

I recently finished all of Toaru Majutsu no Index, and have started watching
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun. I'm currently in the second season of Railgun S,
where we get more detail about the Sisters project than the first season of
Index gave us.

It is shown that Misaka hands over her DNA map to a scientist at a young age
because she believe that it will be used to help cure muscular dystrophy. She
looks very young here, appearing to be younger than Last Order/20001, placing
her pretty firmly in grade school.

Throughout the series, it is repeatedly said that Misaka is someone who got to
level 5 through her own hard work, and started out as a level 1 just like many
other students in Academy city. Logically, that would mean her ascent to fame
and power is a somewhat recent phenomenon, and that she isn't genetically
predisposed to become a strong esper.

Thus, the question I have is why the scientists wanted to use her DNA map for
the Sisters project, when she should've been decidedly average at a young age,
and nothing exemplary like she is during the anime. Surely there would have
been better options, like cloning Accelerator himself?

I haven't read the novels, so maybe I was hoping that someone with more in-
depth knowledge of the Toaru universe could fill me in.


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question
a-certain-magical-index a-certain-scientific-railgun
Why was Misaka Mikoto chosen as the candidate for the Sister's project when she was just a normal child when they asked for her DNA map?


If I recall correctly, an explanation for this is hinted at by Mugino later on
in S, although it is addressed in more detail later on in the novels. In
short, Misaka was selected because of something called the **[Parameter
List](https://toarumajutsunoindex.fandom.com/wiki/Parameter_List)**.

> It turns out some people actually are more predisposed to be espers than
> others. Academy City maintains a database known as the Parameter List, which
> seems to contain predictions/projections about how much potential an esper
> has. (The database is kept top-secret to prevent social unrest). Using the
> information in this database, the city prioritized development and resources
> towards the children with a higher potential, because these children would
> yield a higher return on investment.  
>  
>  So the researchers took Misaka's DNA map even though she was only a Level 1
> at the time because she was projected to attain a high level based on the
> Parameter List.


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answer