Towering over the landscape of Chiron are the massive Fungal Towers. The tallest stuctures on Chiron before the arrival of the Human colonists, the Fungal Towers serve as the headquarters for the Mind Worms. They were breeding grounds, feeding areas, and sanctuaries located deep within fields of Xenofungus. Although the Mind Worms are not instinctual builders, the semi-conscious intelligence on Chiron directs them, over the course of tens of thousands of years to build the Fungal Towers, often out of the bodies of dead Mind Worms. Although the original purpose of these towers will probably never be known, they are currently used as the staging ground for nearly all attacks on Human colonies throughout the world.
When the first surviving Human explorers returned from a Fungal Tower, they told tales of a massive structure, nearly a mile tall (1.5 km) and over 2000' (610 m) at its base, crawling with Mind Worms. Although they were not the first to discover a Fungal Tower, those explorers were the first to return alive. Unfortunately, the Fungal Towers seemed to be in any place where a large field of Xenofungus existed. As the Human factions expanded their borders and spread across the planet, most simply expanded around the Fungal Towers, avoiding the fields where they existed, but as the planetary intelligence became more aware of the Humans, the Fungal Towers, now deep in some factions' territory, began to unleash their armies of Mind Worms and Mind Worm Boils. Although these creatures proved an almost limitless source of troops for the factions that could capture Mind Worms, like the Cult of Planet, all factions recognized the danger that the towers represented.
Through the planetary council, the leaders of the factions continually debated about what to do with the Fungal Towers, which posed a threat to all Humans, but no solution was ever reached. Instead, the towers continue to be a huge problem for all of the factions. In fact, only two towers have been destroyed since the colonists arrived on Chiron. In 53 AL, the Univeristy of Planet and Morgan Industries launched a joint offensive against a relatively small Fungal Tower near their factions'. Although it resulted in the deaths of thousands of soldiers, the Fungal Tower was destroyed and the area was quickly cleared of Xenofungus. The other Fungal Tower was destroyed in 106 AL by the Cult of Planet. Although they revere the planet and its intelligence, the Cult of Planet needed the resources and the Mind Worms that were in the Fungal Tower, so they launched a massive offensive using their own Mind Worms. In the end, very few Humans died, but hundreds of thousands of Mind Worms littered the battle field of what had once been one of the largest Fungal Towers on the planet. When they were finished, the Cult of Planet moved into the tower and it now serves as their headquarters for their Mind Worm breeding and training operations.
Although the colonists have only guessed at the purpose of the Funal Towers, its true purpose is actually quite similar. The towers were built under the direction of a more aware section of the planetary intelligence to act as the headquarters for the Mind Worms. However, since the planetary intelligence has not achieve its full level of sentience, the towers and the special qualities built into them cannot be used to their full effectiveness. Unknown to the colonists, and even the Progenitors, each tower acts as a psychic amplifier, increasing the power and strength of all Mind Worm type creatures that operate near a Fungal Tower. The planetary intelligence also has better control over the Mind Worm type creatures in the area of a Fungal Tower, which allows it to better coordinate their actions when fighting against the colonists.
Unlike the rest of the alien creatures related to the planetary intelligence, the Fungal Towers do not have an independent intelligence. Instead, the towers are controlled directly by independent portions of the planetary intelligence, similar to how an alien intelligence can create fragments of itself. This fragmented intelligence is also able to direct Mind Worm type creatures in its immiediate vicinity, which allows the Mind Worm type creatures in the area of a Fungal Tower to operate as more then simple animals. The creatures gain problem solving capabilities, can coordinate their attacks with all of the other Mind Worm type creatures, and can learn from their previous encounters with enemies. For example, if an attacker uses a specific tactic against a group of Mind Worm Boils near a Fungal Tower, all Mind Worm type creatures within range of that Fungal Tower will know to look out for the tactic and will try to not be as vulnerable to it again.
The information below applies to a typical Fungal Tower, which represent about 85% of all Fungal Towers. The other 15% are either larger or smaller then the "typical" Fungal Tower, with most being larger. The largest known Fungal Tower is about three times the size of the typical Fungal Tower described below and the smallest known Fungal Tower is about half the size of the typical Fungal Tower.