In 3819 PT, a highly advanced growth inhibitor nano-toxin was discovered in the Bel-dan System by the scientist Fruta Eztanda of the Brood of Dalathak. Originally used by the Olm against the Cradians of the Bel-Dan III to poison their nursery pools, Dominion scientists working with Fruta were able to alter the nano-toxin to temporarily alter Megasaurian Tulaki physiology. When applied correctly, the altered nano-toxin causes rapid muscle wasting and a softening of keratinous tissue, and may induce moulting of bony shells or other large structures. While this causes the Megasaurian to decrease in size and physical power, it also significantly reduces the biological stresses on their organs and allows for more efficient heat distribution.
On Origin, megasaurians were quite tightly restricted to temperate or colder zones as the square-cube law puts them right up to the limit of what Tulaki physiology can support. This treatment allows Megasaurians to endure short-term excursions into hotter or more cramped environmental conditions. The nano-toxin formula and treatment programme rapidly spread across the Dominion and was well-received as a boon to Megasaurians of all phenotypes.
The initial treatment was a 3-day regime, during which the Megasaurian uncomfortably purged large amounts of matter, and the effects lasted for several weeks. Once the effect of the treatments wore off, the Megasaurian experienced extreme hunger to fuel their growth as their natural biology reasserted itself. This process was both uncomfortable and inconvenient, so considerable effort was dedicated to improving the process. In the intervening years significant refinements have been made to the nano-treatment, so that the nano-toxin merely “shears off” certain portions of the patient's physiology, preserving most of the structure intact. Meanwhile, other nanites administered with the treatment sequester the removed tissue and when it is placed in a specialised container, holds it in a form of biological stasis. The whole process, while still uncomfortable, is much less messy and also more rapid, taking as little as half a standard hour.
Of even greater utility is that the process is mostly reversible - when another nano-treatment is administered, this time calibrated for re-integration, the nanites seek out and bond with the removed tissues and quickly re-integrate them with the patient's physiology, restoring their previous Megasaurian attributes - although patients have complained of some lingering itchiness for a short time after the reintegration completes. The treatment nanites and equipment are manufactured in several facilities across the Dominion, and are distributed by the Ecclesiocracy to Faction scientists who request them.
Administering the nano-treatment is a complex process that requires fine calibration to the patient's biology, but is relatively easy for a skilled Life Scientist. The Life Scientist administering the treatment positions an array of nano-injectors and control probes around the patient's body, concentrated around their larger Megasaurian traits. The nanite cocktails are injected in a precise order and distribution over the course of a few minutes, during which they scan the patient's body, report back to the scientist, who then makes some final calibrations and initiates the sequence. The patient is then encouraged to quickly retreat to a prepared area where they can slough off their additional tissue and store it correctly for later reintegration.
Only Megasaurians have the durability and existing musculature to be able to take advantage of the nano-treatments. Other Tulaki morphs become debilitatingly ill after the treatment takes effect.
Any Dominion Life Scientist can apply the environmental nano-treatment to a willing Megasaurian character with 5 minutes of roleplayed science activity. After this roleplay, the Megasaurian character should enter a private or OOC area and reduce their physrep requirements to the equivalent of a Saurian Tulaki – a lizard-like face mask and makeup on their exposed skin. Ideally, they should strongly resemble their ordinary Megasaurian character to minimise confusion. As a result of these changes, the Megasaurian character loses access to any special abilities conferred by their Megasaurian build, and revert to 3 Locational Hits and a 200-second Death Count (enhanced by any skills or other abilities they may have). If the treatment is applied to the same character again, they must revert to their original Megasaurian physreps after a similar amount of time.
A Megasaurian character may choose to have had the nano-treatment administered before arriving at an event, or at the start of each day, in which case they are subject to its effects for the entire day. It is assumed that a Megasaurian character can have access to the treatment during Time Out each night.
The primary reasoning for this mechanic is to allow the players of Tulaki Megasaurians to attend events where their physreps would otherwise be far too bulky or warm to be able to attend – socials, events at the height of summer, etc., or if they are exhausted and need a break from their bulky costume.