[Space/Aliens] Reproductive Features: alien, exotic and weird ideas

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

The Martians in Stranger in a Strange Land are the same ones as in Red Planet (both by Heinlein). These Martians use r-type reproduction strategy.

Martians hatch from eggs as bouncers (Willis in RP is a bouncer). Bouncers have to survive all alone in the martian wilderness. Most don't. Bouncers are sapient but not too bright.

Bouncers who have survived long enough eventually meet up with an adult martian and are fertilized by them. The bouncers then lay eggs out in the wilderness and abandon them.

After they've laid their eggs, bouncers are taken in by adult martians. They go through a metamorphosis/pupal stage and emerge as adult martians. Adult martians are sapient and very intelligent. They have hands and acquire great psionic powers (but the latter may be from education).

Biologically, this is hard to see happening. The problem is that there's no biological reason for the 'adult' form to be so advanced. Once the 'adult' has fertilized a bouncer, it's not clear why nature would equip it with such a long lifespan or high abilities, since they apparently play little further role in the life-cycle.

If they protected the bouncers, that might be different, but lacking some such connection, there's not much obvious evolutionary pressure to bring about the 'adults'.