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groworld_story [2008-10-15 10:11] – created 81.188.78.24 | groworld_story [2020-06-06 08:30] – old revision restored (2009-05-19 15:03) 114.119.166.29 | ||
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- | ==== A (draft) | + | ===== groWorld: Borrowed Scenery ===== |
- | Plants. Green, juicy, sensuous beings and sophisticated chemical factories. Expendable individuals, | + | draft 200904: towards pataphores of [[plant guilds]]... (at the moment prosaic descriptions based on metaphores and archetypes, not very ' |
+ | |||
+ | ==== Layers ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Layers are the different vertical strata of the environment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Layer: Canopy === | ||
+ | |||
+ | Plants in this layer are the stanchions of the world. They loop over the other life-forms, diffusing otherwise sharp light and tinting it viridian - making sure that the colour of the greening force (Viriditas) seeps through every particle of air, liquids and solids. These quiet and slow giants shade and colour the world, as well as provide support through the thick bones of their trunks. The bones (thin and elongated, massive and sturdy) support the plant' | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Reproduction == | ||
+ | |||
+ | Their reproduction cycle is equally slow and majestic. When they are ready to produce offspring, the highest branches of canopy trees touch and fuse with each other, forming elegant arches. Over a long time, they weave themselves together, moving inwards, from the branches into the inner cells of the plants. There are a few ways in which these trees produce seeds. In some species, female trees have swirly orifices in the bark of their long trunks, from which the elongated seed-pods emerge. Other species produce seed-pods underneath their canopy leaves, on branches where the two parent trees have entangled their branches. | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Seeds == | ||
+ | The seeds of canopy trees are packed in a long, thin seed-pod. Within the pod, there are several seeds that look and feel like miniature carved rocks, or fossilised shells, coloured in the many shades of blue-grey and green-grey. The pods are elongated, bone white and light grey, with fleshy green-gray tentacles (a bit velcro-like) that they can use to cling to surfaces. They are quite heavy and able to detach themselves from the tree once ripe. When they are on the ground, they have hedgehog like abilities - if they want to move away from their parent trees (to start a guild of their own), or towards a more fertile soil, they can roll into a ball and be rolled by wind and animals. Once underground, | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Roots == | ||
+ | The canopy trees reach deep into the soil and have a long tap root, able to reach underground rivers. Until they find a large water source, the plants' | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Stems/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Leaves == | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: shelter, roof, pillar, column | ||
+ | * archetype: spiritual leader | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | === Layer: Dwarf Trees === | ||
+ | |||
+ | The multi-jointed balusters of these plants endlessly reach towards their kin, forming curved (sometimes gnarly, sometimes smooth) portals into and out of the world. On top of these portals, they sprout a meshwork of thin appendages that can also be joined with other plants, forming more or less dense tunnels, caves and niches - habitat for the darkness-loving flora. Through the various relationships with their brethren, these plants guide the shape of the landscape. By creating spaces of darkness, twilight and light, they attract and repel different species of lower growth. | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Roots == | ||
+ | Underground their roots mirror their branches and hold the topsoil in place. They are quite extensive and sparse - the plants prefer thick roots over a mesh of rootlets. What they loose in density, they make up in length (first they spread horizontally to anchor the tree and secure it against wind gusts, then as stability is ensured, the roots start growing downwards, slowly and diagonally). The colour is that of rust - brown, red, blue, grey. | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Reproduction == | ||
+ | The dwarf trees reproduce sexually, ejaculating clouds of pollen across to each other. As the direction of the pollen isn't always well directed, they try to grow their branches as close to the plants they want to mate with. However, mistakes do happen and there are new hybrids are not uncommon. The male and female pollen have different, but compatible shapes. The female pollen resembles a balloon with a hairy tongue sticking far out of it. The Male pollen is smaller, a gooey blob resembling a ball of ice-cream. When they reach each other in the air, the blob falls onto the tongue and begins melting. The tongue retracts and starts dissolving as well. As the balloon begins filling up with liquid, it starts blistering and swelling, temporarily becoming lighter and travelling further on the wind. However, as the seed and the fruit around it start growing, the balloon becomes heavier and begins drifting towards the ground. | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Seeds == | ||
+ | The seed of a dwarf tree is surrounded by a brightly coloured fruit-flesh (grown within the pollen-balloon) that decomposes in the ground and provides the growing seed with initial nutrients. The seed itself has a dark, smooth and hard outer shell and a complex mechanism of a chemical factory inside - botanical pumps, vials and transport conduits, allowing the seed to begin producing roots & shoots quickly (but also making sure that the factory remains sustainable for a long time). | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Stems/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Leaves == | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Flowers == | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Fruit == | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: doors, windows, passages | ||
+ | * archetype: architect, policy-maker | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | === Layer: Shrubs === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | These plants change their density and hardness depending on the presence and absence of external threats. In calm periods, they form thin, glass-like translucent screens, framed by their narrow, angular branches. In more turbulent times, or in parts of the world that need intimate and secluded spaces, the plants swell into fortified walls of woven thorns. The branches turn into spiky lengths of barbed wire, making the passage in/out of the world a very painful affair… | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Roots == | ||
+ | Underground, | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Reproduction == | ||
