Bioship - in Print

In Print

• In the science fiction short story "Specialist" by Robert Sheckley, published in 1953 in Galaxy magazine, it is revealed that many galactic races are actually capable of symbiotic cooperation to become bioships, with each race forming a different part. Earth, apparently, is one of the planets inhabited by creatures that are supposed to function as FTL drives (Pushers), and, it is stated that all the conflicts and discontent of humanity are due to the fact that, while they have matured, they have nowhere to apply their true purpose. This story is perhaps the first mention of a bioship in science fiction.
• Volume 322 of the German Perry Rhodan magazine series, first published in November 1967, marks another very early appearance of the bioship concept in science fiction. The Dolans are powerful bioengineered combat spaceships that are grown from the same synthetic genetic material as their extraterrestrial commanders. Different types of bioships are a recurrent feature in later stages of the Perry Rhodan universe.
• The comic books of Alejandro Jodorowsky: the sisterhood of the Shabda-Oud use enormous dolphin-like bioships aptly called CetaCyborgs.
• Dirty Pair: Bioships are used for interstellar transport in the parts of the comics series authored by Adam Warren.
• The Night's Dawn Trilogy: the Edenist Voidhawk and Mercenary Blackhawk are both advanced bioships (the latter being a genetic tailoring for combat of the former). Both types employ mental bonding to the captain. In the case of Voidhawks this is done by both the craft and captain gestating together and maintaining mental contact during their formative years. Blackhawks however are purchased as eggs and are bonded to the buyer who will become captain when the Blackhawk matures.
• The Marvel Comics species the Sidri and the Acanti are space-dwelling sentient starship-like species. The Brood also use bioships called Starsharks.
• In the Orion's Arm Universe, bioships are the result of the convergence between biotech and drytech.
• The novels The Genesis Quest and Second Genesis by Donald Moffitt describe a starship called Yggdrasil, made from a semi-sentient Dyson tree combined with a Bussard ramjet.
• The Muir Templars in the Hyperion novels use giant Sequoia trees retrofitted as living spaceships.
• Star Wars: In The New Jedi Order series of novels, the Yuuzhan Vong used bioships made of yorik, a type of coral, because they viewed inorganic technology as immoral and blasphemous. The living planet Zonama Sekot also had bioships. Also in the Star Wars series, there was a living ship that was simply called Ship, which had fused with Pilot, the only survivor of a biotoxin attack, to become one being, playing games with itself for amusement during its thousands of years in the Great Void. It had extremely powerful weapons.
• In George R. R. Martin's Wild Card series the character Dr. Tachyon arrives on Earth in a living starship.