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I said build things just above sea level not live above it.

How and why?

Firstly, what possible reason is there to build something on land if they're never going to use it?
Secondly, how are they going to build something on land if they cannot live on land?

This is a tight race. 3 for insects, 3 for fungal / plant. And Amphibian has 1 but Aquatic has 2, if they joined together it'd be a 3 way tie.

Remember you can change your votes as many times as you want for the rest of the week.

I say fungal/vegetable. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes in space!

Exactly how is a fungal/plant creature going to work?

A plant creature, by definition, would not move. One of the defining characteristics of an animal is that it can move voluntarily. Plants cannot do this. Ergo, a plant race would be completely immobile.
Secondly, exactly what evolutionary quirk is going to result in a plant gaining the inteligence to understand space travel and quantum physics? It's not going to happen, because there is no reason for them to actualy evolve a brain. They do not need one to simply sit there and photosynthesise, ergo it would be a useless feature that only hinders the creature.
Thirdly, any plant creature is going to move really slowly. As in, so slow they wouldn't have a chance to properly react to an enemy vessel appearing before being destroyed.
Finaly, they would be utterly incapable of communicating with any other races. Why? Because plants do not have a mouth, nor will they ever evolve one along with vocal chords.

A fungus creature makes slightly more sense, since they feed by breaking down organic material around them. It's possible (though highly unlikely) that they could evolve methods of slow movement and sensory aparatus to allow them to find new areas where they could feed.
Of course, they still suffer from all the other problems associated with plant creatures.

In short, even an aquatic race would make far more sense than a plant/fungus race.

You ask how would a plant make sense. I ask how does the Horta make sense? Or all of the other rock creatures?

There's a reason it is called science fiction.

A plant creature, by definition, would not move. One of the defining characteristics of an animal is that it can move voluntarily. Plants cannot do this. Ergo, a plant race would be completely immobile.

Not true. There are at least two species of plants on Earth that are mobile. Given that this new species would be on another planet, there is nothing to suggest it couldn't move.

Secondly, exactly what evolutionary quirk is going to result in a plant gaining the inteligence to understand space travel and quantum physics? It's not going to happen, because there is no reason for them to actualy evolve a brain. They do not need one to simply sit there and photosynthesise, ergo it would be a useless feature that only hinders the creature.

We never said that this was going to develope on Earth. There may be hundreds of factor that could cause a plant to be highly intelligent and mobile.

Thirdly, any plant creature is going to move really slowly. As in, so slow they wouldn't have a chance to properly react to an enemy vessel appearing before being destroyed.

And how do you know this? Have you met any alien plants? If so, can I meet them?
Seriously, alien development can not be compared to terrestrial development.

Finaly, they would be utterly incapable of communicating with any other races. Why? Because plants do not have a mouth...

Yet there are some plants on Earth that make sounds. And not all communication is done with sound. There's sight, touch, smell, telepathy.

nor will they ever evolve one along with vocal chords.

And how do you know this? How do you know what the future holds?

It's simple, Rochey. They genetically engineered themselves. See? Problem solved.

I was not going to ever suggest that load of...

I'm kidding!

I voted fungus/plant, BTW.

Rochey wrote:

I said build things just above sea level not live above it.

How and why?

Firstly, what possible reason is there to build something on land if they're never going to use it?
Secondly, how are they going to build something on land if they cannot live on land?

They can build it under water and raise it up above. Really not hard at all considering most things float in water or are at least boyant.

As for why... you said it yourself, there are certain things that cant happen under water.

Or they could develop technology that does work under water. We can only speak from the standpoint of a species that has developed on land and makes tech on land. We have no idea what would and wouldn't be possible for a species that lives in water.

Exactly, people say it cant happen or hasnt happened thus it never will. Thats so close minded as to be unbelieveable. Us being hre now was a statisically chance yet here we are.

I have no idea how it could happpen, doesnt mean it cant.

Stitch wrote: You ask how would a plant make sense. I ask how does the Horta make sense? Or all of the other rock creatures?

Simple: a rock-like exoskeleton protecting normal biological inards.

There's a reason it is called science fiction.

Doesn't mean we should throw reality out the window.

Not true. There are at least two species of plants on Earth that are mobile. Given that this new species would be on another planet, there is nothing to suggest it couldn't move.

You're right, there are some plants that can move. To an extent.

We never said that this was going to develope on Earth. There may be hundreds of factor that could cause a plant to be highly intelligent and mobile.

