Is Fain Ecology a Chiral Ecology?

[Dofurion]

Well, to start, it is good to be clear about the concepts.

• What is Fain ecology? 

The Fain ecology is one of the two types of ecologies existing on Yolen. It includes the Sho-Del (occupying the same ecological niche as humans) and the dragons.
The other ecology is the Trune, which we would call the normal ecology.

• What is Chiral?

Chirality is a property of certain molecules and objects that means they cannot be superimposed on their mirror images.
Example: Your left hand and your right hand are mirror images of each other, but no matter how you twist or turn them, they will never be exactly the same.

In chemistry, many organic molecules are chiral. This property is very important because chiral molecules can interact differently with other chiral molecules. They can be classified into 2:

1. Levogyros: They deflect polarized light to the left
2. Dextrogyros: They deflect polarized light to the right

In Earth chemistry there is a trend, amino acids are almost exclusively levogyros and sugars and DNA (and RNA) are dextrogyros.

Okay, now that we've got the concepts out of the way, let's get to the heart of the matter. Why do I think Fain ecology is a chiral ecology? Or rather, why do I think it's an ecology with a chirality opposite to normal?

To begin with, the reason I made the connection in my mind was because the potential effects of the proliferation of inverted chirality organisms in our world are very similar to the situation we know existed on Yolen.
Anyone who came into contact with such life forms risked dying from a kind of poisoning. It's very similar to what a chiral molecule could do to organisms by "derailing" protein processes and other biological functions.

This may be relevant considering that Sanderson studied biochemistry at university before devoting himself full-time to writing.

This resolves many doubts:

• This is why fainlife is deadly to trunelife (conventional ecology)
  • The reverse should also be the same.
• Why is it considered something so different, after all even the Kandra and the Singers are not something so different from what we could find in our ecology.

 

[dezaS Hᴇ/Hɪᴍ]

38 minutes ago, Dofurion said:

• Why is it considered something so different, after all even the Kandra and the Singers are not something so different from what we could find in our ecology.

 

um, not the Kandra (that would be rather impossible based on the simple reason that they are sentient blobs of collected tissue but I see your point

[Treamayne]

4 hours ago, Dofurion said:

Okay, now that we've got the concepts out of the way, let's get to the heart of the matter. Why do I think Fain ecology is a chiral ecology? Or rather, why do I think it's an ecology with a chirality opposite to normal?

To begin with, the reason I made the connection in my mind was because the potential effects of the proliferation of inverted chirality organisms in our world are very similar to the situation we know existed on Yolen.
Anyone who came into contact with such life forms risked dying from a kind of poisoning. It's very similar to what a chiral molecule could do to organisms by "derailing" protein processes and other biological functions.

Keep in mind that Fain Life has changed with the various versions of Dragonsteel. In Dragonsteel Prime, Fain is very different from the Skullmoss and other Fainlife described in things like Liar of Partinel. So, we do not know exactly how Fain Life will be in-canon when those stories are finally written (but we did see a Kandra interact with a Sho Del).

That said, I can see your theory fitting the Second Iteration of Fain Life, as seen in Liars of Partinel (and the associated WoBs).

Hope that helps

[Quantus he/him]

Having just watched the Death Stranding 2 trailer, I thought this would be a whole other conversation.  

 

The polarized Light bit caught my attention.  But lets back up for a sec, what do we know about Fain life that is Canon?  Im counting recent WOB's that he seems committed to but really just not the explicitly non-canon prime stories. Yolen had both ecosystems

 

• Fain is an Invasive Ecosystem

• Fain life is characterized by 6 limbs.
• Dragons are of Both? (per info in the Isles of Emberdark preview)
• The Fain Ecosystem is Colorless.  
  • [Non-plot related WoT reference]
    Spoiler

    Something was described as "Timid, like a Fain animal seeing the Colorful world for the first time."  

 

So that's where Im at, I've always been fascinated but confused by the role of Color in the broader Realmics and Investiture, from how the Dawnshards cause a Vibrancy aura just like Breaths to how some plants in Shadesmar are occasionally full color while most are greyscale.  Also the role Color-drain plays in Awakening, since it's not the investiture Key (like metal or Aon shapes) but also not the source of investiture itself. 

Sooo... Any thoughts?

[Dofurion]

On 3/12/2025 at 9:06 AM, Quantus said:

• Dragons are of Both? (per info in the Isles of Emberdark preview)

I think I saw this statement in a WoB, but couldn't find it again.

On 3/12/2025 at 9:06 AM, Quantus said:

The Fain Ecosystem is Colorless. 

Yes, aesthetically, Fainlife is very reminiscent of the wastelands associated with the Eldrazi in Magic, with grey and whitish tones.

On 3/12/2025 at 9:06 AM, Quantus said:

Sooo... Any thoughts?

Another thing I wanted to mention, but didn't know how to put it in the original post is that: If they are chiral organisms, then it also explains (or rather, the possibility) of the existence of human beings immune to fainlife (as Hoid would be during his time in Yolen (hence the white hair)). Unlike the other theory that was being considered, that they were life forms based on Silicon.

Edited March 13, 2025 by Dofurion
Cilice to Silicon

[Quantus he/him]

3 hours ago, Dofurion said:

 

Another thing I wanted to mention, but didn't know how to put it in the original post is that: If they are chiral organisms, then it also explains (or rather, the possibility) of the existence of human beings immune to fainlife (as Hoid would be during his time in Yolen (hence the white hair)). Unlike the other theory that was being considered, that they were life forms based on Cilice.

Sorry, you lost me. Can you elaborate?

[Dofurion]

1 hour ago, Quantus said:

Sorry, you lost me. Can you elaborate?

Sorry, I put Cilice instead of Silicon.
It's basically one of the theories of extraterrestrial life, life forms based on silicon, due to the chemical similarities between silicon and carbon. Silicon can replace it in many cases.
Therefore, it's also one of the candidates to explain the strangeness of fainlife. But if that were the case, the existence of humans capable of living within that ecosystem would be even more complicated to explain.

Example:

Quote

 

Edited March 13, 2025 by Dofurion