<strong>Player name:</strong>deusexkristina<br/><div class="floatright">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/c/c9/Cooler.jpg)</div><strong>Character name:</strong>Dr. Kimb Fern (She was technically stripped of her Doctorate, but reacts violently towards anyone refusing to use it)<br/><strong>Character age (in Empire Standard years):</strong>40+/-3 years (were she humans she would appear to be in her late 20's/early 30's)<br/><strong>Character sexuality:</strong>Lesbian (Y chromosome/phenotype is biologically inferior). Switch (submissive preference). Xenophile.<br/><strong>Height:</strong>163 cm (64'', or 5' 4'')<br/><strong>Mass:</strong>63.2 Kg (~139 lbs)<br/><strong>Species:</strong><em>Imperial Institute of Science Classification</em>: Xeno-Human Symbiote Species Type 47R-Mu<em>Common</em>: “Liffan”<br/><br/><strong>Physical characteristics:</strong>Upon cursory inspection, she appears to be a normal human. Platinum blonde hair, pale blue eyes, average height and built. The most noticeable difference in anatomy is that she has pigment modulating structures in her skin (similar to chromatophores of the Vityr Mimic or the Earth octopus) allowing her to change its color along the shades of the normal human spectrum (or in patterns of these colors) as well as rudimentary photosynthetic properties allowing her to go slightly longer periods of time without eating (provided she doesn't move much). She has a large amount of control over the pigmentation of her skin but certain responses, such as the bold or erratic patterns caused by strong emotions like fear, anger or surprise, are hard to suppress. She has four fingers on each hand, three plus a thumb.<br/><br/><strong>Planet of origin:</strong>Feynman 3. Third inhabited planet of the Feynman System. Actually the Moon of Feynman Prime, the entire surface of the 'planet' is covered by a large metropolis. Feynman 3 know for the precious minerals and gems harvested from the extensive mines below the city.<br/><br/><strong>Crime:</strong>Crimes Against Science, Reckless Use of Technology with Malicious Intent, Unauthorized Experimentation on Sapient Creatures, Intentional and Unauthorized Research into Controlled Fields, Use of Banned Genetic Sequences in Live Subjects, Violation of Galactic Treaty 642A-ZZ9: Ethical Use of Technology Act, Intentional Breech of Brannigan's Law, etc.<br/>Kimb's most notable crime was her short-lived career as a scientific terrorist, where she attempted to ransom the world of Jolla 6—which she threatened to infect with a rather deadly and possibly uncurable retrovirus—to the Imperial Institute of Science for an extension of her research funding. The incident caused the authorities to look into her lab practices, where they found a lot of unsavory things. Aside from the rather public Jolla 6 Incident, Kimb has been tied to the ecosystem collapse of UN-KXT-67, a 'pristine' world that had been designated an Imperial Protected Planet, the outbreak of resistant bluepox in the Charon sector and the death of four student test subjects. Her PhD was stripped as a result of 'unseemly conduct' with former lab assistants. Despite the overwhelming evidence and the repeated recommendation of her lawyer, Kimb refused to admit to any of it.<br/><br/><strong>Guilty or innocent:</strong>Guilty.<br/><br/><strong>Likes:</strong>Machinery. Sterile environments. The smell of ozone. Florvian Eels.<br/><br/><strong>Dislikes:</strong>Inefficiency. Boredom. Things that aren't sorted/stacked correctly. Lingonberries.<br/><br/><strong>Time served:</strong>Three years, plus two spent awaiting trial.<br/><br/><strong>Personality:</strong>Despite being known as what amounts to a supervillian in the Jolla system, she comes across as fairly normal human; until you happen to mention the Imperial Opera or seedless jam on the wrong day. She is excessively quick-witted and very resourceful, but is often hampered by her irrational desires and mood swings. For a Liffan, a generally calm species, she is considered highly excitable. This still makes her rather demure; however, she will react with extreme, efficient violence to any threat, or to those who attempt to stand between her and her goals. Her most prevailing desire is to learn and understand, followed ever so slightly by the will to survive.<br/>**Sexuality: For Liffans, the ideal relationship is Symbiosis. Like most of her kind, Kimb willingly assumes whatever role is required of her (though the submissive role is more natural), but only if both sides benefit or there is acknowledgement of mutual respect. Despite submissive tendencies, Kimb is not the kind of person who can be 'broken' by force; she will fetishize a thing before being broken by it.<br/><br/><strong>History:</strong>Some say there is a thin line between genius and insanity. Those that know the truth know that this is just a comforting lie and that there is no difference.