such as feathers or a beak, or the legs?
2007-03-25 07:48:57 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Some of the minor features wouldn't be so hard to deal with, like the plumage, but not having a functional set of arms and legs, including the hands with opposing thumbs, would suck. Really, I would not want to be a cripple that way, in terms of either not being able to walk or use tools (or my computer, hello??).
But.....having said all that. I could cope with the minor features, especially if the payoff were fairly big. One character I had created for a superheroes role-playing game was a genetically engineered freak like this--inspired somewhat by the novel _Maximum Ride_, only more grown-up and gritty.
He was 99.9 percent human and 0.1 percent Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. Meaning? He didn't have any obviously freakish qualities, no beak or wings, but....he did have the plumage, slightly deformed hands and feet (fewer fingers and toes on each, though they were all functional), the bones of his upper body, from the ribcage up were hollow...
And he had *speed*. He had the scaled-up metabolism and neuro-motor response speed of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. The birds are only 3 3/4 inches long but can fly at 60 miles per hour for a long duration of time....
Scaled up to a human who stands five feet, six inches tall....you end up with someone who can *run* at 1080 miles per hour for brief periods of time, breaking the sound barrier *on foot* under his own power.
Oh, and I also gave him the superior avian vision, making him a high-definition tetra-chromat, just for giggles. ^_^ Only troubles were, a) he had to live on a 80-90% liquid diet, his digestive system just couldn't cope with much solid food, and b) some other people in the *game* were hellbent on playing minor *GODS*, as super-villains, and my character got injured...
And frankly, I didn't want to play the power-gaming game of getting him Better Instantly and making him More Whoopass Than Thou, if you know what I mean. -_- Here I was trying to make a *realistic* super-human in a more science fiction sense....for *roleplaying* purposes....ah well, what can you do? These things happen, it is the nature of the endeavor.
(and truthfully, such a person *would* need a bit of DNA from a Peregrine Falcon too in order for the high-speed running to work...as in, such a person would likely need a second pair of nostrils, hidden discreetly on the sides of his nose in folds of skin, that would only open up at speed so that he can breathe deeply enough to run.....never mind the surgery required to reinforce the lower skeleton for it all, or to put what would be *wing* muscle into his thighs and legs)
But I digress, sorry. ^_^
Point is, I could cope with some *minor* avian features if the net benefit made me a super-human. Plumage isn't so bad. I could deal with fewer fingers and toes so long as it wasn't crippling.
Just saying...thanks for your time! ^_^ Good question!
2007-03-25 08:16:11 · answer #1 · answered by Bradley P 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would learn how to fly and becaome Super Sparki. Then with my magical bird like powers, fly around and peck at all evil doers. And if I had legs, then I'd TOTALLY learn how to fly.
Be afraid. Be very afraid evil doers.
2007-04-01 00:13:28 · answer #2 · answered by Sparki 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd don a costume and become the amazing Bird-Man!
2007-03-25 15:57:41 · answer #3 · answered by RG 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
squack my head of and fly out of the window try to get as far as possible away from civilization ,before somebody shoots or cooks me .
2007-03-26 00:17:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I woke up once and my head was SKeletors head, and all I wanted to do was kill He-Man.
2007-03-27 14:04:59 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fly the coop...
2007-03-25 17:01:27 · answer #6 · answered by Moon Man 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
spread my wings and fly away, just drift away...?
2007-03-25 17:42:47 · answer #7 · answered by Star-Scream 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