Post by mo money on Aug 2, 2008 20:27:18 GMT -5
[PTabbedContent=FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS]
[PTab=OVERVIEW]
Although there is a lot of reading here, it is all fairly necessary information for understanding how The Menagerie works and functions; however, feel free to browse through the questions at your leisure.
I do recommend reading the Shifting Guide in full prior to character creation to understand how Shapeshifters work!
[PTab=OVERVIEW]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Although there is a lot of reading here, it is all fairly necessary information for understanding how The Menagerie works and functions; however, feel free to browse through the questions at your leisure.
I do recommend reading the Shifting Guide in full prior to character creation to understand how Shapeshifters work!
- GENERAL SITE QUESTIONS
- THE SHIFTING GUIDE
- SHIFT MUTATION GUIDELINES
- BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[/PTab]
[PTab=GENERAL]
GENERAL QUESTIONS
click the questions to reveal answers!
{-- HOW CAN I EARN CURRENCY POINTS (CP) FASTER?} There are various different ways to earn CP here on the M! The main avenues of rakin' in that digital dough are of course, posting with your characters! You get 10 CP per IC post and 10 CP for starting a thread.
You can also earn some (minimal) CP by posting in these OOC boards: Spam 'N Eggs, Side Plots, Games and AU, Pikachu, Member Journals.
The other ways are paying close attention to the Events and Contests -- we always offer CP (and other prizes!) for even just participating in events! We have events that occur monthly, such as Spotlights. You can get 150 CP for nominating people to win! Not to mention you can even win CP and other prizes from the Spotlights themselves.
We also have our TITAN Rewards program where you can turn in completed threads for CP and earn tons of CP for each Rewards Tier you complete. You can also earn 50 CP a day with our Word of the Day Challenge!
We also have an IC event known as Fortuna's Rat Races in which you (and your character) can place bets and see if you can win some CP!{-- WHAT OTHER ANIMALS ARE IN THE DOME?} This is a list of all the animals that can be found in The Menagerie that aren't Shapeshifters, Anthros, Retros, etc. These are wild animals and are considered prey!
Though certain species may not necessarily be in the correct 'habitat' according to where they live outside the dome, the Keepers shipped them in regardless to provide 'man's conflict with nature'.
Most of the live prey / predators are located in the mountain ranges, but they can wander and may often be found in the Ring territories.
Thanks to Grace for helping compile this list! <3
LARGE PREDATORS: Bear, Bobcats, Coyotes, Cougars, Foxes, Lynx, Wolves [all concentrated in the Mountains]
OTHER PREDATORS: Badgers, Otters, Wolverines [ all concentrated in the Mountains]
THINGS TO AVOID: Skunks, Porcupines, Hibernating Bears
PREDATORY BIRDS (Can be found anywhere): Eagles, Crane, Falcons, Hawks, Herons / Egret, Pelicans [focused more on the bay]
SCAVENGERS: Crow, Opossum, Raccoon, Raven, Vultures
LARGE PREY [Focused mainly in the forests / mountains]: Big Horn Sheep, Deer (White-Tail Deer, Red Deer, Mule Deer), Elk, Mountain Goat
SMALL PREY [can be found anywhere]: Rodents (Beavers, Gopher, Marmots, Mice, Moles, Rats, Shrew, Squirrels, Vole), Birds (Finches, Robins, Sparrows, Seagulls), Hares / Cotton tails, Domestic Rabbits{-- WHAT ITEMS CAN MY CHARACTER TAKE INTO THE MENAGERIE?}
Upon starting out in the Menagerie your character is allowed to have one standard outfit that includes a shirt, jacket, pants, shoes and a couple of accessories like a hat or scarf, etc. They may also have a small item that might be a personal memento like a necklace, ring, etc but any weapons must be purchased separately in the Keeper's Shop. You can always purchase more outfits for your character in the Keeper's Shop at a later time.
