Take a deep dive into Kharra Theory

[Sputnik]

Turns out the monsters in UWE's earlier game 'Natural Selection 2' are called Khaara.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Selection_2

1. What's the connection with Subnautica's bacterial Kharra?
I'll say that these Khaara monsters are actually people in the late stages of their Kharra infection. The disease is a 'mutagen' that allows (originally) human combatants to evolve as monsters during gladiatorial combat. But that's all just show-biz.

2. Why might Khaara be able to do this?
Let's give Khaara some evolutionary backstory and say it has co-evolved within humans since our early pre-human days. It normally just remains latent in our 'junk DNA' and is passed harmlessly down the generations. But when our species is in peril of extinction our internal Khaara will trigger beneficial mutations to keep us as viable vehicles to survive their passage through the passing aeons of time. (OK call us 'meat puppets' if you insist, but at least we can thank Khaara we're not still eating bananas and throwing poo at each other)

3. SN vs NS2 Kharra
When Khaara is encountered in the wild as a free micro-organism (e.g on 4546B) this normally results in a simple plague, as rival strains fight for dominance within our genomes and give us a nasty glowing rash. But that's just Kharra strain combat in the micro-world. However, Kharra strains may also do battle in the macro-world is they try to destroy each other's hosts (like in NS2)

4. Therapeutic Kharra
All that was just the glass half-empty viewpoint. A talented gene-technician (OK Paul Torgal then) might learn to control this frenzy of mutations to maintain recognisable humans with unusual abilities - perhaps even triggering the next evolutionary stage for us hominids (sporting a hansom pair of gills, of course)

[Catalytic]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Sputnik:

4. Therapeutic Kharra
All that was just the glass half-empty viewpoint. A talented gene-technician (OK Paul Torgal then) might learn to control this frenzy of mutations to maintain recognisable humans with unusual abilities - perhaps even triggering the next evolutionary stage for us hominids (naturally sporting a pair of gills, of course)

I love the idea of directed evolution as a game concept. Instead of upgrading your player by equipping new gear, you equip new genes.

[Sputnik]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Catalytic:

Opprinnelig skrevet av Sputnik:

4. Therapeutic Kharra
All that was just the glass half-empty viewpoint. A talented gene-technician (OK Paul Torgal then) might learn to control this frenzy of mutations to maintain recognisable humans with unusual abilities - perhaps even triggering the next evolutionary stage for us hominids (naturally sporting a pair of gills, of course)

I love the idea of directed evolution as a game concept. Instead of upgrading your player by equipping new gear, you equip new genes.

Going by the cut content it seems this was in the original vision for the game

Opprinnelig skrevet av = https://subnautica.fandom.com/wiki/Cut_Content_(Subnautica)#Transfuser:

Transfuser

The Transfuser was a Tool intended to sample DNA from life forms and then use this DNA in the Centrifuge to create consumable items that would alter the player's or other creatures' attributes.

This was used together with a bunch more geek gear to produce 4 serums. Check out that wiki page to see some of the freaky powers you could get. (e.g. Hoverfish DNA let you hover over the water lol)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3042876960

[Zekiran]

It would definitely make sense in the context of Below Zero, given AlAn's mishmash of genes and all the other things that were clearly implied in this game.

[EleventhStar]

or it's just a word from (hindu) mythology.

if you wonder where a name in a story comes from, always a good chance it's a near direct copy from some mythological thing that did something similar.

and it's not uncommon for multiple writers to take inspiration from the same thing.

[Sputnik]

https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/khara

[Zekiran]

Opprinnelig skrevet av EleventhStar:

or it's just a word from (hindu) mythology.

if you wonder where a name in a story comes from, always a good chance it's a near direct copy from some mythological thing that did something similar.

and it's not uncommon for multiple writers to take inspiration from the same thing.

It might be "just" a word but it is a carefully CHOSEN word. As a writer I commend their dedication to the thematic use of it AND its background mythology. Given AlAn's *appearance* as well (with the multiple arms and such) they kept to it nicely I think.

[Sputnik]

Etymological derailment !

Turns out the word Kharaa (in varying spellings) kept it's negative connotations as it spread westward from its Indian Sanskrit origins:
- In Pakistan 'Kharra' is am obnoxious drug made of chewing tobacco and betel nut.
- Amongst Arabic speakers 'Khara' is their slang equivalent of "sh*t".
- The Jewish diaspora spread their off-shoot word 'Kaka' across most of the planet, meaning the same thing.
- In Australia, toddlers sometimes proudly create wall murals using 'kakka'

Boring?

- The Arabic 'Kol Khara' literally means “eat sh*t,” and is used to shut up someone who goes on and on about trivial issues.

[EleventhStar]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Zekiran:

It might be "just" a word but it is a carefully CHOSEN word. As a writer I commend their dedication to the thematic use of it AND its background mythology. Given AlAn's *appearance* as well (with the multiple arms and such) they kept to it nicely I think.

of course it's chosen for a specific reason. but that specific reason isn't to link multiple seperate IPs together.

[Zekiran]

The devs. Literally said it.

There is an actual Natural Selection poster in Subnautica.

It's not a coincidence.

Like I said, as a writer, their choice of word and origin including the 'baggage' of that word is *VERY* important to its meaning in the game. I would do exactly the same research as they clearly did about it.

[Sputnik]

Yeah, they started out with some genuine TLC for their games.

(DB, sorry I forgot your trigger warning)