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Pressure-Based (Vacuum/Hydraulic)

Filaments (Standard)

[dragonshardz]

I think we should do the virus thing, yeah.

I also think we should improve the photoreceptors until we can come up with a better form of sensing things. Perhaps some sort of primitive echolocation?

[Armok]

how big is it? From the body plan it looks a LOT bigger than us.

[Karakzon]

yes, but from the enzyme agony thing, its also suceptable to us eating it.

i say spray it a few times for good measure and prepare the virus for injection wile we spray it. keep our distance and then dive in injecting into the back of the mandables/head if we can. depends if it can sense us or not, since we went to it to begin with.

[Tidal]

Virus code?

Also, here's a picture of a shelled amoeba (not what you look like, but similar):

[Argonnek]

Yes. Genetic code (probably RNA) that enters the ribosomes of the infected creature and creates more of the virus. I think that, if we program it right, we might be able to create a virus that can just take over the organelles to streamline the assimilation.

I learned this stuff from the game Cellcraft, so take it with a grain of salt.

[stabbymcstabstab]

I'm learning the same thing in freshman biology.

[PyroDesu]

I'm learning the same thing in freshman biology.

Done that, and he's right.

[Tidal]

Hm, just a bit unusual. Alright then. Wait... why use simple viruses when you spent so much getting a super-enzyme factory?

[PyroDesu]

Hm, just a bit unusual. Alright then. Wait... why use simple viruses when you spent so much getting a super-enzyme factory?

I never agreed with the man, I just said his knowledge was right.

I say, PROCEED WITH ENZYME BOMBING!

[dragonshardz]

Hm, just a bit unusual. Alright then. Wait... why use simple viruses when you spent so much getting a super-enzyme factory?

Ahem. Super-enzyme factory can easily be a super-virus factory, right?

If so:

Create a virus that:

Does not affect you.
Cannot survive outside something infected for more than ten seconds.

We want this to be a weapon that doesn't kill EVERYTHING on the entire planet all at the same time.

Alternatively, super-enzyme factory = super-enzyme bomb.

[RAM]

Deploy pseudopods, it is time for a good old-fashioned herculean lion wrestling moment...

[PyroDesu]

Nononononono don't deploy Pseudopods!

We had to enzyme spike it to get it to lets us go the first time, now it knows that that would be a distinct possibility!

Stand off and launch several enzyme bombs to soften it up for consumption.

Then we go in and pop it by using our shell as a battering ram, and BOOM! instant food.

[Tidal]

Turn 25

     You ratchet up enzyme production, pumping the newly-formed chemical cocktail into weak membrane sacs stored in the stomach cavity. You fling two of these at the worm with your manipulator, keeping one of the "bombs" in reserve. The clumsy pseudopsuedopod just manages to hit the worm. The deadly package bursts, encompassing part of the worm with a cloud of enzymes. It severely burns the worm, leaving a good portion of the middle segments cracked and oozing the worm's insides. It definitely gave the thing pause, but it isn't smart enough to leave you alone.

     Time to finish it. You storm forward while producing a self-replicating destructive enzyme and mixing it with the stored chemicals in the sac. You realize that it would be a good idea to have a method of delivering the chemicals from long range besides slinging them in water-catching sacs. One of the pseudopseudopods are modified into an enzyme-injector; instead of being a manipulator with light-duty stinging bits, it is now a heavy-duty hypodermic chemical deliverer. Unlike the proto-nematocysts, it is able to puncture thick membranes at long range.

     You slam into the worm, shell first, impaling it with several of your spikes. It retaliates, arcing its body around and grabbing your soft underside with its mandibles, pulling at the tissue. The mixture is pumped into the injector and you stab blindly where you think its head is. The injector punctures something, sinking into the flesh. You grapple the worm with your manipulators, pulling it away from your body. It is still holding you fast, but you are pumping it full of the replicator mixture. Your underside is beginning to tear slightly, but you may be able to bite the worm with some maneuvering. You realize that when you grabbed it, something pricked you- your pseudopseudopods are starting to tingle.