+ | Some of these plants flower and fruit. In peaceful periods, they will allow non-plant species to pollinate them. Their pollen is a superglue-like substance that will coat anything that touches the flower. The only way to get rid of the glue is to find the flower of the same species on a different shrub and rub against it. The chemicals in the flower will dissolve the glue, freeing the carrier and at the same time absorbing the reproductive jucies. The flower rapidly dries up and produces a spiky outer shell. Within the shell, a small berry is being formed. When its fully grown, the spikes will fall off and the berry will be ready to be eaten. The organisms that eat it will digest the fruit-flesh, | ||
+ | In turbulent periods, the plants' | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | == Seeds == | ||
+ | The seeds are small, but in each berry there are many of them. They are also quite porous, like small sponges, able to absorb nutrients as they pass through the temporary hosts' digestive tract. (...) | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Stems == | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Leaves == | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Flowers == | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Fruit == | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Growth == | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: barrier, wall, fence | ||
+ | * archetype: activist, warrior | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | === Layer: Herbaceous === | ||
+ | A wide variety of plants in this layer makes them difficult to classify. They come in all colours, shapes and sizes, but all of them have two things in common: their bodies are soft, as they possess no bones and they are short lived, ephemeral. This ephemeral nature makes them prolific and promiscuous, | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Roots == | ||
+ | |||
+ | Underground, | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Reproduction == | ||
+ | |||
+ | They flower, mate and fruit, with anyone interested. In this layer, hybrids are most common (producing extraordinary shapes and varieties) and evolution is fast (through a rapid sequence of generations). In order to reproduce, herbaceous plants need pollinators - non-plant species - to carry their pollen to other plants. Once pollinated, they will produce a multitude of seeds. | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Seeds == | ||
+ | |||
+ | The seeds of these plants have intricate flying mechanisms. They are tiny and light and able to be swept off the parent by the wind. In order to find the most appropriate ground, they are able to navigate the windflows using minute wings and propellers of fantastic shapes. Some of them look like wind balloons, others like art-nouveau helicopters and bizarre flying machines. | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Stems == | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Leaves == | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Flowers == | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Growth == | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: furnishings, | ||
+ | * archetype: artist, entrepreneur | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | === Layer: Rhizosphere === | ||
+ | |||
+ | Plants in this layer don't care much for the world above-ground, | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | == Roots == | ||
+ | These plants have convoluted and extended rhizomatic communication conduits, spanning the whole world. Their roots / rhizomes are a an entangled network of different shapes, reflecting the nearby environment. When there are nutrients present, the roots swell to become locally bulbous, like thick stalactites. When there is water, the section closest to it inflates like a transparent sack. When there is nothing much around, they thin out and protrude multiple rootlets that spread in all directions in search of other plants, nutrients, water, sedimented objects, or anything else of interest. The colour of the rhizomes is most often light orange-brown, | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Reproduction == | ||
+ | They don't flower, but reproduce through cloning (asexual) and grafting (sexual) underground. Sexual reproduction happens when two rhizosphere roots (of different species) touch and fuse. From the fusion point an new rhizome will appear. This rhizome will have characteristics of both parents. Asexual reproduction happens when the plant aboveground is wilting and a new seedling needs to be produced, or when a part of the rhizome (tuber) is broken off from the parent(s), to start a new plant elsewhere in the garden (this requires help from non-plant species, on request of a plant guild). | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Tuber == | ||
+ | The tuber is not a seed, but acts in the same way as a seed - it is able to produce new roots and seedlings, when separated from the parent. It looks like a thick-set stalagmite, with several asymmetrical rings of oriental looking patterns around its irregular ginger-like shape. As it is usually broken off the parent, one of its ends is a rough cross-section. As soon as a tuber is put into the ground, it produces new rhizomes and a sprout. The colour of the tuber is the same as the roots (light orange-brown, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Leaves | ||
+ | |||
+ | Growth | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: foundation, basement, bedrock | ||
+ | * archetype: alchemist, technologist, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Layer: Soil Surface === | ||
+ | |||
+ | The plants in this layer are the twilight-dwellers between life and death. Their lives are extremely short and they spend long periods in suspension / hibernation. They indulge in decay (both of self and of others). They live in large, rather conservative clans, who stick to themselves and their traditions. They are hard-working, | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Roots & Rhizomes == | ||
+ | Their roots don't reach very deep. They are modest and satisfied with occupying a few centimetres of the surface above and below, forming a translucent shroud, a wooly veil of the land. Their roots are very thin, but dense and clumpy, able to find nutrients that other plants' | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Reproduction == | ||
+ | They reproduce without sexual fusion, through spores which they exhale at the moment of death. The plant bursts open and a cloud of spores bursts forth from the dying flesh of the parent. | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Spores == | ||
+ | The spores of these plants are tiny, hairy balls, that are so light they can be carried by the wind far from their parent plant. On close inspection, they look like plankton - tiny anemones, jellyfish or amoebae. They are nearly translucent, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Above ground | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Growth | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: carpet, floor covering, veil | ||
+ | * archetype: gardener, undertaker, garbage collector | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Layer: Vertical === | ||
+ | |||