You can purchase your character's weapons and items prior to character creation, as long as the purchases are listed in the "PURCHASED ITEMS:" field of the application!{-- WHAT ITEMS OR WEAPONS DO I HAVE TO BUY FOR MY CHARACTER?} Essentially you have to buy any items or weapons that you would like your character to use in more than one thread. You are permitted to use impromptu weapons in threads (such as a segment of pipe, wooden plank, shard of glass) but anything like a knife, staff or other custom weapon must be purchased for permanent use.
With custom items we are a bit more lenient, though items that could only be found on the outside must be purchased, e.g. markers, spray paint, saddle for a mount, etc. Most custom items will be around 50-100 CP and are very affordable, so to have a well equipped character won't break the bank, so to speak.{-- TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE SKILLS I CAN BUY FOR MY CHARACTER.} All skills are a result of Keeper experimentation on characters; however you do not have to rp your character getting captured and taken into the labs to get the skills, as it is optional. Each character may have a maximum of 5 skills.
Our current list of skills available for purchase is divided into three Skill Types: Basic, Mutation and Evolution. The skills are described in detail in the “Skills” tab of the Catalog. Each character can have a maximum of 5 skills, with only 1 evolution skill allowed.
Basic skills, as aforementioned in the Species Lists, are an extension of the character's most basic human senses and abilities. Our current Basic skills are: Vision, Scent, Hearing, Touch, Speed, Agility, Strength and Endurance. These skills help characters to hunt and track prey and enemies, fight or flee, and generally just help improve their survivability in the dome.
Mutation Skills are an even further extension on human abilities and brain chemistry. Our current Mutation Skills are: Telepathy, Poison, Electricity, Radiation, Healing, Empathy, Sonic, Waterbreathing, Wallcrawling and Stealth.
Evolution Skills are perhaps the strongest of all the skills, and are extensions of Mutation Skills - you can only get an Evolution skill if you have the previous Mutation skill to match it. In example, you can't buy telekinesis unless you have previously purchased telepathy. Our current Evolution Skills are (with their required Mutation skill in parenthesis) : Telekinesis (Telepathy), Drain (Healing), Chempathy (Empathy), Flux (Electricity), Exoradiation (Radiation) and Veil (Stealth).
Your character can only have one Mutation and Evolution skill pairing. You can have multiple Mutation skills, but only one Evolution skill. For example, your character could have Empathy, Chempathy, Sonic and Healing but you would not be able to purchase Drain, as it is a second Evolution skill.
After you purchase any skill for your character, you can immediately have them learning to use it in a thread. But just because you bought a skill does not make your character immediately strong or super agile. Skills must be trained and honed over a series of threads. Please note that the threads do not have to focus on the skills and practice themselves, but there should be some mention over time how the skills are affecting your character. Some skills may even be a hassle for your character at first, like Hearing or Telepathy or Radiation, etc, and your character may struggle to control these skills. For example, your character might not be able to control how many thoughts they are picking up, or may not be able to focus their hearing and may get overwhelmed by all the sounds, and with Radiation they could accidentally poison their friends or loved ones before the skill is mastered! There are lots of fun possibilities to go through before your character can use the skills effectively.
{-- CAN I BUY ARMOR FOR MY CHARACTER?} At this point in time, we are not allowing character's to have custom armor. It will be released as part of special events such as contests, raffles, etc.{-- HOW DO I INTRODUCE MY NEW CHARACTER?} This is entirely up to you! You could have your character already be part of a Ring or Retro Group for a long time, or they can be brand new. You don't always have to rp out a character joining a Ring, they are automatically accepted; however, if you want to rp your character getting found and brought in, you can! You can post in the Side Plots board, located as a sub-board in the Character Plotting Central board, if you wish to do this.
It is most common to have a character already in a Ring or Group, and already forging friendships/relationships. However, like I said the option is entirely up to you!{-- CAN MY ANTHRO/RETRO/VIRUS JOIN A RING?}
Besides the Anthro-only Nakoma Tribe, Anthros may only join the FallenRing as this is the only Ring they are freely accepted in.
There is a pass that you can purchase called the "Special Group Pass" that will allow Retromorphs to join a Ring, as well as allow a Shifter to join a Retro group. If a Shifter joins a Retro group, be advised they will likely be expected to stay mainly in their Shift form as opposed to their human form.
