Legion Physiology

[Metal Spiral]

I've been curious about a few things regarding the Legion for a while. I've narrowed it down to these questions.

1) How do they move? Every time I see them depicted, their legs are rooted into the ground. Do they usually have feet that can be turned into roots, or do they just set root whenever they're on soil and are idle?

2) What kinds of plant-like abilities are they supposed to have besides their dreaded contagion? Assuming that their feet can be turned into roots as above, does this mean they can perform similar feats with the rest of their bodies? Like growth, for example. Do they have plant-like perceptions as well?

3) It was mentioned before that they operate on a hive mind. More specifically, though, what does this mean to an individual? Does each one think and behave as if one single being with multiple appendages, or does each one have a free will of sorts, but naturally considers oneself to be insignificant to the whole group? In other words, I'm asking about how they tend to behave as individuals - are all thinking as one (like ants or bees) or does each have a sense of self (with their own desires and traits)? I'm also curious as to how they tend to interact with each other.

4) Also on the topic of the individual, every one I've seen looks drastically different from every other. Such varying features have included additional appendages, like petals or vines, inconsistencies in body sections, like patches of bark and those yellow glob-things, and differences in body shapes and colors of eyes and "hair." My question is, how much diversity is there in these features? How are these features determined, and how much of the original features tend to be preserved?

5) Last question - Are they capable of reproducing on their own? Many plants are even capable of asexual reproduction, and sometimes a new plant can be formed from a broken-off piece of another.

Thanks for your time.

[RollingEye]

I'm betting that almost all of these questions can be answered with one question: Have you played Zerg?

[Metal Spiral]

I'm betting that almost all of these questions can be answered with one question: Have you played Zerg?

As in StarCraft? No.

[Wraith]

1) How do they move? Every time I see them depicted, their legs are rooted into the ground. Do they usually have feet that can be turned into roots, or do they just set root whenever they're on soil and are idle?

Normally Legion have feet that look relatively normal, they just have the ability to take root when they need to absorb nutrients. They're also photosynthetic, but taking up root fills them up better and is required at least once a day.

2) What kinds of plant-like abilities are they supposed to have besides their dreaded contagion? Assuming that their feet can be turned into roots as above, does this mean they can perform similar feats with the rest of their bodies? Like growth, for example. Do they have plant-like perceptions as well?

Generally, most have grappling vines that can be used to infect targets, and the infection can be turned off if desired. In addition, they are photosynthetic and don't need to eat, though they do need to absorb nutrients through other means. Many kinds of legion can also cause plants to bloom over an area, and while lower-level legion can generally only do so to beautify an area, other types can create useful flora that serves as bridges, shelters, and even replacements for appliances that would normally be machine-made.

3) It was mentioned before that they operate on a hive mind. More specifically, though, what does this mean to an individual? Does each one think and behave as if one single being with multiple appendages, or does each one have a free will of sorts, but naturally considers oneself to be insignificant to the whole group? In other words, I'm asking about how they tend to behave as individuals - are all thinking as one (like ants or bees) or does each have a sense of self (with their own desires and traits)? I'm also curious as to how they tend to interact with each other.

Originally, Legion operated as a single mind on each planet controlling multiple legion, but when the war ended, the Legion all gained individuality. They think as their own people now, with their own wants and needs, but legion from the same planet are still linked telepathically and make important decisions as a group. Usually, legion from different planets get along fine, but sometimes rivalries can flare up.

4) Also on the topic of the individual, every one I've seen looks drastically different from every other. Such varying features have included additional appendages, like petals or vines, inconsistencies in body sections, like patches of bark and those yellow glob-things, and differences in body shapes and colors of eyes and "hair." My question is, how much diversity is there in these features? How are these features determined, and how much of the original features tend to be preserved?

There are three reasons for variance in Legion forms. The first is the queen under which the legion was created. A Queen Legion is a more powerful, bustier version of a legion and their appearance is somewhat based on what they looked like before their transformation. All legion that come from that queen will bear at least a slight resemblance to their queen. The second reason is their specific legion type. There are four tiers of legion for most queens, the Queen herself, her Princesses, the priestesses, and the soldiers. Many times the lower ranks are divided even further, into fighters, engineers, pilots, terraformers, and the like. Each class of legion has a look that differs depending on their function. The final reason a Legion may look different is the power of their "mother". The Legion that converts them usually has only the power to create a legion of the same class or a class under theirs, and usually creates an identical legion. However, the transformation may be incomplete depending on the power level of the "mother", and they might retain some of their original features, or features that are between the original and "mother" versions.

5) Last question - Are they capable of reproducing on their own? Many plants are even capable of asexual reproduction, and sometimes a new plant can be formed from a broken-off piece of another.

Nope. They can only reproduce by infecting another. They do not, however, age, nor do they die of natural causes. If a queen happens to die, her body creates a galaxy seed, the only thing that can create a queen. The seed chooses who to infect to become the new queen. It may choose a legion or anyone else it deems worthy.

[Metal Spiral]

Ah, I see. Thanks for the information.

So, in truth, a legion student at the school might prefer to be living in a greenhouse or arboretum than a dorm room? Like a little "garden." Spooky.
And it would tend to make things difficult in extended space travel where soil and light are hard to find. Or even in deserts where there's not a whole lot of anything. Perhaps they have an alternative method of nutrition in such dire circumstances? (Fly traps? Or perhaps even the "shunned practice" of ingestion? *gasp*)

Well, I guess drinking water at least is a viable option. They still seem to have a lot of familiar organs, even some in particular that don't seem to serve much purpose (considering they only reproduce through infection, for one thing). Other than looking good, of course.

[Wraith]

Their ships are basically flying, armed plants as well. They're habitable to most life-forms and have all the nutrients a legion needs for a loooooong time.

[RollingEye]

Meh, I was close enough. SPECIFICS, SPECIFICS.

[Mephis]

Well, that actually answered quite a bit of my questions. Thanks for that Spiral (how's it going?) anyway, the ability to create something out of plants that could replace a machine is rather amusing... a van made by a legion would literally be, "Flower Power." Or your morning toast being done by .. ... some sort of plant .. toaster thing. I don't know.

[Metal Spiral]

(It's going well.) Or how about a plant blender! A plant clock! A plant space heater! A plant oven! A plant refrigerator! A plant deep fryer! A plant dune buggy! A plant air conditioner! A plant Game Boy! A plant Bunsen burner! A plant smoke detector! A plant elephant! A plant spectrometer! A plant bowling alley! A plant gas vacuum manifold! A plant fire extinguisher! A plant oil drilling rig! A plant penny-farthing! A plant diamond cutter! A plant weed whacker! A plant centrifuge! A plant nuclear power plant! A plant salad mixer...! Or even a plant Chia Pet!

Amazing!

[Xiao]

In the world of Legion, a match could set off the apocalypse.

[Metal Spiral]

In the world of Legion, a match could set off the apocalypse.

That's why they have plant smoke detectors and plant fire extinguishers.

[Xiao]

Hmm, I am guessing there are no plant hedge trimmers, lawn mowers, or weed whackers are there?

[Metal Spiral]

Eh? I said plant weed whacker! Besides, I only listed a few of the possibilities.

I find your lack of faith disturbing. *chokes with telekinesis*

[Xiao]

Eh, I just trying to be silly. Also I didn't take the time to read through all of your examples, just thought 'examples, next post...'.

[Metal Spiral]

Ah, but by doing that, you miss out on some potentially humorous or enlightening observations.
As they say, "haste makes waste." And don't I know it!

It had occurred to me that someone would probably skip them over, but meh. I had my fun.