Vykker queries
 

Is it possible that Vykkers have genetically modified themselves? I mean, their body form seems a bit artificial, and they have the know-how.

I don't think they have genetic-modification technology but if they did, I wouldn't be surprised if they used it on themselves.

It is known that they surgically alter their bodies. Cosmetic amputations and skin grafts are common.

“Gene splicing” is one of their most popular hobbies/fields of study, and that’s the old term for genetic modification. They clearly have the technology, but I couldn’t say how advanced it is.

On the subject of Vykkers, does anyone find it strange they are both into self mutilation and highly intolerant of pain?

Yeah, I am with Max on this one. Vykkers' skin is a result of drug treatment and life extension surgeries. So, yeah, they have that kind of technology. They also have the ability to modify other creatures' genes, like Fuzzles, Slogs, and Fleeches. I also believe that they could do gene altering technology on others, but it just might be that there isn't much say like a Glukkon, would want to change about themself.

And Max, it isn't very hard to believe. People smush bugs all the time, but I am for certain that no one enjoys having a paper cut.

Yet, I was going to say that they couldn't do it on themself (Ex: Vykker Z adds a Fleech gene to himself), without the help with others.

Max was talking about self-mutilation, look at the vykkers' legs they clearly chopped something off.

on the other hand I guess they are anaesthetized when they do the cut off :p

I believe they are sadomasochists but only enjoy pain they know they have control over. If it's something out of their hands that could kill them then I think they would reject it.

That's a good answer.
But that may also not be true. They could partially enjoy causing pain because they themselves are so intolerable of it. I'd think they use aneasthetic.
Their legs do seem to have stitches in...maybe they originally had something their that hindered them, so they get rid of them/have them rid of them in earlier stages of life?

They had evolved from tree-climbing creatures so they had to replace their feet with something that could cope with ground-walking.

Where'd you find that?
I thought they were a bit like that, too.
Unnatural things.

Their origins as an arboreal species is established. That being the reasoning of their departed feet is fanon.

So before the they replaced their feet they never walked much?
Do you mean the fans made that up?

Yes, but more in the sense that the fans together have reasoned through logic that it is likely.

I would say that they hardly ever walked around on the ground. I don't know if this is canon, fanon or just my own cogitation speaking but I imagine them living in huge forests with trees hundreds of metres tall and branches extending out just as far; whole communities living in each tree. That way they could spend their lives in the air and hardly ever have to come down.

In an old thread I did of indutrialist species previous detailed bahviours, I though Vykkers used their claws to rip leaves up for digestion in the pot belly (as you can see) as well as their causing pain behaviour derived from the instinctive need to shred the leaves up to eat etc.
Sounds a bit silly, but it's what I came up with. Makes more sense now.
The three leg tripod structure would be most at home coiled around a branch.

Where do the interns come in this? (what relationship did they have before Vykkers labs was founded)
and how did the interns live before Vykkers labs was founded?

Interns a very similar to Vykkers in biuld, whether related or convergent. I'd suspect maybe a similar lifestyle to what I stated before, if that's all that accurate, using long arms and fingers to grope for food.

Yes, Interns did in fact evolve from trees climbing animals, like Vykkers. Now with their relationship with Vykkers, I remember reading that there use to be a relationship with them, that the Interns use to be on the same position with Vykkers. But however, the Vykkers felt like they needed to be on the higher position, above Interns, so they practically enslaved them, by not paying them, but gave them headphones, music, and fashion. However, the Interns may have not came into the Industerial family, until Vykkers needed to have more nurses and guards.

My question evidently wasn't clear enough. It was intended to be about whether the Vykkers are an artificially created species, ie, that some species had at least one member that wanted to create a new species.

And the answers, since the Vykkers were originally natural creatures, is "maybe".

Stop spamming my thread.

In what way is that spam?
Vykkers aren't artificially created. There's nothing TO create them, anyway, because Vykkers are the ones that got that technollogy and use it in the first place.
If they evolved, as has been said, they're not artificially created then, are they? Duh.