At this time Viruses may not join Rings unless you get special permission from Mourge, and must be approved prior to posting an application.{-- CAN I PLAY A KEEPER?} You can! We have Keeper Canons that you can apply for, located here in the Registration board, where you can read more about how to get one. Only one Keeper canon per member!
You can also purchase a "Create a Custom Keeper" Pass from the Shop. This pass allows you to create a customized Keeper character, instead of adopting one of the canon Keepers. After your purchase has been approved you can create an application for your Keeper! For more information please see the Catalog thread in the Keeper's Shop.{-- CAN MY CHARACTER HAVE A BABY?} They can indeed! For Shifters and Anthros, in order for your characters to have a baby you must purchase a special Pass in the Keeper's Shop. Retros can breed and have offspring for no charge, but there are special passes you can buy for them as extras.
Babies born inside the dome are known as Generation Menagerie or Gen Ms and have their own special application forms. Find out more about Gen M's in the "Shifting Guide" tab under "Genetics."
A Shifter or Anthro can get pregnant WITHOUT the purchase of the pass for the purpose of plotting (miscarriage, etc), HOWEVER the child cannot be born/played without the purchase of a pass if you decide you want your character to have a baby after all.{-- CAN MY CHARACTER START THEIR OWN GROUP?} Yes, to an extent! If you have a Rogue character (Shifter, Anthro, Retro, etc) that would like to start his or her own group this is perfectly acceptable. Just be aware that they will not be made into an "official" group and will not have any account ranks and colors (like the Rings do), and should be limited to about 3-5 people in size.
If you want to create your own "official" group you now have the ability to purchase your own Custom Rogue Group pass in the shop, as well as create your own customized territory boards for your group! More information can be foundlook outbelooooow!{-- ALL ABOUT CREATING YOUR OWN CUSTOM ROGUE GROUP}
This is quite lengthy, so you only gotta read it if you're interested in making a Rogue Group!
Creating a rogue group allows you to:
• Create a a personalized group of Rogues (Shifter, Retro or Anthro) with a maximum of 6 members, with at least 2 members to start.
• Have a custom group title which will be displayed in your character’s mini profile (like the usual Ring ranks, etc)
• Have your group & group description listed in the Social Groups thread here in the Briefing Board.
• Have up to 2 group founders who are able to accept or deny new members and moderate the group boards.
• Create your own set of rules for joining and how the group operates, and even loose ranks if you want, as well as deciding whether or not you want to charge a membership fee.
• You can also purchase a territory board for your group! You can have a maximum of 3 boards: 1 main board and 2 sub-boards. Each board must be purchased separately, but the costs can be split.
• The territory boards can only be located in No Man’s Land under the new “Grey Lands” area or in the new "Unexplored" region in the Retro Territories. These new boards allow you create your own section of land within the guidelines set in place by the surrounding regions, but are not restricted to one set area like the Rings. For example, two boards in the "Unexplored" territory could be located on opposite sides of the Retro territory.
• Please try to avoid making your Rogue territory similar to existing Rogue/other territories; some overlap is allowed within reason (e.g. two caves, etc) but please try to keep your board descriptions unique and creative. We want as much variation as possible!
• Rogue Group "territories" cannot be huge, and usually only encompass a small swath of land.
• Note: You are not required to get a board to form a Rogue Group! Some Rogue Groups may choose to live as nomads and therefore not have a specific land to call theirs.
• Rogue Group Founders should post their Group information (Joining Rules, Rules for Characters, Members, etc), in the Rogue Group sub-board in the Group Update board, located within the Notifications board. Each custom Rogue Group is allowed one thread in which to post their information!
• To join an existing Rogue Group you MUST be a Rogue. If your character is in a Ring or Retro group or Nakoma Tribe you must purchase them a Rogue Pass first.
• When joining, follow the Group Founder's specific rules for joining (which might include a try out post, or an introduction thread, or nothing at all, etc). To request to join group, simply go to your Profile select the "Groups" tab, and a list of groups that you are able to join will be displayed. Click on "Request to Join" and your submission to join will be sent to the Group Leaders/Founders to await approval.
