 November 9, 2017 - 11:53am | Alien space traveling plants... a few ideas. So what does this made up radiation do plot wise... well after about one weeks exposure the flesh of an animal begins to break down, it has no effects on plant life. In the series several colony ships and colonies had been sent to a planet and failed for unknown reasons, the planet is a one year trip from Earth btw. Eventually someone figured out Berthold rays are rare and deadly and so the Enterprise is sent to confirm the latest colonists are all dead too. They never say where this radiation is originating from... I always assumed the sun of that system, but some other natural big space source is possible. Now of interest is no one is dead except the animal livestock aka lower animal life and it is all because of a plant. In game terms this means the plants only target intelligent species not dumb animals, the plants infect people with spores that cause happiness, harmony, peaceful type emotions, they also improve the physical health of the infected to perfect, body parts even regrow, no sickness. In addition they create a communal group belonging and seem to encourage the infected to spread them so more people can become infected. The plants thrive on Berthold rays and seek that out. Spock and the others seem to know how they spread by drifting through space from Berthold ray source to the next... I am not sure how intelligent these plants are and control by them is not the same as mindless but more subtle than that. The plant’s influences can be fought with anger, agitating stimulus, bad feelings... of not no new progress occurs except what is necessary for the hosts to live, and no children. I did some poking and found a reference that pregnant women when infected give birth to hermaphadite children that might be from a book. How this plant survives to spread itself in space, survives planet fall, and what it’s life cycle is is never revealed... The Day Of The Triffids This is a less friendly interplanetary visiting plant... carnivorous it comes in meteorite showers which cause blindness in people, they can walk, are attracted to noise, shoot poison and eat animal life. Rainbow Mars A book which is great fun to read if you have read lots of old Mars based novels... basically the tree of life on Mars is a huge alien plant that travels from world to world destroying each planet it lands on, sucking up the resources till it launches itself out into space again... and it is huge. Life can exist in the tree making it to the next planet, but all worlds it feeds on are doomed. The Stage Tree From Larry Niven’s Known Space series. Genetically engineered to be solid-fuel rockets. Beginning their lives as “stage bushes,” when ignited they will blast off and send seeds blowing in every direction! If the stage tree gets to its much larger life cycle it becomes a multi-stage rocket nearly half a mile tall. These rockets will eventually blast off and spread their seeds onto distant worlds capable of supporting life. The Little Shop Of Horrors Plant An intelligent thinking eating plant from space. Anyway a few ideas to get Space Plants going... "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
 November 9, 2017 - 3:40pm | In the ST TOS episode This Side of Paradise the plants are native to the planet. This of course brings up a huge plot hole. Why would the plants develop spores that shoot in people's faces if there are no animals on the planet? What evolutionary purpose does it serve? The plants were only transported aboard the Enterprise to infect the crew and then everyone abandoned the ship. The book "Day of the Triffids" the Triffids were developed on Earth and like everyone knows GMOs do went out of control and killed everyone. The asteroid shower blinded everyone but it was that loss of control of the Triffids that let the Triffids out. Did not read the next two but "Little Shop of Horrors" is a musical/comedy so no real explanation of Audrey II is ever presented. But space plants that need blood are a real long stretch. You did forget the most famous space travelling plants that take over planets movie ever. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". That one had a good explanation of plant invasion. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 November 18, 2017 - 2:26am | Remember also 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers', in which spore or plant-like things come from space and slowly take over the Earth. H.P. Lovercraft's Mi-Go are also more plant than animal. |
 November 19, 2017 - 6:46am | tendrils connecting asteroids and you have the floating mountains of pandora in space On a more serious note: Larry Niven's The Integral Trees- setting was called the smoke ring, unique gas cloud orbiting a star with enough atmosphere pressure that plants and animals evolved and the location was visited by humans who became trapped, living on the trees which spun and imparted simulated gravity at the ends. interesting story and setting worth the read IMO I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 19, 2017 - 9:07am | Cool... on the Integral Trees... I think time to hit the used book store. The Triffid I described was based on the movie, which implied space origin. Spock in ST episode says the spore Plant is not from the planet... that is why I listed as so, my take on them is that they do effect some sort of group mind on their hosts, not totally mindless but one that makes sure the plants get cared for, spread and can infect more hosts, thus the victims know things about the plants. I totally forgot about Invasion of The Body Snatchers On the GMO angle there is a good crazy one from the Godzilla series Human DNA, Radioactive Lizard DNA & Plant DNA = crazy monster, it need not get giant just be smart large and eating and killing people with teeth, tendrils, claws and hard to kill. Oh the Green Slime monsters on an asteroid. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
November 19, 2017 - 5:29pm | Spock was on spores, you know you can't trust what he says when he gets that way. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 19, 2017 - 7:46pm | Lol "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
 November 24, 2017 - 8:26pm | Two of the many novels of jungle planets, Alan Dean Foster's Midworld so named because humans live in the middle layers of its miles thick jungle,and Brian Aldis' The Long Afternoon of Earth aka Hothouse. Both feature a number of interesting creatures with which to bedevil wayward PCs. Aldis has created a world in which all life is highly evolved vegetables and plants which have taken over the ecological niches formerly occupied by animal life. |
November 25, 2017 - 5:12pm | Oh cool highly evolved vegies... "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
