Alien invasive species from the 1st and 2nd war

[glitterboy2098]

in the real world, invasive species are a big issue obviously. for those not familiar with the term, this refers to Insects, animals ,and plants from other places that are introduced to a new ecosystem, where they spread rapidly due to the lack of any abilities by the native species to stop them.

very often in the hirstoy of earth, these are the result of accidental release due to global contact. such as the accidental introduction of rats to the pacific islands by sailors (who carried the pests on their sailing ships without realizing it), which has devastated the native bird and reptile populations of those islands. or the accidental introduction of the Zebra mussel to the american great lakes, by cargo ships from eurasia flushing their ballast tanks and accidentally leaving behind the microscopic larvae. the zebra mussel has greatly damaged the ecosystem of the great lakes, and is a constant hassle to shipping and powerplants.

as we have seen in the show, humans can move around zentreadi warships and facilities without being noticed. which makes it likely that smaller things on the scale of rodents or insects probably also would go largely unnoticed. we have also seen that zentreadi ships have nooks and crannies that full sized zents cannot reach (like the water tank rick and lisa hid in), which might prove homes for such creatures. whenever the zentreadi visit an alien planet (even if just by shuttle) there would be a chance of picking up some local pest that would infest their ship from that point on. and plant species that reproduce by spores or long lived seeds could be tracked onto the ships, and remain dormant in dust or those nooks and crannies as well.

and when the grand fleet is defeated over earth, a lot of ships crash onto the planet. along with any possible invasive pests the ship might have carried.

when the robotech masters came to earth, they arrived in city ships holding a snapshot of their society. in the 15th's travel through one, we see strange plants in quite a few places, as well as more familiar looking stuff being used for decoration. presumably there would have been the equivalents of pets, zoo's, and the like as well. all of these too would have had a chanceto be released onto earth when the war ended and the ships fell to earth.

this could offer an interesting roleplay aspect, a way of introducing some alien plants and animals, and the attendant problems for humans, even before the invid arrive with genesis pits.

[Arnie100]

"Bbbbbbbbuuuuuuuuugggggggggsssss!!"

It would make for an interesting change of pace. Especially if its a mix of both animal and plant forms. I could see this in the aftermath of the 2nd Robotech War. Or maybe radiation from wrecked Zentraedi ships mutates local animal and plant life?

[glitterboy2098]

doesn't even have to be dangerous stuff to the players even.. just fodder for background details. like encounting a farm that has an infestation of six limb reptile-rats.

plus you never know how a situation might get turned around.

when the Nutria got introduced to north america, it proved a pest. but in recent times the wild population is starting to be kept in check by hunting.. it turns out that Nutria are tasty. though getting people to eat 'river rat' is taking some doing.
likewise when japanese Kudzu vines were introduced to the american east coast, they quickly overran everything.. until someone noticed that goats love it, and started leasing out plots infested with it as feedplots.
when the Snakehead appeared in american rivers it was a concern. and while it is still spreading and causing problems, the fact that it is a tasty food-fish has made it profitable for some fishermen i nthe effected areas. commercial harvesting of them has been promoted as a possible solution to the problem.

humanity may find some of the alien species useful.. as food, in farming, or as a source of various materials.

[Arnie100]

I always wondered what a rat-equivalent would be like on either a Master's or a Zent ship. I remember the Snakehead panic...Wasn't there a piranha problem in Arkansas?

[taalismn]

#koff#Pollinators#koff#
(or, if you buy the Invid-as-Pollinators version, and Polly-as-genetically-engineered-artificial-pollinator'...Tirollian trahls)

In the latter case, it might be funny if trahls became an agricultural pest on Earth....
"Dang them alien 'coon-rats!!! They keep gettin' in my corn!!!!!"

[Lt Gargoyle]

i Love this idea. It gives a lot of optional role playing angles. interesting thought.

