| Silicon Fungus | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Binomen | N/A | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Fungoid | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Unknown | ||
| Sapience | Non-Sapient | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Mount Avalon, Oregon | ||
| Habitat | Volcanos | ||
| Diet | Parasitic | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | The X-Files | ||
A new species of parasitoidic silicon-based fungus was discovered living deep inside the volcanic bowels of Mount Avalon, in the Cascade Range, Oregon. Its origins are unknown, although it's speculated to represent an extremely ancient order of silicon-based life forms, possibly predating the development of organic life on Earth.
Biology[]
Unlike other life forms on Earth, this fungus has a silicon-based biochemistry and its metabolism is based on converting the hydrogen sulfide found in its volcanic environment, into silicon dioxide. The latter accounts for victims of the parasitoidic fungus being found with sand inside their lungs.
Like many other kinds of parasitoids, the silicon-based fungus also affects its host's nervous system, altering the host's behaviour and causing them to seek other victims to infect. When the fungus matures, it kills its host by violently erupting through the host's neck and releasing a cloud of spores. According to Dana Scully's observations, the spores need to be inhaled or ingested by another organism immediately upon release. Spores that aren't inhaled will die soon and represent no danger.
Appearances[]
- The X-Files, s02e09, "Firewalker" (1994)
Notes[]
- Early in the episode, a moving shadow is seen in footage filmed by a robot deep inside the volcanic caves, where the recorded temperature exceeded 130 °F (~ 54.4 °C), too high for human life. This suggests that there might be another life form in this environment; possibly the natural host of the fungus; although it remains unseen.
- Although it's not impossible for an organism that feeds on hydrogen sulfide to use humans as hosts, it should be noted that the human body ordinarily produces very small quantities of it. However, a grave error is committed by the episode in regards to chemistry: in the sketch that shows the creature's metabolism, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is somehow converted into silicon dioxide (SiO2), as commented by Scully. This makes no sense because sulfur (S) and silicon (Si) are completely different elements.