#scifibruary 2022

[emmybeearts]

Day 5: Sky

Dr. Ara Lynn is one of my closest friends at the institute. I may have been the one to discover the still living Kyurall within the grasp of a titan’s claw that fell through the rift, but Ara was the one who created a system to communicate with them. I loved it when she would share with me all the stories that Walnut, the Kyurall, would tell her. 

She told me the Kyurall stories of impossible places. Places like a city built within a mountain made of stained glass, or a walking city of warmongers that leave Atria scorched in its path. She told me their stories of fantastical animals like impossibly massive monsters that would eat the light of the suns and turn it into the stars, or a creature made of pure light that would guide lost Kyurall to where they needed to be most. 

One of my favorite Kyurall stories was titled ‘The Mother’. It reminded me of something you would find in an old German fairy tale; one of those tragedies that teaches a moral lesson but is also unapologetically dark. The story told of a mother who adopted 4 perfect children who all flew with her in perfect order. One of the children, however, kept flying too close, annoying their mother. To compensate, they always fell back too far. The mother of the 4 feared she would lose this child if they didn’t stay close in flight but also feared if they flew close they would crash and fall. And so, the next time the child flew too close to her, she grabbed them close and ate them whole, keeping the child close to them and safe forever. 

The thing about legends like this is even if they aren't, literally, a perfect recount of non-fiction events, there is still a substantial amount of truth in them. The stories themselves are nothing more than a way of giving truth perspective and making complex situations and ideas easier to understand. 

The Mother is my favorite, because of what happens when you examine this truth, after having removed the lens of storytelling. Looking at geothermal scans of the rocky planets in the Atria system, Atria has a noticeably higher core temperature, meaning that sometime during the more recent geological history of this planet, it was hit by something massive which reheated the core. Another truth, from what we were able to translate from the Kyurall, is that the three moons that surround Atria are called The Three Children while Atria, itself, means both ‘Home’ and ‘Mother’ in Kyurallian. This ancient story is, brilliantly, the Kyruall’s oral tradition of explaining how one of Atria’s four moons crashed into the planet hundreds of millions of years ago. 

One of the most recent tales Ara shared with me, before I left, spoke of giants. It told of a curse that befell a clan of war-mongering Kyurall long ago. The chief wished for their clan to become stronger than any other clan; and the Mother, Atria, listened. They grew so large and strong that they could swallow a person whole. These hulking, pale Kyurall used their newfound power to wage war against all of Atria. The Mother saw the bloodshed but could not take away their wish and so she twisted their wish, giving them everything they asked for and more. With their animal-like strength came animal-like intelligence. The entire clan lost their ability to talk and think, and soon became one with the beasts. 

Despite losing everyone, the chief refused to give up. Even with the curse, the hatred in their heart continued driving them towards death. They ruled the sky and forced any Kyurall to remain grounded unless they wished to face their wrath. The Mother pleaded for them to stop; after all, what more could they lose and what do they hope to gain. The chief ignored her pleas and so the mother bestowed upon them a final wish. 

They began to grow and grow, becoming ever stronger with each passing day, but their wings stayed the same size. They were cursed to never grace the skies again. But, ever stubborn and spiteful, they used the Mothers curse and forced themself to grow more. Soon their head broke through the tree tops and they once again found themselves in the sky. The dark heart, however, was now so far from their mind that the chief was free from its influence. They were now the biggest and strongest Kyurall of all of Atria, but had been freed from any desire to abuse that power. Another one of my favorites. I’m sorry Walnut for how much I paraphrased your story. 

Now on Earth we have similar stories of things like giants. Much like Kyurallian tales, these stories do have some truth to them as well. Sometimes the truth is a mistaken cave bear skeleton, or oral lore from when humans walked with animals like gigantopithecus. Now I would have been willing to bet that the same situation happened with the stories of giants here too; that it was a misinterpretation of some long extinct alien animal from millennia ago. How I love to be proven wrong though. 

The giants of Atria are very real. Not a humanoid giant by any means, but rather a hulking Kyurall. It was pale and bestial, just like the story told; not to mention It was also large enough to dwarf small aircraft. And since the story up to this point was true, I was quick to assume that it could’ve also easily eaten us in one bite. Fortunately, it seemed to already have its claws full with its meal for today. It was carrying a familiar Northern Berrar; toting it around in its specialized back talons like it didn’t weigh anything. We watched as it flew, prey in hand, right over the edge of the plateau and then, simply, it let it go, dropped from the sky allowing gravity to do all of the dangerous work for it. The Greater Lockwing then swooped down and helped itself to the easy meal. 

This kind of hunting strategy shows that this giant possesses at least some acute level of intelligence. I assume that, if the Kyurall were human, the greater lockwing would be akin to a chimpanzee or another great ape. They are Strong, and smart; brawn and brain. I can see why these animals became creatures of legend to the Kyurall. The question is then, if this myth can be true, then do any legends of Atria truly exist exclusively as mythos? Or could it be, every single one spurs from an honest tale taken from the mouth of a lone survivor.

[End Transcription]

[impartialbias]

Sci-Fibruary Day 16: Origin

[emmybeearts]

Day 7: Parasite

We’ve made our way to the lowlands leaving the forest plateau behind us. The rift was supposed to send us straight to the desert while Alivander was supposed to be assigned to the north forests. However, I'm glad our introduction to this planet was headed by such a nice detour. Spending a bit of time in the forest and mountains gave me some much needed experience with Atrian wildlife and biology before plunging headfirst into the one of the most hostile biomes this planet has to offer. 

The lowlands here are pleasant. They are comparable to the grasslands of Earth, but consist of colorful, knee high polyp-grass that stretch for miles to the horizon. Also like grasslands, the biodiversity here is incredibly diverse and astounding. Grazers feed on the grass-like polyps, mid and high browsers eat off the sparse pseudo-trees. We also came across a highly unlikely predator in this alien savanna, followed by the tragic end of its prey’s tale. 

It was earlier today when we came across a Golden Verber, or rather, it came across us. The golden verber is one of the smaller verber species that can be found in this area. Usually, the verbers we've come across in these fields run from anything that moves. They are more skittish than deer or gazelle but have high set vision like that of a giraffe. They can see anything approaching them from a very long ways away and run far from any sign they think could mean danger. Let me tell you, taking a blood sample from any one of them is a real pain. 

Strangely though, this particular one didn't run. As a matter of fact, it was walking straight towards us; not with any intent, we just happened to be standing in the path it was dead set on walking. Its eyes looked cold and gray and its legs haphazardly flailed and traipsed at the ground like a spider that forgot how to walk and had to make it up on the fly. Verbers are usually so lithe and graceful in step, so this was more than unsettling to say the least. 

The golden verber itself was not the predator we found. They are peaceful high browsers who pierce the balloon like leaves of lowland polyp trees and feast on the algae blooming inside. No, the predator was the thing growing out of the verbers every orifice. 

It's known as bone coral. A close relative to the polyp grass that creates the lowland fields. It's a parasitic polyp species that, once ingested, attacks the bones of its host. As soon as it has established a steady foothold, its mesenterial filaments worm between the spinal plates and it begins to attack the host's nervous system. The spine and skull, in particular, become growth beds for this cordyceps like parasite.

