Specimen 6b/35-N8: Changes since 2049/10/04

Specimen 6b/35-N8
Media
A photo taken in the Black Forest in Germany, showing police officers guarding a cordoned section with mushrooms belonging to Specimen 6b/35-N8.

A section of the Black Forest bearing the fruiting bodies of Specimen 6b/35-N8.

Kingdom

Fungi

Genus

Armillaria (disputed)

Location

Black Forest, Germany

Age

11,000+ years

Specimen 6b/35-N8, commonly knownsometimes referred to as 6b, is a giant fungus known for being the world’s most massive and oldest living organism. Located in the Black Forest in Germany, the subterranean mycelium of Specimen 6b/35-N8 stretches over an area of 5,044 square km and is estimated to weigh as much as 400,000 tonnes.

Based on its current growth rate, Specimen 6b/35-N8 is estimated to be at least 11,000 years old. This has made it the subject of ongoing environmental research, leading to debates surrounding Specimen 6b/35-N8’s supposed intelligence and ability to communicate. The publicity surrounding this discovery has made Specimen 6b/35-N8 into a worldwide cultural phenomenon, with appearances in various cartoons, memes, and parodies.

In 2049, Specimen 6b/35-N8 was attacked with a chemical agent, prompting the German government to pass an emergency order for the establishment of an armed cordon in and around the Black Forest.

Table of contents

  1. Description
  2. Taxonomy
  3. Popular culture
  4. Environmental History Experiment
    1. Communication with specimen
    2. Attack and protection order
  5. Controversies
    1. Research methods
    2. Impact on communities
  6. References

Description

Specimen 6b/35-N8 was first discovered in 2035 during an environmental survey in the Black Forest, Germany. A local conservation group noted that different mushrooms sprouting over a wide area were from the same genetic individual, with matching DNA sequences found more than 2,000 km apart.

The fruiting bodies of Specimen 6b/35-N8 were determined to have the outward appearance of other fungi, seemingly emulating the types of mushroom present in the surrounding area. Seven different appearance variations have been documented so far, including Cantharellus and Boletus edulis. It is believed that Specimen 6b/35-N8 remained undetected for so long because of this differing appearance in mushrooms, and because it does not damage the trees it connects to, unlike the “Humongous Fungus” discovered in the late 20th century.

Specimen 6b/35-N8 has an enormous and complex subterranean mycelium that is known to stretch across an area of 5,044 square km, almost the entirety of the Black Forest. The exact weight of the specimen is unknown, with estimates ranging between 302,500 and 460,000 tonnes. Based upon growth rate and environmental factors, Specimen 6b/35-N8 is believed to be at least 11,000 years old, making it the world’s oldest living organism.

Taxonomy

A photo of yellow mushrooms resembling chanterelles in a section of the Black Forest in Germany.

The fruiting bodies of Specimen 6b/35-N8 resemble different types of mushroom, such as Boletus edulis.

The taxonomy of Specimen 6b/35-N8 is the subject of unresolved debate. Due to its unique characteristics, some mycologists argue that it represents a new taxonomic family, perhaps the only one of its kind. Others place Specimen 6b/35-N8 within the Armillaria genus due to its size and the dark rhizomorphs that can be observed on the trunks of trees. They argue that its advanced age and unusually high mutation rates have allowed it to diverge extensively, but that the ancestral spore originated from Armillaria.

Previous giant fungi discovered in the late 20th century were parasitic, acting as a destructive forest pathogen. In contrast, Specimen 6b/35-N8 has a symbiotic relationship with trees and woody plants. It has an independently evolved ectomycorrhizal relationship with the plants and trees in the area it covers. Despite extensive studies, it remains unclear how this symbiosis functions, with the leading theory likening the relationship to other mycorrhizal associations found between fungi and plants.

Popular culture

A cartoon rendering of Beebee, an anthropomorphised mushroom with a benign appearance.

The title character from Beebee the Talking Mushroom.

6b has inspired a wide range of books, documentaries, and portrayals in fictional media. Most notable is the animated show Beebee the Talking Mushroom, which first aired in 2044 and quickly found an audience among both children and adults.

The show’s message of environmentalism and caring for nature has led to the title character becoming a symbol for environmental causes. A number of viral memes depicting Beebee crying or angrily protecting the world further propelled the character into becoming “a worldwide phenomenon on a par with Zōng.” [1]

In 2045, the Mushroom Mind Challenge went viral across social media, finding pupularity mostly among young people. The challenge involved people filming themselves going into forests, sniffing mushrooms, and claiming they “could hear and were being controlled” by Specimen 6b/35-N8 and other fungi. [2]

Environmental History Experiment

In 2037, the Environmental History Experiment (EHE) was created by an interdisciplinary research team with the goal of documenting the history of the Black Forest, using methodologies informed by the extreme environmental turn in the humanities. [23] The EHE was described as:

A groundbreaking research project that seeks to correct for the human focus of history that has dominated the narratives written about our world for centuries. Using biological, environmental, geographical, and geological data, the team will treat these findings as a kind of oral history, one that allows our environment to “speak” for itself.

  1. A photo of Theo Clement at a lecture about the Environmental History Experiment. Clement is standing at the lectern with his arms spread wide, wearing a green jacket over a patterned shirt and tie.
    Theo Clement, pictured in 2037.
  2. A photo of Rowan Xu at a lecture about the Environmental History Experiment. They are standing to the side of the lectern, wearing glasses and a dark suit.
    Rowan Xu, pictured in 2037.
A photo of Theo Clement and Rowan Xu at a lecture about the Environmental History Experiment. Clement is standing at the lectern with his arms spread wide, wearing a green jacket over a patterned shirt and tie. Xu is standing to the side and looking at Clement, wearing a dark suit.

