[zhivik]

Sure, you are certainly right (both of you) that it wasn't really an explanation - it's just I hadn't crystallized my thoughts on this when I was writing that post. Anyways, here are a couple of possible explanations:

- This comes from the idea of a living universe. Thus, mana levels can be considered as universe's "breath" or "heartbeat". If we associate mana with life, then you might say that this is a sign that the world around us is a living environment, only with a much larger scope, so a single heartbeat or breath could take an age from a human perspective;

- Another possible explanation would require me to digress a little. This is related to parallel universes; more precisely to the idea that while magic might be considered something out of the ordinary in one universe, it could be something logical in another, like the laws of physics, for example. Then, imagine that parallel universes could influence each other, and in some way travel (as galaxies do), though probably in a dimension other than the three we can sense. Thus, when the Shadowrun universes gets close to the one where magic is the natural order, it starts picking up the other universe's natural laws, and mana levels rise. Then, the two universes split again, and mana falls.

A dark twist of this would be if the magical universe is actually that of the Horrors, suggesting that magic is ultimately their nature. This would imply that magic corrupts everyone, even if slowly. It does go in line with the cannon, suggesting that Horrors can cross to the Shadowrun universe only if mana levels are high enough. Of course, this is just one take of this, another (and I guess a more popular one) is that the Horrors rather can only survive at high mana levels, which explains why they cross only then.

In the end, I would like to note that these are speculations only, and they are quite possibly wrong, so don't think I am trying to impose a new cannon here

[Rockopolis]

Is it significant that homo sapiens sapiens seems to be the default form for cycles of low magic?

[Charybdis]

Is it significant that homo sapiens sapiens seems to be the default form for cycles of low magic?

I don't really think it's significant..... I just think of it as the default for that particular (non-Awakened) strain of DNA.

I can't see it as being any more important than Bear being the mundane Piasma, or Housecat being the default form of a Blackberry Cat.

[Fizzygoo]

@zhivik - I think either of your options could be possible...or both at once, that the parallel universe is a living horror who's black beating heart beats a five thousand year pulse where magic is just the plasma run-off oozing from parallel dark energy wounds. But yeah, all just speculation at this point. What we need, to push the envelope here, is some canon that links mana, mana levels/cycles, to sub-atomic particles, including but not limited to, string theory, m-theory, etc. At this point canon evidence is pretty solid on the cycle, that there can be spikes and dips, and that there are meta-planes beyond the Astral. But after that...well, levitate spell would be the best place to start, I guess (at least for me with physics background, ignite may be a better starting point of the chemists, and so on). What's the force (old school F = ma) of a levitate spell cast at X force (Shadowrun force)? Max force, min force, etc. I don't have books but would be interesting to see what it translates into and then explore from there.

@Rockopolis - I think Charybdis is right. The other way to answer your question is; Yes, it is significant. How so? Well, homo sapiens sapiens are the default form for homo sapiens during low magic cycles. The question answers itself. Now asking "why" are homo sapiens sapiens the default form at least lets one make hypothesis about it, and then test those hypothesis...which in SR canon they did...and like Charybdis pointed out they discovered it's dependent on DNA. Then comes the questions; which genes or segments of the DNA are responsive to magic levels, how are they passed on during low mana cycles, etc.

[The_Gun_Nut]

Re: DNA and mana levels.  I would theorize that it's the shape of the molecule as well as the combination of ACGT structures that "funnel" the mana into specific forms.

M-Theory and membranes actually coincide nicely with established ideas of the metaplanes getting "closer" to the physical world.  I believe that the proximity allows for energy to be transfered from one plane to another and for fields and particles to cross and interact between branes.

[Fortinbras]

Is it significant that homo sapiens sapiens seems to be the default form for cycles of low magic?

I don't really think it's significant..... I just think of it as the default for that particular (non-Awakened) strain of DNA.

I can't see it as being any more important than Bear being the mundane Piasma, or Housecat being the default form of a Blackberry Cat.

Does this mean that elves/dwarves/trolls/orks are inherently magical and that humans are inherently non-magical?
What does that mean to non-magical metahumans and magical humans? Can an elf mage make an argument for superiority over a human mage based solely upon their DNA? Is that the Eugenics of the Sixth World?