Spoiler: Creature Status (click to show/hide)

Common Name: Lifespark
Scientific Name: Vitascinti cuspis, "Spiky Spark of Life"
Sentience: Rank 2: A bit more intelligent than a Copepod. (10/20)
Cell Types:
- Armor Cell (Spiked Silica Plate)
- "Brain" Cell (Central Nucleus, Central Data-Processing Unit, Cell Wall)
- Enzyme-Injector Cell (Modified Pseudopseudopod - Membrane Piercing Tip)
- Focus Cell (Silica Crystal)
- Factory Cell (Enzyme Producer, Many Ribosomes)
- Manipulator Cell (Regular "Pseudopod" - Silica Blade, Enzyme Injectors)
- Mouth Cell (Closable Opening, Silica Teeth)
- Propulsion Cell (Flagella)
- Sensory Cell (Cilia)
- Sight Cell (Photoreceptive Patch)
- Stomach Cell (Nutrient Harvester, Enzyme Storage, Contractile Vacuole)
- Storage Cell (Glucose<->Glycogen, Protein)
- Buffer Cell (Data-Processing Subunit and Conduits)
Energy: 86

Spoiler: Materials (click to show/hide)

DNA: 7
RNA: 4
Protein: 31
Fat: 14
Glucose: 72

Spoiler: Cell Organelles (click to show/hide)

Basic -> Improved -> Complex

Basic
Cell Wall: Outside the membrane, provides a stiff wall to keep threats at bay. Found in plants and fungi, for the most part.
Contractile Vacuole: Removes or adds water to and from the cell and its outside.
Cytoskeleton: Structures and moves the cell when the cell lacks any other propulsion.
Enzyme Injector (Basic Organelle, Basic Membrane, Basic Cell Wall): Injects enzymes into other cells. Right now, it has very little penetration force.
Nutrient Harvester (Extracting: Silicon and Oxygen [Silica Production]): Takes water brought into the cell from the contractile vacuole and extracts useful nutrients from it for use.
Photoreceptor: Patch of light-sensitive proteins that can detect light. Highly unfocused. No color.
Sensory & Chemical Cilia: Detects changes in the water, both chemical and physical. Also provides some degree of additional mobility.

Improved
Data-Processing Organelle (with Labeling System): Processes input from the cilia and photoreceptors as well as managing the cell's data flow. Labels enzymes so they don't activate inside the cell without priming; however, it also labels foreign genetic material for packaging.
Membrane: The most elemental part of the cell- the phospholipid bilayer that keeps out unwanted material and holds the entire cell together.
Nucleus: Stores all of the cells genetic material. Allows for more advanced *NA.
Ribosomes: Produces all sorts of enzymes and proteins, helps in organelle construction. The cell's "factory." Moderately complicated production.

Complex
Cytoplasm: The goop that fills the cell, transports materials, and stores many things.
Flagellum: A tube of protein that spins like a corkscrew to move the cell. Very fast.
Mitochondria: Provides aerobic respiration in order to harness glucose to the max. Used in synthesis of Energy (or ATP for all you geeks).
Silica Armor: The armor that protects the cell. It is somewhat self-repairing and is extremely tough. Spiked. Comes in a plate, each attached to a special cell that can add stored silica onto the plate as it deteriorates.

Spoiler: Nearby/To-Do List (click to show/hide)

Location:
Near the water's surface in a large field of ice chunks (not at the surface yet, but close enough to swim there whenever).
Visible:
A wormy thing coming out of a hole in the ice. It seems to be upset.

To-Do List
1. Photosynthesis (Need to obtain Chloroplasts)
2. Break Points/Fortune Cookie from Hell
3. Laz0rs

Also, apologies for lack of update. All freetime has been devoted to a FMA marathon.

[Argonnek]

Arg! Quick! Have our data processing membrane scan the entire cell for anything that doesn't have our DNA ID!

[PyroDesu]

RUN_DNA_ANALYSIS_FOREIGN_NUCLIOTIDE_PATTERN.EXE

Meanwhile formulating the idea of using SiO2 crystals filled with enzymes and a small flagellum to propel it as an enzyme bomb Mk II.