Fwurg

[Veolian Commonwealth]

This clarification is related to Xeno-obstetrics. This tech offers two benefits. The first allows you to combine racial segments for purposes of rounding. The second benefit allows the creation of a new hybrid species. It is about the latter use that I have a question.

The tech page contains two sentences that, although not a contradiction, are vague when read together:

Alternatively, you may create a hybrid species with characteristics from both and add the growth to that.

and

Alternatively, you could add them to a new species AB which has one characteristic of A, one of B and one completely new one and add the population growth to this new species.

As I read this, it seems that latter sentence states that creation of a hybrid by this technology works as follows:

• Assume a species A with characteristics (a1, a2, a3)
• Assume a species B with characteristics (b1, b2, b3)
• A hybrid species H derived from A and B will have the following characteristics: (h1, X, Y). With h1 being a characteristic of the players choice and X and Y characteristics taken from the the characteristics of A and B respectively.

I have two questions to this regard:

1. Is my interpretation of the technologies hybridization benefit correct?
2. Can X, Y and h1 be equal, or must h1 be different form X and Y? (e.g. let a1=Gasses Oriented, a2=Organics Oriented, a3=High Fecundity, b1=Metals Oriented, b2=Crystals Oriented, b3=High Fecundity. Hybrid H has characteristics a3, b3, High Fecundity.)

[Mercury]

1) Yes, that's exactly correct.
2) You could, though only with High Fecundity, as this is the only racial characteristic you may have more than once.