And what does it mean that human is the default setting? In Earthdawn, dwarves were the most numerous of the Namegivers, so what changed? Did it have something to do with the Therans?

All interesting, yet ultimately rhetorical, questions. Neat game ideas,too.

[Fizzygoo]

Does this mean that elves/dwarves/trolls/orks are inherently magical

Yes.

and that humans are inherently non-magical?

No...reason being: humans are the carrier's of the other sub-species genetic markers. If an individual human could be identified as not carrying any genes for UGE expression or Awakened talent (either recessive or dominant) then one could argue that that individual is inherently non-magical. But the issue would still be that, since all are Homo sapiens, that means, evolutionarily speaking, they (we) all share the same common ancestor group. Merging evolutionary theory with canon means that all of metahumanity has common roots in Homo erectus, hablis, australopithecus, etc. Because of the nearly universal 10% UGE expression (+/- x% for various locations), that would indicate (but still carry some amount of doubt) that the "magic" genes were existent pre-Homo sapien emergence. Of course magic can throw all this out with "dragons creating elves from humans only x-many years ago," etc, and I'm not well versed on my Earthdawn info but even then, if it fits one's game one can just say, "well, the elven historians got it wrong...or the dragons are lying/got it wrong...etc."

What does that mean to non-magical metahumans and magical humans? Can an elf mage make an argument for superiority over a human mage based solely upon their DNA? Is that the Eugenics of the Sixth World?

Well, give that Eugenics is a faulty science in that it allows for (attempts to fit the data into) superiority claims based on culture rather than actual biology, yes. So, an elf mage can make the argument "I'm more superior than you, human, because my magic is expressed as talent as well as sub-species" but the human mage can say, "but I'm more adapted to any level of mana, so I'm more superior than you."

And what does it mean that human is the default setting? In Earthdawn, dwarves were the most numerous of the Namegivers, so what changed? Did it have something to do with the Therans?

I'd love for more info/an answer to this question, though I'm not sure what you mean by "default setting"? I think you mean that humans are the default sub-species of Shadowrun because they were the only sub-species to exist pre-Awakening (disregarding the few statistically insignificant number of spike babies...which we could just move the date of the Awakening to the first birth of the first spike baby). But correct me if I'm misinterpreting. With dwarves being the most numerous of the Namegivers...it could just mean they were the best to survive the horrors. The horrors being a harsh form of (super)natural selection that culled the herds of metahumanity with the dwarves being the least hit. Or it could just mean they were good a breeding through the last magic cycle. But I'm "really" guessing here instead of "mostly" guessing in my comments above

All interesting, yet ultimately rhetorical, questions. Neat game ideas,too.

Yup, and definitely fun to think about

[Charybdis]

I don't really think it's significant..... I just think of it as the default for that particular (non-Awakened) strain of DNA.

I can't see it as being any more important than Bear being the mundane Piasma, or Housecat being the default form of a Blackberry Cat.

Does this mean that elves/dwarves/trolls/orks are inherently magical and that humans are inherently non-magical?

No, it just means that humans are the default physiological state (ie Dynamite), but an awakened world provides a catalyst to the DNA creating other variants (ie Spark plus dynamite).

What does that mean to non-magical metahumans and magical humans? Can an elf mage make an argument for superiority over a human mage based solely upon their DNA? Is that the Eugenics of the Sixth World?

Depends on how you treat awakened DNA.

In my campaign, an Elf requires an awakened world to manifest, but this has zero bearing on their magical ability.

Of course, if you ask any elves in the Tir, they could tell you at length how superior their magical abilities are Most however, would argue that this is not because of any inherent increased ability, but rather a few thousand years more practice 

And what does it mean that human is the default setting? In Earthdawn, dwarves were the most numerous of the Namegivers, so what changed? Did it have something to do with the Therans?

I thought dwarves were only the most common in that main area of ED campaigns, as they had that big merchant Kaer that opened up at the right time?

*shrugs* Perhaps dwarves were the most common awakened race, but once the magic levels dropped, more humans were born instead.

It's a simple enough explanation.

[The_Gun_Nut]

Dwarfs were more common in Barsaive because they had organized the largest kaer in the area prior to the Scourge.  This, combined with their talent for organizing just about anything involving a stable civilization, meant that they were the most populous race in the century following the opening of the kaers.

