Genestealer Hybrids Reverse Progression

[lordsia]

Just had to throw this out there, because it bothers me.

Okay, so for those who don't know, the canon life cycle of a Genestealer goes like this:

The key points to take away is this:

• The three- and four-armed Acolyte Hybrids are first- and second-generation offpsring.
  
• Neophyte Hybrids, virtually identical to the Host species, occur in the third and fourth generation.
  
• Purestrain Genestealers are born from Neophyte Hybrids, possibly - depending on how you interpret "the local population" - by reproducing with untainted Hosts.
• Metamorphs are pseudo-Purestrains born during the final run-up to an invasion.
  

Which seems to me entirely ass-backwards.

So, my question; who else runs with the headcanon of Genestealers going;

0th: Purestrain-infected Hosts.

1: Neophyte Hybrids.

2rd: Acolyte Hybrids.

3rd: Metamorph Hybrids.

4th: Purestrains.

All of the character-class cultists - Primi, Magi, Kelermorphs, Locus, Sanctus, Biophagus, etc - are just the result of normal human variations amplified by the Hybrid genome. Had they been born baseline humans, they would have been natural leaders, psykers, gunslingers, death cultists, snipers, scientists, and so on.

Aberrants are just those who would normally be mutants.

[kazetanade]

I actually think normal progression is fine and makes sense. Those infected by the Kiss don't really possess human DNA anymore.

How a purestrain forms is in my opinion, how white parents with black ancestry get black kids (or vice versa, considering the Caucasian color genes are the recessive ones) - when the right combination hits, it happens, and aliens just have a way of making it happen as a common occurance in the 5th generation.

[Hive Bahamut]

I love the order of operations as it helps show that even Nids, masters of bioengineering take some time to coalesce into the host species. Think of it as slowly breeding out a weak trait or desired one like we do with K9's.

Once they master the host species there is little reason to keep producing it (remember each of these are at least an entire generation,) which means go back to square one and expand again. Full circle of life.

Aberrants are interesting as I think they sort of retconned them being entirely accidents as the Biophagus is seemingly the Tyranids Haemonculi now. Even being able to extract the "kiss" and add it to medical exports etc.

The Heroes and Metamorphs are seemingly the most "Tyranid" in origin as they are Spawned from select gene sets or given mutations from their alien DNA.

[Inquisitor Stingray]

I can find issues with both ways of thinking, really. On one hand it seems pretty grotesque that an infected human would be able to beget a four-armed acolyte hybrid. On the flipside, it places the more visibly alien members of the cult among its elders, which I like. And it accentuates the idea that the threat (or strategy) of the cult is not to create three- or four-armed freaks, but to slowly infiltrate and subvert a society. I get your headcanon, but on the other hand it means that as the cult grows, the number of hard-to-disguise-as-humans members would increase, potentially compromising the safety of the cult. Maybe. It being a cross-generational cycle, I suppose it doesn't make much of a difference. However, as written, there are, in my opinion anyway, two major leaps: infected non-hybrids begetting hybrids, and fourth generation hybrids, almost indistinguishable from ordinary humans, birthing new genestealers.

I guess it boils down to a question of (horror) preference - which prospect is more horrifying? That the next generation will be yet more grotesque or yet more difficult to tell apart from the uninfected.

Add: In a way, they almost wrote themselves into a bit of a corner by spelling out the cycle like that, limiting themselves to exactly four generations and similar. I guess they can always change it a bit, excusing themselves with just reporting through the eyes of xenobiologists or something. It seems to be that the number of generations, the increase/decrease in mutations and so on should/could very depending on the host species. One could even conceive of a new kind of genestealer that would be born prematurely/out of sync, due to external pressure or some stress hormone. That may be the Metamorphs or Aberrants. At least they keep the door open for variations in the future.

[conquest]

Much from the lore, most character units(magi, primus, keler) are birthed at later times in the cults overall progression; I believe the intention is much like what you all have been saying, but the Nid DNA is being cycled out to birth more suitable leaders for the targeted species. Think, if the neophytes are one of the final stages of the brood cycle then they have but a fraction of the Gene, they are more susceptible to human copulation practices, because they look more human e.g. more attractive....THEN BOOM, the perfect combination of largely human-DNA mixed with a dash of the Genegene; creating a being nigh eliminated of the parent DNA (human). It sounds a lot like something else....ohhhhh yeaaah a genestealers "kiss"!

TL;DR

I think the genestealers are just the peppershaker in this equation, and the more pure the target infected is, the more infected the offspring become.

[naviedzony]

I think you forgot to mention the influence of the local version of the Hive Mind, the quasi-synaptic link between all infected members of the cult with the Patriarch in the center of it. It is possible, that the influence of the cult hive mind has its impact on which genes are dominant in the next generation depanding on the overall situation of the cult. Somewhere I found, that Hybrids like Nexos are born only, when time of ascendancy is near. But genes don't know if the time is right or not. It must be the cult hive mind, that produces some impulse and the genes responsible for leadership or tactical thinking become more dominant. The same impulse may lead to creation of purestrain genestealers as a mean to spread the infection further, leaving growing cult behind.

[purestrain]

It's a regressive gene, but since every part of a Tyranid is just more tyranid it's more than just a genetic trigger, I'm betting the blood knows when to make pure strains again.

[dan3dim]

Sex.... that production purestrains.

In DeathWatch lore there are lore about they found warm damp area in deeper at mining with full of pregnancy and imprisonments.

So I’ll say Neophyte hybrids rape them and create pure Tyranids instead of “Genestealers Kiss”

First and second generation may be cannot “making baby” but third and fourth can.

[naviedzony]

Aug 7, 2019 16:36:43 GMT dan3dim said:

First and second generation may be cannot “making baby” but third and fourth can.

It's stated, that every generation can produce an offspring. Even the "Generation 0" or the ones gifted with the Genestealer Kiss. That's how the cult grows, by breeding with indigenous population.

[dan3dim]

Aug 8, 2019 6:34:09 GMT naviedzony said:

Aug 7, 2019 16:36:43 GMT dan3dim said:

First and second generation may be cannot “making baby” but third and fourth can.

It's stated, that every generation can produce an offspring. Even the "Generation 0" or the ones gifted with the Genestealer Kiss. That's how the cult grows, by breeding with indigenous population.

I talk about produce Purestrain.

genestealers, broodlord, Purestrain, and Acolytes Hybrids ( don’t know if MetaMorphs can? ) only can implanted Genestealers kisses and transforms genes 🧬 

Neophyte Hybrids have both, Genestealers kiss or “making baby”

[naviedzony]

I don't know what you mean.

[dan3dim]

Aug 9, 2019 7:13:08 GMT naviedzony said:

I don't know what you mean.

This is how Purestrain were made....

[naviedzony]

I know, I just thought, that you mean something more than that.

[dan3dim]

Aug 12, 2019 6:32:20 GMT naviedzony said:

I know, I just thought, that you mean something more than that.

Something more than that? Uhhhhhhhhhh uuuhhhhhh uummmmm

i have no idea and I don’t think I want to know. 

[dan3dim]

All I know is that :
If Patriarch and all of Purestrain is wiped out, you cannot production 1st generation....
If all of Acolytes Hybrids is wipe out, you cannot production 3rd generation...

Then it’s up to 3rd/4th generation to reproduce first Purestrain and it will become Patriarch.

Repeating.

For every each generation, less and less Tyranid genes in host until they do naturally production babies instead of Genestealers Kiss.