for the case of subject BR-549, Keith Vorpal. Mr. Vorpal was referred to Project Kafka after reporting the feeling of being another person in the same skin. The subject was found to have the mrph gene and produce the corresponding protein, but did not exhibit any of the 65 identified epigene side chains. Mr. Vorpal was tested extensively with stimuli designed to trigger the pCRB activation of the mrph gene, but failed to exhibit any overt signs of metamorphic transformation, despite his subjective observations of sensations consistent with shapeshifting. The project leaders were forced to conclude that Mr. Vorpal was indeed a shapeshifter, but that his shifted form was every bit as human and his base form. Mr. Vorpal’s file designation is thus Homo sapiens odo sapiens a may represent the most positive outcome of the entire study.