Oni2 talk:Truth Number Zero: Difference between revisions

An alternative/complementary interpretation (of Phase presence in general and Daodan symbiosis more specifically) is that perhaps this is not the first time that Earth (or sentient life) was "graced"<ref group=geyser>The terms "grace", "exaltation" etc are deliberate. They tie in with the notion that Daodan entities are like "phase gods", and their respective human hosts are like proxies/avatars. This mystical interpretation is complementary to the scientific one. The motives of the Daodan/Chrysalis are unfathomable, so from a scientific point of view the human proxy/avatar is not being controlled or "used" for any clear purpose.</ref> with Phase contact. In this theory, the Phase was naturally more active when the Earth was younger, allowing Daodan entities to "exalt" marine creatures as early as the Devonian or even [[wp:Hallucigenia|Cambrian]]/[[wp:Ediacaran_biota|Ediacaran]]. These creatures ("Diluvians") grew so large as to allow their respective Daodan entities to completely migrate from the Phase into their hosts' bodies, and may even have formed a planet-sized hivemind which (among other things) influences Earth's openness to phase phenomena. The Diluvians mostly remain in a meditative stasis on the ocean floor, but will periodically "stir in their sleep" or even "sleepwalk" (either in response to changes in their marine environment or to avoid subduction by tectonic plates). During these rare periods of activity, the Diluvian hivemind causes a wordwide emergence of Phase phenomena, usually accompanied by explosive evolutionary events (or mass extinctions due to phase hazards). In Oni's timeline, it has caused the human discovery/development of Phase Tech (and, ultimately, human-Daodan symbiosis). It may also be responsible (more or less directly) for the "alienated" lifeforms developing in the Wilderness Preserves (which may serve a regulatory purpose to suit the Diluvians' needs, but also contribute to the BioCrisis through their toxic emanations).<ref group=geyser>My suggestion is that either the toxic/virulent mutations in the Wilderness Preserves are not deliberate at all (merely a "phase hazard" or a side effect of the Diluvians' heightened activity, e.g., while "sleepcrawling" to avoid tectonic subduction) -- or they are merely part of an effort to regulate the aquasphere (e.g., reduce ocean acidity by lowering atmospheric CO2 levels) --, either way, I wouldn't present the Diluvians as working towards the dreaded "environmental collapse" that will kill us all. The Diluvians may have been the primary source of contamination in the Contaminated Zones (and phase-related anomalies in general), but human contribution is what may have made the flora's "alienation" take a bad turn (biowarfare, rogue science, waste disposal gone wrong). Thus I am not convinced that the Diluvian hivemind should display some active control over the "xenoforming", or that it should react to human activity in some rational way -- it will be enough if the Diluvians are more and more disturbed/awake, causing a surge in phase anomalies/hazards (e.g., the originally planned Screamer invasion). Ultimately, though, it is human nature that will populate this strange new world with factions and plot-driving events. Confrontation with the Diluvians, or a rationalization of their nature and motives, doesn't need to occur.</ref>