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Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology: Difference between revisions
Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology (view source)
Revision as of 13:59, 16 February 2020
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"On and on it goes. It seems the more you learn, the less and less and less and less and less you know." -- Apollo Sunshine, "The Egg" | "On and on it goes. It seems the more you learn, the less and less and less and less and less you know." -- Apollo Sunshine, "The Egg" | ||
==Plants== | ==Inspirational life forms== | ||
===Plants=== | |||
Let's look at real plants to get some inspiration. It seems that peering into nature closely only demonstrates how incapable we are of imagining anything stranger or more alien than the actual life that exists on this planet -- plants that hear, plants that eat meat, plants that don't need soil.... Here's some stand-out examples. | Let's look at real plants to get some inspiration. It seems that peering into nature closely only demonstrates how incapable we are of imagining anything stranger or more alien than the actual life that exists on this planet -- plants that hear, plants that eat meat, plants that don't need soil.... Here's some stand-out examples. | ||
===Sensitive plants=== | ====Sensitive plants==== | ||
*[[wp:Mimosa_pudica|Mimosa pudica]] is known by countless names in countless languages because people the world over so enjoy touching it. No, seriously. It's usually referred to in English as touch-me-not, and in most other languages a variant of the word "shy" is used in its name. You can see why in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLTcVNyOhUc this video]. | *[[wp:Mimosa_pudica|Mimosa pudica]] is known by countless names in countless languages because people the world over so enjoy touching it. No, seriously. It's usually referred to in English as touch-me-not, and in most other languages a variant of the word "shy" is used in its name. You can see why in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLTcVNyOhUc this video]. | ||
**The perfect orderliness of the folding leaves such as at 2:24 seems to belie our ideas about "organics" being "sloppier" than mechanical devices. Although it's been years since I played Myst III, watching this video reminded me of the stairs that can be seen at 1:09 in the game's trailer above. | **The perfect orderliness of the folding leaves such as at 2:24 seems to belie our ideas about "organics" being "sloppier" than mechanical devices. Although it's been years since I played Myst III, watching this video reminded me of the stairs that can be seen at 1:09 in the game's trailer above. | ||
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*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hGbYMqM3zM Dancing grass] | *[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hGbYMqM3zM Dancing grass] | ||
===[[wp:Carnivorous plant|Carnivorous plants]]=== | ====[[wp:Carnivorous plant|Carnivorous plants]]==== | ||
The very idea of a plant that eats meat is so bizarre that we would refuse to believe in such a thing if we hadn't all seen Venus fly traps on TV. It seems that carnivory is a viable practice in areas that are too nutrient-poor for regular plants to grow. These plants dispel the notion that an organism needs to be [[wiktionary:motile|motile]] in order to catch food. (And the section after this dispels the notion that all plants are [[wiktionary:sessile|sessile]]!) | The very idea of a plant that eats meat is so bizarre that we would refuse to believe in such a thing if we hadn't all seen Venus fly traps on TV. It seems that carnivory is a viable practice in areas that are too nutrient-poor for regular plants to grow. These plants dispel the notion that an organism needs to be [[wiktionary:motile|motile]] in order to catch food. (And the section after this dispels the notion that all plants are [[wiktionary:sessile|sessile]]!) | ||
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*One carnivorous plant, [http://news.yahoo.com/carnivorous-plants-employ-bodyguard-ants-213207637.html Nepenthes Bicalcarata], has bodyguard ants. | *One carnivorous plant, [http://news.yahoo.com/carnivorous-plants-employ-bodyguard-ants-213207637.html Nepenthes Bicalcarata], has bodyguard ants. | ||
===Motile plants=== | ====Motile plants==== | ||
*[[wp:Tumbleweed|Tumbleweed]] | *[[wp:Tumbleweed|Tumbleweed]] | ||
*Witness [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTljaIVseTc how vines find something to cling to]. | *Witness [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTljaIVseTc how vines find something to cling to]. | ||
===Resurrection plants=== | ====Resurrection plants==== | ||
*Here's a [http://www.types-of-flowers.org/pictures/resurrection_plant.jpg Rose of Jericho]. Here's a [[wp:File:Rose_of_Jericho.gif|Rose of Jericho on water]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5gBJGnaXs Any questions?] | *Here's a [http://www.types-of-flowers.org/pictures/resurrection_plant.jpg Rose of Jericho]. Here's a [[wp:File:Rose_of_Jericho.gif|Rose of Jericho on water]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5gBJGnaXs Any questions?] | ||
