Poll

should humans be able to produce ofspring with alien and/or magical beings?

Yes
2 (8%)
yes but only certain ones
20 (80%)
No
1 (4%)
no because its overused
2 (8%)

Total Members Voted: 24

Author Topic: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi  (Read 23234 times)

Offline Nickeris86

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #60 on: August 05, 2010, 04:12:01 PM »
so in a science fiction setting how would you explain something like a hybrid from to different races of sentient beings. would you have to utilize some form of artificial insemination in order to insure a pregnancy or could you go the way of Jurassic Park in that "nature finds a way". and if technology is needed in order to produce viable offspring what kind of tech would be needed.

another question to consider is how these hybrids would be treated in an advanced alien culture.
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Figging Mint

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #61 on: August 05, 2010, 04:32:26 PM »
so in a science fiction setting how would you explain something like a hybrid from to different races of sentient beings.

You're asking me to do all that work on the spur of the moment?  ;D  Thanks for the vote of confidence.    I'm not quite that good.   :D

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would you have to utilize some form of artificial insemination in order to insure a pregnancy or could you go the way of Jurassic Park in that "nature finds a way".

Probably neither.   I doubt I could do "hybrids of sentient species" in a logical setting short of ones similar to what David Brin does in his Uplift War series, where the "hybrid" would actually be entirely purposefully created .

That said, the other possibility I see is to fuse completely different forms that have entirely different means of reproduction.    

In other words, I know I could do Frankenstein's monster from parts of species (that actually works well instead of being a lumbering klutz), or a cyborg with both sides sentient.

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another question to consider is how these hybrids would be treated in an advanced alien culture.

That is almost always the default question.
« Last Edit: August 05, 2010, 04:35:01 PM by (FM) »

Offline the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #62 on: August 05, 2010, 04:39:07 PM »
Last I checked, lack of time was an issue, so no subscription to Netflix can fix that.

Also, does Netflix cover Canada ? Their insta-downloads certainly do not work here, anyway.
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Offline the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #63 on: August 05, 2010, 04:40:16 PM »
You can also watch a lot of shows via the networks site. I don't know about Canada, but I watched It's Always Sunny via FX website, I watched the Pilot of The Gates via ABC website. Those are free.

And the bulk of these tyhat I have looked up are also not shown in Canada. For copyright reasons, apparently, though I have no understanding of precisely which copyrights apply in the situation.

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Offline the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #64 on: August 05, 2010, 04:42:25 PM »
Well if it a made-up science, doesn't that kind of loop back to Fantasy then?

Not if the scientific method still applies.

The way i most like to think about it is; if the unknown is to be figured out, it's SF.  If the unknown is to be reverentially oohed and aahed over, it's fantasy.  If the unknown is scary and wants to hurt you, it's horror. If the unknown is scary and wants to hurt you and is to be firmly put back in its box at the end so the world stays normal, it;s a techno-thriller (insert rant about how anti-science and generally bad this is here.) If the unkown is totally ignored, it's mainstream.
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Offline the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #65 on: August 05, 2010, 04:45:16 PM »
so in a science fiction setting how would you explain something like a hybrid from to different races of sentient beings.

You wouldn't.  You'd have someone come up with the notion and other people point at them and lauigh, perhaps...

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could you go the way of Jurassic Park in that "nature finds a way".

That is basically a atstement of faith. Which is fine if you want to build your world based on statements of faith, but what' it's not is logical, sicentific or SF.

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another question to consider is how these hybrids would be treated in an advanced alien culture.

I'd be inclined to think that the answer is either "just like everyone else", "just like everyone else except with allowances made for any quirks of their biology being weird", or "this society does not really qualify as 'advanced'", fwiw.
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"What do you mean, Lawful Silly isn't a valid alignment?"

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Offline MoSeS

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #66 on: August 05, 2010, 05:52:10 PM »
another question to consider is how these hybrids would be treated in an advanced alien culture.

Probably the same way Mulatto kids were treated in the 1950's versus how they were treated in 2000.

I think it would depend on how long they have been part of the culture, but I think this is were an Antropology expert would probably be handy.

I took Antropology and just on Earth alone, people in different coutries, in real life, all treat different ethnic groups in different ways.

Heck you could even bring religion into it. Look at the Middle East, Muslims and Jews killing each other, and some of them may actually be from the same etnic background.

Hybrids would eventual become accepted, but depeneding an how their race views time, it could be a lot longer than the Human time scale.

Offline the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #67 on: August 05, 2010, 05:56:58 PM »
Probably the same way Mulatto kids were treated in the 1950's versus how they were treated in 2000.

I think it would depend on how long they have been part of the culture, but I think this is were an Antropology expert would probably be handy.

Only if you want your aliens to have human emotional makeup and think like humans, which is going to blow my suspension of disbelief completely away.
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Figging Mint

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #68 on: August 05, 2010, 05:58:18 PM »
Only if you want your aliens to have human emotional makeup and think like humans,

You really didn't like Star Trek, did you?

Offline MoSeS

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #69 on: August 05, 2010, 06:22:25 PM »
I never really got into Star Trek myself, I caught an episode here and there over the years from various different generations of it, but only because my uncle watched it.

But I did like the newest movie, which I know all the fans probably hated since it pretty much went back in time and made all previous events non-existant. It is one way to revamp a series and bring characters back tho.

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #70 on: August 05, 2010, 06:27:36 PM »
You really didn't like Star Trek, did you?

The thing I really don't like is the number of people in the wider world for whom Star Trek is the primary referent for what SF does and is capable of doing.

I've enjoyed bits of it, and it has been responsible for inspiring at least one really interesting SF setting; the Culture, in the novels of Iain M. Banks, whom he has said were in large part a reaction to the idea that anyone with a heart and a brain could think the Prime Directive was anything other than evil.  (Actually, the way i heard him express that had more swearing, but it was just for emphasis and my paraphrase I think gets the meaning across.)
« Last Edit: August 05, 2010, 06:29:40 PM by neurovore »
Mildly OCD. Please do not troll.

"What do you mean, Lawful Silly isn't a valid alignment?"

kittensgame, Sandcastle Builder, Homestuck, Welcome to Night Vale, Civ III, lots of print genre SF, and old-school SATT gaming if I had the time.  Also Pandemic Legacy is the best game ever.

Offline MoSeS

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #71 on: August 05, 2010, 06:29:38 PM »
I agree, everything should be compared to Star Wars or Dune.  :P

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #72 on: August 05, 2010, 06:30:33 PM »
I agree, everything should be compared to Star Wars.  :P

It was at this point, Your Honour, that the defendant began the long march southward, with eyes gleaming steely with determination and a large fish raised for the thwacking of the Moses...
Mildly OCD. Please do not troll.

"What do you mean, Lawful Silly isn't a valid alignment?"

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Offline belial.1980

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #73 on: August 05, 2010, 07:17:08 PM »
It was at this point, Your Honour, that the defendant began the long march southward, with eyes gleaming steely with determination and a large fish raised for the thwacking of the Moses...

Shortly thereafter Moses said, "Good, I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!"
Love cannot save you from your fate.

- Jim Morrison

Offline MoSeS

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Re: Cross Species Breeding in fantasy sifi
« Reply #74 on: August 05, 2010, 07:52:33 PM »
Shortly thereafter Moses said, "Good, I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!"

LMAO! Priceless!