An overview of the alien biomes traversed by the Houlihan-Matsumori Expedition
From top left to bottom right:
The Glasslands (no Nun name)
Silicates dissolved in mild sulfuric acid, warmed by geothermal heat. Think living fishbowls–giant diatoms.
The Wormwood (Sokok Yo Dung—the Country of Worm Trees, Sokok Kubilon—the Uninitiated Country)
Diploid treeworms give birth to haploid workers, soldiers, and photosynthesizers, including meters-tall wormtrees.
The Toymaker Forest (Sokok Mekaletya—Country of the Small Givers)
Kelptrees crack water and oxygen into hydrogen, sugar and methane. The hydrogen they use to fill balloons for support and propagation. Ring-shaped toymaker worms colonize the wooden skeletons or larger animals, modifying them into mobile nests.
The Lighthouse Zone (Sokok Heng Tokwe–the Ground Sun Country)
Trees reflect light to shaded saplings. Under-story plants utilize piezoelectric sugar crystals and wind and animal movement to kinetosynthesize energy.
The Sweet Blood Zone, the Oasis (Sokok Ining Eng–the Ripe Blood Country)
A fast-expanding foam is colonized by plant cells. Animals contain hemoglobin-based blood, and are compatible with Earth biochemistry.
Deathwind Valley (Sokok Bou Deibokna–the Country of Death Wind)
Plants absorb oxygen and produce carbon monoxide. Animals utulize structural iron and ferrofluid muscles. Radio signals used for communication.
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Man this was a big one. Done at the Euphoria Hotel in Borovets while listening to Shipstar by Larry Niven and Gregory Benford and Gulp by Mary Roach.