*The waterwheel plant above is also a resurrecting plant, by this same definition of the word. (It might be more accurate to say that they are hibernating plants or sleeping plants rather than "resurrecting plants", but I didn't invent the term.) | *The waterwheel plant above is also a resurrecting plant, by this same definition of the word. (It might be more accurate to say that they are hibernating plants or sleeping plants rather than "resurrecting plants", but I didn't invent the term.) | ||
===Self-planting plants=== | ====Self-planting plants==== | ||
Some plants, such as the newly discovered [[wp:Spigelia_genuflexa|Spigelia genuflexa]], actually plant their own seeds in the ground. | Some plants, such as the newly discovered [[wp:Spigelia_genuflexa|Spigelia genuflexa]], actually plant their own seeds in the ground. | ||
===[[wp:Explosive dehiscence|Exploding plants]]=== | ====[[wp:Explosive dehiscence|Exploding plants]]==== | ||
Some plants get bored waiting for Mother Nature to send wind or insects to help them spread seeds or pollen, and take matters into their own hands. | Some plants get bored waiting for Mother Nature to send wind or insects to help them spread seeds or pollen, and take matters into their own hands. | ||
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**Pilobolus is [http://www.demaravillas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Pilobolus-sp-07.jpg pretty gorgeous] for something that grows in cow dung, isn't it? The bulbs are called sporangiospheres. | **Pilobolus is [http://www.demaravillas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Pilobolus-sp-07.jpg pretty gorgeous] for something that grows in cow dung, isn't it? The bulbs are called sporangiospheres. | ||
===[[wp:Epiphytes|Air plants]]=== | ====[[wp:Epiphytes|Air plants]]==== | ||
Who says that plants need minor things like roots, and soil to put them in? [[wp:Spanish moss|Spanish moss]] and other epiphytic plants can be found hanging from trees. They aren't parasitic; they absorb all their minerals and water from run-off that rain brings down the tree, as well as from rain itself. They may absorb moisture directly from the air as well. Spanish moss hardly performs any photosynthesis, appearing as a dead gray or pale green mass of hair-like leaves. Somehow this plant can still manage to put out small flowers, and it positively thrives in the southern U.S., where it can weigh down oaks and other trees. | Who says that plants need minor things like roots, and soil to put them in? [[wp:Spanish moss|Spanish moss]] and other epiphytic plants can be found hanging from trees. They aren't parasitic; they absorb all their minerals and water from run-off that rain brings down the tree, as well as from rain itself. They may absorb moisture directly from the air as well. Spanish moss hardly performs any photosynthesis, appearing as a dead gray or pale green mass of hair-like leaves. Somehow this plant can still manage to put out small flowers, and it positively thrives in the southern U.S., where it can weigh down oaks and other trees. | ||
===Parasitic plants=== | ====Parasitic plants==== | ||
Plants are supposed to be autotrophic, meaning that they manufacture their own food (unlike animals). The key to autotrophism is photosynthesis. However, [[wp:Parasitic plant|some plants]] have decided to take a detour off of Photosynthesis Road and into Parasite Alley. They use a special root known as a [[wp:haustorium|haustorium]]. Rather than pulling nutrients from the ground, this root pulls nutrients directly from another plant. It works by [[wp:File:Hyaloperonospora-parasitica-hyphae-haustoria.jpg|winding into the host plant's cellular structure]] and sucking on cytoplasm. Eventually they can expand from inside of the host, replacing it with the parasite's body. Haustoria are traditionally used by fungi like mildew, putting parasitic plants in a strange middle ground between their autotrophic brethren and the separate Kingdom Fungi. | Plants are supposed to be autotrophic, meaning that they manufacture their own food (unlike animals). The key to autotrophism is photosynthesis. However, [[wp:Parasitic plant|some plants]] have decided to take a detour off of Photosynthesis Road and into Parasite Alley. They use a special root known as a [[wp:haustorium|haustorium]]. Rather than pulling nutrients from the ground, this root pulls nutrients directly from another plant. It works by [[wp:File:Hyaloperonospora-parasitica-hyphae-haustoria.jpg|winding into the host plant's cellular structure]] and sucking on cytoplasm. Eventually they can expand from inside of the host, replacing it with the parasite's body. Haustoria are traditionally used by fungi like mildew, putting parasitic plants in a strange middle ground between their autotrophic brethren and the separate Kingdom Fungi. | ||
===Miscellaneous plants=== | ====Miscellaneous plants==== | ||
