Concerning Interspecific Relations.

A while back - like, twenty days back - I had the idea for probably the first plant species on the tundra. To be precise, it was a strange fernlike species (i.e. barely a plant)...that, a la Cordyceps fungus, used the younger stages of a giant ice cicada to reproduce. For a while, I thought it was good, then remembered that things don't get sick on Felarya. It made me wonder if, especially given the emphasis on eating, parasites existed at all on Felarya. My guess is that the answer is "no," which means both of these species will need tweaks.

It made me wonder, however, whether there were any symbiotic relationships on Felarya at all. I am talking about things like clownfish and anemones in which one species lives with another in a mutually-beneficial relationship. There are other types of symbiosis, but this one is rarely seen in fantasy worlds. I can guess that pollination exists, but are there any species on Felarya that fit together like a hand in a glove? (Forgive me if I missed something on the Wiki - you guys have done a pretty good job in making sure there are plenty of creatures.)

Unless some ancient wizard seriously hacked the rules of human metabolism, then yes, there are definitely some symbionts and microbes in Felarya. There is a whole ecosystem of microorganisms necessary for human digestion and many others in a symbiotic relationship with humans, so since there are humans on Felarya it stands to reason that these microbes are present as well. Also, since nagas, nekos, and most of the other creatures there are based on humans and other Earth creatures, it's likely they have similar relationships.

As far as I know, parameciumkid's assumption is correct. There's even an entry in the wiki for Dryad gut worm.

Don't forget the Leviathan Gutlord.

parameciumkid wrote:

Unless some ancient wizard seriously hacked the rules of human metabolism, then yes, there are definitely some symbionts and microbes in Felarya. There is a whole ecosystem of microorganisms necessary for human digestion and many others in a symbiotic relationship with humans, so since there are humans on Felarya it stands to reason that these microbes are present as well. Also, since nagas, nekos, and most of the other creatures there are based on humans and other Earth creatures, it's likely they have similar relationships.

Parameciumkid is on the right track here.

The general rule of thumb is this.

- Microbes do exist in Felarya. Bacteria, viruses, they're all there.

- The healing factor of Felarya supercharges the human immune system. You can be infected by a harmful microbe, but it gets squashed before symptoms begin to show. This effectively makes it impossible to get sick on Felarya.

- Most parasites still work just fine though.

- Symbiotic/beneficial microbes are unaffected as well, since they aren't hurting anything.

rcs619 wrote:

The general rule of thumb is this.

- Microbes do exist in Felarya. Bacteria, viruses, they're all there.

- The healing factor of Felarya supercharges the human immune system. You can be infected by a harmful microbe, but it gets squashed before symptoms begin to show. This effectively makes it impossible to get sick on Felarya.

- Most parasites still work just fine though.

- Symbiotic/beneficial microbes are unaffected as well, since they aren't hurting anything.

Wow, nice bulletpoints! Kind of suspected that small things like gut flora wouldn't be affected (as another poster said, they're necessary), but I didn't know you already had a few internal parasites. We really do think of everything, here. Thank you SO much!

Come to think of it I remember a stomach parasite being in Kikijohnson's game "Seliky's Story". It wasn't in Felarya per se, but it's certainly related enough to warrant consideration.

Though can hurting and helping really be identified effectively by nature? It is my understanding that in both cases, there's changes to tissue/organ/what-have-you that are still just that, changes, but what kind of changes would be prohibited by the natural laws of felarya? "Hurting" is really a point of view, too. This can get really deep, and unfortunately my biology "ain't what it used to be". I can't be as specific as I'd like.

I submit the definition that hurting is anything that decreases an individual's ability to produce fertile offspring, and helping is whatever increases this ability.

Actually, I was confused by this particular topic as well.

Good to know theres a line between symbiotes/parasites and simply illnesses. Thanks Cliff.