Jack Sandrow
Writer, Character, Invasive Species
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a plant cultivar that can be used as organic musculature in Sylva Vitae biotech
- Image Credit: Succulents Network
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Plem cells, Online library, Wired science; I would also like to credit
John Locke
for the help in sourcing material that inspired this submission!
- Name: 'Fibril conexias' - fibrous connected muscle
- Origins: Crafted by Jack Sandrow through Sylva Vitae
- Other Locations: N/A
- Classification: A ‘genet’ of cloned organisms working in unison
- Average Growth Cycle: Each F. conexias organism requires two weeks from seed to fully mature, but with proper storage and nutrient intake, can live for years.
- Viability: During its growth cycle, it requires steady nutrient and water intake. Once fully grown and stabilized, it can exist in most climates for a few hours before needing any additional nutrients or water.
- Description: On their own, each F. conexias organism is about 5 cm long, a fibrous leech-like dark green worm. Together, they form strong organic bands that can flex and stretch as needed, combining the flexibility of musculature with the strength of plant cells. When interconnected, they bond cell walls and share nutrient and energy as required, keeping the entirety of the bundle healthy and fed with a shared intake.
- Average Height: 1 cm (each)
- Average Length: 5 cm (each)
- Color: Dark green & fuzzy
- Nutritional Value: None
- Toxicity: None
- Other Effects: Slightly bitter taste; very fuzzy and covered in extremely tiny hooks that adhere to most surfaces
- Distinctions: En masse, F. conexias creates plant-based musculature, using coiled cell structures and potential energy stores (based partly on the storage of Plem cells). Unlike animal musculature that requires bones as foundations and tendons for attachments, or robotic musculature that requires pistons and hinges for motion, the plant musculature of F. conexias is inherently more flexible and malleable, and yet also stiffened and solid. It is as rigid and tough or as loose and flexible as it needs to be.
- Quickly growing, F. conexias allows for a relatively fast turnaround from seed to useful product.
- Literally strength in a plant form, F. conexias allows Jack Sandrow (and by extension Sylva Vitae) to create motile plant-based creations.
- Less durable than machinery, less compact than natural animal muscle fibers, plant musculature requires a minimum volume in order to be viable for comparable strength.
- Each F. conexias requires a steady intake of nutrients that it cannot forage for itself. Without this regular nutrient intake, they will fall dormant and potentially die.
As with most artificially grown plant cultivars Jack Sandrow has crafted, these primarily were made through inspiration from several different sources throughout the Galaxy. This one in particular was inspired by the very mobile species of plants that can be found on Kashyyyk, such as the saava vines or the jaw plant. While their motion is primarily through the use of turgor force, adding turgor force in conjunction with the inherent semi-flexibility of plant cell walls allows for a unique, ‘muscle-like’ form of flexing and moving.
