RE: VFT evolution

Steven Klitzing (stevek@informix.com)
Tue, 13 Jun 1995 13:55:22 -0700

The Tunguska asteroid strike hit in a place where the CPs it was carrying
could not thrive, thus Earth was spared another CP invasion. The
Arizona meteor crater petrified the forest that once stood there,
and probably turned the CPs it was carrying into rock fragments as well.
Only Cape Fear, created by an impacting asteriod, could sustain the space
riding VFTs that came down with it. The VFTs, or course, originated on
Venus and left that planet when the air temperature became too hot for
proper growth.

So where did all the other CPs come from? There is a theory that this solar
system is terrorized by a rogue star named "Nemesis" that rips through our
system every 12 million years...causing mass extinctions. It is possible that
planets revolving around Nemesis break up and chunks of them fall to the earth when this happens. This explains Nepenthes, Cephalotus, Heliamphora, VFTs,
Droseras, Sarracenia, and Darlingtonia all inhabiting different regions of the
earth...simply because that's where the planetary debris came down. Okay,
so how did they survive the re-entry through the earth's atmosphere? Well,
the bottoms of the rocks they came down on where heavier than the tops of
those rocks where the lighter soil and CPs grew. Therefore, the bottoms
of the meteors heated up and created a pocket of air and for the plants
on top, much like the bow of a ship cutting through the water and making
space in the water for the rest of the ship. As the rocks approached the
final few miles above the earth, they broke up, scattering the soil and
CPs into the atmosphere. The grassy soil slowed the descent of the CPs,
and the CP leaves or pitchers acted as a parachute, reducing speed to
5 mph...enough for a soft landing. Theory yes! And totally possible!

Sources cited:

Day of the Triffids
The Dungeons and Dragons handbook
Robinson Crusoe on Mars
In Search Of
The Voyage of Ra
Kon Tiki
Chariots of the Gods

---Steve