Richard's Animorphs Forum

Animorphs Section => Animorphs Forum Classic => Topic started by: Essam 293 on August 18, 2008, 03:37:34 PM

Title: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Essam 293 on August 18, 2008, 03:37:34 PM
I'm not sure if this has been brought up before, so I thought I'd ask.

We know that when you acquire an animal or a person that you acquire them at the current age that they are in. For example, if you acquire an adult male lion, you'd morph an adult male lion. You're not going to accidentally morph the lion as a cub or anything, because you acquired the DNA of the lion as an adult.

However, say if you acquired the lion when it was a cub. You'd then morph it into a cub, right? But what if you came back a couple of years later and acquired that same lion again, but now as an adult? The DNA of the lion would still be the same, right? Would acquiring the same DNA again with a different age overwrite the previous DNA with it as a cub? Or would there simply be two sets of the same DNA now, with both the cub and the adult?

It's a random question, I know. But I just thought of it and I wanted to know what you all think. I'm not much of a science guy, so if anyone can shed light into this topic, then that'd be interesting to hear. :)
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Touquie on August 18, 2008, 03:47:07 PM
I think that the DNA ages as you go along.  Remember when Jake ran into Tobias in the future?  Tobias was morphed as Ax, but the morph was older.

So if you aquired the same animal at different stages of it's life, it would still be the same when you morphed.  The current age that it is in.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Essam 293 on August 18, 2008, 03:51:03 PM
But how would that work with insects or animals that only live for a certain number of hours, days, or weeks? Obviously the DNA morph doesn't just die inside the host. Otherwise they'd be morphing zombie ants and flies. :o :P
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Chad32 on August 18, 2008, 04:12:24 PM
I think that, even though it's the same DNA, it would work like having two lion morphs. You could concentrate on the image of the cub, or the adult, and even though it's the same lion they would still be separate. The adult wouldn't overwrite the cub.

Truth, haven't you been here long enough to know about the Random Animorphs thoughts thread? For shame.

I think that thread should be pinned, so we can keep up with it better.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: musicman88 on August 18, 2008, 04:19:37 PM
DNA does in fact change with age.  (I went into this in some detail on the old board, so look it up if you really want to.)  Acquiring the same lion at a different age would be like having two different lion morphs.  As for the morphs themselves aging I don't think they would.  Maybe while you're morphed they might, but as soon as you morph into it again it'll revert back to whatever you acquired it as.  Nothlits however are a different story.  Once you get caught in a morph it definitely ages like normal.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: morfowt on August 18, 2008, 04:58:34 PM
Well pretty much what musicman said, except I don't think while you're morphed it ages either. I think it only starts aging after you become a nothlit.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: RYTX on August 18, 2008, 05:11:22 PM
second that, though I think if you age in morph before becoming a nothlit.
though unless you find and animal with a two hour life span it's pretty much irrelevant.

though I also ponder: can a morph age out of morph? Ax and Tobias's human morphs start around 13, I know they don't mention it, but wouldn't it be odd to jam a couple of thirteen yros with 16 yros years later???
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Yorick Brown on August 18, 2008, 05:59:30 PM
I always thought that you simply couldn't acquire the DNA of the same animal regardless of age
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Liz on August 18, 2008, 06:40:45 PM
second that, though I think if you age in morph before becoming a nothlit.
though unless you find and animal with a two hour life span it's pretty much irrelevant.

though I also ponder: can a morph age out of morph? Ax and Tobias's human morphs start around 13, I know they don't mention it, but wouldn't it be odd to jam a couple of thirteen yros with 16 yros years later???

I remember in #41 Tobias' Ax morph had aged so he looked like Elfangor.  But I think Tobias had become trapped in that morph, right?

I guess the morph only ages if it becomes permanent.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: morfowt on August 18, 2008, 06:42:36 PM
yes he became an andalite nothlit, although that's not a very good source because it was kind of a dream or illusion.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: musicman88 on August 18, 2008, 07:15:06 PM
I think that morphs would not age when not in use (kinda what I said before).  So Tobias should always be a 13 year old kid.  But there is a bit of leeway on that since we never learned exactly what The Elimist did to him to give him his morphing power back...
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Phoenix004 on August 18, 2008, 07:50:26 PM
I'm not sure if it was ever said, but I always assumed that you couldn't acquire the same individual twice. If so, then this question is void as it would be impossible to acquire the exact same animal a second time.

