bio

Hypercapnia

An excess of carbon dioxide in the blood. Normally the body offloads CO₂ into the lungs because the outside air holds almost none; but when the surrounding air is rich in CO₂, the flow reverses and CO₂ floods inward, forming carbonic acid and turning the blood acidic. The brainstem responds by driving faster breathing - a reflex that becomes a death trap when every breath only adds more poison. It is one of the two immediate killers in Pandora's air.