On a visit to G979, I got this still of a Sleeping Flyer. Wonderfully mysterious creatures. If you’re less than seven inches thick and under 110 pounds, the tourist board will still let you climb inside for a flight as of last season. You climb up through the rope-ladder-like tail right into the carapace. Most passengers agree to take video in exchange for ration cubes and breath apparatus. Barring accidents and poaching, none of these amazing creatures have died (or bred, fed, or even awakened) for the 3000-plus years since they were discovered. They just breathe, take off, and land in a three-hour cycle. (There are some reported to snore.)
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2013hm/HerrD-SleepingFlyerOnG979-1.jpg
Universal Biologic did a fascinating story on G979. Mostly it was about the lost civilization known only as “The Watchers.” Not all of their texts have been translated, but they may be unique among known civilizations for the following: Their ENTIRE language appears to transliterate phonetically from nature sounds, ingeniously deduced by the first archaeologist team. They correctly predicted a nucleonic storm that would poison their atmosphere by an anionization process activating their natural mix of sulfur, arsenic, cyanide, neon, and fluorine–WITHOUT radiotelescopes, artificial satellites, space travel, spectrometers, or even radar. (No one knows how–the texts describe standing miles apart and comparing sounds of it arriving by ear, which is absurd.) Most unique of all, their entire civilization went calmly about their business for over a hundred years after the prediction was verified by several citizens, referencing that they would already be “gone.”
But, where?
Soundings have been taken and core samples verified. They didn’t tunnel downward. No digging besides their horticultural efforts was ever done. Sonar verifies that there are no artificial structures below the water. Their technology did not include space travel, in fact, it was limited to agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry (including ornamental avian,) archives, and sound recording. So approximately 400,000 of them vanished without a trace. The last words written were: Now we start away, reconciled. We go Crowuhtain [sic.] No one knows what that last word means.
Anyway, the rest of the episode had a rather sarcastic tone. When they disappeared over 5000 years ago, they didn’t leave detailed records of their anatomy, medicine, or general appearance. So, in theory, they could’ve been picked up by some other group. UB actually theorized that “The Watchers” were color-blind, because they never even mention the Sleeping Flyers, which have more beautiful plumage than any other species on the planet.
The Sleeping Flyers roost until dawn or twilight when breezes max out, their reflexes release their hold on the roost, they fly for almost precisely three hours ‘easterly’ toward Ygu, their red dwarf sun, and then roost for about seven minutes. They repeat this cycle until their crystalline eyes either cannot detect light, or detect more than half the sun’s strength. They appear to be neurologically recording and osmotically receiving calcium through their roosting limbs, but their digestive systems are in some sort of dry stasis, allowing passengers. The wings are partly reflective, partly translucent, and completely beautiful. No other limbs and only what appear to be reproductive organs, also in stasis. The brains are actually inside the wings, lightweight and plentiful. The species exists over the whole planet. No one has bothered with a close count, but it would appear they number over a quarter of a million.
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When the time is limited and the skills aren’t there yet, you gotta go for content.
When the time is limited and the skills aren’t there yet, you gotta go for content.
