Mitheral
"Growf!"
Link to Sign Ups
Link to OOC
The Past
History as known to the Public
DNA was first isolated by the Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher who, in 1869, discovered a microscopic substance in the pus of discarded surgical bandages. As it resided in the nuclei of cells, he called it "nuclein". In 1878, Albrecht Kossel isolated the non-protein component of "nuclein", nucleic acid, and later isolated its five primary nucleobases. In 1919, Phoebus Levene identified the base, sugar and phosphate nucleotide unit. Levene suggested that DNA consisted of a string of nucleotide units linked together through the phosphate groups. However, Levene thought the chain was short and the bases repeated in a fixed order. In 1937, William Astbury produced the first X-ray diffraction patterns that showed that DNA had a regular structure.
In 1927, Nikolai Koltsov proposed that inherited traits would be inherited via a "giant hereditary molecule" made up of "two mirror strands that would replicate in a semi-conservative fashion using each strand as a template". In 1928, Frederick Griffith in his experiment discovered that traits of the "smooth" form of Pneumococcus could be transferred to the "rough" form of the same bacteria by mixing killed "smooth" bacteria with the live "rough" form. This system provided the first clear suggestion that DNA carries genetic information—the Avery–MacLeod–McCarty experiment—when Oswald Avery, along with coworkers Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty, identified DNA as the transforming principle in 1943. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick suggested what is now accepted as the first correct double-helix model of DNA structure
The Project
In 1937 a project began that was, in some ways, an early attempt at genetic engineering and and many decades ahead of its time. Of course, the structure of DNA wouldn’t be discovered until 1952. The research was a response to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Noone really expected the project to achieve much in the way of results; so funding at first was very limited. When World War II started in 1939 the project received a mildly renewed funding, but it wasn’t until the US actually entered the war in 1941 that the project really gained momentum.
There was some suspicion that Captain America who debuted in early 1941 may very well have been the result of information leaked about the project. But odds are that the cause and effect was the other way around. The reception of the comic book hero probably gave the project even more funding.
In 1942 yet another battery of tests on live human subjects took place. At the time the results were completely unspectacular, the real success not noticeable until years had passed. Although it was noted that the subjects did exhibit a slight improvement. Though all subjects showed improvement given the physical efforts they were forced to endure. These results did not fade with time and the 42 continued to improve.
The name “42” came from the fact that the test batch occurred in 1942 - not that there were 42 test subjects. And not all of the subjects showed success. Test subjects were selected from average individuals. The following criteria were used.
Sex: Male
Ages: 19-22 (remember it was 1942). Many of these were age 18 when they started to apply for military service and were rejected.
Height: 5’6” to 6’0”
Frame: Average build, good health.
Citizenship: US citizenship ONLY
Race: Caucasian (Yes, they were prejudiced despite the original purpose of the project. This is NOT a personal view.)
Health: No serious physical defects. (Minor ones were allowed to provide contrast.)
IQ: Generally 100-130.
The Project was discontinued in 1946 as the War had ended. The lead scientist had died in 1943 and his notes had been hard to follow. With no further significant results and the inability to reproduce even the 1942 results the project was finally cancelled.
By 1950 the real effects of the Project began to become noticeable among the successful test subjects:
1. Aging process appeared to have slowed. In truth it had stopped in their early 20’s. A decade was merely long enough for these effects to start to show.
2. Fat and muscle ratios continued to approach peak condition with only minimal exercise to maintain the state. (Exercise was still necessary to reach peak cardiovascular condition.) Reflexes continued to improve.
3. Healing rates tripled, however it was hardly the stuff of comic books. What WAS more spectacular was that injuries never left a scar. The healing ability was perfect.
4. Senses - even in those with poor vision improved until they reached textbook perfect results. Of course this result sometimes took longer, maybe another 10 years.
Other miraculous effects occurred, though it took much longer to become noticeable.
