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Introduction:
What if I told you the face of every minecrafters nightmare, the Creeper, isn’t so different from the sacred mooshrooms? Would you believe me? Would you have any faith at all in my theory? Well prepare to have your minds BLOWN!
When you see one of these armless horrors of the night coming towards, you run. Why, because it will blow up in your face if you let it get too close for comforts. But what makes our green friend explode? Why does it feel the need to attack the player when it explodes? And most importantly, why is it green. The answer to all this; mushrooms.
Why They Blow Up?:
Creepers could indeed be the product of a highly evolved organism that once was something akin to the fungi genus Cordyceps. When a Cordyceps fungus attacks a host, the mycelium invades and eventually replaces the host tissue. Say after millions and millions of years of infecting a species of ant similar to Camponotus saundersi, which "self-destructs" by means of a natural self-defense process known as autothysis, the fungus develops a symbiotic relationship with the animal. For those of you who aren’t aware; autothysis is the process where an animal destroys itself via an internal rupturing or explosion of an organ which ruptures the skin. Sound familiar? Does this not sound like the all too familiar defense mechanism of our green hissing ‘friend’. Anyways, back to the fungus. This process is quite similar to the parasitoid wasps that inject venom developed over a mutual food source with a parasite of similar properties. Theoretically wasps evolved from ant-like ancestors in the cretaceous period so this shows both the fungus and the creature going through the process of co-evolution.
How We Got Here?:
Considering this, let's assume for a moment that the Minecraft world is in fact an alternate version of the Earth after the mass extinction of a previous sentient race such as humans. If the Minecraft realm indeed takes place in a time set after a species akin to humans has been wiped out entirely, this would allow other species to prosper undisturbed by humankind’s destructive touch. Obviously there would be a far larger percentage more of available oxygen in both the water and air, which would consequently (as scientific theories suggest), lead to larger animals, since they can more efficiently convert fuel and energy into growth. This would mean that the Minecraft World entered a state of ‘rejuvenation’. Also, many blatant relations between our world and the Minecraft realm can be seen. We share the same species of fauna such as cows (which in Minecraft bear a striking resemblance to our Norwegian Red Cattle and the red mushrooms (whose appearance are quite similar to those of the Amantia muscaria). These two specimens bring our two worlds closer together.
Now let’s assume given similar conditions, without humans’ intervention, evolution took a slightly different path. As I had mentioned; theoretically, without humans other animals would be able to grow larger. So what if these fungi-like organisms, say attained symbiosis with a smaller quadruped such as a pig that, for whatever reason, was at the time employing autothysis as a defence mechanism.
Assuming that instead of poison, this animal employed a method similar to the Australian bombardier beetle which produces hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide in separate glands located next to each other, and upon discharging creates a sort of explosion of corrosive material to deter attackers. Now we are getting closer to a proper match for our armless comrade. This known as a binary explosion; however the bombardier beetle doesn't actually create a fireball of destruction. Seeing that creepers drop sulfur, it can be assumed that the explosion either creates, or is a result of, sulfur and another item in said binary system.
Reproduction:
Taking into account the information above, that a symbiosis evolved with a fungi or fungi-like parasitic organism, and a creature that used this method of defense with combustible compounds, the origin of the creeper comes to light. But how do they reproduce? Just how most fungi do; they release millions of tiny spores into the air. But maybe the fungus was in fact the dominant one of the symbiotic evolution, and only gained the ability to supersede the classification of a fungus (They seem to have eyes, legs, generally different parts of a body that are similar to those of a mammalian class) by assuming the physical shape of what it uses to reproduce. The creepers are green. Perhaps the spores emitted from these explosions land on tree leaves, or grass, and the mycelium grabs nearby vegetation and forces it into the upright shape we see. Maybe each hyphae of the mycelium contains this binary explosion system, and the huge boom of a creeper is the synchronized detonation of billions of hyphae releasing the chemicals all in unison.
This system would serve a double purpose; it would allow for dispersion of the spores, and also by detonating near a threat, ensure that the spores that land nearby would be safe for a short time. With the growth rate apparently being one day (which again lends to the fungi explanation, think about mushrooms growth patterns), Killing one or two enemies would suffice to allow propagation of the entire species.
Conclusion:
So there you have it folks. Using science and not just speculation, using information we have from the game and real life; we are able to come up with a theory that is perfectly plausible for how our green friends have come into existence! Chew on that gamers!!
