Since I mentioned it at the start of the thread, I thought I might as well toss this in as well.
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Space Dandelions
The Jason's affiliation with the Musician's Aid Society (aka the Filkers) is well known. It's been rumored that if the Society does have a habitat
in the works and they name it Space Station Three, he will personally design a tree that produces basket hats of fruit...or at least all the fruits ever found
in Carmen's hats. It's also said that he has the largest personal collection of filk in Fenspace. This belief has only been reinforced by the known
fact that he once sold an Yggdrasil-class worldship hull for a collection of out-of-print Off Centaur Production
tapes, incuding Time Winds Tavern, Yankee Doodles, and Bayfilk Crazies. So when some Belters first reported seeing dandelions growing openly on scattered asteroids in the belt, the
Jason's name went immediately to the top of the list as the cause.
In appearance, the space dandelion resembles its terrestrial relative. Growing in the belt, the leaves are a much darker green, but the flowers are the usual
sunny yellow. However, a lack of atmosphere means that the usually puffball of seeds just won't work. The flowers are self-pollinating, producing a single
seed that is enclosed in a thick capsule of nutrients - both for protection and to help it establish itself. When ready to seed, the flower stalk extends and
two more chambers form beneath the seed chamber. The lowest chamber will then explode - using a similar reaction as found in the bombadier beetle. Some of the
explosions are very weak, serving only to send a seed capsule a short distance before crashing back into the asteroid and starting a new dandelion there.
However, sometimes the reaction is strong enough to overcome the microgravity of the asteroid and send the seed capsule into space. If it does not hit another
asteroid within about a month, the final capsule comes into play. Breaking open, the contents expand...until a meter-wide solar sail is exposed, with the seed
capsule tethered at the center. From there, the seed will ride the solar wind into deep space. Although the odds are infinitesimal, one day the seed capsule
might succeed in hitting an asteroid in another star system...starting the process anew.
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I'm not sure if the solar sail is of use if it's only a meter-wide, but since it only has to carry a seed capsule and not a starship, I figured it was
worth a shot. The sail is VERY thin of course, produced from minerals/metals extracted from the home asteroid. Tiny veins in the sail allow it to expand, much
like a butterfly's wings.
.
Thoughts? Silly, I know...but it seemed something I'd do.
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Space Dandelions
The Jason's affiliation with the Musician's Aid Society (aka the Filkers) is well known. It's been rumored that if the Society does have a habitat
in the works and they name it Space Station Three, he will personally design a tree that produces basket hats of fruit...or at least all the fruits ever found
in Carmen's hats. It's also said that he has the largest personal collection of filk in Fenspace. This belief has only been reinforced by the known
fact that he once sold an Yggdrasil-class worldship hull for a collection of out-of-print Off Centaur Production
tapes, incuding Time Winds Tavern, Yankee Doodles, and Bayfilk Crazies. So when some Belters first reported seeing dandelions growing openly on scattered asteroids in the belt, the
Jason's name went immediately to the top of the list as the cause.
In appearance, the space dandelion resembles its terrestrial relative. Growing in the belt, the leaves are a much darker green, but the flowers are the usual
sunny yellow. However, a lack of atmosphere means that the usually puffball of seeds just won't work. The flowers are self-pollinating, producing a single
seed that is enclosed in a thick capsule of nutrients - both for protection and to help it establish itself. When ready to seed, the flower stalk extends and
two more chambers form beneath the seed chamber. The lowest chamber will then explode - using a similar reaction as found in the bombadier beetle. Some of the
explosions are very weak, serving only to send a seed capsule a short distance before crashing back into the asteroid and starting a new dandelion there.
However, sometimes the reaction is strong enough to overcome the microgravity of the asteroid and send the seed capsule into space. If it does not hit another
asteroid within about a month, the final capsule comes into play. Breaking open, the contents expand...until a meter-wide solar sail is exposed, with the seed
capsule tethered at the center. From there, the seed will ride the solar wind into deep space. Although the odds are infinitesimal, one day the seed capsule
might succeed in hitting an asteroid in another star system...starting the process anew.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not sure if the solar sail is of use if it's only a meter-wide, but since it only has to carry a seed capsule and not a starship, I figured it was
worth a shot. The sail is VERY thin of course, produced from minerals/metals extracted from the home asteroid. Tiny veins in the sail allow it to expand, much
like a butterfly's wings.
.
Thoughts? Silly, I know...but it seemed something I'd do.