Unfortunately there is a bit of a glitch: when switching groups, the second group added will not display properly in your mini-profile. So before you join another Group you must leave your current Rogue group and then request to join. If for some reason you are not accepted into the Rogue group (I suggest talking to the Group Founders before hand or plotting via PM, Skype, etc) PM a staff member and we will place you into your original group!
• All custom Rogue Groups have the same name colors like so: Example, but are still individual groups!More About Group Founder responsibilities
• Groups are not required to have a “Leader” in character, but must have at least one person OOC who is in charge of accepting members and board moderation if applicable.
• Must be active enough to accept or decline new applicants to the groups.
• Must be knowledgeable in basic board moderation (moving, sticking and locking threads, etc); board moderation will be restricted to your Group territory boards only!
• Must write up a set of Joining Rules, but operational rules such as group member duties, rankings, etc are optional. These rules, as aforementioned, must be posted in the Group Updates board located in the Notifications board.
• As Group Founder you can decide if you want to charge a Membership Fee for prospective members. If you charge a membership fee, be sure to have it listed in your Joining Rules and to have the new member post with their OOC account in the "CP Transfer" board with the amount and written reason for transfer.
• When a new group member submits a request to join the group, it will appear in your Notifications tab on your Profile. You can either hit Accept or Deny, and if you're Denying an option to include a message will appear. Please include a courteous note as to why you are denying membership!
• As stated above you can have a max of 3 territory boards, 1 main board and 2 sub-boards. These boards must be purchased individually in the Keeper's Shop. The cost can be split between how many ever members are part of the group, or if you decide to have a membership fee, the fee can go towards board costs.
• If you want board images for your territories they must be stock permitted for use, and must be able to fit an image no larger or smaller than 880 w x 176 h. You can supply the images and I will put the text on them so they match the format of the rest of the boards.
[/PTab]
[PTab=SHIFT GUIDE]
YOUR BASIC GUIDE TO SHAPESHIFTING
click questions to expand answers!
{-- HOW EXACTLY DOES SHAPESHIFTING WORK?}
There is no real scientific explanation for this, obviously, but we have a few guidelines here on The M in regards to this.
• Shifters can shift into only one animal, unless you win a special pass or prize in a contest.
• Shifting is a skill that must be honed, and takes practice and concentration to control. It is almost instantaneous, only taking a matter of seconds to transform from one form to another; however it is difficult for inexperienced Shifters/Retros to keep the form for very long.
• Once mastered, a Shifter/Retro can stay transformed for as long as they want provided they have enough energy and will to do so.
• The shifting ability usually manifests in Shifters around age 5+, though it has been known to manifest both earlier (not prior to birth) and later ages. In some instances the shifting ability is latent and may never be discovered by the Shifter (at least until they are identified as one via DNA testing and sent to The Menagerie).
• Shifting for the first time feels different to every Shifter/Retro. For some it is extremely painful, and others may only feel minor discomfort. The first shift is usually spontaneous, triggered by strong emotions such as intense fear or even joy.
For those Shifters who are more aware of their ability, the first shift is usually less painful and can be brought on by training from parents or guardians. After the ability to shift at will is mastered, the Shifting process is painless and feels as natural as walking or talking.
• Shifters/Retros cannot half transform - meaning, they can't just randomly have a tiger paw to attack someone and still be a human, or vice versa. There is no in between - you are either completely human or completely animal.
• Shifters and Retros can speak while in their shift form, however only in Shiftertongue. All Shifters (Retro's and Anthro's included) speak the same naturally ingrained language of Shiftertongue - regardless if they speak English, French or Spanish they can all communicate fluently through Shiftertongue. Although, the sounds are often strangled and hoarse and tend to sound more like growls, hisses and gurgles than fluent speech. Humans cannot understand this language.
• When your character is bound by rope or restrained, they cannot shift to escape it - this will cause precious bones to break and possibly cause damage to the internal organs.
