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Stardate 96612.9
Security Level 2 - Confidential
TO CAPT S. Bishop
CC
FROM CAPT A. Derenzis
SUBJ re: A Question about Fungus |
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Hello Sam,
I'm attaching the collective data and analyses from the away teams we sent to L Prime to provide details, but allow me to summarize them to answer your questions.
Our away teams to Doza L605 I didn't have much time to conduct their work before the situation in orbit deteriorated, however our preliminary findings point to the
cordyceps fungus being a natural part of that planet's ecosystem. While CMDR Akaela's team investigated the Xedi installation, we had other teams conducting on-site analysis of the fungus and other species to determine if they were related. Genome analysis was pretty conclusive on that front; a 96% correlation between the
cordyceps genome and other fungi species found, and a 87% correlation with other, randomly selected, species, both plant and animal. We're convinced the fungus evolved there.
We had also found a protohumanoid species which we believe is nonsapient (at least there was no sign of language or tool-making in the brief encounters), which also appears to be a suitable host for the
cordyceps - this in turn explains why the fungus spreads so readily among humanoids elsewhere.
However, we're not convinced the
ecosystem is native to Doza L605 I. Doza L605 is a young Type L Brown Dwarf, approximate age 9.2 MY, and still in its deuterium-burning phase. As you've probably realized, nine million years is nowhere near enough time for a planet to develop life in any form, much less the complex and diverse ecosystem we found. A third away team, sent to L-Prime's night side, found no evidence of life beyond some microfossils in ice. Their scans and the sole core sample they were able to take suggest that the microfossils started to appear about 500,000 years ago (error margin of +/- 10,000 years). Trapped gasses in said sample also suggest a dramatic atmosphere change at about that time, from an ammonia-heavy atmosphere to the nitrogen-oxygen mix the planet currently possesses.
The best-fit hypothesis to this data suggests that, approximately 500,000 years ago, someone came to Doza L605 and started to terraform the planet. The planet would not have had much of a lifetime ahead of it - in another million years, the brown dwarf will cease burning deuterium and L Prime will slowly freeze - but, for most civilizations, a million years might be plenty of time for a colony to grow, flourish, expand, and leave.
However, we found no evidence of habitation apart from the Xedi installation and a campsite that may have been left behind by others - possibly the nonhumanoid aliens who contracted and fell victim to the fungus some two years ago (the U.S.S.
William Ockham first encountered the fungus on a ship near Isep Xedi belonging to said aliens.). No sign of cities or even signs that cities once resided there. I suspect that something must have gone wrong with the terraforming project, forcing the unknown civilization to abandon the attempt. My feeling is that the
cordyceps fungus might be the reason for the abandonment - the ecosystem is too well developed to suggest a more fundamental failure like failing to stabilize climate or promote habitability. It is possible the fungus was once more benign, but underwent a mutation that made it the deadly organism it is today. All that said, however, the only evidence I have is the correlation between the fungus' rise and the planet's empty nature, and you know as well as I that correlation is not causation. If and when the political situation stabilizes, further studies of L-Prime might provide more concrete answers.
As to its potential use as a bioweapon; I think that is very likely indeed. Recall that neither Isep Xedi nor Parin have anything like the
cordyceps fungus on their respective worlds; so whatever natural defenses against parasites and other infections the inhabitants possess might not be enough to protect them. We know from past experience that the fungus spreads rapidly once it gets a host, and that the fungus modifies the host's behavior to actively seek out social groupings, thus increasing the rate of spread. If someone was to release fungal spores into a populated area, it is likely enough of the population would be infected to seriously cripple the city for quite some time. Neither Isep Xedi nor Parin, in my estimation, possess sufficient technology to contain an outbreak if one occurs. Worse, the long-term effects might lead to widespread societal collapse. The fungus, as is, cannot be controlled by the Xedi, the Hidrun or the Posdri - and thus poses as much of a risk to the rebel movements as to the governments they seek to topple.
Keep in mind these are largely my considered opinion based on what we know of the fungus so far; I would recommend a detailed epidemiological study by Starfleet Medical to provide possible models for infection on these planets as well as Federation worlds, as well as potential containment options for the same. But in summation, if deployed, the fungus would be all too effective as a bioweapon, and would likely destroy even the people that deployed it. But then, most bioweapons in history have always been difficult to control.
//SIGNED//
CAPT Alyx J. Derenzis
Commanding Officer / U.S.S.
Shackleton
//ATTACHMENT// DozaL605-awayteam-data.log