@karkalicious769 , I think I found the real Red Sleep.
And for the rest of y’all, let’s talk about alien plants that exist on Earth too, woop-!
So, just as a random thought inspired by rock-eating organisms, which got me thinking of plants and animals eating crystals, Petrosapiens included, I thought ‘are there any plants that explicitly eat crystals’?
Oh bejesus do I have an answer for you!
The Velloziaceae family is a family of plants that are/include organisms that eat quartzite rocks and phosphorus, and have been explicitly observed to live and eat directly on quartz crystals. And take a little guess at what primary element quartz crystals are made from.
That’s right lads, it’s silicon! Silicon dioxide, or silica, are is the primary make up of quartz crystals, and with a crystalline, silicon based species like a Petrosapien, the Velloziaceae family are free to chow down.
But how, you ask, does the Velloziaceae family eat its food. Why, but secreting certain chemicals that dissolve the rock. Now why does that sound familiar?
Because hot damn does Red Sleep love to dissolve Petrosapiens, hoo boy!
You don’t have to understand (lord knows i don’t) but the Velloziaceae family produces carboxylates, or carboxylic acid if we wanna cut to the chase. It’s made from carbon, oxygen and a hydroxyl group, the latter in turn from hydrogen and more oxygen.
Now why am I spouting chemical names that you’re probably and most likely just learning about now? Well, keep it in mind as I tell you the chemical reaction of carboxylic acid against silicon dioxide.
Something something link to correct me if I’m wrong and missing something, yada yada amide bonds I am aware I’m skipping over, and one of the final product/s of this reaction is silanol!
Bringing back hydroxyl, aside from the obvious relation that and silanol has, silanol is also found in all alcohols.
Alcohol, you say?
Maybe that’s why Petrosapiens feel neutral to positive when Red Sleep decides to snack on them.
Of course, all this is me just finding and completely misunderstanding what the heckery is going on in science sources, because fact checking after a post is made is something I don’t do.
Eh whatever, tumblr is a place for net zero information at times, so being wrong isn’t all that bad.
So I’ve been thinking about Petrosapiens again, and I always seem to go back to @karkalicious769 ‘s fic ‘Diamonds are Forever’.
Perhaps this is more an analysis than a pure headcanon, but I wanted to read up on what our wonderful author had to say about the subject of this post; Red Sleep!
Alrighty then, let’s begin by providing some context especially if you’re not reading the post i reblogged for spoilers. Red Sleep is an algae like plant that is the Petrosapien’s “natural predator”, producing a toxin that dissolves and eats away at their crystal bodies. The name specifically comes from the fact that it’s a painless process and because of that, ‘sleep’ is almost always guaranteed.
Pretty gruesome right? Certainly not pretty at the very least.
But what’s the science fiction behind it?
In my last Petrosapien talk, I so poorly articulated that their crystals aren’t completely individualistic. What I meant to say was that unlike humans, they’re like... a single organ that has many functions, can change and can remember itself. Of course, there’s a need for nutrients and rest to keep your regenerated limbs actually functional, but it’s all connected.
Red Sleep, however, produces a venom that disrupts this connection.
Now let me get into the headcanon and speculation side of this post.
As a youngen, I went on a roadtrip in a more mountainous region than I lived in at the time. One stop along the trip were some beautiful stalagmite and stalactite filled caves. The tour guide had told us not to touch anything because when we do, the oils from our hands would transfer to the rocks and prevent the mineral heavy water from maintaining the structures.
Now, I’m not saying that Petrosapiens would stop growing if you tapped em with your bare fingers.
But this is how Red Sleep can feasibly work, chemically not that I know anything about chemicals but i don’t know a lot of things and that doesn’t stop me.
So, picture this, the Red Sleep uses its toxin to eat away at the Petrosapien’s crystal structure, which is simultaneously disrupting the connection of their physical body and the memory of its shape. With contact broken, the remainder of the toxin is used up, which is grossly obvious when the slurry of whatever poor soul’s skin stops flowing. However, if you aren’t made of crystal, one might find the residue (can’t quite remember if it scars red or just looks like busted crystal) is oily in texture.
One can clean the wound (as one would want to do to prevent further dissolving), but the residue would have already spent enough time to prevent any regeneration. Again, referencing Diamonds are Forever and not naming names for the sake of spoilers, one can replace their lost skin/limb/yada yada with someone else’s, but it’s not a permanent solution. Especially if THAT replacement is in need of regeneration.
Probably the reason why there isn’t any... uh... crystal donors? Sounds a little funky but whatever.
And that’s my take on Red Sleep!
Why did I feel the need to say this about a most definitely complete fic with no loose ends to tie up in an official sequel?
...
my oc has a prosthetic leg and i wanted to set the rules i was working with before sharing him