At this stage the animal begins wandering far from the origin of infection so the bone coral can spread its influence as far as possible. Inevitably, it’ll collapse due to exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, or even an unwitting predator. All the while the bone coral is releasing buds into the air from the coral-like growths bursting from the animal's skeleton. They will stick to polyp-grass or be filtered into pseudo-trees to flourish amongst the algae. Soon these buds will be eaten by some other unsuspecting grazer and the cycle begins again.

 It's strange to think that the closest relative to the creature that fills the same ecological role as grass back on Earth, is a bone eating, mind controlling parasite. The polyps must not like to be eaten if this is how they choose to retaliate. The creatures of Atria know vengeance like we never could. 

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 6: Bloom

To me, animal mimicry is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it's fascinating to see the lengths animals go to survive, influencing each other and evolving side by side. I love to see how this relationship permanently radiates outward and alters the appearance of so many other species that happen to live in the same area. On the other hand, mimicry can make your job very difficult. 

I know I'm not the first biologist with these qualms. Throughout history, so many forms of animal surveyor have fallen victim to our biology. Animals hide themselves in plain sight to prevent predators from finding them; and that's exactly what we are in nature's eyes: predators. Countless animals were deemed threatened or endangered when in reality, they were just hard for us to see. Some were even undetectable for centuries. We lived side by side with countless species who would always be better at hiding than we would be at finding them on our own. 

It wasn't until 2234 when the Lancet Scope was invented that we were given a glimpse into how abundant diversity truly is on Earth. Ecosystems thought to be near barren were actually teeming with countless species and contained a deeply varied food web of crafty predators, and even more clever prey. That year, the number of species believed to be on Earth tripled and Scoping became a field surveyor's favorite activity. 

After a while, you start to pick up on things without the scope. Little idiosyncrasies and things so barely uncanny that most eyes pass right over them. After a while you get a sort of sixth sense for these kinds of things. You start to notice them before your brain recognizes that you notice them. It takes practice and it's a good skill to learn. One day, it might just save your life. 

Today, we made it to the edge of the highland plateau and started our trek down the side of its steep cliffs. Some narrow paths have just barely been worn by the few animals that traverse these mountains. Even the quantity of crab-bugs noticeably dropped compared to the jungle highlands. Small cracks and crevices in the cliff face became anchor points for patches of polyp-grass to grow. Small blooms of strange white, almost algae-like matter crept out from the deeper cracks on the cliff face. Every now and then, the path would widen to a thicker outcrop where more noticeable signs of life could be found. Flowery shrubs and even small pseudo-trees were even able to take root there. 

We were thinking of setting up camp on one of these outcroppings when Lily informed me that something was pinging the scope. They scanned for thermals, UV, even so far as to check for eye shine but couldn't find anything. Just as we were about to write it off as a false ping, I could feel that sixth sense gnawing at the back of my mind after glancing at one of the bushes. I’ve only come across a handful of these shrubs all day and it was today that I even learned of their existence, but I could just tell something was wrong about this one. 

It was a familiar orange with yellow stamen we've seen so few times coming down this mountain. Its fleshy, transparent blue leaves grew outward from the cliff onto which its hardy, gray coenosarc clung on tight. But something about it just felt off. The more I peered in the more wrong it felt. It wasn’t until I looked around at the surrounding foliage that I was able to pinpoint that uncanny feel of the mystery plant. A gentle breeze blew up the side of the cliff. All the plants would move together; all but one. 

Picking up a small stone, I tossed it into the bush. My intent wasn’t to do any harm to the mimic, but rather to startle it, and get it to leave the bush so we could get a better look at what it might be. However, as the pebble bounced off the pseudo-plants leaves the whole bush sprung to life. It leapt from the cliff face onto our outcrop below. Its roots unfurled into four long spindly limbs. The head, tucked neatly away against the animal's back, twisted around as four intense blue eyes peered straight towards us. 

From what we could see of the animal, it was a frightening visage. It was primarily bright orange with blue adornments that keep it hidden amongst the blue cabbage bushes even when its intent is not trying to hide. Its lightweight spindly legs give it exceptional agility and speed when traversing these cliffs. All 4 of its eyes, as well as its ears and melon, face forward. This animal clearly has no interest in perceiving anything other than its prey, nor does it have a need to. Just below its jaws, its primary forelimbs have become mantis-like raptorial forelimbs. It quickly became  abundantly clear that this animal's hunting strategy is to sneak up on anything it deems to be its prey and strike before the unwitting meal knows it's not a bush. It just so happened we were the creatures in range of striking today. 

Fortunately, it turns out the Blue Cabbage’s plan falls apart as soon as it is noticed. Just as soon as it leapt from the cliff, it began to scamper away. Aggressive mimicry relies on the element of surprise above all else. Once it realized that it was tracking something that's better at perceiving than it is at hiding, it cut its losses and went to find food elsewhere. If it weren’t for the time I've spent learning these skills and the technology breakthroughs that better these skills further, there was a good chance my story would've ended here today. 

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 14: Teleport

Some time ago, I mentioned in these logs something about a Kyurall story Ara Lynn shared with me. It was a story that spoke about people in need or people who lost their way. It told of a being made of pure light that would guide people home. While I know better than to doubt the validity of these stories, my assumption was these creatures held the same origin as willowisps back on Earth; nothing more than chemiluminescence caused by decaying organic matter. Here on Atria, however, wisps are genuine living beings. 

It, again, didn’t look like any animal I've seen thus far on this planet. Rather, it looked more like that of a deep sea jellyfish or even a colonie of salpas. Excluding the smaller sensory organs on its anterior and the larger ones which made up its tails, Its entire body was comprised of a series of tube-like structures built around a single gelatinous shaft filled with some sort of buoyant gas. I'm not sure if it possesses its own bioluminescence, or if it glows due to its diet like many other animals, but its entire body was glowing almost painfully bright down here in the dark caves.

The wisp would propel itself through the air in short controlled bursts by contracting the tube structures that surround its body. Its movement was very jellyfish-like in both patterns and speed; that is, until you get too close. 

While following this animal in hopes to get a sample, I must have approached it much too fast. The wisp, startled, jettisoned out a cloud of bioluminescent vapor and, seemingly, disappeared. I can boldly say Its defensive method is painfully effective, having experienced it first hand. The curious thing is, nearly a hundred feet away, the animal began to glow once again. 

Despite moving steadily through the caves, this animal is capable of incredible bursts of speed. Its light, buoyant body can glide through the air with little to no friction. To a potential predator, it would appear to them as if a new prey item appeared too far away to catch. To me, it looked like the animal could teleport. 

This wisp also fits all of my criteria. It has color, it can move quickly, and it appears to be hard for a predator to catch and eat it. The legends of Atria spoke of beings of light acting as guides for the lost, who am I to become a skeptic now of all times. I trust the stories of the Kyurall far more than I trust my own ability to keep us safe. I guess we’ll see where the wisp leads us tomorrow.

