Plot
Set in the Humanx Commonwealth, Prism is a unique planet because its ecosystem contains both silicon-based and carbon-based life. Evan Orgell, a management troubleshooter sent to Prism to investigate the disappearance of a research group, finds himself fighting for his survival in this strange crystalline environment after his specialized environment suit succumbs to the local elements. Leaving behind his mechanized suit, Evan is for the first time in his life exposed to a hostile environment without the protection of his suit and must rely on the unexpected help of the native sentient life to survive.
The Humanx Commonwealth is a fictional interstellar ethical/political entity featured in the science fiction novels of Alan Dean Foster. The Commonwealth takes its name from its two major sapient species, who jointly inhabit Commonwealth planets and administer both the political and religious/ethical aspects. They are the mammalian Humans of the planet Earth and the insectoid Thranx which dwell upon Hivehom. The Commonwealth is described as a progressive, well-intentioned liberal democracy spanning many star systems, and is somewhat similar to the United Federation of Planets from Star Trek. The Humanx Commonwealth is notable for its portrayal of a human–alien relationship that is not just mutually beneficial but symbiotic, allowing an amalgamation of the two species.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one-another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and other microbes.
Silicon is a chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard and brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre; and it is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic table: carbon is above it; and germanium, tin, and lead are below it. It is relatively unreactive. Because of its high chemical affinity for oxygen, it was not until 1823 that Jöns Jakob Berzelius was first able to prepare it and characterize it in pure form. Its melting and boiling points of 1414 °C and 3265 °C respectively are the second-highest among all the metalloids and nonmetals, being only surpassed by boron. Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, but very rarely occurs as the pure element in the Earth's crust. It is most widely distributed in dusts, sands, planetoids, and planets as various forms of silicon dioxide (silica) or silicates. More than 90% of the Earth's crust is composed of silicate minerals, making silicon the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust after oxygen.
With the help of a caterpillar-like creature named A Surface of Fine Azure-Tinted Reflection With Pyroxin Dendritic Inclusions (which Evan chooses to call simply "Azure", much to his strange new friend's disappointment) he must grow to overcome his prejudices, his assumptions, and his preoccupations to relearn what life, communication, companionship, government, and even his own bodily form mean to him. He and his new-found friends must overcome multiple treacherous acts by his own race in order to survive and thrive on the beautiful, but deadly, planet.
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A prism is a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light.
Nor Crystal Tears is a science fiction novel by American writer novel by Alan Dean Foster, first published on 12 August 1982. Foster's ninth book set in the Humanx Commonwealth, it is a first-contact story about the meeting of the insectoid Thranx and Man. This sets in motion the creation of the Humanx Commonwealth; the political body that is the union of human and thranx society which forms the foundation for many of Foster's science-fiction novels.
GURPS Humanx is a sourcebook for GURPS.
The Tar-Aiym Krang (1972) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. It is Foster’s first published novel and started both his Humanx Commonwealth universe and his two most popular recurring characters, Pip and Philip Lynx ("Flinx"). The book is second chronologically in the Pip and Flinx series.
Bloodhype (1973) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. The book is eleventh chronologically in the Pip and Flinx series, though it was written second; the main characters since they only appear in the last third of the book. Foster originally started the novel as a stand-alone work, but was encouraged by his publishers to include the characters from his previous novel. In the series, it falls after Orphan Star, where Flinx meets the aliens who build him his ship, the Teacher.
Flinx in Flux (1988) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. The book is fifth chronologically in the Pip and Flinx series.
Sliding Scales (2004) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. The book is the ninth chronologically in the Pip and Flinx series.
Running from the Deity (2005) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. The book is the tenth chronologically in the Pip and Flinx series.
Midworld (1975) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. It is set in his primary science fiction universe, the Humanx Commonwealth.
Voyage to the City of the Dead (1984) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster.
Phylogenesis (1999) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. It is the first novel in Foster's Founding of the Commonwealth Trilogy.
Icerigger is a 1974 science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. Like many of Foster's science-fiction novels, Icerigger takes place within his Humanx Commonwealth fictional universe. The book's two sequels are Mission to Moulokin and The Deluge Drivers.
Mission to Moulokin (1979) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. It is the second entry in Foster's Icerigger Trilogy and is a part of his ever-growing series of books taking place within his Humanx Commonwealth. The first book in the series is Icerigger, and the third is The Deluge Drivers.
The Deluge Drivers (1987) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. It is the final entry in Foster's Icerigger Trilogy of books taking place in the Humanx Commonwealth book series. The two earlier books in the series are Icerigger and Mission to Moulokin.
Flinx Transcendent is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. The book is the fourteenth chronologically in the Pip and Flinx series, and was released in April 2009. The novel is the final volume in the "Great Evil" story arc, but not the final Humanx Commonwealth novel, or even the final Flinx novel.
Quofum (2008) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster.
The sperm whale, or common cachalot, is a large toothed whale belonging to the infraorder Cetacea.
