Chapter 110 - 110

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….

A random coincidence? Highly unlikely. If only for the simple reason that the last "common ancestor" a human shares with an arachnid is somewhere way back at the level of the very first multicellular organisms. I'm exaggerating a bit, but not by much.

Right. If this so-called coincidence wasn't a coincidence at all, it meant that the spider's genetic material actively participated in the "evolutionary restructuring." The real question was: was this Peter Parker's unique little quirk, or a standard feature of the process?

Figuring that out was a piece of cake. We just take a little trip to the school's "petting zoo", thank God Charles had one, and gather some samples. Fur from various kitties, bunnies, and puppies, some bird feathers, a couple of fish scales from the nearest aquarium... and yes, we are absolutely shaving a hedgehog!

Whoa there, kids, no need to call Auntie Storm! Uncle Loki hasn't lost his mind! No need to call Professor Xavier either! Alright, alright, I won't torture your precious hedgehog, I'll just take a couple of quills. Fine, fine, you can pluck them yourselves, did I say I was against it? Ugh, elementary schoolers... absolutely zero respect for a noble villain.

Anyway, armed with my genetic smorgasbord, I started experimenting. Take the pre-identified blood of a potential mutant, introduce some cat DNA into the mix, and hit it with radiation!

About five hours later, I was ready to run down the halls screaming "Eureka!" and "I am a magnificent bastard!"

So, I was right. The latent X-gene exists, but it doesn't even register in the Soul Forge under standard settings because it acts as an energetic superstructure.

Meaning, it's not just a biological mutation; it's a spiritual one! But! And this is the kicker! Everything changes the moment this "Schrödinger's X-gene" enters an active state.

Then the mutation shifts from a spiritual state into a biological one, making it visible even under a basic microscope. And here is where the main gimmick of this transition pops up.

By default, activation, let's call it activation "under sterile lab conditions," without any external stimuli other than what triggered the mutation itself, unlocks inherent traits.

The ones hardcoded into a specific person's X-gene "black box" from the start. These traits are defective, often downright flawed, sometimes even making the body's survival harder.

But if you try to find a common denominator for these abilities, an interesting pattern emerges.

In every case, the X-gene tries to elevate the body's physical parameters, striving for perfection: making it stronger, faster, tougher, even smarter... ahem, rather, capable of thinking faster (if someone's an idiot, an overclocked brain just lets them step on rakes at five times the speed).

But overall, a clear vector toward upgrading the material body is evident. It basically looks like turning a human... into moreof a human. Cellular structure and organ function optimize, rather than turning into something completely alien.

And by the way, I didn't find a single "laser eyes" or "ice manipulation" or "fire bending" gene among the purely "inherent" mutations.

However, elements of a psionic genome were incredibly widespread, and those were often quite similar to each other, unlike the massive divergence between Charles and Jean.

It rarely works perfectly, it never manifests all at once or without side effects, but the fact remains.

But that's only in sterile lab conditions.

Throw external interference into the mix, and the process can swerve into a completely different lane. The simplest case is the introduction of foreign biological material.

The poor test blood (thankfully, I had an unlimited supply of cloned samples) went through a lot in the Forge: it became a catgirl, a mega-cockatoo, an amphibian man, something resembling a spiked mutant from The Witcher, and various other forms.

The depth of the mutation and the dominant species traits were dictated by the "stimulus." By playing with the frequency and power of the radiation, I could tweak the results from slightly pointed canines and feline reflexes to creating a full-blown Khajiit. Including the four-legged ones.

But wait, there's more! First, the mutation was tied to the "spiritual body" before grounding itself in biology. Second, the psionic genome was the next most common trait.

Put those together, and you get pure magic! To the spiritual body, the difference between genetic material and, well, less material material isn't that vast. Same goes for thought, which is the basis of all psionics.

What does that mean? It means if you drop ordinary sand into the blood sample and hit it with the Lehnsherr-Loki radiation... yeah, I decided to call it that. Actually, Loki-Lehnsherr sounds better.

Let's just abbreviate it to LL-rays... Ahem. Anyway, by pointing the LL-beam at a "dirty sample," I produced a literal silicon-based lifeform. And its properties shifted depending on the radiation's type and power: from something resembling a basic golem to the level of "I am the incarnate wrath of the Earth, go hang yourselves, you freaks."

That last one is purely theoretical, though. Even in the lab, I couldn't output the raw power needed to mutate a single drop of blood to that extreme, let alone a whole organism... well, maybe if Stark's reactor exploded right next to it, but even then it's iffy.

Plus, innate power levels play a role, if your native mutation is underdeveloped and riddled with pathologies, you can't turn yourself into a god no matter how hard you try.

It's a different story if we're talking about someone on Charles's or Ororo's level, or Jean's for that matter, but potential like that is rare. Still, this discovery promised so many incredible possibilities that it was just... mind-blowing!

The main goal had been achieved. I had clearly pinpointed the general principle and mechanism of the X-gene.

It didn't contradict evolutionary theory (the spiritual, magical, and psionic potential of a species is also inherited and evolves, it's as natural a process as purely biological development).

It explained all the inconsistencies and even clarified how mutant abilities are inherited.

A telepath's son didn't necessarily have to become a telepath. Sure, inheriting mutated DNA meant he'd have a "predisposition" (let's call it that) toward telepathy.

But, say he "awakens" during a raging house fire.

There's a highly probable chance his survival instincts grab onto that stimulus, turning him into a pyromancer instead. If he gets really lucky, he might get a mix of both.

Brilliant! This theory even explained the mutation of that mutant-hating Senator Kelly.

Magneto transformed him while sitting in a dark, gloomy, and damp dungeon, which ultimately resulted in a scuffed version of hydrokinesis/water-shifting.

And if Mr. Kelly had eaten a fish beforehand and some trace of it remained in his digestive tract... well, that perfectly explains why gills suddenly "cut through."

Only the most important thing remained... Conducting a live experiment on a sample with known properties. A sample from a mutant who we know was created artificially, but who survived the process without becoming an unstable, dying mess. And I knew exactly where to get it.

"Tell me, Yuriko," I addressed the girl who had taken on the role of the mad scientist's assistant, meaning she fetched tools, organized samples, and "pushed the buttons" under my strict supervision. "How do you feel about spiders?"

"I'm not afraid of them, if that's what you're asking," she shrugged. "Why?"

…

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