My hypothesis: Vykkers were smart and had a different sort of body, but then GMed their own species, making what they are now

No, you can't genetically modify your own species, unles the entire race agreed to it.
I think they prefer their current body too much for that. If they have difficulty with focus or something, they use machinery in their eye sockets and stuff, remember?
The main way they've midified themselves is their feet, presumably each leg spits into two sections. Since this doesn't support them well on the ground, they've stitched their feet up to make a stub, which supports their weight much better.
Any modification is individual, via stitching etc.

No, GM yourself, then breed asexually, as they do.

No, I meant that their current body might be the product of GM. It certainly seems to show signs of ID...Huge brain, manipulative appendages...This might be why they like it so much. They could have originally been less intelligent, but still got GM, and made themselves smarter. Any that didn't come along got outcompeted by their smarter cousins.

I see what you mean, they helped nature to make their own specie evolve faster and like they wanted it...

when you see how they look like it might be partially true :p

but that would go against the leg-cut theory

Yes, it would.
Plus I on't see why'd they care. I think they'd be more concerned about themselves rather than their offsprings features.

Unless genetic modification is what gave them the body parts to amputate.

You can't do major genetic modification to yourself. You could only change limbs on offspring. About the most you can do to an adult is block off an existing gene from firing or introduce one that will produce an extra hormone.

Exactly, but in fantasy worlds, such limitations are meaningless.

No, that's the strength of good fantasy. If you'd ever read Tolkien's famous speech On Fairy Stories (or just skimmed it, as it is hard reading), you'd see him discussing this very topic. He hits back at people who criticise fantasy because 'anything is possible' and points out that the best fairy tales have strict rules within their universes that cannot be broken. They may be different to the rules in our universe but they are rules nonetheless.

My point being that much of the technology in Oddworld is based on ours, taken to the extreme. Not everything is possible and if you say that it is, you're demeaning the world that OWI have created.

One prob there ndw, you assumed non-(sci-fi-technobabbly)-humanlevel tech. The vykkers are more advanced than us, come on they can link stuff into Munch's nervous system and make him able to control it for goodness sake.

My theory: totally new genome created and used for offspring, existing non-supersmart pre-Vykkers have brains removed, upgraded and implanted into embryos grown brainless. Or they could just cut the brain out of an infant to empower them: they are that sadistic.

BTW: SIGGED!

EDIT: Another piece of evidence is their superlong lifespans which anyone would want.

One question on your theory. How did the Vykkers become so smart? Couldn't they just teach the younger Vykkers their knowledge? And isn't smart something that you become, not something you are? My belief is that Vykkers are just naturally so observant. Also, you can't take a brain out of an embryo. There isn't even one! Another thing, wouldn't Vykkers have diginity for other Vykkers when it comes to pain? One other thing, your proof is not correct, since Vykkers go through life expanding surgeries.

Could it be possible that Vykkers are a combination of normal intellgent species, resulting to as a hyper observant and theorizing species? And being that Vykkers obviousily evolved over the course of time, they are able to be really intellgent.

that is possible yes. they probably DID in fact evolve/ adapt for the purposes of being an industrial society. I'm not saying they chose to evolve, I am merely saying that the environment they live in being an industrial one, they would adapt over time to fit the industrial way of life.

The Vykkers developed their vast medical/scientific knowledge through trying to extend their own lifetimes. How they managed to develop such a cold, logical intelligence is tied in with their historic, sadistic mentality, although what environmental change caused these to become selected characteristics isn’t quite so intuitive.

You mean would they be against causing each other pain? Nope. The only bonding evident between Vykkers is that which preserves their twisted practices. They’re as empathetic to each other’s suffering as they are to other creatures’.

Unless, of course, the current Vykker form is the result of intelligent design by pre-Vykkers, which is the whole point of this thread. Brains/intelligence is partially genetic(remember the Nobel sperm bank that created superkids?) as is lifespan. So their apparently maladaptive sadism and useless appendages don't have to be explained by natural selection(I think it might be a bit hard to prove!).

Having extra limbs may have been use to Vykkers when they were tree dwellers, for maybe they often had to be connected the trees they were on to survive. For example, they needed two of their limbs to feed on their food, while they needed to the rest to have a nice hand and feet hold on the trees. Super natural intellgence could have been the result of genetic inbreeding or simply it was the result of having too much free time.

Or of genetic engineering. Their body form is so cliche, like some mad scientist thought it up!

What are you talking about? Vykkers are the freakiest damn creature design ever!