Aliens of Charted Space Volume 4 - Pre-Order & PDF!

[G'Naakbusters]

Hominid evolution is rather obscure, though there's evidence of a lot of cross-lineage at various points. Modern humans are the result of varying degrees of hybridization. Yet all that input has been forced through several apparent genetic bottlenecks since then. We're rather odd, really, in that our species and subspecies is the only one left, and we have very little genetic variation. Despite the phenotypical diversity (sorry, Hivers) there's little genetic drift, relatively speaking, though of course there are also different concentrations of ancestry from our relatives -- like others said, neanderthals, denisovans, etc. So we're all oddly similar (not as bad as cheetahs, I don't think?) but also have different leftover lineages of the vanished subspecies.

I came across this very fun, tongue-in-cheek speculative evolution recently, a thought experiment in which the origin of humans is domesticated breeding programs among proto-hominids... by sapient elephants:

https://www.deviantart.com/concavenator/art/Gods-of-Salt-773947897

Worth a read!

 

[Jakovian]

Evolution is, of course, unclear, but since we mastered "cheap and quick" species genome reading (the Human Genome Project took us 10 years, reading the potato or Neanderthal genome took weeks), we have examined the preserved DNA of fossil human species. And we know, for example, that the Neanderthal was not dark-haired with black skin; in fact, we get blonde hair and white skin from them. There were also several "species" of Neanderthals; previously, we lumped them into one group based on preserved bones. Denisovans, whom we considered a less significant branch, are related to Asians (or rather, Asians have a mixture of their genes).

As for my comment, it focused on something particularly described in the textbook. The Surreat don't share 65% of genes with Neanderthals; they have 65% of Neanderthal genes (or even more). We probably share about 80-90% of genes (or more) with Vargr.

 

[Seffix]

As I recall, there's supposedly more genetic variation in sub Saharan Africa, then in the whole of anywhere else.

That matches what I've heard and read recently.

 

[Squishtopher10203]

I just spoke to the author, the threat did not arrive until 737. I'll change the text to clarify this!

'On the timeline on page 223 it states that by the year 650 the Tezcat control an empire consisting of 6 worlds, but on page 220 it says that by the year 700 the Tezcat controlled 5 worlds. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the paragraph before hand says that they wrested control of Undrelyn on the Aslan in 693, which means that if they owned 6 worlds in 650 they owned 7 worlds in 700. In further reading the exact answer is that the Tezcat owned 5 worlds in 650 as on page 190 the Solar Hegemony is said to control 6 worlds, with Undrelyn listed as one of them.'

Going to copy his reply here : 'The number of worlds controlled by the Tezcat has fluctuated over the centuries. In 700 they controlled six worlds. Undrelyn changed hands a couple of times, hence the differing numbers ( 6 worlds in 650 when they first conquered Undrelyn, 5 worlds in 700 when they lost Undrelyn, and then 6 worlds again from 997 when they wrested control from the Aslan again).'

I hope this helps! I'll clarify the first one in the text with corrections

I thank you for your reply, and I apologise for being such a stickler. I thank the ability to post problems directly to people who work on the books is too tempting for me.

On the first point, is the section is Aliens of Charted Space Volume 3 that I mentioned in error then as it mentions that the fleet sent by Empress Margaret arrived at Shiwonee, where the Geonee developed, in 736.

On the point about the number of worlds in the Solar Hegemony, the wording on page 220 about Undrelyn, "The Tezcat made several attempts to conquering it before succeeding in 693;" seems to indicate that it was not in Tezcat hands in 650. Likewise while the Tezcat could have lost Undrelyn by the year 700 the wording on the next paragraph does not seem to indicate they had lost it that quickly, as the paragraph the mentions 5 planets on page 220 seems to be more about how established the species was by the year 220, especially since the only way to notice that they had lost a planet from discrepencies in the numbers on the other pages. If the Undrelyn is meant to be back in Aslan hands at that time I think it would be better if it was more explicit in the text, though that is just my opinion and you may disagree.

I understand if you do not want to pursue this matter further, these are in the end very minor quibbles, but hopefully it is not too much of a bother for me to just point this stuff out.

I thank you for your time.

 

[Tom B]

@Tom B. the plural of mink is either mink or minks, so they got that one right.

Fair enough - I've only ever seen mink used before.