A mycoborer was a still-in-development bioengineered product for digging holes in the ground suitable for laying pipes through at the time of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. It was created by a GalacTech researcher on Earth who was a personal friend of haut Moira ghem Estif; the researcher allowed her to borrow some on the condition that she report to him how well it worked. The mycoborer was activated by ammonia; the critters ate whatever carbon they found in the soil around them, leaving behind a tube with walls constructed from their waste products.