The Great Experiment

Once the Cheldrun were undivided. In that day there were no Biomade or Mechified, they had not begun genetic manipulation or cybernetic enhancement. Nor were there truly Allskins because no one had a concept of being anything other than Cheldrun. They were a people, young, innovative, and voracious. They consumed new ideas and knowledge like ravenous baby birds. Eventually, the First Minds brought a proposal for the future of the species.

Incipient technologies were opening new horizons of possibility. The talent and intellect of the species itself could be the greatest arena of progress. With auto-augmentation procedures the Cheldrun might become more than a remarkable family of explorers. They might become an empire.

What is known as the Great Experiment commenced millenia ago in a distant star system. The Cheldrun willingly allowed themselves to be sorted into three distinct castes by the First Minds. Some were assigned to undergo radical gene therapy, becoming the first generation of Biomade. Some were assigned to undergo cybernetic surgery, becoming the first generation of Mechified. The remainder were required to keep themselves free of either procedure for the security of the species. They were the first Allskins.

To say that the Allskins are the "original Cheldrun" would be a mistake (though of course the Allskin do think of themselves this way). Over the intervening millenia there have been significant cultural and physical changes by virtue of their separation from the other castes that have made them distinctive naturally even without intentional scientific intervention. Unquestionably the meaning of the word "Cheldrun" is somewhat vague given that it no longer has a direct correlation to heritage. The Biomade think of being Cheldrun as a matter of inheriting a culture of innovation and achievement. The Mechified think of being Cheldrun as a matter of belonging to a society which includes the other two castes. Essentially, being Cheldrun has come to mean something almost identical with participating in the Great Experiment.

The control group, the Allskins, was intended by the First Minds as a safeguard against disaster and as a way of measuring the progress of the two experimental groups. Foreseeing the social tension that would result from being left out of auto-augmentation procedures the First Minds established protocols which became cultural mores that gave the Allskins an elevated place in Cheldrun society. That elevated position was secured by sole possession of certain First Mind technologies, which have not since been duplicated. Among these technologies are the famed Mecha.

The pure experiment, as the Biomade call themselves, chose to establish an Oversight Committee which would direct the genetic course of the caste. Early on the Biomade were still mating and undergoing gene therapy during childhood, however, they soon preferred the more controlled method of designing themselves before birth. The Oversight Committee chooses how many new subjects to introduce into the population each year, what skills and abilities those subjects will be suited for, and if they have any psychic potential. A majority of Biomade created each year are stable models perfected in the past. In the spirit of ongoing experimentation, however, they continue to produce a small number of test subjects every year in order to further the development of their caste.

The dirty experiment, as the Mechified are happy to be known, rejected the idea of a hierarchical body determining the direction of their development. Rather each individual Mechified is tasked from birth with the job of testing and improving their own mechification and sharing any discoveries with the community. At a young age it is the parent's responsibility to start the cybernetic augmentation and guide it, but from majority on, it is that individual's goal to explore gradual mechification.

Whether or not the Great Experiment is still going on is up for debate. Many Biomade and some Mechified have been arguing that sufficient time has passed since the commencement of the Great Experiment that it can now be regarded as a completed success, thus ending the necessity of the Allskins. These people advocate the transition of willing Allskins into the other two castes and have even begun to discuss crossing experiments. To date it is still unheard of for a Biomade to undergo cybernetic surgery, or for a Mechified to undergo gene therapy. It is not unheard of, however, for disillusioned Allskins to join one of the other castes. Within one or two generations they are completely assimilated when they choose to do this. The adamant traditionalists among the Allskin consider transition between castes to be the ultimate act of betrayal.