Hey guys, it's been a while! So for my story, I'm trying to figure out how I can create this Vampire-like character. His nickname is 'Vamp', he was a biological experiment for the U.S.S.R. in mid 1970's. They originally intended on putting him into capitalist nations to literally scare people. I'm having trouble with the science behind him. I want to know if there is a way (which I'm sure there is) of damaging the human eye to make it extremely sensitive to light, and easier to see things at night (the part I'm unsure of). Another thing, I want him to rely on foreign blood sources to survive, I'm wondering if there is any sort of human condition where the person dies off because of a lack of blood-cell reproduction; I want to give him that disease but make him prey on humans every few days to regain the blood source. Any help would be appreciated, I'm not sure how to Google those things because they're quite complex. If anyone has a hard time understanding what I said, just ask and I'll try to make it more clear! Thanks!
Umm splice his DNA with a cat AND A BAT? I dunno. No one questions the U.S.S.R so go ahead do what you wish.
I could do that but I'm looking for a way that seems like it can be done with scientific practices we already know to work. The Soviets are questioned many times in my story, some of which they have to answer to, so I can't really do that.
You could have the USSR rip his bone marrow out of his bones. It's horrific, extremely painful, and very Russian. He wouldn't be able to produce blood, and would need to replace his with new blood every couple of days or he would die.
Look into the science behind this; for one, ingesting blood would never allow the body to replace lost blood or blood cells--he would need to have transfusions, and unless he had some kind of adaptability, these transfusions would have to come from a donor with the same blood type or he would go into anaphylactic shock--and the bones are reliant on marrow for structural integrity, channels, and canaliculi; he would be literally immobile without marrow. Why not try a simple anemia-like disorder with much more aggressive symptoms? Not only is it much more realistic--as realistic as it can be, anyway--but it allows for better suspension of disbelief. As for his eyes...rods function in less intense light but have little, if any role in color vision; if he were to have a greater number of rod cells than cones, he would be better able to see in low-light conditions.
Hmm I guess I'll have to do a bit more research into this, I want it to be as believable and realistic as I can get it. Thanks!
Cat eyes are sensitive to light and can easily see in the dark. In a non-fiction story they took the eyes out of a human and replaced them with cat eyes. Painful process, but worth it considering that it saved his life many times. (This is from the movie pitch black; highly recomended). As far as the lack of blood conflict you want the character to have. Remember. This is also fiction. Another idea, if I may put this out there, is that they could suck the venom through their fangs that they are so well known for. Like in venomous snakes, who secrete their venom through their fangs, but for vampires it's be in reverse. You can go on to explain that the blood sucked in through their fangs was a direct delivery to the bloodstream. This way, you may use the bone marrow idea that obank suggested, without it being scientifically impossible. This probably won't be questioned considering we obviously don't know the anatomy of a vampire even if it had existed. Sorry, I'm not trying to write your book for you. Just an idea. Throwing it out there, haha. Tell me what you think.
Take a look at the blood disorder porphyria; there may be some elements of that which you can use, such as the light sensitivity of the skin and the severe pain sufferers can feel during an attack, which could be seen as him having a vampiric reaction to sunlight. Look on Wikipedia - or a more reliable source - at Erythropoietic porphyrias in particular. As an aside, peripheral neuropathy is a symptom of porphyria and could mean he feels less external pain than other people might. Could this give him improved endurance in a fight? It could also mean he can't 'feel' sensitive touches - like from his child or life partner. As a segue into your story, you could have it that the main character has to change his blood completely every few days to remove the chemicals his body is overproducing and causing the attacks. And while his victims look like they've received vampire bites, they are in fact the marks left by the high-speed blood-draining equipment he uses to get the blood he needs. Once he has the blood, he has to retire to a lair of sorts and transfuse it into his body. If his blood group was AB+, he could receive ANY blood type without adverse effects, this blood group is known as the 'universal recipient', with O- being the 'universal donor'. All this could be a side effect of the Soviet tampering with his genes to create some kind of super-soldier who could be dropped behind enemy lines to spread fear among the populace by killing them using the enhanced capabilities bred into him. He could be the result of a cold-war era genetic programme which used very primitive and controversial techniques and created flawed embryos which grew up to have the required talents but also significant genetic disorders. If the genetic engineering was particularly primitive, that might give you scope to create other characters with slightly different 'powers' and afflictions which depend on the pot-luck nature of the gene-splicing techniques they may have used. Going back to good-old porphyria, another symptom is increased hair growth. Werewolf anyone? Good luck with the story.
