Male infertility and female exclusion

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Male infertility and female exclusion

Perhaps my questions are answered in other posts, but here I can get both at once. Is it ever explicitly explained why male witchers are infertile and female witchers are non-existent?
 
The mutations that witchers suffer make them infertile, gonad atrophia is mentioned in the books but Geralt's sex drive somehow disproves that ::) . So, Witchers shoot blanks, that's all.Also, mages are usually sterile but there's a little chance that a mage can become fertile or reverse the process. But it is implied in the books that the Mage Council disaproves that. Fertile mages are usually sterilized "Magic or motherhood, your choice".
For example, Geralt's mother is the sorceress Visenna.
There's no theoretical barrier to make female witchers, perhaps the Wolf Clan is simply sexist.PS: how is witcher babby formed ?
 
Actually they once tried to make a female witcher (Ciri - she was the main heroine of the saga. She was like Leo, not mutated but fed special mushrooms and elixirs. She was as fast as a fullgrown male witcher but not as strong) Then Triss came to pay a visit and forced them to stop because she noticed 'changes' in Ciri's body. It seems that the mutation has something to do with hormones, so even if a girl survived, she wouldn't have any curves.
 
Why would they stop at steroids? After all, the more the better :evil:I guess magic is also involved since they needed a renegade mage to assist them.
 
witchers mutations are far more then just steroids. they have slow heartbeat so they wont bleed to death from open wounds, relatively fast regeneration, immunity to diseases, low-light vision, inhuman reflex, and they are generally better then normal humans. high strength, endurance, ability to cast simple spells called signs. they run faster, jump higher, fall from heights etc. they are also very calm so many people say they have no feelings but that's just a myth. they dont deny rumours and stories about them, sometimes its more convinient that way and they dont bother.
 
I asked this question because I was wondering if witchers are actually sterile, or if they have simply mutated to the point where they are genetically incompatible with humans (and elves, dryads, etc.) If it is the former, then I guess that's that. If it is the latter, then I suspect that is the main reason why there are no female witchers. Because if genetic compatibility is the culprit, then I suspect that male witchers would WOULD be fertile, but only with female witchers (assuming the mutations witchers experience are roughly similar to each other). This would be a very bad thing. Imagine, if you will, an entire race of people like Geralt.*waits for the ladies to swoon*Once witchers gained the ability to pass on their abilities to their offspring, the very people they seek to protect would start viewing them as a threat. They are already viewed as "aliens" and "freaks", the attack on Kaer Morhen proved that. If witchers started breeding, it would not take very long for human communities to organize against them, fearing that if left unchecked, the witchers would begin to dominate humans just like humans began dominating the elder races. Thus, in a bizarre and backward way, the witchers may be ensuing their survival by taking steps to NOT reproduce!I also suspect this is the reason female mages are sterilized. Nobody (amongst normal humans anyway) wants a elite class of magic users rise up to dominate human society.Of course if they are simply totally sterile then my entire theory goes poof. Oh well, it was a good thought exercise ;)
 
*swooning* :)but seriously ... i think that since witchers were created for a purpose (protecting humans from monsters) that their inability to reproduce is rather convenient to their creators, lest they get "uppity and out of hand". A controllable number of witchers would be better, don't you think, to their creators ?i think the sterility is not just a nasty side effect, but then again, i haven't read any of the books, only the short stories so far (anxiously checks the post for any news at all of my UK version of Blood of Elves)
 
gamewidow said:
(anxiously checks the post for any news at all of my UK version of Blood of Elves)
you and me both! i preordered it ages ago, just checked amazon and it says out of stock *horrified look*back to the topic, i was wondering the same thing about the whole witchers only able to reproduce with mutated women theory. certainly is interesting!
 
We're told that some special new mutations were used on Geralt, ones that no one else survived. Just think of the plot possibilities if those new mutations made him the only non-sterile witcher -- adult children that he didn't know he'd sired, increased angst about retiring and starting a family, angry women who got pregnant when they thought they couldn't, women who want to bear a hero's child so as to have the best possible genes ... the possibilities are endless. :evil:
 
poor geralt, turning around and getting faced with a whole crowd of kids he didnt know he had had... can you imagine his horror!! probably a good job they dont have the CSA in the books if that were the case LOL!
 
