Post by Jeff Gerke on Aug 12, 2009 9:25:03 GMT -5
Now this is almost too bizarre to be believed:
www.livescience.com/animals/090812-ant-fungus.html
There's this fungus somewhere in Central America or something that infects Carpenter Ants. When infected, the ants (who live way up in the canopy) are compelled to climb down and down to a spot that is most preferable for the fungus to grow. The ant has enough energy left to clamp down on a leaf, then it dies. The fungus grows out of the decaying ant body (as opposed to antibodies...) and becomes a happy little fungus farm.
It's not hard to imagine a horror or SF story here--or a horror SF, like Alien.
I've long believed that the first alien life we may encounter will be basically a weed or, like Egon says, "Spores, molds, and fungus." Some kind of highly effective growing machine or parasite, like dandelions or bacteria. Instead of E.T., we'd get some pesky alien weed.
So maybe it will be a fungus. The people of earth are initially exited at the discovery of alien life (perhaps on a meteorite) but then get bored when they find out it's not intelligent alien life.
Then the fungus starts turning researchers into zombie sleepwalkers who are compelled to seek out places or situations most conducive to survival of the fungus, and die. So maybe they congregate under bridges or in sewers. Mindless, fungus-controlled humans stumbling toward marshlands, darting across highways, braving crocodile-infested swamps.
Somebody ought to write this thing! (But not me. I'm busy.
)
Jeff
www.livescience.com/animals/090812-ant-fungus.html
There's this fungus somewhere in Central America or something that infects Carpenter Ants. When infected, the ants (who live way up in the canopy) are compelled to climb down and down to a spot that is most preferable for the fungus to grow. The ant has enough energy left to clamp down on a leaf, then it dies. The fungus grows out of the decaying ant body (as opposed to antibodies...) and becomes a happy little fungus farm.
It's not hard to imagine a horror or SF story here--or a horror SF, like Alien.
I've long believed that the first alien life we may encounter will be basically a weed or, like Egon says, "Spores, molds, and fungus." Some kind of highly effective growing machine or parasite, like dandelions or bacteria. Instead of E.T., we'd get some pesky alien weed.
So maybe it will be a fungus. The people of earth are initially exited at the discovery of alien life (perhaps on a meteorite) but then get bored when they find out it's not intelligent alien life.
Then the fungus starts turning researchers into zombie sleepwalkers who are compelled to seek out places or situations most conducive to survival of the fungus, and die. So maybe they congregate under bridges or in sewers. Mindless, fungus-controlled humans stumbling toward marshlands, darting across highways, braving crocodile-infested swamps.
Somebody ought to write this thing! (But not me. I'm busy.
)Jeff
