Community The Agaran Menace

Allow me to present a few findings from the Interstellar Scientific Empire's recent research on the subject.

During a routine scan for communication signals in the star systems surrounding the empire, we picked up a distress signal from one of Big Ape's laboratories. When I went there to destroy it personally, I found this.

The specimens inside were lined up against the wall and shot, as is mandated by ISE policy regarding individuals of fungal descent.

Additionally, one of our research vessels managed to harvest a couple of interesting specimens:
Specimen A is a fungal pod similar to the ones found in the infected building, though much larger. Agitating it causes it to emit a low groaning sound from within. Thermal scans indicate high metabolic activity in the center, with temperatures reaching up to 102.5°F at the core. It will be dissected following further testing.


Specimen B was found at the same site. It is an apex male trapped in another fungal pod; seems he may have been attempting to escape. Still alive but unresponsive, has taken on a green hue.


Further research is being done into the fungus and its potential use as a weapon.

 

What building where the last two screenshots taken?

 

Mendeleev's Ark, an ISE Class II research vessel.

 

Looks like a player-built structure to me, they probably TOOK the pods and put them there, building that stuff around it. Doesn't look like any game-generated structure I've seen, and some of those computer decorative objects look like they are modded items, not in the vanilla game.

 

THe newsletter is out and the story of the Restless sparrow paints a rather grim picture

 

Agreed. We should consider sending a party of scouting drones to the location to examine any current Agaran activity.

 

I doubt they'd allow access to the ship now. However I think all ships should be put on high alert and to be on watch for any traces of fungi in the ventilation systems

 

The Avian's ignored the distress signal, who knows, they might not even know what happened.

 

or that whole sector is already compromised and the authorities are keeping it under wraps

 

What if they reach Avos?

Wait a minute

THEORY!

G3 Agaran's are created from the corpses of Sunborn.

 

With melted nutrients of Apex or Floran providing the nourishment. Oh god I'm gonna get nightmares.

 

Newsletter was fun. Apparently Hylotl are based on Japan in more than one way...
Also, while I was reading the newsletter I was listening this. And then I happened to read the ship's name, The Restless Sparrow. Funny coincidences ahoy!

Agarans are going aggressive. Reanimating dead bodies, ain't that cute.

EDIT: Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End is on tv right now. This is the day of Sparrow-related coincidences for me.

 

We also now have confirmed proof that the Agaran's are hostile. Shoot to kill, lock the bodies and any infected objects in quarantine, and I'll get our best biologists on the case.

 

Theory = Millennia ago, the Sunborn discovered or created the Agarans by accident and the Agarans attacked/infested and broke down their strongest weaponry into energy to spread. After a lengthy struggle the Sunborn realised they couldn't defeat the Agarans so they destroyed themselves and most of the Agaran mutations with it. Years later various robbers and players have been sacking the tombs and unintentionally releasing long dormant Agaran spores that survived in the tombs of the Sunborn and throughout their years of being unknowing traded and transported throughout the galaxy, they spread. In order for this to make sense however there would have had to be an event to awaken or make them assimilate hosts at the same time for example an overmind or imminent danger ETC..

 

In case anyone missed the story about possible Agaran origins, penned by Charlton McVicar:
http://playstarbound.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/sparrow3.html

 

I think this proves the "generation theory", at least in some way. In the OP:

So the Agarans have been spreading over the galaxy, but attacks like this haven't been seen. I don't think it's possible they've done it all unseen. So, previously there was "a peaceful generation", but now there has appeared other, more aggressive one. Either this is correct, or somebody needs to make a retcon. And retcons are never nice, Eh?

Notably, the "spores evolved to spread spores throughout the ship's ventilation system" in half an hour, when subjected to heat. Spores like heat? Like lava?
Agarans call florans "kissfaces", oh dear...

My theory (Which has been stated partially in this thread already):

1. Agarans kiss (or interact otherwise with) florans.

2. They subject them to heat (lava pools and such).

3. ???

