Community The Agaran Menace

I don't like trusting mushrooms.

 

I gotta say I'm loving @Thundercraft 's walls of text about why demanrisu is wrong, makes me feel good inside. The charlatan.

 

Just in case it hasn't already been broached in the discussion, I ran across this earlier:

Here I have found one of the many as-yet unopened Agaran pods autochthonously situated. Note the Apex male in the noxious fluid below.
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As the caption indicates, this is an as-yet uneclosed Agaran pod. What is inside? Is it some larval stage of Agaran? Or is it a fungal structure? The thorns on the sides look somewhat similar to the fungal fruiting bodies found on the heads of some Agarans. In this image, I am wearing a replica of these fruiting bodies for comparison.

In order to further study this species, I harvested the pod. Strangely, this did not seem to provoke the Agaran standing at this post in the slightest. I was in for a nasty surprise as I harvested it, however.

Some of the plant matter beneath it was disrupted in the process, and I was plunged into a vat of noxious goo below. Inside this pit was another of the ruptured Agaran pods containing an Apex male. Whenever I encounter these poor unfortunates, I remove them from the site in the hope that emerging medical technologies will permit us to resuscitate and rehabilitate them. If nothing else, should they end up dying, their bodies may prove valuable in researching what has been done to them. However, I am unfamiliar with Apex views of the bodies of the dead and am uncertain if this would cause offense. Once again, I am reaching out to Apex who have broken free of the Big Ape grid to determine how best to treat these Apex. I fear that were I to remand these gentlemen (I have found 2 now, hence the plural) to the Big Ape government, they would simply be "interrogated", by which of course I mean exterminated. Since it is not in my nature to terminate life lightly, I am reaching out across the species divide in order to ascertain how best to treat them. Thus, if you know who these men may be or where I might be able to take them for treatment, I ask that you contact me as soon as possible.

As for the noxious sludge...I am not yet certain if this pool of water was intentionally made noxious by some secretion from the Agaran pod or if the toxic nature of the liquid came from the planet upon which I found them. This is a Protoworld, one with a hotter, more active core resulting in a greater magneto effect, and thus greater atmospheric electric discharge. This, coupled with a somewhat closer position to the star of this solar system, has resulted in both flora and fauna reaching greater sizes. I have been conducting genetic research in order to engineer disease-resistant strains of food crops, as well as examining some of the properties of the flora endemic to this planet.

Protworlds are, by nature, prone to noxious secretions as there are a great deal many more bacteria, fungi, and viruses at play within the soil and air due to increased moisture and heat. The humans have an expression that I've never quite understood...they say "the air is so humid you can swim in it." I believe that would apply here, though I don't think humans are as familiar with swimming as they would perhaps like to think. Why, my earliest memory is of swimming along the cool, rocky banks of the winding river Hytalis when I was just a wee nymph. But true swimming is following the deep pelagic oceanic currents that have never known the touch of a star's rays. Ah, but I digress.

Well, cheerio all!

Edit: [OOC: I should note for the record that my speech-bubble commentary in the screenshot above is the in-game query tool response when clicking on the large Agaran Giganticus pods. As such, I assume the game-devs want us to see some connection between the Florans and the Agarans. Nevertheless, my previously stated theory stands: I think the Apex engineered a biological weapon to infect Florans with a fungal agent that was meant simply to cripple their intellect thereby making them easier to conquer. However, the strain did far more than that, essentially zombifying Florans and driving them to 'procreate' by infecting more Florans, sort of like the Super-Mutants in the Fallout series or the Narvik-zombies in the Helix series. The devastation of Apex facilities is the handiwork of Agarans which still bear an instinctive hatred for those who infected them, and the fact that they must infect Florans to make more Agarans explains why we only see living prisoners that are Floran.]

 

Maybe an Agaran is formed when a Floran gets sick, it might be a disease: like Sir Orange said, mushroom grow on plants.

 

On the subject of the Apex having created the Agaran "disease:"
I will say this seems likely to me, but I believe it goes deeper than just two races. One (or more) of the codices (I think; it may have been a different source, but it was dev created, as I recall) speaks of Greenfinger working with Dr. Lax and studying floran DNA. At one point, Dr. Lax discovers something in the DNA, and Greenfinger goes into an uncharacteristic rage at her. After he calms down, he shares a secret with her, which he says is "how his raced has survived thus far, and shall continue to survive." Then, because she knows the secret, Greenfinger calls in "The Ring of Thorns" (presumed to mean Thornwing) and they kill her - I noticed, however, that the thing that killed her (I recall its being a thing, and very large, maybe maybe maybe a G3) injected her with fluids which turned her into a rainbow apex, as detailed by the codex "A Scribbled Note."

In McVicar's video, a Hylotl is found in the cave with the Floran and Apex. (I don't think this is our friend Hiraki Corale, as she says that she didn't find her contact - whom I think is the Hylotl McVicar identifies.) As one last piece of evidence, here is a direct quote from the recent article (my other stuff is not direct, and as such should be verified. I read my other sources months ago).