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 23: Ship

It's a known fact that we are far from the first humans on Atria. Before the Cohab Institute, the rift was wild and uncontrolled and could open anywhere at any time. Just as many things were accidentally pulled into it as came out. Of course, once early explorers began mapping the rift, and finding patterns as to where you might end up, the temptation to visit an alien planet grew for just about everyone. Sadly, this included the likes of smugglers, and poachers too. 

Today we came across an old smugglers outpost. Everything here is distinctly human. Too small to be used by the Kyurall. Not to mention the distinct ‘ramshackle human hideout’ aesthetic. Wildlife had almost completely reclaimed the place, but the remnants of old buildings still stood, as did the waste left behind. 

Amongst the stray scrap metal roofing and recycled parts of an old transport ship, we stumbled across a stash of old fuel barrels. The metal was rusted and cracked in places but, surprisingly, the fuel was still good. I decided it might be a good idea to try and fire up what looked to be an old generator made out of a scrap rocket engine. Lily seriously needed a bigger energy fix than what their measly solar patches and what my equiptment’s batteries could provide. Not to mention I would be able to charge up my data pad again and actually know the names of a few of the animals we come across for the first time in weeks. 

As I went to move one of these barrels, however, I noticed that over a dozen beetle-like crab-bugs were dancing on the surface of this fuel like water striders. These Shuttlebugs were about the size of my hand and their colors were primarily white with metallic golden accents, reminiscent of the Christmas beetle. Four of the beetle’s eight tarsi had hypertrophied into light, robust disks that increased the surface area of its setae, letting it float on the liquid fuel with ease. What I wasn’t expecting was that It was so buoyant, that it was able to support multiple passengers.

Anywhere from three to six smaller beetles clung to the abdomen of the larger Shuttlebug. They’re labeled in the database as Aerozinnia. Some were white or silver but most of them were completely gold in color and all had false heads on the end of their abdomen. They were also half the size of the first beetle but easily more than twice the weight. Peering deeper into the barrel, I noticed the Aerozinnia would occasionally dip their true heads into the fuel. I was curious as to why at first but as I continued observing the groups, the answers became shockingly clear. 

The Aerozinnia dunked their heads because they were consuming the rocket fuel. Somehow, these unassuming crab-bugs have the ability to break down and metabolize the artificial energy source. However, this hyper-specialized adaptation seemed to have altered their digestive system and made them too dense to float. If they attempted to get to the liquid fuel, deep in these barrels themselves, they would tragically drown in their favorite food. Fortunately, it seems the breaking down of this artificial food source generates a form of honeydew that plenty of other animals are perfectly suited to consume. 

That's where the Shuttlebugs come in. They have no interest in the fuel but can possess the ability to float on its surface and also survive in its fumes. They act as tiny transports, carrying smaller passengers into the fuel to eat. In return, they get paid in honeydew. The Aerozinnia even get a free cleaning service from the bigger beetle. 

Despite how fascinating this symbiotic relationship is between these two unrelated crab-bugs, the implications behind it create a far bigger mystery. Such a process of breaking down synthetic fuels, something that is lethal to most animals that consume it, would have taken millions of years to evolve. This relationship between two different species would have taken just as long, if not longer. It's impossible for human fuel to be the cause of this mutation, our species is barely over 4 million years old, not to mention we only just discovered advanced forms of rocketry a few hundred years ago. 

It's possible this has something to do with that cavernous computer system we found ourselves in. Energy was pulsing through the entire cavern so something must have been powering it, right? I know it's an old construct, but now I’m desperate to know just how old it could actually be while still being, in some form, functional. I need to know more about these precursors but unfortunately, it seems the only one who knows anything about them is that Kyurall cultist who I can not bring myself to go back to. It seems every time Atria gives me a glimpse into its past and its potential, I only get more questions than answers.

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 17: Teeth

This cave is becoming more and more of a maze with every passing day. Tunnels split into dozens of branching pathways that go off into any and all directions. Some tunnels open up into expansive caverns while others narrow until you can just barely squeeze through. This cave system is becoming ever more dangerous as it is inconsistent. 

We had to pass through one such tunnel earlier today. The whole place began to narrow further and further until it got so narrow that even crawling on my stomach was a challenge. I don't think the wisp took into account the size of an average human when it chose its path. As we pushed through, eventually the narrow passageway abruptly opened into a much larger cavernous tunnel that I could once again stand up within. Looking back from where we just came, the narrow crawlway looked like nothing more than a crack in the cave wall.

Once we stepped out, we were immediately met with a heavy blanket of the white algae growing in a near perfect circle on the cave floor. My first thought was the algae was eating another fallen cave animal, as finding an animal shaped like a 3 meter disk would not be surprising to me at this point. However, near the center of the algal ring were hundreds of small, translucent, gelatinous pillars, all roughly 8-10 centimeters tall. It didn’t take too long to deduce what we had just stumbled upon. This was a nest full of eggs. Some animal must have built its nest here thinking it was the backmost part of the cave completely unaware of the immense winding system that lies behind the crack in the wall. 

Unfortunately, we were far from stealthy when we first entered this chamber. The scraping of metal against stone could probably be heard for miles as I pulled myself down that tunnel, not to mention Lily’s unceremonious entrance from the crevice three meters in the air which left them splayed flat on the floor. Our wisp guide also lit up the entire chamber in its pale blue glow. It's no wonder why the parent of these eggs was upon us so quickly. 

This animal was very brightly colored. I could see its bright yellow body, stripped with deep blue. It walked quadrupedally, tucking its primary arms close to its throat and its highly derived secondary legs against its shriveled stomach. It was already a frightful visage, but clearly its display had only just begun. Planting its thin, spindly legs firmly into the cave floor, it hoisted its body into the air flashing its deep blue underbelly. As if this wasn’t enough, its jaws sprung open wide revealing a glowing, blue gaping maw filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of glass like teeth. This horrible mouth now stood between us and the only way out of this cave.

We’ve brushed with death before, on this plane, but never so closely as at that moment. It didn’t want us anywhere near its nest and the only thing we wanted was to leave. There was no way we could turn back but I also knew I stood no chance at fighting a wild animal that's defending its young from an intruder. My options were incredibly limited so I fell back on the one skill I well and truly know and proceeded to analyze this bizarre animal and its behavior to figure out what we could do next. 

First of all, the animal looked frail. There was little musculature on any of its extremities and its core moved too fluidly to be restricted by dense, bulky muscles. Not to mention, being so isolated this deep in the caves, it likely doesn’t need to have the copious muscles required to fight or flee from predation. Second, its bright, aposematic coloration forced it to stand out against the rest of the dreary cave. Other ambush predators, that we've come across in this cave, prefer to blend in before striking their prey and this fearsome animal doesn’t possess the ability to blend in. 

My assumption was it was bluffing. It uses its massive, gaping mouth to make itself look larger and more scary, while not having enough bite force to actually do any real damage. It uses its bright colors to hold the attention of predators but still keeps stripes to break up its distinct shape and silhouette. It may be a carnivore, but it's hardly an apex predator. Most likely this animal is prey to many other things in this section of the cave, hence why it's nesting so far back. Despite its looks, I know animal behavior, and everything about this animal's front screamed “harmless threat display”. 