• If a Shifter or Retro is killed in their shift form, they automatically shift back to their natural form. So if a deer Shifter is shot and killed in its deer form, it would shift back into its human form.{-- WHAT HAPPENS TO MY CHARACTER'S CLOTHES AND ITEMS WHEN THEY SHIFT?}
To make things easier on the eyes and for less awkwardness, when the character shifts into their animal form their clothes and items go with them. Basically, the memory of the clothes and items is stored with that form; basically like a user account, but for clothes! XD Vice versa; if you buy an item for your animal form, it stays only with the animal form.{-- HOW DOES RETRO AGING WORK?}
There is not an exact system for how Retros age, as each animal species ages differently and has varied life spans. As a general rule of thumb, Retros age slower than normal animals and have slightly longer lifespans due to the the humanoid DNA in their bodies.
As there is no general "conversion" chart, We're not expecting exact accurate human ages as it can be slightly confusing, so estimation is fine. However, you can usually measure a Retros "human" age by when they reach sexual maturity in their natural animal forms.
For example, a lion usually reaches sexual maturity at around 2 years old. So a 2 year old lion Retro would be a teenager (13-18), while a 4 or 5 year old lion Retro would be about 20-25 years of age in their human form.
GENETICS
{-- CAN A SHIFTER/RETRO SHIFT WHILE PREGNANT?}
*Edit* Yes, a pregnant shifter/retro can shift while pregnant and it will not cause harm to the fetus at any stage in the pregnancy. It is unknown how this works, but it is speculated that the fetus shifts simultaneously with the mother to prevent it from being damaged.{--HOW IS THE SHIFTING GENE PASSED DOWN?}
Shifter x Shifter = Always Shifter.
Human x Shifter = Human or Shifter.
Human x Human w/Shifter Parents = Human or Shifter. This is because the Shifting gene can often skip a generation.
Human x Human w/ no shifter genes = Always Human. A shifter cannot be born to a human parents that don't have any Shifter genes present.
Anthro x Shifter = Shifter, VERY rarely will an Anthro be born. Anthros and Shifters can still produce offspring, and in extremely rare cases a fully mutated Anthro child will be born.
Anthro x Anthro = Shifter or Anthro, a higher likelihood that a fully mutated Anthro will be born, but still a rare chance.
Retromorphs follow the same general pattern as Shifters:
Retro x Retro = Always Retro!
Retro x Animal = Retro or Animal
Shifter x Retro =/= pregnancy will either terminate, or offspring are born with deformities and die shortly after birth. Shifters and Retros cannot successfully reproduce.{-- IF A DOG SHIFTER & A CAT SHIFTER HAVE A BABY, WILL THE CHILD'S SHIFT BE A HYBRID?}
Nop, Shifters cannot be hybrids. The child will have either a canine type shift or a feline type shift; or its shift form could even be from a different species entirely depending on the genetics of the grandparents. In this case, the dog and cat shifter could very well have a horse shifter as a child if by some chance one of the grandparents had a horse shift. It's pretty randomized and entirely up to you as the creator, though if two Shifters with the same animal species mate, their offspring is more likely to have a similar species shift: two Husky shifters are more likely to produce a Husky shifter than a Siamese Cat.{-- WHAT ABOUT ANTHROS? CAN THEY BE BORN HYBRIDS?}
Nah. The only species that can officially be born a Hybrid on The Menagerie at this time is Retromorphs, and this must be purchased as a pass in the shop :). Anthro children produced inside the dome (also purchased via a pass) will be born either as Shifters or mutated Anthros, and will have the mutations from only one specific animal, e.g. a bird anthro x snake anthro could produce a snake anthro child, but not an Anthro with bird and snake mutations.{-- CAN A HUMAN/ANIMAL BE TURNED INTO A SHIFTER OR RETRO?}
No; Shapeshifters, Retros included, cannot be created. That is, they are NATURALLY born as Shapeshifters. Shifters cannot start out as a normal human or a normal animal and then be injected with the shapeshifting ability.{-- HOW DOES AGING WORK FOR CHARACTERS BORN IN THE MENAGERIE?}
Shapeshifters or Anthromorphs who are born inside the Menagerie are known as 'Generation Menagerie' or 'Gen M' for short.
Now, you might see young parents who have adult Gen M children in only a few years. Well, there's a reason for that! Aging for these Gen M individuals works differently than it does for those born outside of the Menagerie.