The fact that this isn't happening on Earth is irrelevant. Biological laws exist everywhere, the same as the laws of physics. Evolution isn't going to give a plant a brain, for the exact same reasons plants on Earth don't have brains: they're not needed, and would thus be an unecessary burden. The only way it would work is if they were specificaly engineered by an inteligent creator.

And how do you know this? Have you met any alien plants? If so, can I meet them?
Seriously, alien development can not be compared to terrestrial development.

Yes, they can. Why? Because evolution works on the same basic principles, regardless of where you are in the universe.

Yet there are some plants on Earth that make sounds. And not all communication is done with sound. There's sight, touch, smell, telepathy.

Which, with the possible exception of telepathy, would still make them unable to communicate with the vast majority of races. Exactly how are you going to communicate with a Federation vessel if your only method of communication is based on scent?

And how do you know this? How do you know what the future holds?

Because there is no reason for it to happen. Evolution works by creatures adapting to their environment over long periods of time. Vocal chords would not help plants in any serious way, hence they would not develope them.

Let's do a summary of the image I'm getting of your plant creature:
It is mobile, and presumably fast enough to be able to react to events with the same speed as humans, thus suggesting it has legs or tentacles that allow it to move relatively quickly.
It has sensory organs, presumably including eyes.
It has a brain.
It can identify and respond to events with speed.
It works socialy with other members of its race and eventualy forms communities, and thus eventualy civilisation.
It is able to communicate with other races by sound and has vocal chords. Thus it would have a mouth-analogue, and the ability to inhale and exhale.

That is not a plant, that's an animal. By trying to make your plant-man realistic, you are removing all the defining characteristics of a plant.
Tell me, just what features of a plant do you intend this thing to actualy have?

Tsu wrote:It's simple, Rochey. They genetically engineered themselves. See? Problem solved.

To be perfectly honest, genetic engineering is the only way I can imagine such a creature existing.

Teaos wrote:They can build it under water and raise it up above. Really not hard at all considering most things float in water or are at least boyant.

If it floats, how are they going to construct it underwater? How are they going to collect the material if it floats? What would compel them to even do so?

As for why... you said it yourself, there are certain things that cant happen under water.

And just what are these floating platforms going to do all by themselves? The aquatics can't get up onto it out of the water, so what could they do with them?

Stitch wrote:Or they could develop technology that does work under water. We can only speak from the standpoint of a species that has developed on land and makes tech on land. We have no idea what would and wouldn't be possible for a species that lives in water.

By all means, please explain how a race that can only survive underwater is going to develop steam-powered vehicles, electricity, or the various other things you need to get anywhere beyond the 18th century.

Teaos wrote: Exactly, people say it cant happen or hasnt happened thus it never will. Thats so close minded as to be unbelieveable. Us being hre now was a statisically chance yet here we are.

See above.

I have no idea how it could happpen, doesnt mean it cant.

Nor does it mean it is possible. Indeed, the fact that we cannot concieve of how such a thing could occur would suggest it isn't possible. If you want to disagree, then explain how they'd achieve these feats.

I'll write out a full respoce latter when I have more time but I'll address this bit now.

By all means, please explain how a race that can only survive underwater is going to develop steam-powered vehicles, electricity, or the various other things you need to get anywhere beyond the 18th century.

Thats your problem. You assume they will follow the same technology tree we did.

Explain how it's possible to get to starships without passing through basic phases like electricity and nuclear power.

So far, you've provided no arguments at all. It's just been one big Appeal to Ignorance fallacy, stating that just because we don't know for 100% certainty that it's impossible we can't say it won't happen. You've just ignored the fact that it's flat out impossible for them to harness things like electricity, and simply stated that I'm closed-minded for not thinking they'd magicaly pull starships out of thin air.
Prove how they can get to the stage where they can build starships, or concede.

Rochey - there are plants which exhibit some mobility, and at least one fungus I can think of offhand which is completely untied to any location. I tend to think Fungus more than plant; be that as it may, here's the thing - they don't have to develop nervous systems exactly the same as ours. Since there are plants and fungi with functional senses of touch and sight (after a fashion,) why is it more far-fetched to think that these may develop to sapience on a more favorable world than the fact that a offshoot of lemurs lost their hair, stood up straight, and made slightly better tools than their chimpanzee cousins?

Let's say that on Earth, the impact never occurred which killed the dinosaurs. They might have evolved into a dominant, sapient animal race; or they might not have, since environmental pressure on the dinosaurs was by the late Cretaceous largely at station-keeping. If they didn't, but didn't become extinct, mammal life would never have progressed beyond the large rat/average ferret stage; and the next likely candidate would be sensate, motile plants.