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A Fragmentary Ecosystem

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Hulled by a comet on the outskirts of a remote star system, the bioship managed to maintain its Alcubierre envelope long enough to reach a suitable planet containing raw organic materials for repair. Alas, the ill-fated vessel was by this time too injured to heal. Hemorrhaging biological subsystems from its ruptured belly, the ship scattered the intricate machinery of its guts across half the world's surface before finally crashing into the ocean. Even the individual machine components of the ship's complex symbiotic ecology were designed to repair themselves and remain viable in case of catastrophic failure, but none were really designed to withstand a disaster of this magnitude. Many expired immediately upon exposure to the alien biosphere, and many more survived only a short while longer. The few hardiest specimens managed to survive long enough to repair themselves and develop self-sufficiency in the post-ship environment, drawing nutrients from the raw materials and primitive microorganisms of their largely barren adopted world. A lucky few adapted and thrived sufficiently to activate their self-replication subroutines, and now, several thousand generations later, this planet hosts a functioning--if unorthodox--ecosystem: one composed of evolved machine fragments from the long-dead bioship.

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This idea was inspired by the sight of an operating antique steam locomotive at Garibaldi on the Oregon coast last summer. I was fascinated and entranced by the fantastically graceful and coordinated interplay between the complex moving parts of the idling engine. I could really see how this kind of machine would have been considered revolutionary and cutting-edge technology for its time. At the same time there was something about the intricate dance of machine parts that inspired the sense of a vast symbiotic organism, and the concept of an ecosystem derived from the surviving specialized components of a crashed organic alien or posthuman spacecraft came to me pretty much as a single and complete cognitive gestalt.

I don't know if this helps to clarify interpretation at all, but the individuals shown are all supposed to be functional monopods. The arrows next to the "feet" indicate direction of forward motion. The top two creatures are standing on their single leg(s), while the others are depicted at rest, squatting on their "haunches" (such as they are!). --Actually, I guess bottom-left could be seen as suspended in the air while leaping forward, throwing its foot forward. I tried to retain the anachronistic quality of the steam engine in the fact that the individul components of each creature are interlocking, sliding on rails or grooves, and are secured by semi-cylindrical pegs slotted through sockets. I envisioned their skins covered with respiratory pores and light-sensitive cells, but I have no idea how they feed!
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Ouroboros-491's avatar
Hey thomas, I saw this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYGJ9j… and thought of you instantly.
They're called Strandbeests, and they are the works of artist Theo Jansen. A sail similar to that of a Dimetrodon powers a complex alignment of simple axles and , propelling the Strandbesst on its hunerds of small legs. Watching them is like a combination of the greats machines of the industrial era combined with the movements of brainless invertebrates on the sea floor.
I hope you like them