Paradise (Setting)

From Shifti
Revision as of 00:13, 10 December 2007 by JonBuck (Talk | contribs) (The Numbers)

Jump to: navigation, search

A direct link To the original story.

Basics

  • The setting is basically indistinguishable from the Real World up until 1987, the year when people first begin to spontaneously transform into furries.
  • Exactly one person transformed in Year One (i.e., 1987), and the number of furries doubles in late August each year. The initial story in this setting, A Kind of Paradise, is set in Year 21 (i.e., 2007), when there are just over one million furries. The next year (2008) will add a million, for a total of two megafurries, 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. There are so many species that are just too big.
    • 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! Just show me how to put on this stupid bra!")
  • 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.
  • There are some physical variations, but not the wide "Degrees" that Winds of Change has. The most obvious differences are hair, feet, and hands. Otherwise, most everyone is about as morphic as seen in common furry art.

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.
  • 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?" Memories afterwards will probably remember some really good costumes, and photos will be perceived as such.
    • 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.
  • Do animals perceive the RDF? Probably not. But the odor of a fur is neither quite human or animal. There are still some common human pheromones, for example. Which is what makes romance between wolf and deer possible. This is a good thing, since it means that a doe-woman in heat won't be chased down by a normal buck.
  • 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
1   1987              1   5,184,212,887     0.000 000 02%
2   1988              2   5,247,179,035     0.000 000 04%
3   1989              4   5,310,909,955     0.000 000 05%
4   1990              8   5,375,414,934     0.000 000 15%
5   1991             16   5,440,703,374     0.000 000 3%
6   1992             32   5,506,784,792     0.000 000 6%
7   1993             64   5,573,668,818     0.000 001 1%
8   1994            128   5,641,365,200     0.000 002%
9   1995            256   5,709,883,806     0.000 004%
10  1996            512   5,779,234,621     0.000 009%
11  1997          1,028   5,849,427,754     0.000 018%
12  1998          2,056   5,920,473,436     0.000 03%
13  1999          4,112   5,992,382,020     0.000 07%
14  2000          8,224   6,065,163,988     0.000 14%
15  2001         16,448   6,138,829,947     0.000 3%
16  2002         32,896   6,213,390,635     0.000 5%
17  2003         65,792   6,288,856,918     0.001 0%
18  2004        131,584   6,365,239,795     0.002%
19  2005        263,168   6,442,550,400     0.004%
20  2006        526,336   6,520,800,000     0.008%
21  2007      1,052,672   6,600,000,000     0.016%
22  2008      2,105,344   6,680,161,943     0.032%
23  2009      4,210,688   6,761,297,514     0.062%
24  2010      8,421,376   6,843,418,536     0.123%
25  2011     16,842,752   6,926,536,980     0.24%
26  2012     33,685,504   7,010,664,959     0.48%
27  2013     67,371,008   7,095,814,736     0.95%
28  2014    134,742,016   7,181,998,721     1.88%
29  2015    269,484,032   7,269,229,474     3.71%
30  2016    538,968,064   7,357,519,711     7.33%
31  2017  1,077,936,128   7,446,882,298    14.47%
32  2018  2,155,872,256   7,537,330,262    28.60%
22  2019  4,311,744,512   7,628,876,783    56.52%
23  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...

The Cause

So, why is this happening? What's causing it? A nanotech virus? Microscopic magic pixies? The return of magic? The wrath of God? What?

I know the answer, but I'd rather explain it in the next story. It'll be dismissed as insanity by most, but it'll nevertheless be the real explanation.