November 25, 2017 - 6:38pm | Reminds me of the entire "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" movies, games and TV series. They were not from outer space but did cause alot of damage. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 November 26, 2017 - 7:06pm | Here's a blog about space plants and fungi: http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/2012/05/fungus-among-us-cult-tvs-most-memorable.html Joe Cabadas |
November 26, 2017 - 7:25pm | Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Dr. David Kibner: (aka Leonard Nimoy): We came here from a dying world. We drift through the universe, from planet to planet, pushed on by the solar winds. We adapt and we survive. The function of life is survival.  Joe Cabadas |
November 26, 2017 - 7:44pm | Interesting blog. Can't believe how many of those shows I have seen. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 26, 2017 - 8:52pm | The Angry Red Planet had the big carnivorous plants but also the amoeba infection on the one dudes arm. Ultraman had an intellgent blood drinking plant monster-person in an episode IIRC. Cool blog of nasty funguses. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
November 27, 2017 - 4:30am | Well if you are going to include Ultraman you should include the Power Rangers. They had like one or two "plant" enemies a season. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 27, 2017 - 1:43pm | And let's not forget that 1960s TV classic, Voyage to the Bottom with its episode: Terror Terror
An alien plant takes over Admiral Nelson in a plan to turn the Seaview
into a giant greenhouse where it can take over the world.  Joe Cabadas |
November 27, 2017 - 1:46pm | Oh, and here's a story I saw from Facebook's Gamma World page:DARPA Thinks Bioengineered Spy Plants Are “The Future Of Intelligence Gathering”http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/darpa-thinks-bioengineered-spy-plants-are-the-future-of-intelligence-gathering/ Joe Cabadas |
November 27, 2017 - 8:13pm | And another story posted today: FIRST ALIEN CONTACT? Russian cosmonauts find mysterious bacteria on the hull of the International Space Station that’s NOT from Earthhttps://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5012312/international-space-station-astronauts-bacteria-not-from-earth/ Joe Cabadas |
November 27, 2017 - 8:31pm | Voyage to the bottom of the sea... Star Trek underwater... good call. Spy plants and a space bacteria. Excellent. Power rangers... mutant plant monsters. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
November 27, 2017 - 9:36pm | And another story posted today: FIRST ALIEN CONTACT? Russian cosmonauts find mysterious bacteria on the hull of the International Space Station that’s NOT from Earthhttps://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5012312/international-space-station-astronauts-bacteria-not-from-earth/ why is it always the Russians? "Russian scientist drill hole to center of the earth and hear wailing and screaming- have they found hell?" "Russian scientist believe Atlantis nuked by aliens from orbit" sketch of artist concept of what the space ship looked like supplied. Maybe in the Frontier its vrusk scientist: Vrusk scientist discover stargate to another galaxy vrusk = Russian I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 28, 2017 - 4:57am | Why the Vrusk? They are suppossed to be serious business beings with a complicated society full of ritual (80s Japan). Thinking the S' sessu would get the blame for any crazy schemes. They are known to be duplicit and they are an advanced race who are not well trusted for good reason. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 28, 2017 - 6:10am | The S'sessu sounds like a good culprit. Joe Cabadas |
November 28, 2017 - 7:48am | why is it always the Russians? Because Russia has a quite thriving bullsh*t tabloid market, so The Sun (a UK bullsh*t tabloid) probably just 'borrowed' this 'news' from a Russian source 
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November 28, 2017 - 8:20am | Don't you know that the Russians invented everything?  Joe Cabadas |
November 28, 2017 - 2:55pm | Why the Vrusk? They are suppossed to be serious business beings with a complicated society full of ritual (80s Japan). Thinking the S' sessu would get the blame for any crazy schemes. They are known to be duplicit and they are an advanced race who are not well trusted for good reason.
Because if you credit it to the vrusk, well then it must be true. Not that the vrusk are coming up with it but that the yellow journalist like to ascribe stuff to the vrusk. It sounds better coming from them. No one will take it serious if its, "dralasite scientist discover cure for...." I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 28, 2017 - 6:10pm | Well of course no one would believe the Yazirians invented anything and while the Vrusk are hardworking and ingenious, their complex and ritual based society makes them a little too serious for anyone to believe they would be involved in crazy schemes. Dralasites have that dual personality of while being extreme pranksters and jokers they are deadly serious debaters. When you take debate as serious as some countries on Earth take Football (round ball kind) and Cricket you are not going to be doing stand up comedy in the middle of it. This are they joking or are they not would give them a believability when it came to tabloid stories. Still think blaming the S'sessu for everything is best. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 28, 2017 - 6:48pm | Oh, one other space faring plant from sci fi is Star Trek the Animated Series, the episode called the "Infinite Vulcan" from: http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_Infinite_Vulcan_(episode) "A landing party beams down and they discover an apparently abandoned city that gives off confused life and power readings. While the away team is exploring the city, Sulu picks up a mobile plant that is following him around and is poisoned. Spock discovers that they are being scanned. As Dr. McCoy tries to save Sulu without much hope, the alien inhabitants of the planet approach the landing party and save Sulu's life. The alien creatures, who are intelligent plantlike beings, welcome the USS Enterprise crew to the planet Phylos"  It reminded me of the Star Frontiers fan-created Skree species -- the mobile intelligent plant creature. Joe Cabadas |
November 29, 2017 - 6:42am | The Osakar are plants and they are space faring. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 29, 2017 - 9:05am | The Osakar are plants and they are space faring. Oh? I never realized that. I'll need to reread their description. I know they are supposed to look the same. Joe Cabadas |
November 29, 2017 - 9:45am | The Osakar are plants and they are space faring. Oh? I never realized that. I'll need to reread their description. I know they are supposed to look the same. The osakar were a mutant plant PC in the Zebs author's Gama World campaign when he decided to take SF in a GW direction. I believe the SF description supports this I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
