Secrets

[NotDavies]

So there I am, thinking about how various TV shows might be different in the IST world, when my mind drifts onto "JAG".
For those of you who don't know, this long-running, recently ended CBS show depicted the activities (both courtroom and otherwise) of lawyers in the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General. One of the show's central characters, Marine Lt. Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, had some interesting, possibly psychic abilities.
Which concept abruptly gave me furiously to think.
In the IST World, of course, the U.N. Edicts prohibit anyone exhibiting metahuman powers from serving in the national militaries (or intelligence/security services) of U.N. member nations. Presumably, this means that any individual already serving in the armed forces will be given a medical discharge (or something similar) if they develop such abilities.
BUT. Given the subtlety of certain abilities, it is entirely possible that the individual could conceivably keep them a secret for some time. The hitch would be the regular physical examinations that military personnel are subject to; however, I believe that the state of the art in power detection can only reveal whether or not an individual has the metahuman genes, not whether or not they have been "expressed".
I suspect that, in nations prizing civil liberties (such as the U.S.) immediately after that test became available, there was something of an outcry from people who might lose their livelihoods if their "meta-potential" was discovered. It does not seem appropriate, to me at least, that people should lose their jobs simply because they might one day develop a condition which would require their resignation.
So the question is: are such genetic tests part of the routine physical in (for example) the U.S. Armed Forces? And what are the implications of the answer?
Chris Davies.

[Bob Schroeck]

There is a test for metagenes in the IST world; I just never explored it very far. Again, that may be something I need to do in the new project.

-- Bob
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It's spelt "Frodo Baggins" but it's pronounced "Throat-wobbler Mangrove."

[NotDavies]

Right, the Cavillo test (IIRC). Per the text, it's 100% accurate, but it can't distinguish between a latent metahuman, a mutate (powers activated by external phenomena) or a mutant (powers activated as a result of internal changes). Of course, there may have been some advancements made since 1991.
Chris Davies.

[Bob Schroeck]

There may. I haven't thought about it yet.

-- Bob
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It's spelt "Frodo Baggins" but it's pronounced "Throat-wobbler Mangrove."

[Morgan Champion]

Considering how much progress has been made on this Earth in the 14 years since 1991 in the field of genetic engineering,I'd say that the Cavillo test would have been improved,especially as the version described can only determine the potential of metahuman powers in a test subject,and not whether the subject has actually developed such abilities.
Since the U.N. forbids non-latent metahumans from joining the military(I.S.T's excepted),it seems likely that a test to determine whether a character can actually use their metahuman abilities could be developed.
(In fact,now I'm remembering that Professor Power's origin (as described in GURPs Super Scum) stated that the Eastern block scientists who activated his latent metagenes could tell that they'd suceeded in activating his latent metabilities,but required elaborate tests to dtermine which powers he had manifested)."There's only one kind of monster that uses bullets"

[Bob Schroeck]

Yeah, it does make sense. I just worry about something like that somehow spoiling somebody's game ideas...

-- Bob
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It's a "magical" land. I think "magical" is ancient Greek for "pain in the butt". -- Bun-Bun, Sluggy Freelance, 11/9/03

[RMH999]

Well... there's a couple of ways around that (if you want technobabble from a molecular biologist ^^ I'm just giving a basic rundown from my view - I can get really technical if anyone wants a rationalization of the molecular biology of metapower expression)
Since I've never read the IST books, and can only go from what I've read here...
The Cavillo test would be for the transcription factor that binds to all the other metagenes. All genes have promotors of various types where the enzymes that read the DNA bind to initially, then goes on to read the gene. The transcription factor is what connects those enzymes to a given promotor - since there are different transcription factors, it allows different genes to be expressed in given cells (genes only in the brain vs those expressed in the liver).
There are several ways to track down which genes the Cavillo factor would bind to, to figure out which metagenes are expressed, and from that try to figure out what their powers are. Although determining what their powers are from gene expression could be really difficult (there's various levels of interaction from multiple areas that can change what that gene does or express). While the IST world would be more advanced in genetic engineering, there'd still be enough (IMO) cloudiness possible for people to not be testable for specific powers. It'd get more complicated (and fun!) if one of the things that the Cavillo factor activated were more transcription factors, leading to more pathways to chase down.
As far as having powers undetectable via the test...
Mutation in the gene - the metagene activation factor isn't going to have selective pressure on it to keep it from spontaneously mutating. Perhaps they only THINK they're getting 100% of metahumans. Alternatively - that person had a mutation in a different transcription factor, one that now allows that transcription factor to bind and activate metagenes. This could be a general activation, or it could be selective to only one or two metagenes.
Pseudogenes, siRNA, microRNA, post-translational processing...
The test for metahuman genes can be just as effective/ineffective as you want/need for the world to have.
RMH