It wanted us to get away from its nest but I now knew it was powerless to do anything towards us. We couldn't go back but we now didn’t have to fight. Knowing more about this animal was all I needed to get us out of here. It was betting on its intimidation to get the best of me to make me lose my nerve; at that point I would have been as good as dead. And so, I chose to call its bluff. Gingerly, I stepped around the protective animal's nest, so as to not disturb the algae or the eggs within it, as I walked straight towards the massive set of jaws that blocked my path.

Luckily, I called correctly and the animal began to back up as I approached. I felt the static in the air again as a choking, guttural hiss reverberated from deep within its throat, sounding like a terrifying mix between the sounds of a cassowary and an alligator. The closer I got the farther it backed away until, walking with an air of confidence I've never felt my entire life, I found the animal behind me; the next leg of our journey no longer barred. 

As I was moving past, I tried to give the animal as much room as possible. I knew neither of us were happy with the situation we found ourselves in. Lily, however, in their glitched state, was far more curious than I. Sensing my lack of fear towards the animal, they ambled right up before it seemingly unaware of the genuine danger that it possessed. It hissed ever more aggressively and, seeing as Lily didn’t take the hint, the creature snapped its jaws shut with tremendous speed. 

Lily was fine, of course. Not only are they wrapped in a proactive metal shell, but I was also correct about the animal's weak bite force. What I wasn't expecting was the fragility of its outermost teeth. For such a weak bite, I wouldn't have expected one of its teeth to have broken off, and yet one did. It's possible that these teeth are like fangs of a smilodon, where they can be used for active hunting but rather are used to deliver the final blow. Perhaps they are for display only, or it could just be that they eat only soft bodied animals like the wisp and its jaws function as a giant net. 

So many things could have gone wrong in that moment. One slip up, one miscalculation, and that would've been the end of this mission for me. Looking back, even though it did feel really cool, what I did was stupidly dangerous and senseless. If this path needs to be re-explored in the future, I beg anyone who walks it to avoid this situation entirely rather than to do as I did. 

I did learn something very important from the encounter though. Even though this species is all bark and no bite, it is still, very much, a predator, and a large predator at that. Due to its apprehensive nature and defensive behaviors, it's clear that there are things in this cave that hunt it as well. Today, we stumbled across one thread in an ever growing food web. More complex predators means more and more prey animals. All of these animals have to be getting their sustenance from some original source. It can't all be a foundation of carnivorous algae, this food web must link back to the suns. We have to be getting close now.

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 16: Origin

It's been a while since my last log. I'm trying to save as much energy as I can here, but this was too important to not document. The cave has gotten pretty sparse in terms of life as we delve deeper every day. I'm not sure how deep we are or how far we've gone anymore, I'm just blindly trusting the wisp. How that will ultimately pan out, I'm still unsure, however, it did lead us to something breathtaking.

The cave began to become more and more open the further we went down this path. As it did, the temperature seemed to fall deeper and deeper accordingly until the walls of the cave itself were composed of pure ice, who knows how many meters thick. It felt more like we were walking through a glacier than a cold, stone cave. Off in the distance, I saw an unnatural shape jutting out of the caves icy walls. My first assumption had me believing it was a hard, crystalline growth that remained after all the stone around it eroded away. As we got closer, however, it became more and more apparent what it was we were seeing. 

From the wall of the cave jutted out a colossal  fossilized skeleton. It was bigger than a whale, and perfectly preserved in these dry and thermally consistent conditions. Seeing how deep it’s been buried underground and the stratigraphic layers in the ice,  it's safe to say this animal hasn’t walked Atria for a very long time. It's very possible that Atria had its own version of the age of the dinosaur. Despite being long extinct, there’s a good chance that this animal, like the dinosaur, is an origin species to something that still lives on Atria today. 

While the bones of Earth's animals are primarily comprised a framework of calcium phosphate, the bones of animals here on Atria are made of a complex crystalline web of silicon dioxide mixed with various other elements and impurities to strengthen the skeletal scaffolding. This makes Atrian bones incredibly hard and durable as they are relatively the same hardness as quartz. Once all the organic matter has been stripped off from the bones, all that is left is the solid crystalline structure. What this means is that, while fossils on Earth have the calcium slowly dissolved while the void they left behind gets replaced with harder elements to produce a fossil, the bone on Atria can’t dissolve meaning what is left behind is the animal's genuine skeleton.

There are several animals we’ve already come across on our journey that make use of fallen skeletons. It's primarily the various crab-bugs species that use the larger bones to strengthen their shells. seeing how isolated we are this deep in the caves, and how little life can thrive in these dark and cold conditions, nothing was able to break down these bones leaving them perfectly preserved for eons. 

Our wisp guide seems just as excited to explore these old bones as we are. It keeps diving into the skeletal structure and lighting up the translucent bones from deep within. I’ve already set up camp under its occipital bone as it seems like the most structurally sound part of this skeleton. While it would have been safer to set up camp away from it, there was no way I could bring myself to pass up on the opportunity. As stunning as this find is, we can't stay forever. We head out bright and early tomorrow and, sadly, have to leave this magnificent fossil behind. If it comes to it, I should be able to find my way back here once we get out. Maybe one day.

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 15: Ice

It only seemed to be getting colder as we descended deeper and deeper into the caves. If I wasn’t wearing my helmet I know I'd be seeing my breath by now. It’s a sheer stark contrast from the desert we were in not too long ago. I wonder if we're still beneath the desert? If we’re headed south then I'm sure we are, but if we're headed north then there's a chance we could be back under the mountains by now. We’ve certainly been walking long enough. 

Despite the increasingly scarce food web, no light, and biting cold, life is still thriving down here. We kept happening upon thin beds of a familiar white algae which clung to the cave walls. I'm not sure what it's using to fuel photosynthesis due to the total lack of sunlight down here, but nevertheless what little algae there is seems to be thriving. It's important to note that whenever and wherever there is a plant, no matter how badly the plant does not want to be eaten, something is going to eat it. 

I saw, laying completely still on the cave wall, a long, almost salamander-like animal. Its eyes had completely atrophied into non-existence but its nostrils took up nearly half its face. While this animal must have been blinder than a bat, its sense of smell had to have been extraordinary. The base of its neck and tip of its tail were covered in thick, white fluffy pycnofibers while many pale blue osteoderms jutted from its back. I assume this is to help it blend into its surroundings, as its fluffy tail looks very similar to the white algae while the osteoderms resemble the shard of ice collecting on the cave walls. It's important to remember, however, if an animal is trying to blend in with its environment, then something must be actively trying to hunt it. 

Despite being on some mystery animals menu, like cave animals on Earth, this creature has adopted a near sedentary lifestyle. I’d love to have observed it for longer, but the whole time I watched it, it never moved once. I do say near sedentary for a reason. Beneath its body and trailing behind it was a path of exposed blue cave stone carved out of the white algae bed. It's safe to assume this animal conserves as much energy as it can by rarely moving its body, all the while it slowly swivels its long neck back and forth to consume as much of this algae as it can, much the same way a caterpillar eats a leaf. 

Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay very long. Our wisp guide had already begun to vanish down the tunnels and the last thing I wanted was to lose it. As we ventured further down the cave, we came across another one of these salamander-like animals. Its long, serpentine body was entangled around another smaller animal, both of which were long since dead. Observing  the second species closer, its remains resembled a butterfly ray but with a vastly different skeleton. 

Its bones appeared to be much more lightweight and hollow, more akin to avian bones than an ocean dwelling ray species, however, its skull consisted of much more study bone. While its foremost teeth jutted forward, it had multiple smaller rows that combed back like a shark's jaw. These countless, glass-shard like teeth must be constantly replacing themselves. This feature coupled with its bones and skull gave me the impression that this species of ray must fly around these caves looking for a meal. It then dive bombs its unsuspecting prey, teeth first, ensuring that its target has no chance at escape. 

At first, I didn't even spot these two, Lily did. Their bodies were nearly totally engulfed in this white algae so that my view of them was completely obscured. It not only covered them, but it also radiated outward from the bodies with distinct lines and paths like a slime mold. It appears to me that this ray must have spotted the salamander as a potential meal, but it wasn’t expecting the ice salamander to put up such a fight. The ray, I assume, was the initial victor but couldn't free itself from the salamander's thralls and proceeded to suffocate. From there the white algae helped itself to the free meal. 

Of all things, I wasn't expecting the algae to be the hunter down here. Yet cave life is always so unique and so it has to find unique ways of adapting. In an area with no sunlight there is no photosynthesizing, and so one would think there would be no plants. But Atria biology always plays by different rules. Countless animals on Atria’s surface have assumed the role and function of plants; they are completely sedentary and grow upwards and outwards to get the most sunlight for the algal colonies they farm. Because of this, it only makes sense that one of Atira's few true plant species could take on a more animalistic role. It sacrificed its ability to photosynthesize for the ability to scavenge and consume animal proteins with an efficiency unseen in plants on Earth. 

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 9: Dry

Desert life. What to say about desert life. The average person would look at a desert and see a desolate wasteland where nothing could ever hope to survive. No water, no food, just dry sands and blistering heat. But the average person is wrong. Desert environments can hold an absolutely unique and diverse ecosystem full of life that’s perfectly suited for conditions we deem harsh and nonviable. You just have to know where, and how, to look.

Animals in this desert are doing everything they can to escape the heat of the suns. Any time you see a tilted rock, or a crack in the ground or a lump from something under the sand then there is a good chance you've found an animal seeking shelter. These little patches of shade are highly contested so once an animal finds itself shielded from the sun, it takes a lot to make it leave. 

On several occasions, we were able to walk right up to animals sheltered amongst the shaded patches of the rocks. Despite wanting to run, they would rather endure whatever fate we had to offer them then lose their valuable defense from the sunlight. Every animal in this desert was faced with the same difficult conundrum: leave shelter or starve, and many decided they weren’t going to leave their shade for anything

One animal we came across found a curious loophole in this quandary. Instead of leaving its shade rock to find food, it evolved a way to carry shelter with it. It is labeled as the Goliath Rock Worm, despite being neither a worm nor a rock. It collects large chunks of sandstone and stacks them onto its back creating a mobile cave that it can duck into at any time to escape the sun. 

It may not look like it, but it's actually in the split limb family of notoclades. Its 8 limbs secrete a sticky mucus which then coats a thick layer of pycnofibers at the extremities. This mucus is very good at picking up sand particles, which get coated in mucus themselves, creating bigger and bigger sand lumps. As they grow, the pycnofibers grow with them, becoming the wattle to the ever growing lumps of sandy daub on these animals' backs. This shelter, plus the added defensive and camouflage, keep the worm safe as it grows, where it can reach anywhere from ten to twelve feet in length and can carry up to five times its body weight in sand on its back. 

They grow to their massive size by filtering food particles out of sand. The deserts of Atria are full of dried out polyp buds waiting for the rains, fallen crab-bugs, dried up algae that blew too far from home, and more. They scoop up a mouthful of sand and sift out the seeds and debris, leaving behind a trail of clean sand in an iconic switchback pattern. And it is always eating. You can tell from this trail they leave behind that they spend their whole day crawling across the desert, sweeping their vacuum like head back and forth across the sand, scavenging for any morsels that fit in their mouths. 

Despite their relatively solitary nature, these animals are seldom found alone. Their size, and much needed shelter, turn them into entire ecosystems here in the desert. Furthermore,  they're always on the move and so many animals use them as a slow moving transport service across the dunes. We found more than twenty wholly different species all living amongst the cracks and crevices of the rock worm's shelter. Beetles flitting around its head, small reptile-like animals basking on the highest sandstone point, tiny desert rays stuck to the underside of the rocks, even smaller desert lockwings built nests in the deep rocky groves. 

Deserts are far from lifeless. The lives of the animals that live here are hard ones, but the way species adapt to the hardships always produces something beautiful. Sadly, these environments are still so fragile. Without this one specific rock worm, hundreds of other animals that depend on it would be stranded with no shelter. Imagine the damage that could be caused by removing an entire species. That's why what we're doing is so important; That's why we need a sample from everything. We don't know the ripple effects that would impact all of Atrian life if even one thread in the tapestry of life goes missing.

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 8: Void

Every night we set up camp in the lowlands, and every morning, we awoke to find something went missing. Normally, I probably wouldn’t even notice, but Lily is good at keeping inventory. It was always inconsequential things. Something like a pen or a screw cap; things that you'd never notice were gone unless you were a hyper-intelligent learning machine with an obsessively keen eye for details. 

We both knew things weren’t just disappearing, they were being taken. Soon I became more and more curious as to why. Could this be another intelligent animal on this planet, or could it be an animal taking items for a nest, like a bowerbird? Is it a behavior that occurs for the whole species or is it the behavior of one curious individual? The what, where, why, and how were relentless. Since this would be our last day in the lowland savanna before starting our trek into the desert, I decided I was going to get answers. 

While Lily powered down for the night, I stayed up and waited. I took the backplate off of my xenosuit and set it out like a tray full of shiny Geo-positioning beacons; small acorn sized GPS markers in case we come across an important location, or really anything that needs to be explored further at a later date. I figured that even if I dozed off, the metal on metal sound would wake me for sure. 

Despite my best attempts to stay up all night, I don't think I lasted ten minutes awake after setting the bait. Surprisingly, hiking for miles through thick grassland in an almost sixty pound space-suit while carrying a fully loaded survival pack is a little exhausting. Some days, I find it hard to make it to sunset before wanting to collapse. The twenty six and a half hour long days here don't help that much either. Regardless, I set the trap for this very reason and in the deep of night, Lily and I were jolted awake. 

And there, clutching every last beacon in its paws, was our thief caught red handed. It was nearly invisible against the dark of night. Its body was a dark purple and covered in small bioluminescent flecks of light looking like stars in the void of space. It was low enough to the ground to slip between the polyp-grass unnoticed but could easily rear up on its hind legs to get a good look at its surroundings. If it hadn’t started flashing its distinct blue warning signal, there's a good chance I wouldn't have spotted it at all. 

