Csillag

Csillag is a character in The BATTLE of the CENTURY, the seventh Season Intermission battle.

Description
Csillag is a fairly representative specimen of the Progenitor strain, both in morphology and in disposition. The central body of it is a large, spherical object, coated in folded-over layers of chitin shards. A thick, intertwined network of tendrils supports the sphere, acting similarly to roots and a trunk. Both the tendrils and body are covered in a mixture of thin, spore-producing stalks, rows of barbed thorns, and gill-like slits that constantly extrude a thin liquid film. Past the body and supporting structure of the Progenitor, a thick mass of weed-like filaments extends, coating the ground and any nearby structures. Progenitors range in size-- Csillag is a medium-sized specimen, approximately seven meters in height.

Progenitors have a single-track mind at the best of times; they are devoted almost entirely the ecologies they spawn and maintaining them, similarly to how a gardener may tend and cultivate an orchard. Threats to their burgeoning ecosystems are to be removed-- however, the method of removal varies with each Progenitor. Many will drive off threats, creating cadres of apex predators to hunt intruders; others may be content to sustain walls and barriers that isolate threats from their groves, others still may take alternate approaches. Despite this, however, Progenitors are arrogant in nearly every encounter, seeing themselves as a pinnacle life-form, with their ability to be host to such momentous change. Csillag is no exception, taking the arrogance common to his kind to levels of megalomania-- it views itself and its ecosystem as the zenith of life, the perfection of genes and evolution.

Items/Abilities
The Progenitor organism, by itself, is remarkably limited in its capabilities. It is wholly sessile life-form, with twisted, root-like hyphal tendrils and filaments firmly fixing its position. The body of the organism has some degree of protection, in the form of thick chitinous plates that encompass its central body; while this protective casing offers some measure of defense, a concentrated assault would be enough to disrupt it. Progenitors have some telepathic capabilities-- enough to communicate with nearby organisms, but not enough to mentally dominate them or commit to any psychic abilities past mental communication.

The main ability Progenitors possess, however, is the capability to produce an ecosystem around themselves. From fruiting bodies embedded within cracks in their hardened crust, a mixture of fast-growing spores, molds, and biological mutagens constantly sloughs off. The spores, once in a location where they are capable of acquiring nutrients, quickly grow to form a diverse range of organisms; the organisms found can range from fungus nodules saturated with nutrients for other parts of the Progenitor ecosystem, to thick mats of mold that blanket the ground, to scuttling, crustacean-like entities. Given sufficient time, larger and more complicated life-forms may arise, past the initial pioneer variations produced-- the extent of the Progenitor ecosystem's speciation is presently unknown. The ecosystem the Progenitor produces is ultimately capable of independent growth, but is limited in the range of variations expressed and in the speed of the expansion, and thus reliant on the core organism in some aspects.

Progenitor-spawned life, at least in terms of morphological characteristics, is most readily similar to fungi. Rather than having flora similar to grasses or trees, sessile life consists of a mixture of structures-- examples include looming stalks, twisted networks of filamentous vines, or domed growths similar to fruiting bodies. Fauna tend to be largely comparable to a cross between crustaceans and mycological life; a common organism may have a hard shell, but have a mass of hyphae used to collect and absorb food and powerful tendrils for locomotion. Nearly all Progenitor life-forms feature sturdy chitinous casings, dusty red in color.

The purpose of the Progenitor's grove is twofold. On one hand, it acts as an extension of itself-- the entirety of the ecosystem acts as one organism. In the same way that an animal has an immune system, it may have vicious predators dedicated to expelling intruders; where an animal has a digestive tract, the Progenitor garden has thick mats of mold that absorb nutrients. The other purpose-- or a side-effect of their presence-- is an eventual alteration of their environment. Planets with Progenitor-spawned ecologies, found after many centuries of growth and expansion, are noticeably divergent from their expected environments.

Biography
TRANSCRIPT OF THIRRIN FACILITY INTERVIEW 05.19.239A

PRESIDING RESEARCHER DURING INTERVIEW: DR. LEWIS AEGER





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Dr. Aeger: Right, we're starting for this day-cycle. Psychic amplifier's set up, we should be able to get a solid audio recording of any telepathic impulses that are being broadcast from the specimen. Specimen in question is the anomalous organism recovered from deep-space, designated two-three-nine alpha. Focus of today's experiments will be on replicating conditions that resulted in earlier communication with specimen. Technician Williams, initiate laser pulse-- half-second cycle, intermediate power.

''There is the sound of an industrial laser firing, followed by the crackling of disintegrated flesh and cauterized carapace. The psychic amplifier apparatus begins to emit a series of distorted hisses, before changing to that of a deep, guttural voice.''

Specimen 239A: You persist in these experiments. You think yourself capable of understanding our chorus of the infinite, the song of a hundred thousand minds as one. Your despair and individuality will never allow you to grasp our magnificence. You will never hear our symphony of life.

Dr. Aeger: Specimen has responded to initial stimulus. Specimen 239A, are you willing to cooperate in this interview, or will we need to inflict additional damage?

Specimen 239A: You think yourself capable of destroying us. You believe you are capable of disrupting our unity, when you are but an ignorant insect, a disunited piece subject to discord and violence. The understanding of what it is to be one part of a whole, to know your purpose-- it is a blessing you will never receive.

Dr. Aeger: Fire the laser again, increase power to high intensity.

''The hiss of a laser is heard, similar to the last firing. The telepathy-audio translator begins to play a series of harsh screeches.''

Dr. Aeger: I think you underestimate our capabilities, Specimen 239A. At a moment's notice we are capable of utterly sterilizing your chamber, and your lack of cooperation is making me increasing curious as to whether your kind is capable of surviving a bath in thermal plasma. Do I need to act on my threats, Specimen 239A?

The speakers attached to the psychic apparatus proceed to echo with a low, rumbling laughter.

Specimen 239A: I do not know death, only change. Parts of my being, the components of our grove, they live and die but we-- we do not die. Our garden does not cease-- with every second we grow our future, our infinite chorus adds new voices.

''Alarms begin to sound, loudly blaring above the normal hum of the facility. There is a loud clicking, as a switch is repeatedly flicked at.''

Dr. Aeger: Williams, why isn't the purge system working? Why are we receiving containment breach warnings?

''Outside of the observation chamber, the clattering and scuttling of numerous organisms can be heard. The scraping noise can be heard, followed by several loud screams and the rending of flesh from outside.''

Dr. Aeger: Oh god, no, no!

Specimen 239A: Did you think that the specimens of us, the constituent parts of our whole-- did you think they were helpless? Did you think our garden could be contained? Soon this place will be cleansed by our garden, our grove will proliferate and cover these sterile walls.

Dr. Aeger: Someone, anyone, stop this--

Specimen 239A: Do not struggle! You cannot delay the inevitable! Our chorus, our song, our thrum of glorious unity, will drown you beneath our perfect--

''At this point, Specimen 239A disappeared entirely from the containment chamber. Subsequent searches of the Thirrin facility, while discovering traces of the specimen's progeny and crew, were unable to retrieve the original specimen, and its current location or fate is presently unknown.''