Asterite

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The Asterite as seen in Ecco the Dolphin.

The Asterite is a fictional creature in the Ecco the Dolphin universe. It consists of many globes of varying colors on an helicoidal shape, looking similar to a gigantic DNA molecule. The Asterite is always referred to with the definite article "the", and its sex, if it has one, is never specified, though many fans refer to it as a male.

The Asterite seems to be an extremely ancient (at least 55-million years old by Ecco's time) and unique creature living in Earth's seas, and probably communicates telepathically; it makes at least one reference to feeling Ecco's thoughts, and the Big Blue, an old wise blue whale, once said of it: "We feel great energy of thought from the Asterite, but it will not sing to us." In an interview, series creator Ed Annunziata said of the Asterite, "[It] was the first lifeform on the earth. The first strand that all life unwound from. Its origin or biogenesis is a mystery." [1]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In Ecco the Dolphin, the Asterite sent Ecco back in time to pursue its missing globe through the Atlantean time machine. In return, it helped Ecco to find his family, who had been harvested by the Vortex, by giving him a powerful sonar weapon, the ability to breathe underwater, and generally increasing Ecco's speed and endurance.

In Ecco: The Tides of Time, the Asterite was broken apart by the Vortex Queen, causing Ecco to lose his powers. It was the Asterite who called Ecco to Earth's good future, revealing to him that his time travelling in the previous game split the time stream into two possible futures for Earth. It became Ecco's mission to fix the time stream; in the process, Ecco repaired the Asterite in his own time by bringing its globes back together, including two that the Vortex had taken to their future. When the Asterite was repaired, it called a force of Singers (cetaceans) to fight the Vortex, later sending Ecco back to the Atlantean time machine to stop the Vortex Queen from using it.

The Asterite never appeared in any subsequent games, though a being somewhat similar to it did appear in Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future. The Guardian of Defender is similar in that it gives advice to Ecco and acts as a mystical overseer to his adventure, but in shape and history it is significantly different from the Asterite; while the Asterite is an apparently natural being that looks similar to a DNA molecule, the Guardian is a giant crystalline being built by the dolphins.