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Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology: Difference between revisions
Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology (view source)
Revision as of 12:22, 15 October 2011
, 15 October 2011moving agriculture down to section where I'll be working out what kind of plants are out there to be tamed
(moving agriculture down to section where I'll be working out what kind of plants are out there to be tamed) |
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Below are some attempts at conceiving of what plant life would be encountered in the Wilderness, first looking at things that have already been done in fiction, then at some real-life freaky flora. | |||
==Fictional | ==Fictional precedents== | ||
*Myst III: Exile. After two games set in mostly lifeless worlds, Myst III (under new developers) moved in a more organic direction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAShllUlEK0. 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 a more organic direction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAShllUlEK0. 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. Just watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc_Y1IXVSig. 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. Just watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc_Y1IXVSig. 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. | ||
==Awesome | ==Awesome real plants== | ||
"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" | ||
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Plants are supposed to be autotrophic, meaning that they manufacture their own food (unlike animals). The key to autotrophism is photosynthesis. However, some plants have decided to take a detour off of Photosynthesis Road and into Parasite Alley. They use a special root known as a [[wikipedia:haustorium|haustorium]]. Rather than pulling nutrients from the ground, this root pulls nutrients directly from another plant. It works by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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, some plants have decided to take a detour off of Photosynthesis Road and into Parasite Alley. They use a special root known as a [[wikipedia:haustorium|haustorium]]. Rather than pulling nutrients from the ground, this root pulls nutrients directly from another plant. It works by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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. | ||
==Non- | ==Non-plant parasites== | ||
Parasitic behavior may be relevant to the workings of the Daodan or some plants in the Wilderness. Let's take a broader look at this mechanism. | Parasitic behavior may be relevant to the workings of the Daodan or some plants in the Wilderness. Let's take a broader look at this mechanism. | ||
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:Because many people own cats, scientists estimate that up to a third of the world's people may be infected with toxoplasma. This is rather interesting, as toxoplasmosis is linked to auto accidents (through slowed reflexes), and miscarriages. It may be partially responsible for [http://scienceblogs.com/loom/2006/08/01/a_nation_of_cowards_blame_the.php differing social psychologies] around the world. It also may or may not be a cause of brain cancer and schizophrenia. Don't panic, it's not too hard [[wikipedia:Toxoplasmosis#Pregnancy_precautions|to avoid infection]]; just clean the litter box every day, wash your hands after, and keep your cat inside so it can't eat rats! This public service announcement brought to you by your friendly neighborhood wiki. | :Because many people own cats, scientists estimate that up to a third of the world's people may be infected with toxoplasma. This is rather interesting, as toxoplasmosis is linked to auto accidents (through slowed reflexes), and miscarriages. It may be partially responsible for [http://scienceblogs.com/loom/2006/08/01/a_nation_of_cowards_blame_the.php differing social psychologies] around the world. It also may or may not be a cause of brain cancer and schizophrenia. Don't panic, it's not too hard [[wikipedia:Toxoplasmosis#Pregnancy_precautions|to avoid infection]]; just clean the litter box every day, wash your hands after, and keep your cat inside so it can't eat rats! This public service announcement brought to you by your friendly neighborhood wiki. | ||
==To | ==To develop== | ||
:Dropping these terms here for now: [[wikipedia:Host_(biology)#Host_range|host range]], [[wikipedia:Okazaki_fragments|Okazaki fragments]], [[wikipedia:Mobilome|mobilome]], [[wikipedia:Aggressive_mimicry|aggressive mimicry]], [[wikipedia:Molecular_mimicry|molecular mimicry]]. | :Dropping these terms here for now: [[wikipedia:Host_(biology)#Host_range|host range]], [[wikipedia:Okazaki_fragments|Okazaki fragments]], [[wikipedia:Mobilome|mobilome]], [[wikipedia:Aggressive_mimicry|aggressive mimicry]], [[wikipedia:Molecular_mimicry|molecular mimicry]]. | ||
*[[wikipedia:Tobacco_mosaic_virus|Tobacco mosaic virus]]: "Due to its cylindrical high aspect ratio, self-assembling nature, and ability to incorporate metal coatings (nickel and cobalt) into its shell, TMV is an ideal candidate to be incorporated into battery electrodes." | *[[wikipedia:Tobacco_mosaic_virus|Tobacco mosaic virus]]: "Due to its cylindrical high aspect ratio, self-assembling nature, and ability to incorporate metal coatings (nickel and cobalt) into its shell, TMV is an ideal candidate to be incorporated into battery electrodes." | ||
==[[wikipedia:Phenetics| | ==Wilderness [[wikipedia: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 alsommutated Earth plants. Some time after the events of Oni, Mukade is working at finding a way to live alongside the hostile life of the Wilderness, akin to Princess [[Nausicaa]]. This is as opposed to the [[wikipedia: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== | ||