I imagine Morenn would be very happy to discover that Geralt was not sterile-in fact she would probably beg to take him back to her homeland, both to defend against humans and to breed the next generation of dryads. Now that would be the best job ever ;D
 
Think it was the best thing to make witchers sterile. They are the few to survive the Trial of Grasses, bio engineering themselves into what they are, "mutants". So if they did have mutant children, who's to say they well be born strong and healthy with superhuman traits. Most likely they will be born deform of looking normal but insane. In "The Lesser Evil", Stregobor talks about how the mages believe that children born during an eclipse are mutants and these children don't grow up to be your nice, loving, and kind citizen.Having children would restrict them from their dangerous job which is slaying monster. Always worry if they will survive the jaws of any monster and if the witchers has enemies (which they do), those enemies can take his family as hostage... I know Geralt adopts Ciri with the help of Yennefer but Yennefer is a sorceress so she can handle herself, yet the above still applies. Anyway, Geralt is a hero and just like that old saying from "Quest for Glory IV" (think it was 4 been so long since I've played that game) "Where a hero as to GO, is where a hero has to GO". Think ill make that my profile quote ;D
 
TKaz84 said:
I asked this question because I was wondering if witchers are actually sterile, or if they have simply mutated to the point where they are genetically incompatible with humans (and elves, dryads, etc.) If it is the former, then I guess that's that.
It's an interesting hypothesis...Sapkowski made the Witchers sterile...but never pursued a backstory if you like...so one can imagine that the world of the witcher which has humans in it, arriving as they did in that new world..it is possible to hypothesize that their human dna may have been affected too...The magic too is interesting, seemingly permeating the earth, air and water of the continent, which possibly has affected their dna?...
 
you are all talking like there is a choice. there's no way they could decide to have children or not. becoming a witcher means infertility, always. nobody intentionaly choose to "reward" witchers with this side effect.the fact that in witcher universe, people know something about genetics, doesnt mean they can alter human in every way they want. its all trial and error method and humans are lab rabbits. of course there's magic involved and mages in witcher univers are virtually omnipotent. they are limited by power but not by shape of magic. with enough energy they can do tremendous things. f.e. djinnies are elemental spirits, a mage who enslaved an earth djinnie could level mountains which blocked him the view from tower. but thats all destructive powers, creating and healing is other thing. healing magic is powerfull but still very limited. the best example of such limit is death of Hen Gedymdeith who couldnt be saved by specialised in healing sorceress after simple heart attack.witchers are sterile and there's nothing in books about even slightest possibility to change it.
 
hmm i think we are already aware that theres no choice for the witchers, we were merely exploring theories and ideas :p
 
Hmmm, interesting discussion.But what about Magic's influence?Technically I haven't heard of any "negative" side effects of being a female/male Mage/Wizard/whatever you want to call them.Couldn't, in Ciri's case, the magic have influenced with the witcher potions?Of course that is highly theoretic, as I don't have access to the actual novels.I like the question if they are actually infertile or just not "compatible" with the other races.But one thing seems similar between Witchers and Sorceress (whats with the men?). Most of the time they're infertile (Geralt nad Yennefer for example).But Geralts Mother was a Sorceress and had a kid.The exception to the rule?Couldn't there then also be a Witcher who can have kids (be it male or female, not going there this moment)?Then the whole Female Witcher thing.Well, it could be that the "Wolf" Clan is sexist. I recall one person calling the Witchers a fraternity, I believe Nivellen.Could that be limited to the Wolf? Or in general?Then, what stands against female Witchers? Ciri?Couldn't she also be the exception?Maybe the "Cat" Clan (if it then exists...) is a complete female organization?...Hmmm, things to ponder I will have enough tonight.
 
Geralt was extremely lucky - not only his mother was one of the few sorceresses who weren't infertile or sterilised by the Council, but he was born normal - it was mentioned that usually the children born by the sorceresses are retarded and can't control their power (that's why they get sterilised).I personally don't think the wolf clan is sexist. The reason why aren't many witchers is because children rarely live through the mutations. They had to be extremely lucky and tough. I'm sure they tried to mutate girls out of curiosity but I don't think a girl would survive and they aren't such bastards to keep trying. Plus I already said that if somehow a girl was lucky enough to live then she would no longer look like a girl anyway. Another reason is that they don't steal the children they liked - people simply bring them the unwanted kids. Male kids, because female warriors were extremely rare so they probably didn't even try. Unwanted famele kids were given to the sorceresses.
 
I wonder as well if perhaps the reason why Geralt did survive the mutations so well is that he became somewhat acclimatised to magic whilst still in the womb, so the magic didnt have to work so hard to change him. It would certainly explain why he survived the experiments that turned his hair white...Just a thought anyway :)
 
chicra made the point. besides, nobody call dryads sexist because they only "change" human girls, not boys. that's the way it is, nobody said its impossible to make male dryad. female witchers are also possible but nobody wants to mutate girls.
Lyonesse said:
I wonder as well if perhaps the reason why Geralt did survive the mutations so well is that he became somewhat acclimatised to magic whilst still in the womb, so the magic didnt have to work so hard to change him. It would certainly explain why he survived the experiments that turned his hair white..
good conclusion :)
 
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