Recently a little controversial film came out called Prometheus. I have debated for along time about penning my thought of the film on this blog, as I feel so many people have a truly inaccurate picture as to what that movie actually is. As a person who once wrote a 25 page about Alien from a biological perspective, I feel I have a preeettty good idea about what Prometheus is and isn't. In any case, I absolutely loved that film and the implications of the black goo. So the above is a sketch for the first of a series I want to do that explores the possibilities of various lifeforms infected and mutated by the goo.
Here the gills have expanded along the lateral line of the of the organism become more like platelike for protection. Also, the gills are lined with micro-filaments to be able to breathe in any form of liquid. A hardened carapace of polarized silicone has replace scales allowing the organism to survive in the most adverse condition. The thick facial plate allows it to ram smaller prey at great speed shattering bones and stunning prey for the killing bite. Small spiracles along the lateral line can spray stores of acidic compounds onto attackers or anything that tries to grab it. The mouth has changed to have layers of independently moving teeth to saw through prey with even the thickest armor. Tentacles have grown from the face, however they serve a more disturbing purpose. Much like a squid each tentacle contains a barbed tip capsule. Once the organism latches on to it's prey and plunges these capsules deep in the prey. While inside the capsule explodes spreading dozens of larvae, who then travel to gastrointestinal tract of the host. Here they feed on the hosts food, organs, and even other members of the brood causing diarrhea, abdominal pain, internal bleeding, and sepsis to the host. The largest and most fit organisms then chew through the abdominal wall erupting from the core of the host in a bloody fountain, killing the the host in the process. Using their evolved gills and collapsable carapace plates to retain fluid they can then survive weeks traveling across land to the nearest body of fluid, where they feast and reproduce on local fauna. Sensitive organs line the area around the mouth picking up thermal signatures, vibration, and pheromones leading the organism towards it prey.