1. Memory retention became perfect.
2. IQ’s increased without exception, though at different rates dependent on use of their minds. It is now estimated that they were improving at a rate of +01 IQ per year.
Post Project
The Second Red Scare (1947 - 1953), also known as the McCarthy Era forced many of the 42 to go underground and change the faces for the first time. Some chose to sign up for the Korean War (1950 - 1953) having missed World War II. The 1960’s proved to be the perfect time during which to go off the grid. Some of the 42 chose to assume new identities and return to college. By the 1970’s the Cold War and Star Wars began to introduce the computer as the next potential threat to the anonymity of the 42.
Slowly some of the 42 began to search out one another and a sort of loose Illuminati organization began to form interconnected by cell organization, encrypted communications, codes. Anonymity they had determined was the best chance to survive free.
The Present
The year is now 2014 - some 72 years after the these test subjects received their enhancement. They look just as they did when the stopped aging. though they may have changed their style enough so they they would be hard to recognize except by one another. (Remember their memories became perfect.) In fact, as they had stopped aging once maturity was reached they had to begin assuming new identities about every decade.
Today the 42 are Persons of Interest for several agencies - not all of them American. And as patriotic as these men were, they have no wish to become lab specimens. They carry the secret of immortality and there are many who will stop at nothing to gain the secret.
General Rules
Writing Rules
Each Scene should begin with a preface of:
Title
Location
Time:
Characters present: (include character and member name with a tag)
Subsequent posts in the scene only need the title.
Link to OOC
The Past
History as known to the Public
DNA was first isolated by the Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher who, in 1869, discovered a microscopic substance in the pus of discarded surgical bandages. As it resided in the nuclei of cells, he called it "nuclein". In 1878, Albrecht Kossel isolated the non-protein component of "nuclein", nucleic acid, and later isolated its five primary nucleobases. In 1919, Phoebus Levene identified the base, sugar and phosphate nucleotide unit. Levene suggested that DNA consisted of a string of nucleotide units linked together through the phosphate groups. However, Levene thought the chain was short and the bases repeated in a fixed order. In 1937, William Astbury produced the first X-ray diffraction patterns that showed that DNA had a regular structure.
In 1927, Nikolai Koltsov proposed that inherited traits would be inherited via a "giant hereditary molecule" made up of "two mirror strands that would replicate in a semi-conservative fashion using each strand as a template". In 1928, Frederick Griffith in his experiment discovered that traits of the "smooth" form of Pneumococcus could be transferred to the "rough" form of the same bacteria by mixing killed "smooth" bacteria with the live "rough" form. This system provided the first clear suggestion that DNA carries genetic information—the Avery–MacLeod–McCarty experiment—when Oswald Avery, along with coworkers Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty, identified DNA as the transforming principle in 1943. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick suggested what is now accepted as the first correct double-helix model of DNA structure
The Project
In 1937 a project began that was, in some ways, an early attempt at genetic engineering and and many decades ahead of its time. Of course, the structure of DNA wouldn’t be discovered until 1952. The research was a response to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Noone really expected the project to achieve much in the way of results; so funding at first was very limited. When World War II started in 1939 the project received a mildly renewed funding, but it wasn’t until the US actually entered the war in 1941 that the project really gained momentum.
There was some suspicion that Captain America who debuted in early 1941 may very well have been the result of information leaked about the project. But odds are that the cause and effect was the other way around. The reception of the comic book hero probably gave the project even more funding.
In 1942 yet another battery of tests on live human subjects took place. At the time the results were completely unspectacular, the real success not noticeable until years had passed. Although it was noted that the subjects did exhibit a slight improvement. Though all subjects showed improvement given the physical efforts they were forced to endure. These results did not fade with time and the 42 continued to improve.
The name “42” came from the fact that the test batch occurred in 1942 - not that there were 42 test subjects. And not all of the subjects showed success. Test subjects were selected from average individuals. The following criteria were used.
