Arbiter Gene (Ownage)

The Arbiter Gene is a 24th, monoploid chromosome somehow linked to Awakening in humans. Whether it's a cause or an effect is unknown, though general consensus leans towards the latter. It is widely used as a marker to identify Awakened humans, as there have been no cases of an ordinary human possessing it, or of the Gene being absent from an Awakened human.

It's not quite clear who coined the term 'Arbiter Gene', though the general belief is that it was a reference to the infalliability of the gene in determining whether or not a person was Awakened. Nothing else needs to be examined, because nothing else is relevant--or so most people believe, in any case. People studying the gene (which is technically a chromosome, but the term Arbiter Gene gained widespread use, much to the frustration of geneticists) caution that little is known about it, but until it proves falliable they're likely to be mostly

Connection to Awakening

It's undeniable that there is some sort of correlation between the Arbiter Gene and human Awakening. All Awakened humans possess the gene, and no humans with the gene are not Awakened. Many people have tried to determine the nature of the cause-and-effect relationship, or even if there is one, with no real success. There are three main theories on how the two phenomenon are related.

• The Hermann-Hiraga Theory is the most popular among the population as a whole, being the first one proposed and generally considered the most easily understandable. It proposes that the Arbiter Gene is a virus brought (intentionally or otherwise) by the demons, citing as 'evidence' the ability of the gene to transform itself and rewrite other portions of DNA. According to the theory, the presence of this gene is somehow responsible for the other inexplicable abilities possessed by the Awakened. This theory explains the existence of Vassals through demons making an effort to 'infect' specific humans with advanced strains of the virus. Although there's no evidence for Awakening being contagious, this theory's widespread acceptance has generated that fear among many, and is at least partially responsible for a great deal of the negative sentiment towards Awakened humans.

• The Granger Theory is essentially the opposite of the Hermann-Hiraga theory, stating that the Arbiter Gene's presence is a result of Awakening. This theory is the most popular among people generally considered to be knowledgeable on the subject, though some criticize it as nothing but a fancy way of explaining away a mystery with "It's magic." That said, it's far from inconceivable that the 'magic' of the Awakened could alter a person's genetic makeup, and rather easily explains how the Gene seems to manifest simultaneously in almost every living cell in a person's body. The primary scientific criticism is that that sort of precision is highly unlikely from such a process.

• The Sakharov Theory was named for Russian scientist Kolya Sakharov, despite his protests. Kolya's theory puts forth that while there is an undeniable correlation between the Arbiter Gene and Awakening, this does not mean that one causes the other, or even that they are directly linked. As he pointed out, they could be totally different results of an as of yet unknown cause. His theory is generally unpopular, though a relatively large number of the people actually studying the Arbiter Gene do favor it

Hermann:
Notes: George Hermann created the theory, Hiraga Takashi (long-time friend and colleague) added the virus part
Most popular among people trying to dehumanize awakened
Incubation time: generally countered by the existence of Vassals, and that in turn rebutted by the hypothesis that demons who can cause human Awakening use already well-developed strains of the virus
Flaw in 'time to reach human populations': No greater rate in soldiers, survivors, etc.

Some believe that it's important to cure them, and others simply wish to keep them as far away from normal people as possible.

He considered it arrogant to name a theory after himself, and made a great deal of effort to popularize first Independant Correlation (what it suggests) and then the Petersburg Theory (in memory of the city) as alternate names, both of which failed to gain any sort of widespread public acceptance.

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"The Arbiter Gene is a 24th, monoploid chromosome that resides in the cells of what is now estimated to be some .2% of the human population and 78% of demons so far analyzed as of this writing.

It was originally called a gene because, in the earliest samples examined - and the overwhelmingly vast majority of cases - the arbiter gene consists only of a single gene. The term persists in common parlance as the phenomenon spreads.

As a monoploid gene, it does not properly divide into the germ line. In fact, sperm and ova that end up with a haploid portion of this gene self-terminate, marginally reducing the fertility of the subjects.