How can the crystal foxes in "The Last Jedi" be living?

Question

How can the crystal foxes in The Last Jedi be living?

They're made of minerals and crystals, as far as we can see, so what holds them together? Is it the Force?

Star Wars doesn't abide by our understanding of physics and our definition of what makes a 'living creature'. That is the 'fiction' part in 'science-fiction'. — Sava, Nov 26 '18 at 20:04
@Sava also, Star Wars is more fantasy than sci-fi. There isn't an attempt at science in most of the additions to the world. — Centimane, Nov 27 '18 at 18:44
@Sava: I for one am shocked at the biological inaccuracies in these movies about magical space wizards. — Michael Seifert, Nov 27 '18 at 19:09
@Centimane Not to mention the tropes and themes: rescuing the princess, one on one battles, mystical magic, heroes and villains, etc. All very fantasy-like. — Kevin, Nov 27 '18 at 22:31
And on top of all of that, there's plenty of fantasy biology. The old extended universe included space mantas, living crystals, mammals that underwent metamorphosis, multiple species who grew starships, sapient trees, an organic equivalent to the Borg from Star Trek, space dragons with fusion reactors for stomachs, Hutts, and the Yuuzhan Vong. A vulpine species with crystals instead of fur isn't really that much of a stretch. — Austin Hemmelgarn, Nov 28 '18 at 18:40
@AustinHemmelgarn Now you've made we want to go and read the old extended universe! — bitsmack, Nov 29 '18 at 00:02
I'm not the only person who saw these things and thought of carbuncles in Final Fantasy right? — IG_42, Nov 29 '18 at 01:15
Why do you assume that carbon-based biology is the only type possible? There is plenty of speculation - although I have only seen it in science fiction, so not sure if it is grounded in fact - that silicon-based life would be possible. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothetical_types_of_biochemistry — Mark Rotteveel, Nov 29 '18 at 17:10
@Centimane interesting: I've never considered the difference between sci-fi and fantasy being how much they try to describe their worlds using something that resembles our universe's science. Is there any thing I could read on differences between sci-fi and fantasy? it's got me thinking now — Mark White, Nov 29 '18 at 22:31
@MarkWhite From wikipedia: "Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes respectively, though these genres overlap." I would argue that Star Wars lacks in scientific themes. — Centimane, Dec 04 '18 at 13:19

user151841 · Answer 1 · 2019-05-19T17:00:44.720

108

I don't know the canonical answer, but flesh-and-blood creatures can have crystals growing off of their fur.

This is an image of a furry animal with ice crystals growing off of its fur:

It lives on a planet where it rains both liquid and crystal water, depending on temperature. Edit the first picture shows a creature with ice crystals that had actually precipitated and collected on its fur-- not ones that had grown there.

However, this creature has ice crystals growing off of its hair and clothing, because of the ambient air temperature around it, and the humidity it exudes from breathing:

edited May 19 '19 at 17:00

answered Nov 26 '18 at 21:24

user151841

2,381
1
11
26

1

Don't know who downvoted this, but it seems a perfectly good answer to how crystals could form on fur to create that effect. Nice idea! – Graham Nov 26 '18 at 22:41
37

It seems likely that the pictured hydrogen hydroxide crystals grew in the atmosphere of said planet and then 'rained' onto the pictured animal already in crystalline form. It is, however, possible on this same planet for liquid hydrogen hydroxide to fall from the sky and immediately crystallize onto whatever it hits on the surface - including animal fur - though, so +1. Also, the latter phenomenon can be highly unpleasant in large quantities, particularly when it crystallizes onto road surfaces and leaves and limbs of very tall plant life. – reirab Nov 26 '18 at 22:58
12

You might wish to note that this answer isn't especially accurate. The Vulptex has crystal fur, not fur coated with crystals. – Valorum Nov 27 '18 at 07:36
1

@Valorum To be fair, your answer says nothing about it not having any sort of fur, or that the "bristles" are just made of crystal and not a combination of fur covered in a crystalline substance. If you're being pedantic, there's no reason your answers couldn't both be correct; there's not enough detail to make that assumption. – Anoplexian Nov 27 '18 at 15:44
2

@Anoplexian - The making of video indicates that the crystalline structures extend into the creature – Valorum Nov 27 '18 at 18:06
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – Null Nov 29 '18 at 19:51
3

@Anoplexian - I've added some edits to reflect this. The film's VFX Creature guy says that their fur has become crystalline as a result of the Vulptex consuming the crystal salt – Valorum Nov 29 '18 at 20:28
Coincidentally, there are also creatures on this planet you speak of that are partially glass. – Graph Theory Nov 29 '18 at 23:16

score 98 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

The very short answer is that although the outer "fur" of the Vulptex is crystalline, the inner part of the animal appears to remain mundane flesh and blood.

"The theory is they’ve fed off this planet for so long that their fur has become crystalline. They’ve taken on the very surface of the planet they live on.”

_{^{The Last Jedi: New Revelations From Star Wars Creatures Boss [Neal Scanlon - SW Creature Workshop]}}

and

Vulptices are foxlike creatures with coats made up of crystalline bristles

_{^{Star Wars Databank: Vulptex}}

The film's Visual Dictionary indicates that over time the animals have evolved to take advantage of their surroundings (and abundance of crystal salts) but there's no good indication that their physiology defies logic, any more than a snail does because it has an integument made from metal carbonate.

But no, it wasn’t his imagination. There really were animals back there—dozens of them. They were small—not much higher than a person’s knee, with long, pointy ears and drooping whiskers framing their faces. Their bodies glittered in the transports’ lights, and Poe realized what he’d thought was fur was actually a dense covering of crystal bristles. When the creatures moved, their fur made a sound that reminded him of the wind chimes of distant Pamarthe.

_{^{The Last Jedi - Official Novelisation}}

Although not part of the official canon, you can see from the film's making-of VFX video that the crystals appear to project directly from the Vulptex's skin rather than simply being coated onto their fur.

Ah, it's a porcupine! I too thought it was a fox at first when I saw the film, but this shows again that appearances can be deceiving. — Mr Lister, Nov 27 '18 at 12:03

How can the crystal foxes in "The Last Jedi" be living?

2 Answers2