The Keepers often give Gen M's injections that replicate the rapid growth of animals (e.g. lions reaching sexual maturity at 2 years of age, etc.) As the parents of Gen M's are often genetically modified themselves, these modifications may also stimulate rapid development.
Gen M's grow rapidly both physically and mentally until puberty (at which point they usually even out), which could be as early as 2-3 years after birth
Gen M's are mentally and physically adults who have just grown to that size and mentality at the rate an animal does. For example, a Gen M who has been alive for 7 years could be a mentally and physically mature 17 year old. Aging depends on the Gen M character and cases are usually pretty unique so you have a LOT of freedom on aging your Gen M.
Why does this matter? Well, it's good for everyone because it means more hot people sooner. Also try not to think too hard about relative timelines, e.g. "These two couples had babes at the same time and one is grown up first, that doesn't make sense?!?!?" Because again, aging differs with every Gen M character.
- There are a couple of requirements for aging your Gen M babes though, viz. thread requirements. You must have at least:
- One infant thread, where the Gen M is newborn/infant. The Gen M can be played as an NPC with the parent(s) for this thread if you want.
- 2 min youngster (age 3-6 or so) threads
- 2 pre-teen/teenage threads
- Boom, full hottie.
Like I said, these are the bare minimum. You can decide to keep your Gen M aging at a normal speed. Or not. It's up to you! But if you want to age them to full maturity you must follow the minimum requirement for Gen M aging! Thanks!
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[PTab=SHIFT MUTATION]
GUIDELINES
Shift mutations may be purchased in the Keeper's Shop!
Shift mutations, though a good way to personalize a character’s shift to your imagination, do come with limitations. A shift mutation may only change a character’s original shift by a small amount, about 25%. You can make changes to shape and color and textures, but all together, whatever changes you make should leave the original shift mostly recognizable. You can make shift mutations that resemble Fantasy creatures like a gryphon, Pegasus, unicorn, etc but keep in mind the percentage limitation.
Whether a shift mutation has changed a character too much comes down to the staff’s judgment call— there is no way to make a rule that applies to every unique situation, but as long as you don’t go way overboard, you should have no worries about your shift mutation being A-okay!
We’ve made this image here to illustrate the limits of a shift mutation:
So say that you really want to make a gryphon, but don't have a Fantasy Shift Pass! You currently have a lion shifter, and you buy an eagle shift mutation for her. If you try and make your gryphon like the second image there, with an entire eagle half of the body and all, it will be rejected. That sort of gryphon is only attainable with a fantasy shift, as it changes more than 25% of the original shift. It’s changed at least 50% by having half the body of the mutation animal, not to mention the wings and additional feathers.
A lion with an eagle mutation would look more like the first example. You could add wings and scattered feathers throughout the fur, or instead just add talons and wings, etc. but the original lion shift cannot be altered any further.
The staff aren’t going to be nit-picky if your mutation changes a slight amount more than what is allowed, since we’d never want to hinder your creativity! Just keep this guideline in mind when mutating your shift forms!
[PTab=BACKGROUND]
ALL ABOUT THE WORLD
click the questions to reveal answers!
{-- WHAT IS UNIT?}
UNIT stands for Unified Nations of International Technologies, and is currently the Earth's universal government. It was originally a large global corporation that discovered the secret to synthesizing natural elements; UNIT produced a new source of energy that quickly replaced the Earth's waning fossil fuel resources. Through hundreds of years of monopolization of economies, hostile take-overs of opposing companies and eventually countries, UNIT became the universal Government, essentially controlling the entirety of Earth.
UNIT is headed by a woman, President Avery North who is surrounded by a council of rigorously selected men and women who represent the separate Sectors, also known as countries. The names of countries and their states have remained the same, however they fall under the strict dominion of UNIT and answer to its authority. Every state, city, town and village of any shape or size has UNIT outposts, and they are masters of surveillance. Kings and Queens (what few are left) were left in place strictly as figure-heads and public officials, and have no governmental power and take all orders from UNIT.