As for what Touquie said about Tobias' Andalite morph being older in the future when Jake met him, that was simply because Tobias had trapped himself in morph (again) and had been in his Andalite body for several years.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: morfowt on August 18, 2008, 08:03:48 PM
I think you can it's just that unless there's a big difference that you can see, there's no point. You have to visualize the animal to morph it. if you visualize both animals as looking alike, then there's no point in acquiring it. Am I making sense? Cuz it's starting to sound confusing. it was a lot more clear in my mind.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: wotw2112 on August 18, 2008, 08:13:48 PM
It seems more logical that you can only acquire any animal once.  You get the DNA as of the date and time of the acquisition and morph into that exact animal each time.  Then the clocks start ticking from the same point each morph.  If you get stuck it keeps going.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Phoenix004 on August 19, 2008, 12:29:16 PM
It seems more logical that you can only acquire any animal once.  You get the DNA as of the date and time of the acquisition and morph into that exact animal each time.  Then the clocks start ticking from the same point each morph.  If you get stuck it keeps going.

Thank you, that's exactly what I thought.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: XenomorphLV426 on August 19, 2008, 06:56:05 PM
But how would that work with insects or animals that only live for a certain number of hours, days, or weeks? Obviously the DNA morph doesn't just die inside the host. Otherwise they'd be morphing zombie ants and flies. :o :P

Brrraaaaiiiinnss.  !!!!!
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Starsword on August 19, 2008, 08:38:23 PM
That pretty awesome right there.  Zombie animorphs sound pretty sweet.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Phoenix004 on August 19, 2008, 08:48:55 PM
That pretty awesome right there.  Zombie animorphs sound pretty sweet.

If I go on fanfiction.net right now and find a fic entitled "Zombiemorphs" then at least I'll know who to hunt down for making up such a ridiculous idea!  ;)
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Starsword on August 19, 2008, 08:50:39 PM
What's scarier than children that can be practically any living thing on the planet?.?.? Zombie children that can be practically any living thing on the planet! That would keep me up at night.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Phoenix004 on August 19, 2008, 09:03:09 PM
It's 3am here, but I was awake anyway! Zombies don't scare me, I have a "Zombie Plan."  ;)

Can anybody actually think of a practical use for acquiring the same individual more than once?
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: musicman88 on August 19, 2008, 09:12:57 PM
To acquire and older and more powerful version of the morph?
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Starsword on August 20, 2008, 12:54:56 PM
Or to apply for AARP and senior discounts in Florida
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: RYTX on August 20, 2008, 12:57:56 PM
Well, you may be able to force yourself out of an allergy. If you're pre-exposed you might be able to handle it in the future.
Still doubt Rachel would try to morph a croc again, but it might work :P
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Blake (xtrunkzx) on August 21, 2008, 11:56:18 PM
I think that the DNA ages as you go along.  Remember when Jake ran into Tobias in the future?  Tobias was morphed as Ax, but the morph was older.

Yea but Tobias had morphed & became a nothlit again, thus aging.
I'd say that they would be seperate sets of DNA because if u consider all the hormones n stuff that makes the body age is different if u compare an adult n child together.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Yorick Brown on August 22, 2008, 12:44:33 AM
They wouldn't be sepratae sets of DNA at One or One Hundred. Your DNA will alwayys be the same.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: morfowt on August 22, 2008, 12:51:48 AM
if you DNA doesn't change with age, then how does the morphing technology determine which age the animal is in when you morph it?
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: musicman88 on August 22, 2008, 07:33:28 AM
They wouldn't be separate sets of DNA at One or One Hundred. Your DNA will always be the same.

Technically your DNA is the same but what's different about it is which parts are "turned on".  That's just as important as the DNA in the first place.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Blake (xtrunkzx) on August 27, 2008, 05:24:18 PM
if you DNA doesn't change with age, then how does the morphing technology determine which age the animal is in when you morph it?

I always assumed it to be the age that you aquire that animal.
Ex: when Ax morphs human, he aquires the Animorphs DNA at roughly age 13-14, give or take the serveral months considering when they all started the war, the months between that start n Ax's arrival n the gaps between all of they're b-days. Anyways, Ax's morph would be whatever that average age is. So towards the end of the war, Ax's human morph would be roughly 2 years behind the Animorphs' actual age. Same thing w Tobias after the Ellimist intervenes. His morph to his human self would be whatever the age was the night before they met Elfangor.
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: morfowt on August 27, 2008, 06:03:58 PM
um...just asking, is there a reason you quoted that?
Title: Re: Acquiring the same DNA at different ages
Post by: Blake (xtrunkzx) on August 29, 2008, 07:24:16 AM
um....no....
i kinda just felt like it
 :P