Seran Panspermia

Seran Panspermia was the natural transfer of living Perspidomus colonies from Aron to Sera. The event introduced an isolated Mykovian biosphere to Sera and eventually produced the large chambered organisms known as glass castles.

Perspidomus originated as microscopic floating Mykovian holobionts in the nutrient-poor surface waters of Aron. Their nearly impermeable bioglass shells, internal ecosystems, and capacity for prolonged dormancy allowed a small number to survive ejection from Aron, interplanetary transit, atmospheric entry, and establishment on Sera.

Pre-adaptation to space

Perspidomus did not evolve for space travel. Their ability to survive interplanetary transfer resulted from adaptations originally used in the ocean and upper atmosphere.

Important pre-adaptations included:

• Impermeable water and gas-retaining shells
• Extreme metabolic dormancy
• Cytoplasmic vitrification
• Resistance to ultraviolet radiation
• Efficient genomic repair
• Redundant ecological populations
• Self-repairing mineral layers
• Small body size
• Resistance to freezing and pressure loss

Ejection from Aron

The direct transfer of Perspidomus into space occurred through major meteor impacts into Aron's oceans and coastal regions.

Most organisms near an impact were destroyed by heat, pressure, or vaporization. Survivors were carried within cooler outer ejecta, including:

• Droplets of seawater
• Wet sediments
• Porous rock
• Impact glass
• Mineral crusts
• Ice and condensed vapor
• Fragments of biological material

A small fraction of this material reached orbital velocity. An even smaller fraction escaped Aron and entered independent trajectories through the Hope and Fate system.

Perspidomus enclosed within rock, sediment, or impact glass were better protected during launch and transit than exposed colonies. Some remained embedded for the entire journey, while others were released gradually as their carrier material fractured.

The great abundance of Perspidomus in oceans compensated for the extremely low survival rate. Even if only a billionth of ejected colonies survived, a single large impact could place substantial numbers into interplanetary space.

Interplanetary transit

During transit, Perspidomus entered a near-complete dormant state. Their internal fluids became partially vitrified, metabolic activity fell to extremely low levels, and the outer bioglass layers acted as radiation shielding.

Interplanetary journeys between Aron and Sera take months, years, or decades depending on the trajectory. Some colonies may have remained in orbit for far longer before eventually encountering Sera.

Most Perspidomus died through radiation damage, shell fracture, internal ecological failure, or impact with other material. Surviving colonies were usually those protected within larger fragments or surrounded by several layers of minerals.

Arrival on Sera

Sera's atmosphere allowed microscopic Perspidomus and small fragments to decelerate gradually during entry. Their low mass and high surface area to volume ratio limited heating compared with larger fragments.

The outer atmosphere of Sera is rich in water vapor, ammonia, acetylene, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, and other reduced compounds. Although these substances provided abundant water, carbon, and nitrogen, they were chemically dangerous to unprotected critters.

The Perspidomus shell allowed the colony to remain isolated while descending through the atmosphere. Most arriving colonies remained dormant until they encountered cooler conditions.

Successful early habitats included:

• Cool cloud layers
• Condensation droplets
• Shaded highlands
• Caverns
• Porous volcanic rocks

Perspidomus landing in hotter regions generally remained dormant or died unless transported into a cooler refuge.

Seran establishment

After reactivation, Perspidomus opened selective intake structures and began importing water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, minerals, and simple organic compounds.

Incoming material was passed through filtering tissues before entering the internal ecosystem. Hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, excess ammonia, hydrocarbons, and toxic minerals were bound or neutralized.

The internal Fosozoi restored oxygen production and supported diaminose synthesis. Decomposer and nitrogen-processing populations resumed internal recycling. Once sufficient resources had accumulated, the colonies began producing daughter Perspidomus.

Early Seran life

The first Seran descendants remained small and retained the enclosed pellet form. They divided into several major ecological clades filling the clouds, rain, and underground and cold regions of the surface. The largest and most diverse of these became known as the glass castles.

Glass castles

A glass castle is a large chambered Mykovian colony descended from larger Perspidomus. Glass castles range from small glassy structures to structures several kilometers across. The largest of these strctures being located in the Mera Ciralaro canyon, and is roughly 304.4 kilometers1.59 Sytocahr in surface area and several kilometers high depending on the area, and is appropriately named the Mera Castle.

The earliest glass castles formed when neighboring colonies fused their shells and tissues. Compartments remained isolated but began exchanging water, nutrients, gases, and other material through controlled channels.

A mature glass castle may contain millions of internal chambers. Most are microscopic or small, but many older structures possess cavities large enough to contain macroscopic organisms. The largest known chambers are capable of housing populations of Aronian-sized Zoavia and were used during the Seran Colonization missions during the 1970s before the Kertari Meteor was detected.

Internal ecosystems

Large glass castles support ecosystems far more complex than the original Perspidomus ecosystems.

Some chambers contain exposed minerals and microbial films. Others contain liquid water, humid air, photosynthetic tissues, or dense Mykovian growth. Over time, organisms descended from Provista that originally hitched rides inside the Perspidomus as parasites grew to be Zoavian-like.

Many Seran organisms cannot survive direct exposure to the external atmosphere. Their entire evolutionary history occurred within the enclosed environments maintained by glass castles.

Adaptation to Sera

Seran Perspidomus and glass castles evolved numerous adaptations to Sera's hot and hostile atmosphere.

Their shells became more reflective and resistant to hot water, ammonia, sulfur compounds, and repeated heating and cooling. Many developed layered aluminosilicate walls reinforced by structural proteins and membranes.

External tissues evolved selective intake systems capable of distinguishing useful compounds from dangerous ones. Carbon dioxide, water, ammonia, and selected hydrocarbons could be imported, while hydrogen sulfide and excessive ammonia were diverted into isolated chemical-processing chambers.

Thermal regulation became one of the primary functions and limitations of large glass castles. Reflective surfaces reduced heating, while dark infrared-emitting ridges released internal heat. Water was circulated between deep reservoirs and cooler outer radiator structures.

Discovery

The existence of Seran life was first suspected during the 1920s when Keri Herschel looked at Sera and saw bizarre reflective and refractive features. Originally they were mistaken for Seran cities, but later studies and flyby's revealed they were not the result of an intelligent species.

Orbital surveys found that some structures extended for kilometers and contained large internal spaces. Later exploration during the Seranii missions confirmed their biological origin and their descent from Aronian Perspidomus.

The discovery established that Sera's biosphere was not independently originated but represented an ancient extent of Aron's Mykovian life.