Editing Gene-seed (section)

== Gene-seed vs. Genetic Engineering ==

A lot of people (including, it must be admitted, Games Workshop itself) often think of gene-seed as a genetic modification program, but this is inaccurate. Gene-seed does fall under the blanket of [[Fleshcrafting|"bio-enhancement" or "bio-engineering"]]—that is, the augmentation of the physical form. However, gene-seed is based on the physical implantation of artificially designed and engineered organs, whereas genetic engineering would modify the DNA of the aspirants to naturally develop the various traits. In essence, Space Marines are what [[Rifts]] would call "bio-borgs": organisms biologically modified by artificial biological implants. Fleshy cyborgs, essentially. This is an important difference, as it allows the Space Marines to wriggle around that pesky "thou shalt not modify the holy human form" law of the Imperium. From a genetic standpoint, a Space Marine is probably closer to human than most [[abhuman]]s are, and so they fulfill the letter of the law (if not its spirit - but hey, the Emperor made the rules, so he can break them as much as he wants, 'cause he's the motherfucking Emperor). It also has the side effect of making sure that Astartes can't breed true-ish (assuming they can breed, a point GW can't ever make up their minds on, any children they had would be more likely compatible for geneseed than a baseline human but by themselves would not be space marines, just more likely to be able to be), and thus will always have to rely on baseline humanity rather than replace it, just in case they start getting too big for their transhuman britches.

*'''Note:''' Like Mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell), the implanted organs carry ''their own DNA'', cloned from the Primarchs, thus turning the marines into [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics)#Humans chimeric humans]. So yes indeed, bio-borgs, but ones that show characteristics of DNA foreign to the host's body. Example: is there a specific organ that gave Sigismund "a patrician face that echoed the same austere lines as his liege lord, Rogal Dorn"? Let us be reminded, Sig was terran, and Dorn grew up on another planet (he was made by the Emperor in a Petri dish, does that count as being born on Terra too?). Who knows what he looked like when he was mortal, he now looks like a son of Dorn. In fact, most Astartes end up looking similar to their parent Primarchs, like Horus "little Horus" Aximand looking like Horus "fucking Horus" Lupercal. Of course, this is because GW thinks it is bioengineering, but at least it's "Human Chimeras" instead of "Humans with [[Space Wolves|furry creatures]]", that'd be Heresy, right Emps?
**<span style='color:gold;font-size:300%'>'''RIGHT'''</span>
**As it happens, for Sigismund, the answer is yes—the Ossmodula would alter the shape of his skull, and the Biscopea the arrangement of his facial muscles—but the fact remains that GW routinely treats gene-seed as if it were gene therapy, rather than implants.
**This cloned DNA is also why every body freaks out over gene seed stocks from the fallen primarchs in case their geneseed has some flaw that increased its susceptibility to chaos.