4. Profit, aka spores have taken over the floran and a new Agaran is born.

 

Fascinating, so it is an infection/parasite, apparently the spore producing form can go dormant, and has learned how to reactivate after being disturbed or heated. The autonomous form, the Agarans, are a product of the fungus getting ahold of a fully-formed biological structure, and "commadeering" it into an Agaran. From this we can assume Agarans are hive-minded, or serve a higher purpose, as seen by the one deactivating the life-support system first off...why? To reproduce. The spores need hosts to reproduce into autonomous Agarans.
The autonomous Agarans do not appear to be able to go into the "dormant" stage or "hibernation" that the fungal infection can. However, the fact that more Agarans could spawn on a ship with broken life support (assuming the McVicar story happened in space) leads me to believe that both parasitic Agaran fungus and autonomous Agarans can survive in the vacuum of space. Correct me if I misread, though, this assumption seems a little implausible to me. This raises many more curiosities for me...

We already know that the Agaran fungus is a parasitic infection that spreads by spores. First question we should be asking, can you get infected from contact with an autonomous Agaran? I'm guessing, no, since to me it seems like the completed Agaran is asexual in nature, and only seeks to feed the parasitic fungus when it needs to reproduce. I feel that the parasitic infection is the reproductive stage, and the resulting Agaran is the product, and the means by which the infection can move around and manipulate it's environment in a more active way. Something interesting to note, though, when killing Agarans, they often drop hats, and when your character is not wearing anything, the hat will go directly to your Active slot. I swear, one minute I was killing Agarans once, and the next moment my Floran had transformed into an Agaran on my screen. It really freaked me out the first time it happened, until I realized it was a vanity item drop that had auto-equipped and made me think my character transformed. I thought "Oh what a fun souvenir" at the time, but now I"m starting to see some foreshadowing. What if killing the Agaran triggers the fungus to revert to reproductive stage, and in effect, when you kill them, you are infected. It's a possibility...

Why are there different "types" of autonomous Agarans? Why do some seem to torture only florans, while others live *peacefully* in a village setting, and will even farm and participate in trade? Perhaps whichever type of species is infected will still hold vestige habits even as an autonomous Agaran. Or perhaps they are just another social species, that just so happens to have to murder a bunch of people in order to procreate, and because it is normal cycle of life for them, they think nothing of it. Perhaps the Floran prisoners are preferred vessels that are prepared ahead of time when it's time to up the population. But why the torture devices, or the lone Floran prisoner in a cell under their house?

I still raise my eyebrow that Florans seem to be the favorite, looking at the language. But it still doesn't explain why you only ever see the mutant Apex sticking out of a pod, unresponsive. The other pods we can assume hatch into a fully-formed Agarans. The only thing I can think of is that the fungus rejected the Mutant Apex, because it was considered an inferior vessel by the host fungi. Think about it, if you're going to steal someone's car, wouldn't you want to steal a nice or fast car? Same goes with bodies, it looks like.

Also explains why you see Apex infirmaries with the pods...Crew goes to infirmary because of strange cough, spreads the infection to others, everyone dies and the Agarans hatch, while the fungi eats away at the ruined building. Perhaps the Leaf blocks at every Agaran site is meant to represent the fungi that would be present, eating away at the environment while waiting for more hosts. It starts to maybe seem like the leaf structures that hold the lava and the water in the Floran/Agaran torture settings could very well be a mass of the fungus, waiting to be fed by more victims that the autonomous Agarans bring to it. While I"m at it I'm guessing when they have no hosts to feed on/rebuild, they prefer to eat sugar cane for sustenance.

Its safe to say though, the Argans have officially "infected" only Apex and Avians as we've seen/read so far. The Florans they keep captive, I don't have a good feeling for them either. I have not directly seen one come out of a pod, but it's suspicious that V1 Agarans seem to have the same armor/bodies as Florans.

 

I take it this is the end of the API

 

The floran prisoner under the house is presumably a host for spores, as the prison room has lava beneath it. I don't understand torture device, it's been stated the Agarans don't want to hurt Florans.

The Trapped Apex Pod description says that Agarans and Apex aren't compatible. Maybe that's the case there; spores tried to infect it, but failed to do so because of something with Apex body isn't favourable to the spores.

I don't think everything that is able to be found about Agarans is found. We know what is happening, but not why is it happening.

 

Yes... but the Florans.