Ponderings of the Tau Peritan environment
With how we now stand at the bridge of knowing even just a sliver of Tau as it was long ago, and our eventual arrival to what Tau is like today, I find myself pondering, like I always do, about the particulars of the first place we have seen outside the cradle of our home system in the world of Warframe. The star of the environmental show during the Old Peace was, naturally, the strange alien flower that the Sentients became so smitten by, but unless you have some kind of tunnel vision you're not like to have completely missed that this Tau moon possessed a few more points of interest scattered about the landscape.
The growths above and below in the myriad of caves connecting the Peritan terrain for instance.
These growths intrigue me to no end but there is shamefully little I can say about them with the comfort of certainty. I'd incinerate any number of rebel Dax to be able to help myself to a sample of the odd and luminiscent stalagmites growing along the sides of Perita's corridors. I can't decide whether to believe these spiky growths in the ceilings are a direct relative of the stalagmite/stalactite species. Regardless, if you take a look around the growth's bases down on the floor they certainly appear to be growing from strange metal-looking puddles.
... or are they melting? Could it be both? Could these formations be a part of Perita's temperature regulatory system, growing during "winters" and melting during "summers", assuming the Tau moon possesses some semblance of proper seasons. We will return to a similar fluid in a bit.
Beyond the Xenoflora and Tau's very eyecatching dual suns(which seem like vampire stars to me but that is not the topic) the most prominent species of vegetation on the moon appears to be this red moss. It is often seen growing on surfaces alongside the Xenoflora, but oftentimes it appears on its lonesome in great masses. I am not an expert in mosses but I took stark notice of the fact that unlike the Xenoflora the red moss did not appear to get annihilated by the influence of the Zariman 5-series World-Seeder devices, but in the initial display and in the greater terraforming initiation. On some moments of observation we also see a glowing red mass of... seeds, or something, I am not sure. Pollen, maybe?
Occasionally accompanying the moss are these clam-like growths with a slight luminescent attribute across the opening. At least, I assume that part opens. Valdur specifically stated that the Xenoflora is the only case of alien lifeforms we have encountered thus far in Tau, so unless this moss and growth is intrinsically tied to the Xenoflora but possesses a hardier makeup that at least retains its form when it perishes I am left to speculate that the red moss and these growths are probably a product of the original Sentient terraforming procedures. Procedures which do not appear to kill the flowers unlike the more aggressive Orokin method, clearly. Maybe they contribute to managing the atmosphere in some fashion like a lot more things than the unaware masses here on Earth are aware contribute to our own.
Back to the curious fluid we have seen flowing across Perita. From what little observation I can make visually and by stepping in it, it definitely appears to be a rather viscous or generally thick substance, and yet it flows. Just looking at it evokes thoughts of liquid metal, and I cannot wholly distance myself from seeing it as liquid mercury. I cannot properly make sense of it, but I would presume from the fact that humans can walk Perita with their eyes unshielded that its vapors do not endanger human biology overly much. Do I presume too much, Lord Vader? Sorry, sudden Empire at War flashback. And continuing on from that: while Perita's atmosphere is definitely not properly breathable for humans, it is probably only just so. The World-Seeders managed to bring it to a locally breathable state for the Operator just minutes after activation. Again from the fact that the Operator can walk around with their eyes unshielded we can infer that Perita has a surface pressure similar enough to Old Earth and other Sol worlds that we don't struggle with it overly much. But that might be me looking into it more than I have to.
On to how it might appear when we get there however, it really shocked me how quickly the World-Seeders managed to make new, golden-green grass grow in the Peritan soil, appearing from just minutes past their activation to maybe hours, depending on how long it took for the Operator to catch up with Adis and his Hunhullus, plus how long it took for the Operator to make the trek back to where Uriel was imprisoned. My bet is on hours on both ends.
I cannot help but wonder, if we someday make our way back to that moon of pivotal importance to both us and the Sentients, what Perita will look like once the Orokin machines have had their fun tampering with the world. Will we see a fully lush Perita? As much as its overwhelmingly alpine terrain will allow, that is. As tragic as the loss of the Xenoflora on the moon is, I cannot help but be somewhat optimistic on that part.
(Forgive the brief indulgence of Operator & Adis sentimentality. Felt myself moved to it during my ponderings.)
One day, we shall once more set foot on this distant shoreline. Roathe passingly mentioned its desolation, so differing from Pazuul's mad ramblings it is probably not a paradise of any sort any longer. We also do not know if any humans survived there after the Sentients under Hunhow severed the connection between our systems. Roathe mentions how he was asked for his opinion as to their fate. My credits' on there being some survivors. The Sentient Beasts, the ones we now know as Archons were also originally made to be peacekeepers during the terraforming process, so it would not surprise me if despite the hive-mind there was some sqwabbling between individuals or entire groups, maybe even tribes, of Sentients.
I sincerely doubt even with the Xenoflora supply assailed that the Sentients currently exist in any form harmony with each other.
Maybe I should stop rambling before I veer too far from the topic, and end it here. If you've read through all this, I applaud you for having at least a decent degree of either patience or curiousity.
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