The ATA Gene is Your Friend: cupidsbow

cupidsbow

The ATA Gene is Your Friend

Dec 01, 2005 09:34

Due to my current deadline crisis, vegetariansushi and I have been brainstorming. Most of it is utterly useless in terms of story potential (at least for stories under 5,000 words), but rates unexpectedly high on the old crack-o-meter.

So I thought I'd share...

Stuff the ATA Gene Can Do (at least inside the head of cupidsbow):

Turn things on (cupidsbow: including Rodney, in many and various ways)
Ascension (cupidsbow: novel idea!!!! Do not proceed.)
Attract Gods and Godesses (cupidsbow: hmmmm. That could be... another novel, dammit! In fact, the same damn novel as the previous point! *whines* Am I really that predictable, Vege? vegetariansushi: I have faith in your story skillz! Faith, damnit! cupidsbow: *perking up a bit* I suppose it could also lead to jealous!Rodney, but that's a bit old.)
Get Atlantis all hot and bothered (cupidsbow: I'm already writing this one: "Being John Sheppard"--another novel!)

Permutation offered by kinetikatrue: 'the gene-carriers' happiness affects Atlantis' happiness/level of performance' sort of thing.
Telepathy? (vegetariansushi: would've manifested by now! cupidsbow: point. I could get around it though... in a *novel*.)
Unusual brain function? (vegetariansushi: like what? cupidsbow: I'm thinking gestalt mind. vegetariansushi: oh! angst and catatonic!John. cupidsbow: yis! and more angst and supreme-sacrifice!Rodney...

*long digression about Umberto Eco's theory of comedy versus tragedy, and why tragedy is innately a longer form*

vegetariansushi and cupidsbow: so that's another *novel* idea, then.)

Permutation offered by kinetikatrue: prolonged exposure to Atlantis for people with the ATA gene (full version) makes them smarter. When this manifests in John, Rodney can't decide whether to hit him or fuck him.

And the next one offered by kinetikatrue: something to do with genetically imbued Ancient courtship rituals, like, there are stages, so when John suddenly hits the point where he's emotionally ready (at some level) to begin making advances his gene starts telling him to do all sorts of crazy stuff he would never have thought to do before.

Permutation offered by cricketk: I still like the idea that living with Ancient architecture is subtly warping their minds - so that John falls first and hardest into thinking like an Ancient and appreciating things like an Ancient and everyone is horribly, horribly disturbed by the shift in his values, until slowly they all become Ancient-ified and are terribly, terribly boring and make all the same mistakes the Ancients made and then all get beaten by the Wraith again.
The gene carriers and/or Atlantis are susceptable to some kind of disease, which is cross-communicable. (cupidsbow: It could be Independance Day War of the Worlds all over again. vegetariansushi: except with more angst. cupidsbow: It's great! But has exactly the same problem as gestalt!John. vegetariansushi: many many many words go into it.)
Pon farr. Atlantis triggers horny bugs in all the gene carriers because it wants them to BREED NOW DAMMIT. (cupidsbow: *Such* a cliche. vegetariansushi: it's like aliens, only better--there's no escaping atlantis)

Permutation offered by kinetikatrue: This is really kinda crack, but... the Ancients of both sexes could produce children and if you hadn't reproduced by a certain age (ticking biological clock, yo!) then the gene would point you at the nearest, most genetically compatible person and kick the breeding instinct into overdrive. This kicks in for John and his match turns out to be... Rodney (duh).
The genetic interface stops working. (vegetariansushi: are you *sure* you haven't seen any of season 2 yet? cupidsbow: I could *so* write for this show!)

*bizarro detour into accidental spankings due to window mix-up*
John gets datadumped in the head. With a sex manual for the non-humanoid species of the Ancient's allies. (cupidsbow: *goes to a tentacle!sex place* vegetariansushi: *is squicked* cupidsbow:

John: "Rodney, I want to put my blooble into your grammilla."
Rodney: *gapes*
John: "If only I had a tentacle! We could do the xonkaloop thingy, Rodney."
Rodney: "What's wrong with the tentacle in your mouth? It's self lubricating and everything."
John: "Good point!" *puts his tongue in Rodney's grammilla*

vegetariansushi: i can't decide if that's so funny, or really disturbing, or both. or hot. or -- you know, there are a lot of words there.
cupidsbow: a novel's worth, perhaps?
vegetariansushi: what if atlantis gets in a strop because john loves rodney more than he loves her, and then she deactivates his gene and he has to win back her favour? cupidsbow: I love it! It's great! And also a novel! *dark look* And I think I might already be writing that novel. And also, also? My prompt is for "all John/Rodney all the time". *feels like party-pooper*

*long, long, long digression, in which there is storytime, and cupidsbow outlines her current favourite idea, "Three Strikes"*

vegetariansushi: i think that it's utterly charming, but this is totally a novel, you freak.
cupidsbow: *hangs head*
It's discovered that the ATA gene is actually more primitive than current human DNA, hence their giant over-compensation with technology thing. (vegetariansushi: we're scraping the bottom now, aren't we? cupidsbow: I think my brain is broken.)
Under extreme conditions the ATA gene is capable of reproducing by budding. (vegetariansushi: john sprouting little green buds off his ears. cupidsbow: bottom. of. the. barrel.)
John's got junk DNA that can do weird stuff.

vegetariansushi: like turn him into a reptile?
cupidsbow: You've been watching too much Star Trek!
cupidsbow: I was thinking more along the lines of cure cancer.
vegetariansushi: no, i was still hung up on the tentacles earlier
cupidsbow: Ah. Say no more!
Ancient is more than a name. John ages at a different rate than other people. (vegetariansushi: ... cupidsbow: You're so right. It doesn't even deserve snark. vegetariansushi: *kindly* we can try again tomorrow cupidsbow: *rips out hair*)
Other enhancements due to the gene.

Offered by kinetikatrue: There are certain foods which, when eaten by people with the gene who are sexually active, enhance sexual performance. These foods are only native to the Pegasus Galaxy and completely non-obvious, so the initial bout of great sex (longer staying power, shorter refraction period, heightened sensitivity, yay!) comes as a complete surprise. It's only after the second or third go and/or they reach the point where they start craving whatever it is that things start to become clear. libitina adds: I suggest a strangely shaped root vegetable that the commissary has been turning into mashed "potatoes."

I'll update the list as I think of more stuff. Because, hey, I'm sharing that way :)

Feel free to use and abuse these ideas at will. No crediting required.

*sets ideas free*