What if I told you the face of every minecrafters nightmare, the Creeper, isn’t so different from the sacred mooshrooms? Would you believe me? Would you have any faith at all in my theory? Well prepare to have your minds BLOWN!
When you see one of these armless horrors of the night coming towards, you run. Why, because it will blow up in your face if you let it get too close for comforts. But what makes our green friend explode? Why does it feel the need to attack the player when it explodes? And most importantly, why is it green. The answer to all this; mushrooms.
Why They Blow Up?:
Creepers could indeed be the product of a highly evolved organism that once was something akin to the fungi genus Cordyceps. When a Cordyceps fungus attacks a host, the mycelium invades and eventually replaces the host tissue. Say after millions and millions of years of infecting a species of ant similar to Camponotus saundersi, which "self-destructs" by means of a natural self-defense process known as autothysis, the fungus develops a symbiotic relationship with the animal. For those of you who aren’t aware; autothysis is the process where an animal destroys itself via an internal rupturing or explosion of an organ which ruptures the skin. Sound familiar? Does this not sound like the all too familiar defense mechanism of our green hissing ‘friend’. Anyways, back to the fungus. This process is quite similar to the parasitoid wasps that inject venom developed over a mutual food source with a parasite of similar properties. Theoretically wasps evolved from ant-like ancestors in the cretaceous period so this shows both the fungus and the creature going through the process of co-evolution.
How We Got Here?:
Considering this, let's assume for a moment that the Minecraft world is in fact an alternate version of the Earth after the mass extinction of a previous sentient race such as humans. If the Minecraft realm indeed takes place in a time set after a species akin to humans has been wiped out entirely, this would allow other species to prosper undisturbed by humankind’s destructive touch. Obviously there would be a far larger percentage more of available oxygen in both the water and air, which would consequently (as scientific theories suggest), lead to larger animals, since they can more efficiently convert fuel and energy into growth. This would mean that the Minecraft World entered a state of ‘rejuvenation’. Also, many blatant relations between our world and the Minecraft realm can be seen. We share the same species of fauna such as cows (which in Minecraft bear a striking resemblance to our Norwegian Red Cattle and the red mushrooms (whose appearance are quite similar to those of the Amantia muscaria). These two specimens bring our two worlds closer together.
Now let’s assume given similar conditions, without humans’ intervention, evolution took a slightly different path. As I had mentioned; theoretically, without humans other animals would be able to grow larger. So what if these fungi-like organisms, say attained symbiosis with a smaller quadruped such as a pig that, for whatever reason, was at the time employing autothysis as a defence mechanism.
Assuming that instead of poison, this animal employed a method similar to the Australian bombardier beetle which produces hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide in separate glands located next to each other, and upon discharging creates a sort of explosion of corrosive material to deter attackers. Now we are getting closer to a proper match for our armless comrade. This known as a binary explosion; however the bombardier beetle doesn't actually create a fireball of destruction. Seeing that creepers drop sulfur, it can be assumed that the explosion either creates, or is a result of, sulfur and another item in said binary system.
Reproduction:
Taking into account the information above, that a symbiosis evolved with a fungi or fungi-like parasitic organism, and a creature that used this method of defense with combustible compounds, the origin of the creeper comes to light. But how do they reproduce? Just how most fungi do; they release millions of tiny spores into the air. But maybe the fungus was in fact the dominant one of the symbiotic evolution, and only gained the ability to supersede the classification of a fungus (They seem to have eyes, legs, generally different parts of a body that are similar to those of a mammalian class) by assuming the physical shape of what it uses to reproduce. The creepers are green. Perhaps the spores emitted from these explosions land on tree leaves, or grass, and the mycelium grabs nearby vegetation and forces it into the upright shape we see. Maybe each hyphae of the mycelium contains this binary explosion system, and the huge boom of a creeper is the synchronized detonation of billions of hyphae releasing the chemicals all in unison.
This system would serve a double purpose; it would allow for dispersion of the spores, and also by detonating near a threat, ensure that the spores that land nearby would be safe for a short time. With the growth rate apparently being one day (which again lends to the fungi explanation, think about mushrooms growth patterns), Killing one or two enemies would suffice to allow propagation of the entire species.
Conclusion:
So there you have it folks. Using science and not just speculation, using information we have from the game and real life; we are able to come up with a theory that is perfectly plausible for how our green friends have come into existence! Chew on that gamers!!
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