Concept: Pandoria's Atmosphere is Oxygenated Perfluorocarbon
Round 2 of ancient ideas that I forgot to put in public (Round 1 was basically "MC is bioluminescence").
If memory serves, Pandoria is implied to be an at least semi-aquatic world that has had a lot of its nutrients sapped, presumably by Garnok.
With it being an alien, aquatic world with the ability to infect an Earth creature with loosely radiation-like poisoning if exposed for long periods, why should its atmosphere be a convenient 1-to-1 match to Earth when the odds of that being the case would be rather low? The animals in Pandoria treat the very same atmosphere MC can breathe in as if it's as dense as water.
(Yes, I know helium is a thing and most of it is a decay product from radioactive elements which might line up with Pandoric Sickness but sshhhh.)
So I bring you a real life substance for stronger grounding and easier audience relatability, with a side of suffering.
The TLDR for perfluorocarbon (PFC) is that it's a synthetic chemical known for being a "breathable liquid". It was featured in the film Abyss where a real rat was submerged in the actual emulsion.
As you'd expect from its use in a film like that, it is, among other things, considered for its potential uses in diving, to avoid decompression sickness since it equalizes the pressure inside and outside the lungs.
PFC is about twice as dense as water, so the body will react to it as if it's drowning. Because it is drowning. Just not dying.
Because it is so dense, much more effort is required to fully inhale/exhale and circulate it through the lungs, as explained in the clip. What isn't mentioned is that carbon dioxide poisoning becomes a problem if submerged in it for too long because of the difficulty and failure to fully exhale.
Not removing all PFC fluid from the lungs can lead to pneumonia, and sometimes fatality. It's very hard to get it all out, unfortunately.
Technically speaking, marine animals also would struggle to survive long in it since it would be essentially the liquid version of breathing in ash or other small particles for them. But this is SSO, and the Pandorian fauna are fictional with warpable biology while the MC and their horse are not, short of magical/divine intervention. ᕕ ( ᐛ )ᕗ
So in this layman's rundown of a PFC-filled Pandoria, your MC and horse may experience these:
Drowning behavior. A generally silent ordeal, and brief struggle before submerging and subsequent hypoxic convulsion, cough reflex, and sinking to the bottom. It may or may not come with a painful "burning" sensation, depending on how it was inhaled/who you ask. Many even describe it as peaceful (about normal water).
- These are "non-fatal drowning without injury" symptoms, btw.
- Going into cardiac arrest just from the fear and panic wouldn't be outside the realm of realistic reactions (an Abyss rat did, and lived). Especially if one goes into it not knowing it's breathable.
There is also implication that the larger the body, the harder it is to function while breathing PFC, so larger size may also mean shorter exposure periods without risking adverse effects.
In other words, if you wanted to follow that aspect of the experience, the horse is going to have it worse than the rider. The horse basically needs to be blessed by Poseidon to function in it.
Which leads to CO2 poisoning. Dizziness, nausea, vomiting, headaches, flushing, and rapid breathing/heart rate. And in severe cases, convulsions, confusion, and loss of consciousness. Not fun things to endure.
Let's just say MC may hope Lisa is nearby when they come out of it, if that even sounds like something her power could help with.
Anywho, I guess go forth and use this knowledge for good things. Or in this case evil things in a good way.
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