All present day (OOC) branches of armies and military divisions (such as the U.S. Army, Air Force, and any other foreign military, etc) have been dissolved and serve as UNIT soldiers. They do have special classifications much like present-day forces, such as UNIT Air Force, UNIT Navy, etc. They are generally very highly trained at what they do, which includes legal execution and torture of enemies of the State.
Most people are content under UNIT and follow what they say, mostly out of fear of being executed by the State. It has a standing army that pretty much consists of the majority of the world's population and dominates the technology responsible for weapons of war and of course mass destruction , so there is little opposition. There are, of course, those who oppose UNIT but they are few and far between.{-- DO ALL HUMANS HATE SHIFTERS?}
No, not every human hates Shifters, in fact they have many friends and sympathizers; though most will turn Shifters in for the high monetary reward UNIT offers, as well as out of fear from the execution order for anyone found harboring Shifters. However, there is in fact rumor of an underground movement against UNIT that is led by a collaboration of Shifters and Humans alike. They are not a strict organization and do not often openly rebel against UNIT, rather they function as a way to keep Shifters in hiding to avoid execution or imprisonment in The Menagerie.{-- WHO EXACTLY RUNS THE MENAGERIE?}
The Menagerie is operated by a team of the world's leading scientists, who started The Menagerie from private funding with permission from UNIT; however, UNIT has taken over funding for The Menagerie after learning that the experiments yielded promising results when creating powerful artificial humanoids that UNIT could control (Viruses) that UNIT could potentially use as weapons and super-soldiers. The man in charge of the entire operation is Dr. Seraphim DeSoto; it is a little known secret that he harbors a great resentment towards UNIT as the Government is continually threatening to liquidate the company (and thus the entire dome), believing it is a waste of funds. Thus, Seraphim with-holds the majority of his research information from UNIT and releases it in parts to show progress, to keep The Menagerie project (and its inhabitants) alive.{-- HOW ARE SHIFTERS CAPTURED AND SENT TO THE MENAGERIE?}
Shifters are captured in a variety of ways: usually, it is through humans turning them over to the authorities, whether they be human strangers, or even family members, friends etc. However, shortly after Shifters were discovered and deemed a threat to UNIT and its ideals of a "perfect human society", they began initiating world-wide blood tests that would determine if a person was a Shifter or Human. Sector borders, schools, airports, businesses, hospitals, prisons and even banks and the like were stationed with UNIT officers, who were given a small device that would prick a person's finger and in a matter of seconds determine the subject's species. If Shifter, they would be immediately taken into custody and shipped to The Menagerie.
Upon arrival into The Menagerie, each subject is implanted with a microscopic microchip to track and record their location and movements; most Shifters aren't even aware it is present.{-- HOW DO KEEPERS GET IN AND OUT OF THE MENAGERIE?}
Upon becoming an employee of The Menagerie, each Keeper is DNA tested to ensure there is no chance of them being a Shifter – their DNA is then encrypted into a microchip that is implanted just under their skin. This microchip is a highly advanced piece of technology that allows Keepers to physically transport inside The Menagerie walls. Their molecules and particles separate and are encoded into electrical waves and sent to various hidden sensors inside the walls called Outposts. These sensors pick up the electrical coding and reconvert it to physical matter. Basically it is a mobile 'teleportation' device, that will only respond to the Keeper’s DNA – meaning even if a Shifter is touching a Keeper at the time of transfer, the Shifter [ or any other Menagerie creature ] will be left behind.
To transport test subjects into The Menagerie, their microchip is activated by the Keeper's in the Observation Deck or by the Keeper handling the subject. It acts the same way as the microchip in the Keeper's, however it cannot be controlled by the test subjects and can only be activated by Keepers.{-- WHAT WEAPONS DO KEEPERS USE?}
The Keepers use a variety of weapons, from high tech electric cattle prods, tazer guns, tranquilizer guns (most common) and other tools that disable a Shifter but do not do major bodily harm. Electricity is known to stop the shifting process almost immediately. Keeper's also use serums that can completely disable a Shifter's ability to transform for a short period of time, or the reverse and keep a Shifter from shifting back (for testing purposes).
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