Sex: Male
Ages: 19-22 (remember it was 1942). Many of these were age 18 when they started to apply for military service and were rejected.
Height: 5’6” to 6’0”
Frame: Average build, good health.
Citizenship: US citizenship ONLY
Race: Caucasian (Yes, they were prejudiced despite the original purpose of the project. This is NOT a personal view.)
Health: No serious physical defects. (Minor ones were allowed to provide contrast.)
IQ: Generally 100-130.
The Project was discontinued in 1946 as the War had ended. The lead scientist had died in 1943 and his notes had been hard to follow. With no further significant results and the inability to reproduce even the 1942 results the project was finally cancelled.
By 1950 the real effects of the Project began to become noticeable among the successful test subjects:
1. Aging process appeared to have slowed. In truth it had stopped in their early 20’s. A decade was merely long enough for these effects to start to show.
2. Fat and muscle ratios continued to approach peak condition with only minimal exercise to maintain the state. (Exercise was still necessary to reach peak cardiovascular condition.) Reflexes continued to improve.
3. Healing rates tripled, however it was hardly the stuff of comic books. What WAS more spectacular was that injuries never left a scar. The healing ability was perfect.
4. Senses - even in those with poor vision improved until they reached textbook perfect results. Of course this result sometimes took longer, maybe another 10 years.
Other miraculous effects occurred, though it took much longer to become noticeable.
1. Memory retention became perfect.
2. IQ’s increased without exception, though at different rates dependent on use of their minds. It is now estimated that they were improving at a rate of +01 IQ per year.
Post Project
The Second Red Scare (1947 - 1953), also known as the McCarthy Era forced many of the 42 to go underground and change the faces for the first time. Some chose to sign up for the Korean War (1950 - 1953) having missed World War II. The 1960’s proved to be the perfect time during which to go off the grid. Some of the 42 chose to assume new identities and return to college. By the 1970’s the Cold War and Star Wars began to introduce the computer as the next potential threat to the anonymity of the 42.
Slowly some of the 42 began to search out one another and a sort of loose Illuminati organization began to form interconnected by cell organization, encrypted communications, codes. Anonymity they had determined was the best chance to survive free.
The Present
The year is now 2014 - some 72 years after the these test subjects received their enhancement. They look just as they did when the stopped aging. though they may have changed their style enough so they they would be hard to recognize except by one another. (Remember their memories became perfect.) In fact, as they had stopped aging once maturity was reached they had to begin assuming new identities about every decade.
Today the 42 are Persons of Interest for several agencies - not all of them American. And as patriotic as these men were, they have no wish to become lab specimens. They carry the secret of immortality and there are many who will stop at nothing to gain the secret.
RULES
General Rules
- All site rules apply
- No God Modding, Bunnying, Metagaming, etc.
- Romance is fine, but fade-to-black for those mature scenes (18+ stuff)
Writing Rules
- Posts must be of good writing skills, and generally a minimum of three paragraphs. Really I am looking for better than that. I want paragraphs that aren’t two sentences long. Good content. Use third person, past tense.
- Characters need to interact. While I realize that dialogue is challenging for some, it will be a requirement. Watch for examples of how to make speech more noticeable. (Most usually use boldface. Some add color.)
- Try to stick to one or two posts a day, giving others a chance to post. What I do NOT want is to have two characters bouncing back and forth with short one paragraph posts. If you want to do that, build up a Joint Post in PM's, then have one of you copy and paste it, cleaned up for spelling and grammar, what clarity as to what character is doing / saying what.
- As a minimum members are expected to post at least every other day - unless most of the RP is on hold for a scene between a couple characters. Then those characters need to wrap their scene up. The idea here is to not keep other members waiting.
Each Scene should begin with a preface of:
Title
Location
Time:
Characters present: (include character and member name with a tag)
Subsequent posts in the scene only need the title.
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