Alien: Human to spore stage like saprophytic fungus?

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Dallas cocooned in the glutinous substance
a) Not talked about is the possibility of alien's life cycle's relationship perhaps to saprophytic fungi. Although the initial idea behind the alien to egg stage is that the human victim is sealed in a silk cocoon hanging from the sealing, and the external cocoon slowly hardens and transforms into an urn like spore or egg while the victim inside is being eaten away, and later the whole process becomes a lot more amorphous and ambigious in nature, and Ridley Scott talked about Dallas being a host for the insect probably causing many people to suddenly think that he has become a victim of the facehugging. (see also: Human to Spore)
 
b) In the human to egg stage of the life cycle, we find out from Ridley Scott about how the alien larvae are feeding off the human victims, Dallas while he is still alive and Brett while he is dead. Ridley had mostly talked about the alien creature in relation to insects, but the way the egg shell seems to grow around and engulf Brett while it hadn't even formed itself around Dallas when he was discovered, and instead was discovered imbedded in this strange glue like substance that looked as if it was growing around him and perhaps partially eaten away in some manner.

c) The fact that what grows is an egg containing a living creature within is another matter entirely put down to poetic licence unless a fungus can be found which transforms into an egg with a creature inside


Brett becomes an egg
d) We can find out about insects and how their bodies are being eaten away by fungi. One example of a fungus that plays a role in the decomposition of animal matter is the scarlet caterpillar club fungus (Cordyceps militaris). This species grows out of the living pupa or larva of a moth or butterfly, converting the body of its insect host as it dies into the hyphal structure of its fruiting body, which is club-shaped and orange in colour, with a pimply surface.

Caterpillars (Hepialidae) infected with different types of parasitic fungi.
The caterpillar on the left has been consumed by Cordyceps gunnii.
Image: Colin Silvey ( source: Museum Victoria)
Dead spider being devoured by a fungus. (source: www.treesforlife.org.uk/)

Fungus infected dead spider source: bugguide.net/
source quotes
  1. One example of a fungus that plays a role in the decomposition of animal matter is the scarlet caterpillar club fungus (Cordyceps militaris). This species grows out of the living pupa or larva of a moth or butterfly, converting the body of its insect host as it dies into the hyphal structure of its fruiting body, which is club-shaped and orange in colour, with a pimply surface. (http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/)

2 comments:

  1. Is the same as the movie Nausicaa.

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  2. I've got the comic book series, I seem to remember something from that. I'll take a look at the movie too.

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