Theo Clement and Rowan Xu, pictured in 2037.

The EHE was led by Theo Clement, with funding sourced from a number of institutions and grants, including the University of Cambridge. The substantial backing of Zhupao enabled an adapted neural colloid to be introduced to Specimen 6b/35-N8, described as a way of gathering data and allow for the tracking of electrical signals.

In February 2038, the EHE released its initial findings, with many applauding. While some applauded the project’s ambitious interdisciplinary collaborations, others questioned the expense of the project and the validity of its methodologies. When Florence Smith Nicholls was asked about their thoughts on the EHE, they responded by saying that “there is certainly potential in this kind of research. However, the experiment’s methodology is an evolution of existing methods, rather than a revolution.” [34] The EHE closed in December 2039.

Communication with specimen

In March 2043, Clement released a statement claiming that he had started communicating with Specimen 6b/35-N8 through deep learning techniques applied to the data generated by the colloid used in the EHE. [45] Clement’s findings continue to be a topic of debate, with the most notable critic being historian and academic Rowan Xu.

The ongoing dispute between Clement and Xu culminated in the livestream of a debate between the two in 2048. Coordinated by the Royal Society and the Royal Historical Society, the debate had a peak viewership of 18.1 million people and lasted just under two hours. The Guardian wrote that “viewers were hoping for another Copleston-Russell debate, a meeting of minds that would tackle the concept of consciousness. Instead, they got a schoolyard throwdown of personal insults and accusations. This was not an adversarial collaboration. It was reputation warfare.” [56]

Attack and protection order

On August 3rd 2049, a toxic chemical agent was introduced to Specimen 6b/35-N8 at several of its fruiting sites in the Black Forest. The chemical agent was derived from a popular line of collocidals, indicating that the target was the colloid that had been administered to Specimen 6b/35-N8 as part of the EHE. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful, and the individual or group responsible has so far not been identified.

German authorities related the attack to confidential EHE documents leaked by Xu in January 2049, which revealed an unforeseena known consequence of the experiment that resulted in Specimen 6b/35-N8 interacting with the EHE colloid in a way that made the colloid an extension of itself. [67] Clement has criticised Xu for leaking this information, warning that they have “put 6b in grave danger” because ablating the colloid would also negatively affect Specimen 6b/35-N8, most likely resulting in its destruction. Xu has since resigned from their academic positions and has reportedly gone into hiding. [78]

After hearing testimonies from Clement and other experts, the German government passed an emergency protection order on August 6th 2049, establishing a security cordon around the entirety of the Black Forest, with armed police and drone curtains operating continuously.

Controversies

Research methods

A number of academics from various disciplines have questioned the validity of Clement’s claims of communication with Specimen 6b/35-N8, citing insufficient information in the details of the methodology as well as a lack of peer-reviewed academic publications on the process and its findings. [9] [10] Xu has stated that “the small, heavily curated clips and dialogues that have been released to the general public seem convincing in isolation, but they’re nothing more than propaganda that allows Zhupao to greenwash their colloids, and Clement to further his career while his bank account swells.” [11]

Impact on communities

In 2046, the German government began to remove communities from areas deemed “ecologically significant” in the Black Forest, placing them in temporary accommodations. One anonymous member of a displaced community stated that “we were given less than a week to leave our homes. My ancestors have lived on that land for centuries and now we can’t even visit it. If the mushroom has been there for so long, surely it’s okay for us to be there too? How do I tell my child she is less important than a fungus? They’ll listen to a mushroom, but not to us.” [12]

References

  1. Perez, T. (July 2045). “Beebee memes are a cry for environmental aid from a furious generation.” Associated Press. ↩
  2. Freeman, B. (October 2045). “What parents need to know about the dangerous new Mushroom Mind Challenge.” The Telegraph. ↩
  3. Clement, T et al. (September 2037). “The Environmental History Experiment: The Future of the Past.” History Today. ↩
  4. Williams, Q. (May 2042). “A Conversation with Florence Smith Nicholls: The Past, Present, and Future of Playful Archeology.” The New York Times. ↩
  5. Spelt, L. (March 2043). “Neural colloids and deep learning allow historian to speak with fungus.” MSN News. ↩
  6. Thompson, W. (August 2048). “The Clement-Xu debate highlighted everything wrong with academia.” The Guardian. ↩
  7. Smedley-Winsberg, G. (January 2049). “An ancient massive fungus may be living proof of the extended cognition theory.” New Scientist. ↩
  8. Ali, M. (February 2049). “Rowan Xu steps down from academic positions and reportedly in hiding.” BBC World News. ↩
  9. Sevchenko, A. (December 2044). “The anthropomorphisation of the mycological world.” Journal of Biology. ↩
  10. Watson, S. (January 2045). “Language and our desire for the familiar: A comparative study between Koko the Gorilla and Specimen 6b/35-N8.” Perspectives on Psychological Science. ↩
  11. Xu, R. (January 2048). “The reality of Specimen 6b/35-N8: greenwashing, green colonialism, and politics.” The Washington Post. ↩
  12. Tuan, Y. (February 2048). “The Forgotten Families of the Black Forest.” Al Jazeera. ↩