+ | These plants are the only ones in the world in which an individual plant can indulge in spatial travel. They criss-cross the other layers, connecting, entangling and confusing their dwellers. They can be fickle and treacherous at times. Their tangles are communication conduits between the different layers above ground. However, the information that passes through the twining vines rarely arrives unchanged - translation is never perfect, always enigmatic and slightly glitchy. Some plants in this layer are aggressive bullies, that can even turn murderous. Others can enjoy a cushy, parasitic life, usually sucking-up to the larger plants. Others again turn into explorers, venturing across ground and layers, to the furthest reaches of the world. As their shape reflects their journeys for the rest of their lives, they take utmost care to the twining and tangling of their paths, creating magnificent, | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Roots == | ||
+ | The roots of these plants travel horizontally, | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Reproduction == | ||
+ | The vertical plants are able to flower. Their mating rituals are slow, elegant and entangled, that occur when two flowering vines (of appropriate species and sex) touch and entangle each other' | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Seeds == | ||
+ | The seeds of the vertical plants resemble a ball of knotted wool or wire (sometimes spiky barbed wire). They are formed from the tightly packed, twisted and knotted flower-petals. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Vines | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Leaves | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Flowers | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Berries | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Growth | ||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: connection, communication, | ||
+ | * archetype: trickster, translator, hacker | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Functions ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Functions are actions that particular plants undertake to sustain themselves and balance (in) the environment. By performing these actions, the plants take on different roles in the vegetal society. In order to perform these actions, they rely on microscopic organisms that live in a symbiotic relationship with the plant. When the plant is young, it has the ability to summon a specific type of micro-organism, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Function: Fixing Nitrogen === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | This function can be summoned from childhood. A plant which accepts this role is able to absorb and transform an important mechano-chemical. This chemical can be diffused back into the environment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: transforming, | ||
+ | * archetype: industry, technology (bio-engineering, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Function: Pest Controlling === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | This function can be assumed from childhood. Plants function as immune system of the world. They protect themselves and others from external threats and dangerous internal anomalies. They can do this both offensively (attacking the threat directly) and defensively (healing the diseased plant, or environment). | ||
+ | The micro-organisms responsible are liquid flows of single-cellular, | ||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: defending, protecting, healing | ||
+ | * archetype: border, front-line, hospital, clinic | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Function: Mulching === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | This function can only be summoned when adulthood is reached. The plants who assume this function are invaded by heaps of dust-like particles that are able to decompose plant tissues and transform them into soil and nutrients for the environment. These plants give up their physical form and decide to live suffused throughout the world, communing with other plants by being consumed. | ||
+ | The micro-organisms, | ||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: composing, conserving, decaying, dying, regenerating | ||
+ | * archetype: cemetery, waste-dump, sewage, sublimation | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Function: Providing nutrients === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | This function can be summoned from childhood. It is meant primarily for healthy, altruistic plants. The plants performing this function are required to continually seek solid, liquid and airborne chemicals, then dissolve them in blisters of living solution that grow across their bodies, as soon as the function is assumed. Once the blisters fill up, they swell and burst in pulses of a viscous liquid. Above ground, the pulsing droplets are smaller and can spray metres through the air. Underground, | ||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: making, cooking, gardening, hunting & gathering, parenting, educating | ||
+ | * archetype: philosophy, religion, school, kitchen, library, temple, family | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Function: Attracting Pollinators === | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | This is a strictly adult function, that can only be assumed by particular plants capable of sprouting open translation organs in their flowers. The evolution made this into an adult function due to the fragile relationships between the plants and the non-plant pollinators. The action of the plants with this role might be damaging to the world, if the attraction skill is not mastered. Young plants can become apprentices, | ||
+ | The micro-organisms involved in this function are clouds of airborne gasses, that act as pheromones, affecting emotional states of their recipients. In plants, this can be visible through coloration. In seasons where communication with the non-vegetal is impossible, the clouds can carry reproductive cells themselves. When this communication is possible, they attract moving creatures and seduce them to carry reproductive cells between the plants. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * metaphor: seducing, imitating, storytelling, | ||
+ | * archetype: park, theatre, street, festival | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | == previous groWorld backstory (unused) == | ||
+ | |||
+ | draft version 200802 (will not be used) | ||
+ | |||
+ | <del>Plants. Green, juicy, sensuous beings and sophisticated chemical factories. Expendable individuals, | ||
Humans. Inventive, impulsive, mobile and adaptive creatures, able to fashion tools, cultivate living things (including ourselves) and manipulate symbols. Tasty to plants, particularly when decomposing. | Humans. Inventive, impulsive, mobile and adaptive creatures, able to fashion tools, cultivate living things (including ourselves) and manipulate symbols. Tasty to plants, particularly when decomposing. | ||
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People thaught each other in small communities, | People thaught each other in small communities, | ||
- | etc... | + | etc... |
Version 0.1 Feb 2008 | Version 0.1 Feb 2008 | ||
[[project_groworld]] | [[project_groworld]] |