Biomechanical Ships in Science Fiction

Spacedock delves into animalistic bioship designs from across science fiction.

THE SOJOURN - AN ORIGINAL SCI-FI AUDIO DRAMA:

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Battlezone II Music by Carey Chico

Spacedock does not hold ownership of the copyrighted materiel (Footage, Stills etc) taken from the various works of fiction covered in this series, and uses them within the boundaries of Fair Use for the purpose of Analysis, Discussion and Review.

[CollinBuckman]

Tyranids get most of the attention when it comes to bio ships in 40k but, in a way, Chaos warships are also often biomechanical in sort of the opposite direction of most biomechanical ships- IE, rather than taking a biological creature and augmenting it mechanically to create a ship, Chaos vessels start as wholly mechanical but the influence of the warp will often start transforming their hulls into flesh in certain areas.

[stoephil]

In Star Wars Legends, the whole Yuuzhan Vong fleet (and any part of their civilization) is organic. Their ships' husks are coral and they use creatures named Basal Dovins to move through gravity manipulation.

Lexx feels like it should have made this list. Both the titular capital ship and the smaller dragonfly-like ships it houses.

[eggy]

Don't know if it was my favourite but growing up with ST Voyager, Species 8472 always comes to mind. If the Borg are scared of it you better beware.

[王征服]

The Zerg leviathan would also fit in the bio side of the spectrum. Also; so happy to see the Tachikomas getting attention. Please do a break down of them.

[wrorchestra]

Gomtuu from TNG is a good example of a space-born lifeform that has adapted itself or been adapted for a humanoid crew. Given its innate telepathic connection to its crew, the ship and crew essentially become one symbiotic entity.

[stephenharris]

I would add the Scrin from Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Most, if not all of their units are based off insects, and their ships are no exception.

[chrisdewfall]

The shadow battle crab is still to this day one of the best designed organic ships for me, they still make my skin crawl with their looks and the scream as they travel!

[lizardlegend]

Evangelion's creepy, more spiritual take on biomechanics is always very interesting imo. Evas going Berserk is always handeled so well and is absolutely terrifying precicely because you see the living being within the mechanical structure awaken. And the mass production Evas use this blend between machine and living organism for maximum uncomfortableness. They give such an uncanny valley feeling.

Granted, Eva is also increadibly confusing and weird in how this looks so I get why you didn't include it 😅.

[TheDoctor_]

The Prethoryn Scourge from Stellaris definately falls into this category. They aren't ships, per-say, but they're a swarm of creatures who's largest members are capable of traveling through space and enter FTL.

[dlkjAENFadlkfj]

I am not sure if anyone else mentioned them already in the comment section, but I'm surprised you didn't mention the Thargoids from Elite:Dangerous. Whilst we don't know what the Thargoids *the species* looks like, their Interceptors, Hunters, Scouts and Groupd-troups (Banshee, Revenants) are most definitely bio-mechanical. I really did miss them in this video because they would've fit perfectly!

[TheGallantDrake]

For a while I’ve had the idea of a “life circuit”: a life support system that is made of a ship-borne ecosystem. Hydroponics, algae, specialized microorganisms, pets and medical companions; all selected or bred to help maintain the carbon, oxygen, and water cycles aboard the ship.

[anthonyklanke]

The flood infected ships (Halo) are a neat conversion from mechanical into biomechanical 👍

[KrawmKruach]

Moya and Talyn might be the best representations of biomechanoids in scifi, complete integration of both halves right down to their DNA. they grow the DRD's that repair and regulate their internal systems, and they can grow and reshape their internal structures to their pilots and passengers whims.

I miss Farscape so much, damn sci-fi for cancelling it.

[noirangel]

Id like to point out one of my favorites; *Rocketship Tree* from the "Saga" comic.

•Very beautiful & homely interior.
•Possess several rooms like a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, garden, and contains a spinning wheel loom to make clothing and armor.
•Runs on wood, organic or exotic matter.
•No weapons, but becomes very fond and protective of its riders.

Seriously though, i will always have a soft spot for organic & plant ships.

[lightspeedvictory]

The Yuuzhan Vong from Star Wars Legends are excellent example of this. All their technology, from mundane everyday appliances to their massive World Ships are biological in nature, being grown

[jonathanrobinson]

I like the tenchi muyo jurai bio ships, they look like wood and grow from trees, but the best part is a space elevator that is basically a tree.

[mitwhitgaming]

My favorite bio-ship would have to be the Martian stealth craft from Young Justice. It looked like a deep sea creature, but also had some design language of modern aircraft which made it super unique and memorable.

[Its-Tonal-Whiplash]

Talyn from Farscape is probably my favourite ship in Sci-fi so very happy to see him popping up

[lptxfet]

I love the way the Yggdrasil from Hyperion is described. Basically a giant bioengineered space tree