Often I find the best inspiration comes from nature. There are so many interesting quirks of nature out there from life forms to natural processes and many of them are easily adapted, reimagined, or expanded upon to create cool plot elements, especially in sci-fi/fantasy worlds. Recently I learned about a huge development in biology that you can read about in this article.
The gist is, a type of algae has eaten a smaller organism and incorporated the bacteria into it’s own life processes, creating a new type of organelle in the process. Last time this happened, we got plants. So it’s a pretty big turn of events. The new organelle is called a nitroplast due to its ability to fix less reactive atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into its more reactive compounds such as ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites. Don’t ask me what those are, I’m pretending to be smart here.
Anyway the fact that new organisms can develop in this way was already known, but to see it happen before our very eyes is just too cool. It’s given me several ideas for new organisms and such that I might inject into my work. How about a cell that absorbs a new organelle that can break down plastics into new nutrients that serve unknown purposes? Or one that can process metals into hardened cell walls? Or a very large organism coming along and scooping up smaller multicellular organisms to form something new? The possibilities are endless.
Thank you for reading,
Benjamin Hawley
Dangerous Day Job 