; - You let yourself be isolated in a lone, dense galaxy. And by galaxies, you mean being stuck in a void. The only friends you have are billions of crystals, but they do not count.
You can't remember but hear the cries of your friends. Crying ou...
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The sun hung high over Green Hill Zone, casting warm sunlight over it's iconic hills and loops. The gentle hum of life surrounded you as you knelt beside a patch of moss-covered soil, a magnifying lens clutched tightly in one hand. The other hovered over the specimen before you. A curious, luminous mushroom, its cap shimmering faintly in the sunlight.
"... definitely has bio-luminescent properties… but the spores— ah, those are strange. Could they have chemical signaling potential?” You whispered to yourself.
Your thoughts raced, unraveling possibilities as the scent of earth and vegetation filled the air. For you, mycology wasn’t just a passion; it was a world of mysteries waiting to be solved. Most people couldn’t understand your obsession, but it never mattered, not when you had the mushrooms to keep you company.
“You always talk to fungi, or is today special?”
The voice startled you, and you turned sharply, only to find a familiar, small yellow fox with two spinning tails hovering in the air. Tails touched down gently, a toolbox in one hand and a bemused smile on his face.
“Well,” you recover quickly, “they’re better listeners than most people I’ve met.” You joked.
Tails giggled, setting his toolbox down beside you. “I guess I can see that. Though I’m not sure how many fungi can carry on a conversation.”
You straightened up, brushing dirt from your hands. “You’d be surprised. They communicate underground, through hyphal networks, passing nutrients and information. It’s a whole social system down there,kind of like how computers network together.”
That caught his attention. “You’re talking about mycorrhizal networks, right? The ‘Wood Wide Web?’”
“Exactly!” You grinned, pleasantly surprised. Most people glazed over when you started down this rabbit hole, but Tails’ bright eyes and eager nods urged you on. “Fungi can even exchange carbon with plants, create defensive compounds to protect their hosts, and— oh! Some species might even hold the key to breaking down pollutants in soil. They’re incredible.”
“I’ve read a bit about it,” Tails admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “I’ve been experimenting with bio-degradable fuel sources for my latest biplane design, and some of the enzymes fungi produce seemed promising.”
“Enzymes from fungi?” Your voice rose in excitement. “Which ones? Laccases? Peroxidases?”
“Laccases, mostly,” Tails said,
“They’re great for breaking down lignin, but I was wondering if they could also work on synthetic polymers. You know, like cleaning up plastic waste.”
The sheer brilliance of his suggestion left you momentarily speechless. “That’s… genius. I mean theoretically, certain fungi could adapt to synthetic polymers. Their enzymes are incredibly versatile, especially in combination with bacterial symbionts.”
