Descolada

Descolada is a virus of unknown origin which regulates the biology on the planet Lusitania. Literally meaning "ungluing," the virus is named for its effect on species that are not indigenous to Lusitania. Without supplements that keep the virus in check, the virus is fatal to humans within a week. For all its ill effects the virus actually helps the pequeninos pass into their third lives as trees, retaining all their adult memories. The descolada is extremely hazardous given its ability to adapt in order to overcome human remedies.

During the third novel in the series, the xenobiologists on Lusitania create a virus that destroys the descolada and engineer the "recolada" which is harmless to humans and still enables pequenino reproduction. They theorize that the virus is developed in order to terraform planets for the beings who engineered it. Jane and Miro dub the descolada makers the...