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Biowar
Biowar
Image from Michael Tan (copyright)
Wild Biowar, sited at 65 AU from Far Acton Image provided by Zenon Charter (copyright Michael Tan used with permission)
A sentient, adaptive, self-replicating organic warship; a biological version of an autowar. The standard Biovirate-derived template begins as a spherical, plant-like growth embedded in the surface of carbonaceous asteroids. This egg will feed from local resources for 10-20 months, after which it will detach from the asteroid and the fully-grown biowar emerges. The shell contains secondary seeds, which will be dispersed on emergence.

As a biowar egg can drift passively through an affected system for centuries, and these eggs are laid thousands to millions at a time, it is extremely difficult to control their populations, and regions of high-biowar activity can remain hazardous long after the original conflict is over: the Seuret-Far Action region of the former Cygexpa Volume has remained off-limits to normal traffic thanks to a large population of highly-territorial feral biowars.


Biowar eggs
Image from Anders Sandberg
Biowar eggs in the asteroid belts of the Triumphant Fate system, 5985
 
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Appears in Topics
BiovirateGengineeringHigh Tech / Hitech
Organic/BiotechSpace-Based WeaponsWarfare
Zoeific Biopolity
 
Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Initially published on 08 October 2001.

Biowar and Biowar egg articles merged, 2022, by Dandyman
 
 
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