Eugenicist

A scientist who uses feirua to try to manipulate genetic material.

Eugenic Science

Eugenics is the pseudoscientific belief that living things can be bred for an inherent superiority to other beings, and that some "races" have a lineage that makes them inherently superior. While the science is demonstrably wrong and fails when applied purely scientifically or with other energies, it is possible to use feirua, an energy generated through certain emotional states and directed through special jewels, to alter genetic material in order to force certain results.

Purity

A belief in racial purity is at the heart of both eugenics and the generation of feirua. If one has an absolute belief in their own superiority and lets that fuel contempt for those around them, their heart will fill with feirua. However, most either do not have this belief or espouse such beliefs on a basis that is, if not insincere, at least based in a sort of self-interest that finds the belief useful rather than true. Thus, most eugenicists harvest feirua from true believers by taking feiruan jewels, often called crimson jewels, and leaving them near gatherings of these true believers. Hence, many eugenicists are connected to major organizations who can spread these beliefs and bring people together, such as the Church of the Pure, major governments like Stolzen or Agikaan, or hate-groups like the Maskierter Stamm ("masked nation").

Crimson Jewels

These jewels are usually made by gemmariuses through various means, but eugenicists can create them either through technological means, usually special machines made of shadon and run on blood.

Facets and Light

The facets of these jewels refract feirua into one of three effects: odio (separation), feirua (purity), and salvis (superiority). This light can be directed through crimson jewels in a hyper-focused way that can alter genes. These are usually attached to machines called a dromonem. These machines are essentially laser-scalpels. As light hits the jewels, the feirua within is altered depeneding on which facet is outward facing from the dromonem, focused into a beam that has a specific effect.

Effects

The three facets do different things to genetic material:

• Odio: separates genes, splitting pairs or even cutting fragments, usually used to remove unwanted characteristics or to allow for recombination.
• Feirua: purifying genes, removing entire historical chains of genetic material, or forcing pairs to match (thus forcing a pairing of dominant or recessive genes where a pairing did not previously exist), or altering genetic material to better match a homogenized population.
• Salvis: "improving" genes to give "better" characteristics, determined in part by the perceptions of the eugenicist.

Genetic Splicing

Breeding

Cloning

Immunities

"purifying" genes allows for the reduction of mutations, which can be both good and bad.

Race vs. Nation

the flaws in eugenics are inherent not just to the practice of the pseudoscience, but to the assumptions made by the eugenicists. when they developed the meistersoldaten, they bred for body size, but they also bred to reduce their ability to resist control. in doing so, they altered the brains of the meistersoldaten such that they ended up with neurodivergence that did not suit their belligerent purposes. they assumed this was because of an inverse connection between mind and body that meant an improved body meant a weak mind, but the truth was that they could have bred for larger size without tinkering with the brain and gotten perfectly acceptable strong mortals. instead, they overcompensate in the other direction, using feirua to amplify the mind while breeding for size. this leads to mental instabilities due to the infernal energies in their brains even as it is cements the purity doctrine in their thoughts.

furthermore, the doctrine of purity that they embrace leads to other issues. breeding for traits even among complex beings is possible, though not always successful, but the science of eugenics asserts that genetic purity is required. this means that instead of simply breeding for size amongst the meistersoldaten, the eugenicists bred for and esoterically altered genetic material to create genetic similarity. this leads to the same issues that arise from inbreeding even when the genetic pairings aren't technically incestuous.

Inventory

Crimson Jewels

Dromonem