Adam makes a face but does not dispute that.

"Do you know if the powers require sexual intercourse to pass on, or if genetic material is enough, or does your species not have methods of non-contact fertilization yet?"

Adam is going to be an adult and not complain (much) about discussing this topic around his dad.

"With powers you mean shapes? I think just the man's semen is technically enough to impregnate a woman. There might be some remote-fertilization power somewhere, but not as a species-wide feature, no. There might be a specific shape that mimics some alternative fertilization method, but that sounds unlikely, shapes don't usually intervene too much with reproduction even when they have a non-animal theme."

"Do the shapes pass on even if, for instance, the semen is inserted into the woman without the man present?"

"Not a common occurrence, but yes," they might have talked a lot about this topic. Maybe on the specific contest of what counts as cheating.

"Then likely there is either something transmitted alongside the sperm - a chemical, another organism, or similar - or the shapes are somehow transmitted directly via the sperm. I can explain modern genetic theory as applies to most known species, if you are unfamiliar with it?"

"Sure, go ahead."

He'll explain a very, very basic overview of genetic theory, then, though he keeps going off on more detailed tangents. The essential idea - which carries across most species they've contacted - is that children will be similar to parents. Where there is a single parent, children are very similar through nearly identical. Where there are multiple parents, children bear a mixture of traits. Most forms of inheritance-through-descent permit modification, too, of the inherited information, either randomly or intentionally, which seems to be an evolutionary advantage...

A basic, extremely over simplified example, presuming two parents contributing an equal amount of genetic material, can for instance be found in this specific plant's inherited characteristics. There is a single gene, which is a unit of information regarding descent, controlling flower redness. The plant has two bits of information, one from each parent plant, this being a plant that reproduces sexually. If the plant has two non-red parents, the plant will not be red, because the "red flower" bit overrides the "not red flower" bit, and the non-red parents can therefore not have the "red flower" bit. If a plant is red, there is one of two possibilities - either both of its bits say "red flower," or one says "red flower" and the other says "not red flower." The first is homozygous for the trait, and the second is heterozygous for the trait. If you cross two plants that are heterozygous for the "red flower" trait, on average one fourth will be homozygous for "red flower", one half will be heterozygous for "red flower," and one fourth will be homozygous for "not red flower," instead being a color without any red.

Traits that can be masked like this, like the being not red, are called recessive traits, and are why sometimes grandparents will have something, and grandchildren will have it, but not the generation in the middle.

Most traits are a combination of genes. In the flower's case, it also has a gene controlling the presence of yellow pigment, and one controlling the presence of blue pigment. The three genes work together to determine the flower's final color.

Adam finds this fascinating! He makes notes. He thinks it's not beyond the pools/shapes' ability to change genes, but isn't sure that is what's happening mechanically. They are willing to investigate.

"Does it seem likely your species uses a similar method of inheritance? I can do a statistical analysis of traits, if you're unsure, or I can usually identify it in tissue samples. Blood is a classic, but some magic systems use it as an ingredient, so most patients are hesitant to hand that over."

"It sounds compatible with what we know and how we might actually be human with add-ons, but we don't know. As long, you don't use our blood for nefarious purposes or give it to someone else for nefarious purposes we don't mind giving you samples. I am sure most of the crew will be willing to cooperate with that."

"Of course I won't. I'll even sign a contract to that effect - legally enforceable, not magically, I don't mess with geases nor oaths."

"A non-magical contract is good enough."

"Thank you for looking into this. How do we give you blood and tissue samples?"

"A cheek swab's fine for skin cells. The inside of your cheek is constantly shedding, so it's easy to scrap some off. Blood is technically a form of tissue - for that I have thin needles, or if you're squeamish I can use magic to retrieve the blood, but that's usually a bit of a pain and risks contamination."

"Pool-shifters have the pain resistance of people who undergo the agony of having their entire body rearranged from the inside out as a fundamental part of becoming a healthy adult. Which is to say, you can go ahead with the needles."

"Alright." Then he'll get out the bloodwork contract, and then lead them to the side, into his patient's room, where he has sterile needles and equipment to clean the crook of their elbows (he explains the purpose of this as he works, partially bemoaning the general lack of acknowledgement of microorganisms about healers, scientists, and public policy planners, since most magic doesn't interact with them).

They are unused to the procedure, but have high pain tolerance as advertised.

He uses thin needles, so it's hardly more than a brief pinch at least. He sets aside some of the small vials, and holds one up, his hand beginning to hum. "I'll run some of it through more mundane analyses, but my magic makes a good first pass scan," he comments, idly. "There are more microorganisms in your blood than is typical across species, but I'll need to analyze them more. Some of them even seem consistent between people... There's nothing jumping out at me as genetic markers for shapes, but I haven't played around yet."

"Do you have any other questions while you're here? Usually I'd run the analyses then get back to patients, though a more thorough understanding of the magic system might help... What is the relation between shapes and powers?"

"It would be nice if we have time estimates to various answers. Helps our homesick crew get less anxious. But I understand this is a complicated problem."

"Shapes have themes to what sort of powers they can have. When you sacrifice a shape to another something of that shape is transferred to the new one and that causes the power to manifest. What a given power does is based on the themes of at least one - but usually both - shapes. And even when different shapes get similar powers there is often common divergences. Ventaris that can move stuff at distance often need to move their bodies, while Umbras that move stuff are usually limited by line of sight, Petrams and Hiberas are often better at keeping things still while Aestes and Brontos are better at sudden powerful movements. And so on."

"But sometimes you get really oddball cases that don't appear to fit theme. Like I know a woman that can control plants by making the ground hyperfertile and the relevant shapes are Petram and a magma themed shape that I forgot the name. Ah, also, whenever you get a power there is often an insight to why it makes sense and people have this insight and agree with it even when they would disagree with it. The insights are usually true, at least for concrete things, like how volcanic soil being very fertile."

"Possibly different manifestations of a similar underlying ability, then..." he mutters. "Possibly something affecting cognition on some level, though that could be many things..."

He shakes his head. "This is a fascinating case, and I'm not particularly busy. I will have a first-pass answer by three days from now at the latest, and a more in depth answer within six, including extension time for any emergencies likely to crop up. At least, as far as what's likely to cause it - more samples will improve that, and will possibly eventually allow me to manipulate the basic cause. I will definitely know within the six day mark if this is something I can affect."

"Our people will definitely be willing to offer more samples. We will make an appointment so everyone can swing by then."

"That'd be very helpful, yes - how many people are there in your crew? I have some openings that day, and some the day after, but not enough to see a significant number."

"Thirty. I am sure at least a dozen will want to provide samples, maybe even two dozens. We can optimize if there's a parameter to optimize for?"