Humans used to have a human based kingdom, called Landis, but conflict with the ork nation of Cara Fahd ensured that both nations fell during the Scourge (both squandered resources that should have gone to kaer production, but it looks like this was the work of a few Horrors showing up in the wrong places).

[Rockopolis]

Well...I think what I'm wondering is, what is in the sections of baseline human DNA that is mana-sensitive in other metaraces?  Padding?  Those socks we keep losing?  Some kind of hidden message?
EDGE!  Edge is stored in junk DNA!  Humans have lucky DNA!

Also...branched off at Homo Erectus or earlier...hmm...I wonder what this says about Homo Neanderthalensis?
Or...what about the possibility of...Manstart?  Set in the...First World?, you play as early man, carving out the very foundations of Humanity!  Trade in your Predator for an atlatl, your cyberware for this marvelous new 'clothes' stuff, and your magic for this awesome new 'communication'!

[Charybdis]

Well...I think what I'm wondering is, what is in the sections of baseline human DNA that is mana-sensitive in other metaraces?  Padding?  Those socks we keep losing?  Some kind of hidden message?
EDGE!  Edge is stored in junk DNA!  Humans have lucky DNA!

Also...branched off at Homo Erectus or earlier...hmm...I wonder what this says about Homo Neanderthalensis?
Or...what about the possibility of...Manstart?  Set in the...First World?, you play as early man, carving out the very foundations of Humanity!  Trade in your Predator for an atlatl, your cyberware for this marvelous new 'clothes' stuff, and your magic for this awesome new 'communication'!

Fire, mon ami, don't forget Fire...there's your mage archtype right there

[Rockopolis]

Right!

Wonder if there's more to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"?

Need a better name, but the tagline is probably "Man, Fire, Tool", then.
Huntgather?  Manstand?  Stonefire?  Seedcivilization?  Fireseed (oops, I think H Beam Piper used that already.  Be a better title, though)?  How did they come up with 'Shadowrun' or 'Earthdawn' as a name, anyway?

So...huntergathering shadowruners?
Field Warriors are skilled with flint and stick, and enhance themselves with powerful "clothes", at a price; mysterious Fire Makers master the secrets of fire and crafting; their Flame Dancer brethren carry the fire with them to use as a weapon; Riders train and use powerful but termpermental animals to accomplish impossible feats; and the charismatic Talkers are silver tongued masters of communication, experts at organizing and convincing others.
Together, you are Huntergatherers, travelling through the wilds to find resources for powerful tribes.  Your obstacles are many; rival tribes, weather and beasts of the wild, anachronistic sabertooth tigers and dinosaurs...your goal?  Live another day, and maybe one day, found a village.

Hmm...if I wanted to continue, or at least brag about record my absurdities, what board should it go on?  Hah, wonder if I can use the Shadowrun rules for this kind of campaign?

[Charybdis]

Hah, wonder if I can use the Shadowrun rules for this kind of campaign?

Easily. Although most of the rules simply wouldn't apply (Cyber/Bio/Vehicles/Communication/etc)

You'd have to be careful though, because if you allowed magic without allowing some tech, the mages would very quickly become superpowerful in such an environment.

[Rockopolis]

True, fire is unbalancing.  Although actual magic?  Spellslinging cavedwellers?  I suppose all the PCs would be mages or adepts...sounds like primitive Earthdawn, which I've never played.  Can't really think of a way to balance it...should check the costs of skills or tools compared to powers and spells.  Unless we make tool use a separate category, possibly taking up primitive brain Essence to comprhend their use.  Hmm...smoke signal deckers?  Smokers?

[Charybdis]

True, fire is unbalancing.  Although actual magic?  Spellslinging cavedwellers?  I suppose all the PCs would be mages or adepts...sounds like primitive Earthdawn, which I've never played.  Can't really think of a way to balance it...should check the costs of skills or tools compared to powers and spells.  Unless we make tool use a separate category, possibly taking up primitive brain Essence to comprhend their use.  Hmm...smoke signal deckers?  Smokers?

Actually, it sounds much more like Earthdawn mechanics would be best, rather than Shadowrun.

At least that way everyone's on a level-playing field from woe to go.