Disclaimer: Not mine. Enough said.
Author's Note: What started out as what was supposed to be a one-paragraph snark comment on a message board quickly grew into a multi-page, satirical commentary on Smallville and Smallville's online community, as well as being somewhat of an essay on why there should be more Clark and Lois. So, yeah, this is going to be in a bit of a different format- think fake animal documentary/science video about the different ships. Hope you all like it:)
And now, welcome back to another edition of Infestation: Invasive Species. This week, we are examining the organisms inhabiting the Smallville ecosystem; specifically, the Clana, an invasive species that is currently running amok around Smallville.
The Clana is one of the most feared and destructive of all of the invasive species. It was originally introduced to Smallville by the PTB Corporation as a temporary decoration for only a few years. The Clana, colored in pinks, reds, and blues, is deceptively pretty and, if used in small amounts, could be manageable. It is, however, a parasite, feeding off of other species to increase its own power, and therefore should be handled carefully. Unfortunately, the PTB Corporation did not know how to handle it, and it has no natural predators on Smallville, so the Clana outgrew what Smallville could sustain.
Realizing this problem, the heads of the PTB Corporation, known as AlMiles and Goughlar, got permission from the DC Organization, the organization that oversees the control of those species, to introduce the Clana's most feared predator- the Clois- to the area in the fourth year of infestation, but, unfortunately, the Clois was in the early stages of its life and was no match for the force that the Clana has grown to in the four years it had been left unattended. In the three years since then, the invasive Clana has taken over even more, leaving some to wonder if the Clois will ever be able to kill this horrible infestation. Fortunately, history has shown that the Clois always prevails over the Clana, no matter how difficult the task may be.
The Clois, like the Clana, is aesthetically pleasing, colored in blues, reds, and yellows. Unlike the Clana, which survives naturally for only a few years, a single Clois organism, first discovered in 1938, is still surviving strongly. Also unlike the Clana, the Clois is beneficial to all the other organisms, providing food and shelter to them. Due to its mutualistic and assisting nature, compounded with its pleasing appearance and ability to inhabit almost every climate, the Clois is a favorite around the world. There are several different sub-species of Clois, used to differentiate between the ages and characteristics of the different kinds of Clois, but all are extremely hardy- some might say invulnerable- and all have the same general coloring.
However, there has been a debate growing about whether or the Clana actually is harmful to the area, and whether it was the right move to introduce the Clois so early in the Clana's life. Some argue that the Clana is not actually an invasive species, and that it is just growing naturally. Studies have shown, though, that the Clana survives only for two to four years in its natural habitat, not the seven years it has currently survived for in Smallville. The Clana is also seriously detrimental to the area; it preys on other species, either killing them or effectively sterilizing the males. The Clana also secrets a pheromone that causes all organisms that interact with it to revert back to a mentally immature state. It has invaded Smallville so much that the other species, such as the formerly beneficial Chimmy species, must mirror the Clana so as not to be considered a hostile species.
One group of scientists believe that the endangered species, the Chlark, will be just as effective as the Clois in wiping out the Clana, but this has been disproved by a study conducted in the second year of the Clana infestation, where the Clana easily prevailed over the Chlark. However, there still remains a strong but small following for the Chlark, due to the fact that the Chlark has many similar properties and attributes as the Clois, leading some to believe that the Chlark will have the same effect on the Clana as the Clois. An even smaller group of scientists believe that the Chlark actually is the Clois, just in its early stages, much like a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. This theory has since been disproved several times, most notably by the introduction of the Clois in its infancy. Nonetheless, there are still supporters of this outdated theory.
The Clois is not the only predator of Clana- the rare Clori species preys on the Clana as well. However, the Clori is an aquatic species and cannot survive in land-locked Smallville, rendering it useless. The Clori is also only a temporary solution, the pioneer species in the area, which allows the Clois to grow and eventually thrive, benefiting the entire ecosystem. The Clori is not necessary for the growth of the Clois, so more often than not the Clori is overlooked and forgotten.
In the past seven years of the Clana infestation, there have been brief remissions, where other species took over. The Whitana was the first species, but in actuality it just served as camouflage for the Clana, until the Clana was able to take over and kill it. The Adana, Jana, Calicia, and Jonartha species all met with the same fate. However, the Jonartha was different from the other species because it was in competition with the Clana for life-sustaining resources, and the Clana won out. The other species killed off by the Clana because of certain attributes that the Clana responded negatively to. The most recent remission was when the Lexana briefly got rid of the Clana, but the Clana quickly invaded Smallville once again, leaving the Lexana species shriveled up and useless.
Many measures have been taken to prevent further growth of the Clana, and scientists are currently studying how to begin eliminating the Clana without the aid of a full-grown Clois due to the DC Organization's refusal to increase the Clois population. A compound, known as JLA, was sprayed on the Clana, and it was effective at reducing and almost eliminating the Clana for a period of five months or so. However, as soon as the JLA compound treatment is stopped, the Clana quickly grows again and no progress is made.
The only proven way for the Clana to be wiped out is for it to be overwhelmed by the Clois. Therefore, it has come to the conclusion of many to add more of the Clois species to Smallville, rather than relying on the very small population initially introduced.