"One tiny whisper I picked up in a seedy Hylotl bar tells me otherwise, though. A hooded Hylotl who refused to identify themself told me that a storm was on the horizon. Something big. Does this mean that the Hylotl are hiding something? My gut instinct points me towards a yes, but I guess we'll have to wait and find out."

This, combined with the Hylotl hatred of Florans and the Hylotl in the cave, leads me to believe that, not only did the Apex create the Agarans to kill the Florans, but they (thesis incoming) were hired to do it by the Hylotl, and Thornwing was hired to keep the secret. All races are involved in this in one way or another, (The humans, I think, will be the ones who try to nuke them into the ground, no offense) except, of course, for the glitch, who are too busy preventing themselves from progressing to allow Chucklefish to involve them in this.


Non-theory note: I apologize for my long absence, but I was depressed by the anger at Chucklefish some time ago, and so began playing other games. I recently regained interest in Starbound thanks to my friends, and read the newsletter, which, of course, prompted me to report here and dig up some of my old ideas. However, due to the "digging" process, I may not be totally accurate in some of my quotes from citations (except the newsletter, which I copy-pasted from), so a cross-examination would be welcome.

 

Makes sence, but im guestioning the part where Greenfinger calls Thornwing. I beliave that Greenfinger would'nt want to hurt anyone. Also why would Thornwing have agaran friend(s)? It would'nt make sence for Greenfinger (Even though not directly) to use a brainwashed diseased floran.

 

Greenfinger does call Thornwing. As I recall, he directly says "I'm sorry, old friend." That part is very clear. He orders the death/transformation/genetic brainwashing of Dr. Lax. Thornwing is just hired muscle, he is hired to kill people, I don't think he is allowed to question his employer's motives. I do not know Greenfinger's exact involvement in the Agaran Menace, but, as I write this, it occurs to me that he may have made the Agarans much more powerful than the Hylotl desired, defeating their original purpose. Greenfinger, as far as I remember, has no morals. It just doesn't show as easily as it generally does in Florans.

 

Why did the Agaran leave the party?
There wasn't mushroom.

 

I... I can't handle that. *heart attack*

 

your signature is amazing, dude

 

Whose, mine? It doesn't show up to me, so I can't tell how awesome it is. Would someone screenshot it and PM it to me or post it so I can see how it looks?
I can't see anybody else's sig either (if they have one), but I know I tried to set one up, which is why I assume you are talking to me.

 

There should be an option in your profile somewhere to make signatures visible. Look for that.

Greenfinger calls the Ring of Thorns... it never says Thornwing was the assassin...

 

First, thanks for the sig info. Next:
Ah. I think maybe I saw some discussion that concluded that "the Ring if Thorns" meant Thornwing or his group. I recall that being pretty clear... At the very least, Thornwing (or an least an Avian) does appear at the end of McVicar's recording, thus involving at least one Avian. (It's really hard to say stuff without assuming something... That really took the force out of that last statement. It was originally going to be "Thornwing was shown at the end, incriminating him" but after the assumptions were taken out it was kinda terrible. )

 

On the contrary, it was obviously Thornwing who was smiling at the end--but only because "Thorndrone 451" intercepted the communication. However, since birds don't really smile, this doesn't mean anything.
I meant that it was a Ring of Thorns assassin that killed Dr. Lax, but I doubt it was Thornwing or even an avian.

 

You doubt that it was Thornwing himself, or that Thornwing leads the ring of thorns? Because we are in agreement that Thornwing did not personally kill Dr. Lax - I believe it was a member of his Ring of Thorns, as you stated.

 

Really? I thought that he was a good guy, protecting visitors with laws and getting glitch teachers for florans... I´m thinking that someone else hired ring of thorns or Dr. Lax pushed Greenfinger to kill Lax, threatening with something very big. If someone says that he is going to kill your family, are you going to kill him first when you know that he could do it?

 

Greenfinger told Lax a secret. Greenfinger couldn't leave this matter to personal trust. Greenfinger had Lax killed. Greenfinger does not get threatened, Greenfinger threatens. Greenfinger is in no way "the good guy". Greenfingure is a mad scientist.

 

You both are saying that but how do you know. Some evidence please.

 

...There was a codex on the wiki, but the page had been deleted when I searched it up. It's probably in my codex somewhere, though, so I might take some pics of it when I have time.

 

Just clearing up some confusion I saw on the last page:

Thornwing isn't the Ring of Thorns, Thornwing is a "self-styled lord" and represents the Avians in the meetings with Big Ape and Greenfinger.
the Ring of Thorns is, I think, a team of assassins loyal to Thornwing, which would support the Avian Villager Quote:

"I owe Thornwing a lot of money. Can't relax."

Because if you owe a guy a lot of money, and the guy has an infamous group of assassins at his disposal, you wouldn't be relaxing either.