Greetings, all…this is the first article/whatever that
I've ever posted on here, so don't expect it to be
terrifically spectacular…. It's just a story idea of
mine that needs a bit of refinement before I can
incorporate it into a plot.
Anyway.
Basically, if you've read Larry Niven's the "Integral
Trees", you probably have a good idea on the theory of
life in a gas torus. Well, I have no intentions of
writing a story like that, but I was thinking that if
some kind of fungus….(long pause here while I get
reorganised)….well.
In theory, if life is possible in a gas torus, there
could be some form of fungus there. It would probably
be adjusted to feed off of gases and organic debris,
and it would of course shoot of spores at the
appropriate stage in its life span. The spores would
probably destroy most of the fungus in the process of
being ejected, and would either get caught by the
gravity of the gas torus and remain in its orbit or be
shot into the rest of space, where it would be capable
of floating for many millenia until it came into a
place where the circumstances where right for it to
revive and continue the cycle. Some of these would end
up getting hopelessly loss, others would probably be
crashed into by stray objects, and some would probably
crash into planets, on some of which at least they
would remain dormant and hollow. Creatures would erect
settlements in any around them, and…well, that slips
into my story plot.
But what I'm trying to figure out is the basic
dynamics of the fungi-creation, how large the adult
stage and the spores would be, the composition of its
diet, gestation (such as it is) et cetera. I am of the
opinion that they would have to be fairly large, the
fungus reaching maybe three miles across, or so…but
that gives any of the spores that crash into a planet
or planetoid a good chance of creating a small ice
age. Of course, the fungus wasn't exactly designed to
be a friendly visitor to distant planets, and that
would provide some amusing history for the people in
the story.... I'd really appreciate some input on
this.
My thanks,
Neal M. Swain