It's a combination of the altered genetic strands of the parents combined with the human DNA trying to reassert itself.

They did not invent this tech. They merely co opted it.

They aren't a group of renegade scientists. They're a religious cult.

They're whole history is a comedic bunch of fail.

Oh forgot to mention, they are also based a bit on the Free Man on the Land Movement.

It's not that it sounds like it's written ABOUT people who know little about biology.

It sounds like it's written BY someone who knows little about biology.

Their founder (now deceased) tried to argue that he could not be arrested and prosceuted for a crime because his alterations meant he wasn't human.

Not the biggest expert on biology I've got to admit. So that is a fair cop. However, in my defense this was written in 2005 and our knowledge of how we'd even go about altering the human genome was a bit less.

"Not the biggest expert on biology"
Understatement of the decade.

Also, this:

"It's a combination of the altered genetic strands of the parents combined with the human DNA trying to reassert itself."

In genetics, we call that "nonsense".

Not a "nonsense mutation", just nonsense.

The idea was that similar to how we genetically modify things now it was introduced to the body piggybacked on a viral agent (which was my understanding of how that worked at the time). That works good for plants, but not as well on something as complex as a human.

Well, it works well when there are far fewer cells to get the genetic material in.

As in the case of embryos.

Due to an arbitrary tech roadblock I created you couldn't use these techniques to create new life from stratch. Only alter an already existing structure.

Right, that's why in the story they have essentially three variants basted on when the alterations were introduced.

Well, altering an extisting structure would be how any sensible person would do it anyway.

Yes, THAT bit I liked.

Then I got to the nonsensical malformations, and worse yet, your description of the mechanism that brought them about.

Well I can explain my line of reasoning, and you can tell me how I am wrong.

It's just a genome, it has no intelligence.

Well, yes. Of course.

There won't be a battle between the wild type and non-wild type parts.

It doesn't work like that.

Fair point.

So here's how my reasoning went.

So this tech, when the recrants stole it, was still in a very early stages. These stories take place not that far in the future. So the way it alters DNA is crude, slapdash. In some cases fragments of the human DNA are still left behind.

Now when I was saying the human DNA is reasserting itself I don't mean that as literally as I think you are taking it. I will get to that.

As I said the DNA alteration is done via a viral agent. One of the breakthroughs that makes this possible is the viral agent is self replicating in itself, and so once introduced into the body it is perpetual. It coexists wit the body theoretically symbiotically.

Wat

Is it even integrated into the genome?

Both.

Ok I can see how this is confusing.

It isn't now.

Like I said not a biologist. Thanks for helping me sort this out.

I guess stricly speaking it might not.

So, how does this not spread and turn a shitload of people's babies into furries?

Also, the self-replicating stuff is not in the least bit necessary for when they modify embryos.