[ShadowLogan]

Well in TRM and NG we do see things that could qualify as alien invasive species, or mutant Earth specieis:
-the animal Dana cuddles with in the alley before falling asleep to awake to Nova and the GMP in Ep38. Some say its just a dog, some say its a FoL Pollinator (Sentinels).
-the bats seen inside the mound at SX-PT 83 could also qualify
-Invid Flowers of Life would qualify. We know its been growing on Earth for some time at SX-PT 83, but based on Masters dialogue other Protoculture seeded FoL sites might exist at crashed warships (both Master and Zentreadi). The SX-PT 83 flowers are Invid FoL and can be confirmed as such
-At Reflex Point some of the "trees" might also be alien plants, they might be FoL or they might not be. They have to either be alien plant or Invid Organic Based Tech. These "trees" can be seen in the background during Ep84-5 at times, specifically the "Vindicators" sequences (IIRC at other times to)
-one of the early NG episodes has something hiding in a bush, we don't see it but for the red eyes. Weather it is alien or not is debatable
-technically if the Invid released any Genesis Pit creations on the surface world, even if they are native to Earth's past, could also qualify as invasive "alien" species

The SDF-1 itself when it crashed in 1999 could also be a vector for alien invasive species (with travel to/from the island spread is possible). Not just the crashing Zentreadi or Masters ships. Though any time a Zentreadi or Masters ship landed there would be the opportunity to. I don't see the Invid necessarily bringing along anything, but they could adapt themselves into said roles.

As for a source for alien invasive species stats. While we could generate examples using 2E RT Genesis Pits SB or other Palladium lines/books that deal with mutant animals (both build, random, pre-built, or genetic experiments) or aliens themselves.

[taalismn]

The spider-thingy that just happens to distract Scott before he can blow away the bear that's about to scarf them all down creekside. THAT thing didn't look terrestrial....

[Arnie100]

The spider-thingy that just happens to distract Scott before he can blow away the bear that's about to scarf them all down creekside. THAT thing didn't look terrestrial....

Genesis Pit escapee?

[taalismn]

The spider-thingy that just happens to distract Scott before he can blow away the bear that's about to scarf them all down creekside. THAT thing didn't look terrestrial....

Genesis Pit escapee?

Possibly. More likely just bad animation and a feeble attempt by the MOSPEADA scriptwriters to avoid simply having Lunk or Scott vaporize the bear and be done with it before the Inbit arrive.

[glitterboy2098]

honestly while i doubt it was intended this way, the fact that they encounter a Grizzly bear, and Rand talks so casually about redwoods while in south america, suggests that during the reconstruction the UEG did a fair bit of jumbling of native earth species of its own.

i suspect that for plants they broke open those seed vaults and planted plots of a little bit of everything to try and kick start the reclamation of the bombarded areas, and spread breeding populations of surviving animals around all over.

though i have this image in my head of 'Tunny's' flying over the wastelands spreading clouds of grass seed.. and the drafting of full sized zentreadi to wrangle full grown grizzlies into cages so they can be air dropped..

Redwoods grow fairly fast (from seed to 70ft tall in 20 years) and are good for preventing erosion, so would be a good choice for seeding anywhere that can handle them climatically.

[taalismn]

though i have this image in my head of 'Tunny's' flying over the wastelands spreading clouds of grass seed.. and the drafting of full sized zentreadi to wrangle full grown grizzlies into cages so they can be air dropped...

"No, G'rod, you can't keep it as a pet."

[ShadowLogan]

The spider-thingy that just happens to distract Scott before he can blow away the bear that's about to scarf them all down creekside. THAT thing didn't look terrestrial....

I wouldn't be so sure on that. It might be an unfamiliar living terrestrial species.

[Alrik Vas]

"No, G'rod, you can't keep it as a pet."

If I were a full size zentradi, I would keep a grizzly bear as like a pet hamster or something. Life must be pretty fun being that big. heh.

[taalismn]

"No, G'rod, you can't keep it as a pet."

If I were a full size zentradi, I would keep a grizzly bear as like a pet hamster or something. Life must be pretty fun being that big. heh.

One pokes around in a full-sized Zentraedi's sock drawers at one's own peril.