Now that my ‘who’ question had been answered, my head began swarming with far more questions than before. Lily, nor the datapad, had a name for this animal and so I sent a message to Ara Lynn in the middle of the night to ask the ambassador. She quickly got back to me and said Walnut, the Kyurall ambassador, knew of these animals. They were called Thief or Robber in their tongue as these animals have a solid reputation of taking anything shiny. 

As to ‘why’ is when things started to get odd. Walnut had told of an ore deposit, or a lump of metal, deep underground. She said there were people before her that forged the deposit and wished to make it bigger and, I think the word she used here was ‘smarter’. So they sent out the robbers to collect their metal. A long while later, despite their masters being gone, they cannot stop what they were made to do. Many Kyurall now have traditions built around them, from what I was told. Many Kyurall actually leave out small baubles and other shiny trinkets for the robbers to collect in fear that if they don't, the robbers will take everything they own. It's like a backwards version of Christmas. 

As much as i enjoyed hearing from Ara Lynn and learning more Kyurall history and oral tradition. It didn’t really answer any of my questions. I don't doubt that these stories are rooted in truth; I have learned that lesson before, but I do wish there was solid, concrete information as to why these animals steal bits of metal. My theory, so far, is that they feast on some of the metallic colored crab-bugs that live here and bring these morsels back to their nests. Sometimes, they may get confused by anything else that looks shiny thinking it might be food. 

Either way, shortly after waking us up, Lily managed to quickly grab a sample from the robber's haunch. The small pinch of pain shook it from its warning pose and, realizing its situation, the void robber pulled all of the beacons close to its body and took off into the night. These animals are, apparently, exceedingly rare. I'm sure getting a sample in exchange for my beacons is more than a fair trade. It’s not like I really plan to use them anyway. I'm a biologist not a geologist, locations aren't really my specialty here. The only situation in which they really have any use is if I'm trapped in a place in need of rescue, but that’s also what Lily is here for. Unless something happens to them, and my data pad, and we are somehow not visible from the vast open sky of the desert, then the beacons are pointless for me. I’m sure you’ll get more use out of them than me little void robber. 

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 4: Impact

As an exoplanetary biologist, I find convergent evolution to be one of the most baffling and fascinating things. Of all the random absurdity that is nature, it's incredible how the same adaptations keep emerging again and again. One can look at a mole, a worm lizard, and a mole cricket and know immediately these animals couldn't be any more distantly related from one another, and yet, looking at their forelimbs you’ll see how scarily similar they are. Time and time again, animals stumble onto the same adaptations for similar problems, or even more strangely, they’ll stumble onto the same patterns of behavior.

The forest began to thin as we came closer and closer to the edge of the jungle plateau. It was still, by no means, easy to traverse, but it was still noticeably thinner. We found glades more and more frequently with a wide diversity of floor and tree polyps. Soon, we began to hear a distant sound. It was further down into the deeper woods and slightly off course of our heading, but I figured it would still be worth investigating. There was no way to tell how far the sound was, only that it kept getting louder meaning we were heading in the right direction. This sound was also… hard to describe. The best explanation I can give is almost like a mix between bouncing an over-inflated basketball in an empty gymnasium superimposed onto that wobbly sound you get when you shake a big sheet of metal.

It wasn’t until we got much closer that I began to notice: whenever this impact sound happened, the hair on the back of my neck would stand up and Lily’s orange color would glitch into geometric shapes of blues, greens, and yellows. As someone who has hiked a mountain on a dark, cloudy day before, I knew this feeling. Whatever was making this sound made the air positively hum with electricity. Seeing as many animals here possess an organ packed with electrocytes, I was overly excited to see what could be causing this phenomenon. 

We soon stumbled upon two brightly colored Peacock Gawbers, one of the few living animals from Atria that we already have back on Earth. While I was able to study the specimen in captivity, observing a pair in the wild is completely different. The bright blue stripes on the larger ones back indicated it was a primary male while the smaller ones' dark blue stripes told me it's a tertiary male. They were most likely disputing territory, or a mate, or it could be any of the multitude of things in nature that would warrant intraspecific combat. 

I watched as they tucked in their heavy forelimbs, shrouded in shield like claws, and charged at one another like bighorn sheep, ramming their heads against one another creating the bizarre bouncing sound and electrifying the air around them as their melons clashed. I assume if I had a melon myself, this buzz i was feeling in the air would be the electrical equivalent of a deafening roar. 

Of all of the infinite behaviors an animal can possess, it's so baffling to see something so familiar. On an alien world I would expect everything to be, well, alien. And yet there are patterns of behavior that just seem to work well in nature. There are strategies that help an animal to survive or pass on genes and so it makes sense that one would see them again and again. A method of fighting where no members of the same species gets hurt is only logical. So even though in the infinite possibility of the cosmos you expect to never see two things repeating ever, convergent evolution stands opposed to possibility and decided to stick with making goats once again.

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 28: Stars

We made it back to the ship today and I'm just… so tired. It feels like years have passed since I was last here but also like I only arrived yesterday. I just finished my meeting with Captain Orrellos; apparently I missed the pickup date by close to a month. In that time, they apparently tracked all of my beacons, all of which came to dead ends. Everyone assumed the worst and I think the captain was upset with me. I can't say I blame them. I was told to stay on the ship and tomorrow I'll be coming home. 

I know I don't have to do these logs anymore. I could be talking with Ara Lynn right now. I could be talking with Alivander or, Siobhán or, Jitra or anyone else who came on this mission and see how their experience went and hear about all the things they collected. I could be talking to anyone at the institute and see just how much I missed back at home. And yet, at the same time, I kind of just want to be alone and just try to process everything that happened to me on Atira.  

I also don't want to be preoccupied with an important conversation at the moment. As soon as we got inside, I put Lily in for restoration and repair. I had to carry them for the last leg of our journey since they didn’t have enough energy to move on their own anymore. The L1 subsidiary on this ship should be able to put them back as they were at the start of the mission. I'm still not sure what that really means, but I do know that I'm dropping everything I'm doing once those doors open to make sure they're okay. On the bright side, I did manage to sample one final animal on the way back. 

We arrived at the ship just past suns down. We could’ve made it earlier but carrying Lily seriously slowed me down. The ship was almost just as we left it but with a few noticeable differences. Since almost all of the plants on Atria are actually animals who fill the same niche, they move much faster than plants do on Earth. My Neptune Class research shuttle was almost completely covered in a fine blanket of gelatinous coenosarc and juvenile polyp buds. Not to mention multiple active and remnant nests from both flying and ground dwelling animals alike could be found within nearly every nook of the ship. 

Built within the ship's portico, what appeared to be another nest blocked my way to the door. Exhausted, I approached without much thought. The closer I got, however, a pale glow became more and more apparent. I couldn't make out a shape in the darkness, but I could see a steadily brightening yellow light shining through the pale blue branches of the nest. Regardless, I trudged forward, desperate for any semblance of home. 

At that moment, I must have gotten too close as, slowly and steadily, a dark head, haloed by a mane of yellow caruncles like stars in the void, rose and turned to stare in my direction. It was apparent that this animal was significantly larger than myself; nearly twice as tall depending on the length of its legs, and significantly more heavy. It looked slightly dazed as if I had just woken it up. I was half asleep at this point myself. Nevertheless, the animal refused to move. 

