RWM – Assignment 4 (Blog Post 2 – Week 10)

The presence of mushrooms in the formation of our world Codae was greatly informed by the Cordyceps fungi found in the Last of Us series and the ways in the inevitable higher temperatures on earth to make a dystopia. In regard to the formation of a sci-fi world, scholar LoBrutto states that ‘even if all the details don’t come in to play in the [final work], they have to inform’ reminding us to fully flesh out the Codans world in week 10.

Our creative decision to have the mushroom-like inhabitants from our planet need the shade of the Arbor trees was based upon the recent news that ‘global temperature may affect the fungal evolution in unpredictable directions’. Despite being a staple of the series The Last of Us, the Cordyceps fungi is real, and being dramatically changed by the raising temperatures on earth. Whilst the fungai can currently infect bugs creating ‘zombies’, there is now a chance that it could infect humans, thus informing the visuals and story behind the war between the Codans and the trees. And thus, canonically, the Fungai now have an incentive to seek shade and assistance from the trees. The two suns present in the paintings drafts aims to hint at the need for shade.

By building the structure of the plants and animals on the planet based upon how they would evolve to survive their environment makes me feel confident in the Codans world as one that makes sense.

~ 245 Words

References:
Jones, B 2023, ‘The ‘Zombie’ fungus in the last of us, explained by a biologist’, Vox. Accessed 14 May 2023, https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/1/21/23561106/last-of-us-fungus-cordyceps-zombie-infect-humans

LoBrutto P, 2008, ‘Science Fiction 101: Tips on creating an alternate world’, Madavor Media LLC, Braintree.

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