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[Aria Jenneth]

So someone recently let slip that the ability to enjoy kresh products might not be quite so exclusive as some Caldari might let on.

Naturally, this has a certain pair of halfbloods all eager to get confirmation and maybe give that taste of mortality a try.

Confirmations? Denials? Discussion?

It does seem as though, if true, this would be something the Caldari would keep kinda-sorta quiet. Can't have a bunch of bloody Gallente with a Caldari ancestor somewhere in the family tree all (getting themselves genetically tested, then) going and slurping up kresh like it weren't no thang.

[Vikarion]

The most PF I've been able to find on it is this: https://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Tea#Caldari

From that, it appears that whether Kresh tea is fatal to a Caldari depends on its strength and how it is prepared. In the Tea Maker Ceremony, if a person survives the poisonous preparation of the tea, then they are divinely favored.

The player created fiction on the subject has a long history of alleging that it will kill non-Caldari, however, the Tea article states that traditions based around tea had a part in forging a strong bond between the Achura and Caldari.

There's some player-made fiction here: https://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Four_questions

So I would guess that there's some wiggle-room between "instantly fatal" and "harmless". For someone half-Caldari, assuming that they don't go for full Tea Maker Ceremony strength, they'd probably be fine. Perhaps a bit of numbness around the lips and extremities.

Oh, and the necessity of exact preparation would keep most Gallente from attempting to drink it. That, and the fact that it's apparently like black tea in taste, except turned up to 11.

[Kyoko Sakoda]

I've always chalked it up to 50% cultural myth, 50% truth. Mostly because I'm not sure where to find resources on the general idea.

Because of my ambivalence about it I've treated it a bit like lactose intolerance.

[Aria Jenneth]

Hm. We had a fairly extensive discussion of kresh, once upon a time. I still like a lot of the conclusions we came up with.

We never did get into the genetics of the resistance, tho.

[Elmund Egivand]

Kresh is space fugu in leaf form. Why does any sane person want to partake in that willingly?

[Morwen Lagann]

That, and the fact that it's apparently like black tea in taste, except turned up to 11.

This would actually attract Morwen to it, speaking for myself... xD

[Aria Jenneth]

Kresh is space fugu in leaf form. Why does any sane person want to partake in that willingly?

Partly it's to thumb our noses conceptually at all the pureblooded Civire and Deteis who've sneered at us over the years (real or, in Aria's case, mostly imagined) (she did get sneered at; she just doesn't remember it. Also, in reality, it was mostly pureblooded Achura).

Partly it's to join those self-same Civire and Deteis in the experience of sipping potential death from a cup. A certain amount of cultural self-respect is tied up in the act, as being able to face kresh is something only "real Caldari" can do.

Also, Aria's faced a couple incidents of immediate, personal danger in her kinda-sorta couple months of life, and (while she wasn't especially called to) didn't act especially effectively. In one case, she more or less locked up; in the other, rescue arrived before she could do anything / be required to do anything more daring than radioing for help.

The latter situation had her trying to figure out how to use an Amarrian sidearm while Blood Raiders cut through the door onto the war barge bridge she was on. She wasn't sure at the time whether the gun was going to be for them or for herself. The experience traumatized her enough that she essentially holed up in the SFRIM living quarters for a couple weeks after. She's still having nightmares.

A nasty little voice in her head has started calling her a coward, which erodes her confidence. It's not going to shut up until she faces death without cringing at least once, and kresh is far and away the least hazardous of her options.

[Vikarion]

Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

[Aria Jenneth]

Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

Eh. We're essentially worldbuilding, so there's only so far the PF and existing theorycraft will carry us.

If you or anyone else happens to know much about how resistances or vulnerabilities to certain things (toxins, alcohol, etc.) tend to work in heredity, that would be something.

[Silas Vitalia]

The latter situation had her trying to figure out how to use an Amarrian sidearm while Blood Raiders cut through the door onto the war barge bridge she was on. She wasn't sure at the time whether the gun was going to be for them or for herself. The experience traumatized her enough that she essentially holed up in the SFRIM living quarters for a couple weeks after. She's still having nightmares.

That sounds interesting

[Zenariae]

Mithridatism? Perhaps a resistance could be built slowly over time to the toxins in Kresh in the same way a resistance to snake or spider venom can be achieved if exposed to it often and in small enough doses? Full blood Caldari may have developed this resistance over time through exposure during their history and now carry it as a genetic mutation? My two cents worth.

[Lyn Farel]

Probably. Which would also mean that anyone drinking it in small proportions, increasing the dosage everytime, and doing that everyday, would start to develop a resistance to it. That's an interesting take on it. =)

In any case... this thread is exactly about what I hate with CCP's lore. Most the time it's kept extremely vague so that people can ICly argue over it or whatever. Ok fine, but every time it also puts people in that exact situation, creates OOC conflicts, or even worse, people bullshiting all over ICly to impose their view on others.

[Utari Onzo]

Immunity to certain toxics can be built up over time by taking incremental doses, but there is also evidence to suggest genetic resistance can help through the process of natural selection (those with better genes for flushing out toxins survive drinking polluted water better)

Here's a couple of real world examples
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/17/genetic-immunity-to-arsenic

And while it relates to mice this article, it hints at the possibility that resistance genes might well be dominant rather then recessive when crossing species, and in our case races

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14462733

I'm of the view that resistance could in theory be obtained by consuming tiny amounts of kresh, and that one can also possess ethnic Caldari dominant genes to better flush out toxins, but the fact no one in the State wants to suggest it's possible has left the notion only full Caldari can drink it properly. The idea that the 'pure' Caldari would want to keep this hush hush is too delicious a concept to turn down.

As a side note while heavily diluting the tea down so that anyone could drink it is a possibility, i think atleast from Utari's point of view he wouldn't accept anything less then the fully monty (the same dose that one would drink at the coming of age ceremonies) I'm not 100% sure about Aria's IC view point on how big an impact being able to drink kresh is, but again for Utari if it happens it will have huge ramifications on how he views his Civire ethnicity.

[purple]

Hamish is a Tea-Maker and a half Intaki from Kamokor IV.   I've always RP'd that it's up to the Maker to determine if the Tea is lethal, and that pills, nanites or pills with nanites and space magic exist to neutralize the poison.

He frequently recommends the pills to Achurians but doesn't use it himself.   He ritually drinks Hak'len before and after combat as a way of keep him from becoming numb to mass killing and as a punishment for taking lives. 

This is especially true for ship losses, where it's not just a punishment for failing to protect his crew but is an homage to them.  This has led to more than a few instances of Hamish's majordomo having  to perform an emergency jump clone on him.

TLDR?  It's your character, do what you want.

[Aria Jenneth]

TLDR?  It's your character, do what you want.

Only (1) Aria has an authenticity hangup related to her commitment to personal integrity; (2) it's fun either way; (3) we have a chance to build some quasi-canon here.