My feet seemed to move themselves forward on their own and it wasn’t long before I found myself at the edge of its bedding ground. I stared into its pale glowing eyes and it returned my gaze. For nearly my entire journey here on Atria, I upheld my respect for wildlife. I kept my distance whenever I could and interacted with these wild animals as little as possible; not only to keep myself safe, but to keep them safe too. But in that moment, I reached out and gently placed my hand onto the top of its head. 

It didn’t seem to protest. In fact, it felt as if it pressed its head into my hand harder. This was my first time interacting with a wild Atria animal in its natural habitat and the moment was magical. Thinking back, it was also incredibly dangerous. My exhaustion clouded my judgment and I acted according to impulse rather than thinking things through. At any moment, if the animal rejected me, the entirety of my arm was inches away from its large, crushing jaws. If this was any other animal or even a slightly different circumstance, my journey could've been cut short two steps from its end. Once again, I got extremely lucky. 

The moment didn’t last forever though. Holding Lily with one arm, they slowly began to slip from my grasp. With a final burst of energy, which I thought they had all already completely spent, they attempted to clamber back up into my arms. The resting animal got spooked by the sudden and jarring movements and pulled away from me. I took a step back as it stood to its full height. Still half-dazed, it pushed past me and sauntered off into the nearby wood. 

As I looked down, it became abundantly clear that this was not a nest for eggs. It was too small and provisional for the expected heavy use of an egg bed. This was nothing more than a place for it to sleep for the night. Judging from its long, powerful legs and specialized beak, this animal must walk incredibly long distances each day in search for its preferred food. Not to mention, there is no guarantee that it’ll have access to its specific food source on any given day. It's very possible that, like hummingbirds, this species rest in a state of torpor every night to ensure that it doesn’t waste any scrap of energy in its pursuit. That could also explain why its movements were so deliberate and slow as well as why it was so calm with my presents. 

I’ve never had the chance to experience something like that before, and I doubt I will ever again. They say that we remember events that happen first and last more clearly than anything that happens in between them. I'm glad that experience gets to be my last memory with an animal on this trip to Atria. As much as this planet is full of countless dangerous extremes, it's full of so many positive extremes too. Life and beauty and memories are pushed beyond anything I would have ever expected from this trip. Despite everything I'm so glad I…

Lily? Lily! You’re okay! You- you’re back! Do you remember anything? Do you remember me at all? 

[Indistinguishable].

Yes, I'm right here. I’ve been here the entire time. We made it Lily. We- we’re back on the ship. It’s almost over. We made it. 

[Indistinguishable].

Yeah, yeah we're going home. 

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 27: Patience

Today was a day of titans as we stumbled across another one of those giant sauropod titans. It was marginally smaller than the first, I assume a juvenile, and it was also noticeably more dead. Like a whale fall, thousands of hunters and scavengers alike swarmed the titan corpse. Just on the outskirts of the feast, was the recycled remains of an old transport ship; the rusted and dented metal, protruding from the white stone rock face. Seeing as close it is to the felled titan, I couldn’t imagine it to be anything else than a poacher camp. 

In that moment, I felt a newfound animalistic fury welled up within me unlike any rage I've ever felt before. Every bone in my body wanted to charge into that camp regardless of consequence as I felt I could've taken on anyone and anything. Even though I knew it would be a short lived confrontation, I couldn't just sit by and watch as my species damaged this planet on top of the damage we did to ours. However, I couldn't leave Lily and there was no way I was putting their life at risk; never will again. I needed a plan. 

If I still had any locator beacons, I could’ve marked their camp and reported them to the Cohab Institute. If Lily was fully functional, they could disrupt their entire computer system; cut communications or ground them until they can be dealt with properly. Every idea I had relied on some part or component I didn't have or had lost along the way. At the very least, coming up with plans helped quell my fury by a small proportion and allowed me to think things through more clearly. That's when I started noticing anomalies within the poacher camp. 

The first thing I noticed is how many animals were around the body. Poachers would have scared off anything that comes too close to their trophy at this point. Typically the chatter of a collection of humans is enough to deter any wildlife from coming close, no matter how tantalizing the reward would be. If the sound didn’t scare them off then the smell of smoke definitely would. And it was at that point I noticed there was no smoke either. No generators were running which meant this entire base would have been unpowered. 

There was no way a group of poachers would go dark after felling such a massive, prized animal. Something was definitely wrong with this scene. My rage turned to dread which promptly switched over to curiosity. What could’ve driven them away so quickly? Was it fear or necessity? Could they have found something more valuable than such a beautiful titan, or were there even any poachers here in the first place? I patiently watched a safe distance away from the titans body, waiting for any sign or clue of what could've happened here. 

A short while later, I felt the ground beneath me shake like a massive roar of thunder followed by the sharp, piercing sound of twisting metal. The animals scavenging the titans body all fled at once as the entirety of the poacher camp began to, literally, come to life. Heavy metal plates ground against one another as the white stones beneath them began to unfurl. Four massive crab-like claws extended outward and pulled the hulking mass of a new titan out of its slumber. 

As the last of the wildlife fled, I watched as an enormous titan of a crab-bug grabbed hold of the sauropod titan with one set of claws and used its secondary claws to tear off bite-sized pieces and bring them into its mouth. Imagine my relief as I could then see the first titan was not hunted by humans, but rather it was hunted by one of this planet's native species. I had assumed all of the titans of this planet used the same strategy as whales did back on Earth: be too big to be hunted. As it turns out, no animal on Atria is invulnerable and everything is always on something else's menu. 

I observed this new titan interacting with its natural habitat with a new found calmness. Despite being nearly the size of a city block, this animal has plenty of similarities to animals back on Earth. Carcinization seemed to have hit this specific order of crab-bug pretty hard. Typically, the smaller crab-bugs look more akin to various beetles, while this colossal specimen looked almost identical to that of a crustacean. Like crabs on Earth, It also applied a similar means of disguise as the decorator crab; having covered itself in bits of debris found in its environment to blend into the backgrounds. This particular titan, however, managed to come across an old smuggler ship, which it turned into a convincing disguise, as well as a suit of substantially strong secondary armor. But, instead of using its armor to protect itself from predators, it uses it to hide from its prey. 

This animal, which I'm temporarily dubbing the Titan Trapper until I regain access to our record of Known Atrian Animals, is an ambush hunter. It patiently lies in wait until prey of an acceptable size wanders close enough. While I didn't have a chance to see it take down the titan it was feasting upon, it's probable that it brings them down by using its first set of massive claws to drag in downward at which point it goes for the neck. It's also possible that, like coconut crabs, it uses its powerful crushing claws to disable its prey's extremities so it cannot escape. An animal of this size would only go after large meals since moving its massive bulk while covered in heavy armor would take a more than significant amount of energy. It could take years for something the size of the sauropod titan to come by. The titan trappers metabolism must be as slow as its patience is long. 

