014 - Stalin's Ape Army

[Dr. Gerard]

Hi all, thanks for staying after class.

Just thought I'd open the floor up for questions and comments about the lecture on Stalin's secret program to create ape-human supersoldiers.

We can talk about the real-life history of it, but I'd also love to hear any thoughts on how to use parts of these event in your games -- since that's why we're really here. I happen to love scenarios with some kind of "weird science" angle, so this topic was a slam dunk for me.

On the other hand, the whole thing is a little on the silly side...monkeys and apes tend to be funny instead of scary...so does anyone have ideas about how to make this sort of thing work for a game that's on the creepy end of the spectrum?

Anyway, listen to the lecture and let me know what springs to mind!

-Dr. Gerard.

[Keeper Dan]

I thought about Kriegaff #10 when I was listening to it. I think that was the creepiest use of a cyborg gorilla. It helps that Mignola has such a strong Lovecraftian feel to his stories, though through an action/adventure filter.

For game use, I'd start with the actual experiments and extrapolate what a successful result might be like. A chimp female giving birth to an ofspring from a human male donor... I'd take the size and mental attributes from the chimp side. Small and more curious/clever than intelligent. A creature that might look like a tiny human with the hair distribution of the chimp, and maybe a disturbing shape difference to the hands.
I could see something like this being trained easier than chimps, but is still essentially in the animal side of the spectrum. Prone to fits of rage that could get really creepy.

Then there is the other experiment. Human females carrying offspring from a male orangutang donor. For this, I'd keep the bone and muscle structure of the ape, and give it average human intelligence. This could be a truly dangerous being. It would be smart and fully aware of what it was, and immensely strong and dextrous too. Just to make it more creepy, I'd make an odd genetic anomaly cause them to be completely hairless. I think they would make them really freaky looking, given the shape mixed with human behaviors.
I wouldn't want to think about what kind of twisted psychological problems such a being would have. I'd think one could learn to cope, but still freak out on seeing its own reflection.

I'm also reminded of The Outsider from the book Watchers. That was part orangutang with human and other creatures thrown in the mix. That poor brute was all kinds of messed up.

[Dr. Gerard]

For game use, I'd start with the actual experiments and extrapolate what a successful result might be like. A chimp female giving birth to an ofspring from a human male donor... I'd take the size and mental attributes from the chimp side. Small and more curious/clever than intelligent. A creature that might look like a tiny human with the hair distribution of the chimp, and maybe a disturbing shape difference to the hands.
I could see something like this being trained easier than chimps, but is still essentially in the animal side of the spectrum. Prone to fits of rage that could get really creepy.

Then there is the other experiment. Human females carrying offspring from a male orangutang donor. For this, I'd keep the bone and muscle structure of the ape, and give it average human intelligence. This could be a truly dangerous being. It would be smart and fully aware of what it was, and immensely strong and dextrous too. Just to make it more creepy, I'd make an odd genetic anomaly cause them to be completely hairless. I think they would make them really freaky looking, given the shape mixed with human behaviors.

I wouldn't want to think about what kind of twisted psychological problems such a being would have. I'd think one could learn to cope, but still freak out on seeing its own reflection.

All good ideas. I like the idea of different hybrid results. There's some pretty interesting science about why a Liger is bigger then a Tigon -- not that I understand any of it.

I just found this article by the un-impeachably accurate "The Sun" (ahem) that gives more details (some conflict with my previous research) including this awesome tidbit:

Labs and ape skeletons have been found in the Black Sea town of Suchumi in Georgia by workmen building a kids’ playground.

Pretty awesome scenario setting, no? For a creepy investigation, I like the idea of uncovering evidence of bad experiments like this.

The other possible setting in this story is the facility in the colonial botanical gardens in Conakry, Guinea, where the African experiments took place.

Oh, and check out the stylin' Mad Scientist beard on Ivanov...

[Dr. Gerard]

I just stumbled on this article and it seemed appropriate to add to this thread.

Some strange Nazi experiments in the 20s to engineer mythical creatures....

http://www.disinfo.com/2012/07/the-nazi ... l-species/