<br/>Wherever Kimb was born, she grew up on Feynman 3. It is unlikely (though still possible) she was born there, as there are no documents of a Liffan birth ever occurring on that world, or anywhere in the Feynman System. She was initially found and taken in by a religious orphanage, which gave her her name (After St. Kimb the Unexpected). but was soon discovered by local scientist, Mr. Tarrol, who wanted her 'for study'; Liffans are not exceedingly common and not much has been written about them since their initial discovery. While Tarrol did study her, it is not known if that is all he wanted her for. Little is known about the years she spent there, but based on what little can be gleaned from the papers and articles published by Mr. Tarrol it was not a nurturing environment. However, Tarrol did educate her and keep her in well fed. It is unknown when Kimb escaped Tarrol's lab, but if we go by the publication date of his last paper on Liffans and work backwards from her University application where she claims to be fourteen then she was probably around 11 or 12.<br/>Nothing is known about the few years between escape and admission but Kimb did not leave Feynman 3. She reappears when applying to University on the mainworld, Feynman Prime. Her initial application is denied, but her second (on which she also claims to be 14, increasing the uncertainty about her age) she is accepted. She initially applied to study psychology, but was eventually drawn to neuroscience and then into genetics. She would graduate five years later with degrees in microbiology, molecular biology, and neuroscience. After three years writing a dissertation on Models for Evolution of Human-like Intelligence in Non-biological Systems she was granted a Doctorate as well. At the age of 22 Kimb was given her own lab at the renowned Advanced Research Institute of Andiff (ARIA) in the Andiff system. It was here over the next six years that she produced most of her well-known work; curing three diseases previously thought to be uncurable, cloning of the extinct Rngyr Pigeon-bat, and the discovery of new, non-DNA-based life on an asteroid. A few weeks after her 28th birthday, Kimb unexpectedly left ARIA to run a lab at a backwater university in the Stervon system.<br/>Due to her being so respected, the people on Stervon didn't really bother to look into her research. So long as she continued to publish astounding papers—which she did—they were happy to sit back and bask in the grant money she brought in. In fact, the administration went out of its way to ignore any slanderous claims made against Kimb. For five years Kimb conducted her research in almost complete secrecy in Stervon until an outbreak in her lab killed four students. Rather than submit to an inquiry, Kimb resigned and set up her own lab on a sparely-inhabited moon of the rural farm world Jolla 6. She spent the remaining three years of her freedom there conducting experiments that top scientists of the day still do not entirely understand, including but not limited to excessive augmentation experiments on her own person.<br/><br/><strong>Other info:</strong>Species Origin: The modern population of Liffans are the biological descendants of a colony expedition that crashed on the planet now known as Liffa several centuries ago. At the time, Liffa had a wide variety of complex vegetative life but nothing animal-like. The dominant characteristic of life on Liffa, beyond high adaptability to the chaotic ecosystem, was the nearly ubiquitous presence of a certain cellular structure that seemed to be highly conserved across all observed organisms. It was later discovered that this 'structure' was in fact a symbiotic organism that had infected nearly every known organism on the planet. In order to increase the survival of infected hosts, once it had been incorporated into a species genome the symbiote would begin to introduce semi-random genetic mutations in an attempt to speed up adaptation of its host population. It took a few decades given the complexity of human systems, but eventually, the organism managed insert itself successfully in into the colonial genome where it began to 'modify' the population to life on Liffa.<br/>Liffa was eventually rediscovered and the Liffans were re-integrated into wider human society where they are considered distinct from humans despite the cursory similarities between them. The Liffan Symbiote only had a few centuries to modify its new human hosts (the symbiote is not conscious, this is speaking in evolutionary terms) but has produced some surprising and stable genetic alterations in that time. The most notable being epidermal chromatophores and the trademark pale hair and eyes which result from so much melanin being used by the skin. The loss of the fifth digit on hands and feet is also notable. Beyond the readily apparent differences, Liffans require a much different mineral content in their diets than humans to support their unique bone structure which incorporates biological 'plastics'. They also need to eat substantially more than a human of comparable size and activity to provide nutrients for the symbiote colonies living inside them. Liffans have an diminished sensitivity to motion but possess a wider degree of color sensitivity, with many individuals able to see into infrared, ultraviolet or both. Generally, they have a lower ratio of muscle mass to body mass than humans, a result of their lighter skeletal structure. Liffans are obligate herbivores and are unable to digest animal proteins. They have significantly reduced body hair and thinner scalp hair, as the temperate climate of Liffa does not require it for thermoregulation.