[[wp:Eucalyptus deglupta|Rainbow eucalyptus trees]] are probably the most colorful trees in the world. | [[wp:Eucalyptus deglupta|Rainbow eucalyptus trees]] are probably the most colorful trees in the world. | ||
===Fictional plants=== | ====Fictional plants==== | ||
*Myst III: Exile. After two games set in mostly lifeless worlds, Myst III (under new developers) moved in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAShllUlEK0 a more organic direction]. Notice that some puzzles involve divining the workings of plants and the minds of animals. Of course Oni is pretty much on the other side of the action/thinking spectrum from a game like Myst, but there's still food for thought here. | *Myst III: Exile. After two games set in mostly lifeless worlds, Myst III (under new developers) moved in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAShllUlEK0 a more organic direction]. Notice that some puzzles involve divining the workings of plants and the minds of animals. Of course Oni is pretty much on the other side of the action/thinking spectrum from a game like Myst, but there's still food for thought here. | ||
*Plants with Eyes. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc_Y1IXVSig Just watch it]. As far as I can tell, this was produced for a television show as a sort of throw-away tease segment, but it really stands on its own as a bizarre and super-realistic visualization of the very kind of stuff we might encounter in plants from another world, or plants that were more active than ours. Apparently they started with live-action footage of real plants, and then dressed them up with CG, but the results are surprisingly effective. Then again, some of our real-life plants are pretty impressive too, as seen below. | *Plants with Eyes. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc_Y1IXVSig Just watch it]. As far as I can tell, this was produced for a television show as a sort of throw-away tease segment, but it really stands on its own as a bizarre and super-realistic visualization of the very kind of stuff we might encounter in plants from another world, or plants that were more active than ours. Apparently they started with live-action footage of real plants, and then dressed them up with CG, but the results are surprisingly effective. Then again, some of our real-life plants are pretty impressive too, as seen below. | ||
==Fungi== | ===Fungi=== | ||
The [[wp:Phallus_indusiatus|veiled lady]] is a mushroom with a skirt! In one African tongue, these are called “house of the millipede”. | The [[wp:Phallus_indusiatus|veiled lady]] is a mushroom with a skirt! In one African tongue, these are called “house of the millipede”. | ||
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Some fungi [[wp:Foxfire|create light]]. | Some fungi [[wp:Foxfire|create light]]. | ||
==Animals== | ===Animals=== | ||
===Sea life=== | ====Sea life==== | ||
*The female [http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Tremoctopus&contgroup=Argonautoid_families blanket octopus] wears a long skirt. | *The female [http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Tremoctopus&contgroup=Argonautoid_families blanket octopus] wears a long skirt. | ||
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*The [[wp:Eulimnadia_texana|Eulimnadia texana]] is literally the “desert shrimp”, an aquatic life form in a desert that spends most of its time as an egg waiting for a rainstorm. | *The [[wp:Eulimnadia_texana|Eulimnadia texana]] is literally the “desert shrimp”, an aquatic life form in a desert that spends most of its time as an egg waiting for a rainstorm. | ||
===Land life=== | ====Land life==== | ||
The [[wp:Manx_Loaghtan|Manx Loaghtan sheep]] has up to six horns. | The [[wp:Manx_Loaghtan|Manx Loaghtan sheep]] has up to six horns. | ||
===Insect=== | ====Insect==== | ||
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==Wilderness [[wp:Phenetics|phenetics]] and Neo-Agriculture== | ==Wilderness [[wp:Phenetics|phenetics]] and Neo-Agriculture== | ||
'''Neo-Agriculture''' is a placeholder term for the act of adapting the Wilderness to the world of humans. The working assumption is that the Wilderness is primarily composed of plants, both extraterrestrial (from across the "phase veil") and perhaps mutated Earth plants. Some time after the events of Oni, | '''Neo-Agriculture''' is a placeholder term for the act of adapting the Wilderness to the world of humans. The working assumption is that the Wilderness is primarily composed of plants, both extraterrestrial (from across the "phase veil") and perhaps mutated Earth plants. Some time after the events of Oni, some scientists are working at finding a way to live alongside the hostile life of the Wilderness, akin to Princess [[Nausicaa]]. This is as opposed to the [[wp:Slash-and-burn|slash-and-burn]] approach that some are taking towards the encroaching wildlife, and also opposed to the idea of giving everyone Chrysalises so they can adapt to the Wilderness. | ||
==Daodan organism== | ==Daodan organism== | ||