Bioships differ from other types of spacecraft in that they are composed, either predominantly or totally, of biological components, rather than being constructed from manufactured materials. Because of this, they nearly always have a distinctively organic look. Bioships are usually quite powerful, and can often regenerate or heal damaged parts. Some bioships are intelligent or sentient, and some are considered to be lifeforms. Like most organic beings, many bioships contain large amounts of "scaffolding" materials to keep their shape, such as the xylem in trees or bone and chitin in animals.
In fiction
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, 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 Night's Dawn Trilogy: the Edenist Voidhawk and Mercenary Blackhawk are both advanced bioships. 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. In the first novel of Julian May's Pliocene series, The Many-Colored Land, the backstory of two races of alien refugees living in the Earth's Pliocene epoch describes their hard landing in a bioship. The bioship was emotionally bonded to one of the aliens and sacrificed its own life to safely deliver its passengers to the planet surface. In the popular science fiction franchise Star Trek several bioships appear. On Babylon 5, many of the First Ones used organic ships, like the Vorlon and Shadows races. Use of organic technology by these races signified their significant advancement over the younger races since their ships are very resilient, generate their own power, very maneuverable, have devastatingly powerful weapons, regenerate, and have a measure of intelligence. The episode Tin Man |"Tin Man" features a bioship as the main part of the plot. Species 8472 also has an enormous fleet of bioships which are able to go toe to toe with, arguably the Federation's most malignant enemy, The Borg. In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, an extragalactic race known as the tyranids travel through the galaxy using giant organic bioships known as hive ships that transport the various types of the race inside. These ships travel in large numbers known as hive fleets and are often described as "tendrils" weaving into the galaxy from other galaxies they had previously devoured. Numerous hive fleets have been recorded in the 40K universe and have even been named, with the first recorded fleet designated as Hive Fleet Behemoth. The hive ships are described as serving their race as a whole and the individuals within a hive ship serving it as a single entity. The Zergalien race in the video gameStarCraft traverse space via sentient, organic vessels called "Leviathan".
