Ok, ok, ok we let the EXPERT straight things for us.
Quote:
Peter Hopkins asks:
"I was reading version 5 of the Bible, and found a bit of a conflict with current knowledge... In one of your anwers, it was said that it was random whether the FEV increased intelligence or not. However, as far as I know, FEV increases the growth and integrity of ALL cells consistently, by doubling the amount of genetic material in the cells. In this case, an increase in brain size (assuming a healthy brain to begin with) and intelligence should be regular. Another theory could be that, as the mutant's brain grows, the mass of the mutant's body increases exponentionally and the brain would not be big enough to control the whole body and sustain the throught process of a human body. Also, it is possible that while intelligence does increase initially, the brain does not gain the resistance to radiation that the body does, and the mutant develops brain damage and shows reduced intelligence. Are any of the above true? PS There is a very good report documenting the effects of FEV and how it was developed on the No Mutants Allowed message board ((
www.nma-fallout.com)). PPS I don't know about any so called 'purists', but i am hugely interested in the fallout world and would love to FOT background in the Bible."
Chris Avellone answers :
About FEV:
That might be why some of the super mutants (such as the Lieutenant) are smart (or remain smart) - but generally, for some reason (I don't know off the top of my head, nor do I know if it's spelled out anywhere), they're about 30% dumber than a normal human being, if Vree's research disk in the Brotherhood of Steel is accurate. I wouldn't be surprised if the dipping process caused brain damage in dipped subjects - it's a hell of a shock to the system.
Furthermore, everyone's favorite introspective machine intelligence, Zax, has the following to say about it:
When inoculated into an individual with significant genetic damage, such as through radiation, it [FEV] will cause the body's systems to suffer massive overhauling, leading to organ failure and death. In a genetically viable individual, it re-writes portions of DNA, causing accelerated mutation, usually leading to recursive growth due to the FEV's own patterns. This recursive growth leads to an increase in muscle and brain mass, but is often accompanied by disfigurement and damage to existing neural patterns, causing loss of memory.
Other possible factors that might be causing the super mutants' stupidness:
- Most mutants have some degree of radiation poisoning, which may cause problems and brain damage, as mentioned above.
- The process is unsafe - the mortality rate on "dippees" is pretty high. This is likely due to radiation poisoning.
- Memory functions are "sometimes" impaired by the dipping, and intelligence loss may occur as well. Harold's memory wasn't in the best of shape after exposure.
From the Pre-War experiment tapes, it looks like some mammals did display consistent increased intelligence (raccoons), while others didn't (the dogs) or even suffered brain damage (the chimps and the seizures). However, in an old Scott Campbell doc, there was a note that later subjects injected with the FEV (especially the chimps) hid their enhanced intelligence from their captors (or in the case of the raccoons, made a break for it).
Furthermore, the FEV tests at West-Tek were done through injection, not dipping, so it's possible the dipping process itself that causes the brain damage. Possibly with the increased brain mass in the skull, the brain is "squeezed," and all that tasty juice runs out the ears.
Still, on the other hand, a lot of the animals Grey talks about in his experiment tapes that were running around the Military Base were getting smarter from the FEV, and he himself became supra-intelligent.
So. Basically. There.
This doesn't make "OMG-Supermutants-Became-Orcs-The-Heresy" argument one bit more sensible.
