Some assorted comments: * We can talk about a world as a sentient being (or the biosphere of a world as a sentient being) like the more spectacular interpretations of the Gaia theory, or about the biosphere as a complex system with emergent patterns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergent_behavior).
That really matters when it comes to reactions to completely new problems. A sentient can guess and try ... Of course a biological invasion does not have to be deliberate, but intent helps to make it much more effective. * Biological systems (or "biotechnology") will have a hard time going into space, let alone FTL with typical SF stardrives. The original Starship Troopers had the Bugs as a technological species. Going interstellar with biological systems MAY work with sufficiently esoteric FTL, like psionic teleportation or stargates. See the Chtorr books. On the other hand, biological systems can reproduce from very small spores, and generate a real lot of them. Again, cf the early Chtorr books. Larry Niven had this concept of solid-fuel-rocket trees. * Biological invaders could be transported (and even engineered) by technical means. George R.R. Martin's Haviland Tuf novels come to my mind (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuf_Voyaging), or some of the interpretations of the Aliens universe. * Interstellar travel implies control of massive energies, and those energies could be directed in a more immediately lethal way. Why wait for a grass to take over if you can drop an asteroid? Capture rather than destruction could be the answer. * The slow onset could be a feature, of course, using the enemies' space transport to spread spores and germs before they realize the danger. * As far as Vehicles or Space goes, the technological delivery systems for a biological invasion are little different from other space-to-surface warships. No real fun or challenge. Ships capable of developing or adapting lifeforms are a cross between large scouts, terraforming craft, and warships. That could be an interesting design. _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
