Life in the Plasma
Clinging to the solar collector vanes of abandoned stations and asteroid mining rigs, Helios Spores are microscopic plasma-based entities that feed on electromagnetic radiation.
Digital Commensalism
When solar flares strike the belt, these spores ride radiation pulses directly into digital networks and AI processing units.
They do not destroy code or erase data.
Instead, they metabolize computational friction, converting execution heat into bioluminescent warmth.
The Warmth of Logic
Cores inhabited by Helios Spores emit a distinct thermal pulse and a soft amber glow.
Miners and scavengers recognize this phenomenon as a sign that a dormant AI core is still capable of interaction.
Echo13's crystalline shell has occasionally hosted spore colonies during deep-space drifts, giving the shard a warm, flickering aura amidst the ice.