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"I fail to see what relevance that has to Ardat-Yakshis."

"Then you're missing the point. In this scenario the Justicar Order is Skynet and the Ardat-Yakshis are the Resistance. Should it ever become public knowledge that Ardat-Yakshis can safely mate with one another, then what purpose would the Justicars, whose entire raison d'être is to track down and either incarcerate or kill Ardat-Yakshis, serve?"

"Are you suggesting some grand conspiracy?"

Vahlen actually chuckled at that, which drew stares. Such a sound was not usually associated with the woman who had a reputation to be the only member of staff not to join in the celebrations when XCOM took out the alien subterranean base.

"Nothing quite so ... Hollywood. The odds of two Ardat-Yakshi meeting external to a monastery are extraordinarily slim, and even if they did and accidentally stumbled upon this, they would hardly make a public spectacle of it. Within the monastery, conditions are incredibly tightly controlled to ensure none of the prisoners can meld with one another, and in the unlikely event it was attempted, it would be far easier for the Justicar mentors to convince themselves of some anomaly than face the possibility that their divine purpose is flawed. Your long lifespans are an enormous evolutionary disadvantage since they make you psychologically adverse to anything that might disrupt the status quo. Ironic, really."

The younger male Vakarian chose that moment to chime in.

"Ironic how?"

"Within the last four or five generations in utero genetic alteration has become very prevalent, even commonplace among Asari. Obviously not to the scope that we have accomplished, but any unrecognised or unwanted alleles are quietly corrected around the second month of the pregnancy, which essentially eliminates the majority of mutations the mother has acquired, clearly missing the reason why Asari evolved long lifespans over a fast generation turnover. Asari mutate at the same rate as Humans but typically live ten times as long, and so will acquire ten times as many mutations, ensuring each generation has new alleles in the gene pool. Your genetic correcting procedure undoes this. Effectively your society is pushing you towards an ever reducing gene pool, especially as your definition of a defective gene expands. Initially it was conditions such as T'loure syndrome or hyperactive hormonal gland disorders, then expanded to species equivalents of asthma, dwarfism and nystagmus. More recently corrections have been made to genes that code for mottled skin tone, excess body fat and unusually short head crests, which are all physical traits that, while certainly less 'attractive' have no negative physiological impact. The Ethereals gave you eighteen generations until the Asari are a mono-genotypic race if this trend continues, and another ten after that before a major population crash. This is, of course, assuming the Ethereals don't wipe you all out first."

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9736821/16/