What I witnessed today was rare and beautiful, but it's also a grim warning to anyone coming to this planet. That transport ship was clearly here illegally. I don't know, specifically, what the people who came here were after, but I know for a fact that they were here to take something to sell back on Earth. I also know that none of them survived their experience here. Atria is an incredibly dangerous planet with even more dangerous creatures. A Mercury Class transport ship has been gutted and turned into a shelter by one single animal on a planet filled with trillions, if not more, dangerous animals. No amount of money is worth coming here unwarranted. You will be unprepared and you will underestimate what you're up against. Please leave the ideals of the UEA and everything it stood for in the past or I promise more death will follow.  

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 26: Energy

There are many similarities to animal taxonomy here on Atria compared to animals on Earth; more specifically revolving around its two most notable phylums; monossea and their popular subphylum known of the noticlades, and the biossea which is dominated by the coleostaceans. It's easy to make the mistake of assuming Atrian animals assume the role and behaviors of their respective Earth counterparts, but make no mistake, despite their similarities, noticlades are not vertebrates and coleostaceans are not insects. 

On Earth, you’re far more likely to see K-selected vertebrates and R-selected insects. On Atria, however, it's the crab-bugs which are far more likely to be K-selected. The noticlades, release a mass of eggs into the atmosphere, not only increases the likelihood of at least one offspring surviving, but it also ensures that the survivors will be prepared for the hardship of living on such a dangerous planet. 

The crab-bugs, however, are already seen as easy targets for many animals here. Their eggs are no exception to this rule. To ensure the safety of at least one of their young, several species of crab-bug will guard their nests to the death if need be. Some will even care for and raise their young until they reach maturity. 

Today we came across a unique form of parenting I've yet to see on Atria. Multiple parents caring for and protecting their young together. While this is far from unheard of on Earth, seeing as many vertebrates work communally like the velvet monkey, K-selected species are so rare on Atria. Most people who come here would have a hard time finding a single K-selected species, let alone a species that practices alloparenting. 

The species in question was, as you may expect, a species of crab-bug. We stumbled into their swarm as we were setting up camp earlier today. As we finished scaling a familiar plateau, the very same plateau that holds our ship, we were greeted up top by a massive lake of crystal clear water built on a bed made of pure chalcedony. The pale blue glow of the pseudo-trees and polyp grass made it look as if the entire lake was glowing. 

As the suns were setting, several more lights began to catch my eye. They resemble fireflies gently hovering above the lake, but their lights were steady as opposed to flashing. As I watched closer, I began to notice patterns. The same lights, always held the same distance apart from one another, orbiting a singular glowing mass. A gentle breeze over the calm waters would easily carry the hundreds of glowing structures up in spirals and spins. I knew I needed a closer look at these strange luminous masses. 

Sitting at the edge of the lake, I could see they were small clusters of crab-bugs all perched on a clutch of eggs. Not just a single clutch, however; there were anywhere from eight to twelve crab-bugs which all laid their eggs together in a single glowing mass. The parents then built stalks out of keratinized silk and perched themselves all around this clutch like the spines of a sea urchin. The photophores, just under their heads, then inflated and the entire structure was taken into the air. 

It's now clear as to why they are doing this. Just the other day, the most obnoxious bird-creature kept disturbing my work; eating any and all crab-bug that strayed too far from the group. These beetles seem to have welded their bodies and their eggs together ensuring that no one in their group can be singled out. Furthermore, due to the large amount of empty space within their structure, it makes the cluster look as if it is one large animal to any potential predators. This feature is only enhanced by their bioluminescence; breaking up their silhouette and making it hard to pinpoint a single crab-bug, let alone their eggs within the parent’s light. 

I sat and watched them for over an hour in the darkness. They reminded me of kǒngmíng lanterns drifting over the lake. I wish I could've stayed up and watched longer but climbing a mountain really takes it out of you for some reason. By the morning, they were all gone. I don't know where they went or what the results of their labor could be. Compared to all the frightening experiences we've had thus far, this experience was very much needed. It was so calming and refreshing for once. I finally feel like I have the energy to push on further tomorrow just for a chance to see if we can find more experiences just as wonderful.

[End Transcription]

[emmybeearts]

Day 22: Titan

As we were making our way through the mountains trying to navigate back to the ship, the path darkened as if night had come early, all at once. All animal sound around us stopped as a massive shadow blotted out the evening suns. A solar eclipse was quickly ruled out as Atria’s moons were far too small to blot out the suns. Looking up at the dark shape in the sky I feared it could have been a super dense algal cloud but, fortunately, it seemed too isolated to be a storm.

The dark shape slowly drifted overhead as the suns casted  long, imposing shadows that stretched for miles. It soon moved far enough ahead that it no longer shrouded everything around it in darkness and the suns were finally able to illuminate its form to us. What I first suspected to be a dense cloud the size of a floating mountain turned out to be the drifting frame of the largest titan I've ever seen. 

It was hard to tell where such an animal fit in taxonomically. It had a tucked up, armored  abdomen and bristled maxillipeds as its secondary forelimbs; both features commonly associated with that of the crab-bugs, while the rest of its body remained unarmored. It also had four back limbs that it rhythmically pulsed, propelling itself through the air like the bell of a jellyfish. These limbs are more indicative of split-limb notoclade biology, however. It's possible that this Titan is a highly derived ancestor that had split off from both families eons ago, or perhaps it simply converged on similar features that the other phylum already possessed. 

The most notable feature of this titan is its filter chamber. It was big enough for the greater lockwings that flew alongside it to comfortably nest inside. The massive hollow chamber was lined with innumerable cilia. The Titan would fly through algal clouds and pick up any single celled plant or animal on those cilia. The algae is then inched back piece by piece until it collects in a big sticky pile at the back of the filter chamber. The titan then uses its specialized secondary forelimbs to comb the cilia for tons upon tons of algae every day and brings it into its comparably small mouth at the back of the chamber. 

Its primary forelimbs seem to have converged on a similar plan to that of the bladder rays, although scaled up to unimaginable proportions. The outline of where the arm ends and where the gas bladder starts blurs against the titans massive bulk. At first I wasn't fully convinced they were its forelimbs at all until I later looked at the photos I took with intense scrutiny. It also had, comparably, little muscle in its body despite how large its skull was. It's very possible that the positioning of the fused forelimbs don't only keep it buoyant in the upper atmosphere, but they're also imperative in holding up its colossal head. 

It's hard to describe the immensity of this animal. The best way to picture it would be to imagine four blimps tethered to the circumference of a football stadium. Even the blue whale would be dwarfed by such a creature. It functions more as an entire freestanding ecosystem rather than one single creature. Flying animals of any size could land on its back to rest and it's so large it wouldn't even notice. Swarms of rays followed behind it to scavenge whatever clumps of algae they could. The size of its filter chamber acts as shelter for the few animals that have never touched the ground here. This animal is a biosphere in and of itself. 

These titans seem to like this area since, as we were setting up camp later in the day, a second one of these behemoths decided to  pass overhead for a visit. It was truly a sight to behold. It was following the setting sun all the while, scooping up cloud after cloud of dense algal bloom in its path. Soon enough, it was blocking the suns themself off on the horizon like a living eclipse. By the time it left completely, the sun had set on the clearest night sky I've seen on this planet. I know it was just a trick of the eye, a matter of perspective and positioning of such a large animal, but at that moment, it really looked like the titan had swallowed the suns and left us in a field of stars.

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