User talk:JonBuck/A Kind of Paradise

Setting Notes

Basics

• The number of furries doubles in late August each year. The story is actually at Year 21, when there are just over one million furries. The next year will add a million, and so forth.
• The first furry in 1987 was a vixen, with a tod the next year. Some stereotypes do have a basis in "reality". :)
  • The entire world will be furry in 2020.
• Species are generally native to a particular continent. So most people in North America will end up whitetail deer, elk, bears, foxes, wolves, etc. Recent immigrants will more likely end up native species to wherever they came from.
  • No Mythicals like dragons, griffins, satyrs, what-have-you.
  • No birds unless the laws of physics get bent a bit so they can actually fly... Which still may happen.
  • No dinosaurs. Sadly, I can't include them.
  • Mammals only until I figure a reasonable way others can be included.
• With every iteration, it's possible that an already-changed person could experience (with increasing rarity, all less than one percent):
  • A species change. ("What the..? I'm a wolf now? What am I supposed to do with all these hoof picks?")
  • A gender change. ("Well, I guess the fawns have two moms.")
  • A combination of both. ("Don't even call me a bitch!")
• Furries can still interbreed with one another as if they were all still human. Children get a 50/50 chance of which of the parents' species they follow.
• Conversely, humans cannot interbreed with furries, probably due to the RDF.
  • I wonder what would happen if someone's child goes furry, but not the rest of the family.

The Reality Distortion Field

• Humans can't see furries for what they are. They still see whatever the person looked like before, even if that person was the opposite gender.
• Some things aren't filtered correctly. Consequently...
  • If a TGed man gets pregnant, the filter will change that person's image to female. But she will still appear human to other humans.
  • Things like hoof/paw prints, shed fur, shed antlers, clawmarks, animal odors, etc., are not filtered. So if a cougar morph gets in a fight with a normal human and lashes out with his claws, he could cause a hell of a lot of damage.
  • Some humans think that there is something up. And some have figured out that the friends who claim to be furry actually are what they claim to be.
• It's possible to break the RDF, but I haven't figured out under what circumstances yet.
• Things like medical care and surgery are still unknowns at this point. We'll see what future stories require.
• The RDF sometimes breaks down a little during large gatherings of furries (like at conventions). "Hey, that's the best costume I've ever seen! Is that a prosthetic muzzle?"
  • In more extreme cases it will break down entirely. But it would take repeated exposures, or perhaps having a number of furry friends while remaining humans oneself. Like in Changing Perspectives.
• It may start to break down as there grow to be millions of furries in the world (see below).

The Numbers

Total sequence as follows (all figures approximate):

Year  Total Furries  Total Populace  Furries, as %age of total populace
1987              1   5,184,212,887     0.000 000 02%
1988              2   5,247,179,035     0.000 000 04%
1989              4   5,310,909,955     0.000 000 05%
1990              8   5,375,414,934     0.000 000 15%
1991             16   5,440,703,374     0.000 000 3%
1992             32   5,506,784,792     0.000 000 6%
1993             64   5,573,668,818     0.000 001 1%
1994            128   5,641,365,200     0.000 002%
1995            256   5,709,883,806     0.000 004%
1996            512   5,779,234,621     0.000 009%
1997          1,028   5,849,427,754     0.000 018%
1998          2,056   5,920,473,436     0.000 03%
1999          4,112   5,992,382,020     0.000 07%
2000          8,224   6,065,163,988     0.000 14%
2001         16,448   6,138,829,947     0.000 3%
2002         32,896   6,213,390,635     0.000 5%
2003         65,792   6,288,856,918     0.001 0%
2004        131,584   6,365,239,795     0.002%
2005        263,168   6,442,550,400     0.004%
2006        526,336   6,520,800,000     0.008%
2007      1,052,672   6,600,000,000     0.016%
2008      2,105,344   6,680,161,943     0.032%
2009      4,210,688   6,761,297,514     0.062%
2010      8,421,376   6,843,418,536     0.123%
2011     16,842,752   6,926,536,980     0.24%
2012     33,685,504   7,010,664,959     0.48%
2013     67,371,008   7,095,814,736     0.95%
2014    134,742,016   7,181,998,721     1.88%
2015    269,484,032   7,269,229,474     3.71%
2016    538,968,064   7,357,519,711     7.33%
2017  1,077,936,128   7,446,882,298    14.47%
2018  2,155,872,256   7,537,330,262    28.60%
2019  4,311,744,512   7,628,876,783    56.52%
2020  8,623,489,024   7,721,535,206  >100%

Things should start to get really interesting around 2010. There's enough furs in the world then that niche markets would start to open up. More clothing and products specifically designed for furries start popping up. Also, it will become harder and harder to induct new furs into the group in a healthy manner. Society may start to break down in places.

It will take a concerted effort by those previously changed to keep everything under control...