Week 4: To Walk Among Supertardigrades
Planet M-Franciscae is, in many ways, an alternate course of events that our own Earth might have taken. It's the alternate reality that we gave more time for primordial life to retain some of its key characteristics, to diversify and develop intelligence similar to humans; in other words, the extreme conditions of Earth's Proterozoic and Paleozoic eras remained rather unchanged.
The planet's ecosystem is dominated by volcanic activity and hydrothermal vents, a product of significant tidal flexing early on in the planet's formation. Oxygen levels, much like the aforementioned Earth eras, are low. Heat transfers easily to the poles by way of the two moons on opposite axis ends of this planet. Planet M-Franciscae is smaller than that of Earth, its axial revolutions shorter too - and the days a mere fifteen hours. There is virtually no tilt to this planet's axis; seasons do not exist here.
In an effort to describe the extreme conditions - and the resulting extremophile life forms that have adapted from such circumstances - planet M-Franciscae is named after the particularly resilient tardigrade species, Mopsechiniscus fransciscae, that is native to Earth's own Antarctica. Some of the species that inhabit this extreme planet include a plethora of eukaryotic flora and fauna, tube worms, scaly-foot gastropods, mollusks, bivalves, and tardigrades.
The dominant species of this planet, then, known as Supertardigrades, vary from their predecessors in that they have learned to exploit extreme environments rather than simply adjust to them. They themselves are far larger than their ancestors, growing up to two feet in length and standing at almost a foot tall. Largely consuming moss and algae as a whole, the alpha members of Supertardigrade clans will hunt tube worms and some small gastropod species. Supertardigrade anatomy includes opposable claws, which aids in their hunting habits and places them above the rest of the planet's life forms. The ability to acquire from a variety of nutritional sources has allowed for a superior cranial system that enables communication, memory, and problem solving. It can be observed easily that the key factors that allows human intelligence allows for the same in this singular species.
Supertardigrades dwell near hydrothermal vents and on coastal regions of volcanic islands. The only danger they ever face are those of deep-sea environments, where their low density makes for challenging mobility at highly dense depths - thus rendering them easier prey by those species that have adapted to move much more easily here. The lack of light at these depths, of course, is of little consequence to the Supertardigrade, as their mode of communication is independent of this factor.
Due to the high levels of electromagnetic radiation left over from the formation of M-Franciscae, infrared waves are an integral part of the both the biology and mode of communication for Supertardigrades. This can be understood easily by picturing a remote pointing to a TV and signaling channel switches; this process uses infrared waves, too. Supertardigrades "speak" to one another by emitting infrared waves, and are capable of transmitting complex ideas in this process. While the remote control operation is binary, and a press of a button - or not the press of a button - implies an action, there are a variety of buttons to achieve a variety of actions. Supertardigrade communication abilities operate in a similar fashion.
The lifestyle and attitude of Supertardigrades is explained by describing their goals: they search beyond their own horizons and discover as many extreme environments that exist on their unique terrain as possible. As a result of their ability to detect any form of external infrared activity (due to a thin atmosphere), they have over time come to comprehend the existence of other planetary bodies beyond their own. They aspire to discover the environments on these as well. Supertardigrades are, however, limited to this exclusive mode of receiving and giving communication, aside from crude vision.
Note the timeline in which humans cross over:
The planet's ecosystem is dominated by volcanic activity and hydrothermal vents, a product of significant tidal flexing early on in the planet's formation. Oxygen levels, much like the aforementioned Earth eras, are low. Heat transfers easily to the poles by way of the two moons on opposite axis ends of this planet. Planet M-Franciscae is smaller than that of Earth, its axial revolutions shorter too - and the days a mere fifteen hours. There is virtually no tilt to this planet's axis; seasons do not exist here.
In an effort to describe the extreme conditions - and the resulting extremophile life forms that have adapted from such circumstances - planet M-Franciscae is named after the particularly resilient tardigrade species, Mopsechiniscus fransciscae, that is native to Earth's own Antarctica. Some of the species that inhabit this extreme planet include a plethora of eukaryotic flora and fauna, tube worms, scaly-foot gastropods, mollusks, bivalves, and tardigrades.
The dominant species of this planet, then, known as Supertardigrades, vary from their predecessors in that they have learned to exploit extreme environments rather than simply adjust to them. They themselves are far larger than their ancestors, growing up to two feet in length and standing at almost a foot tall. Largely consuming moss and algae as a whole, the alpha members of Supertardigrade clans will hunt tube worms and some small gastropod species. Supertardigrade anatomy includes opposable claws, which aids in their hunting habits and places them above the rest of the planet's life forms. The ability to acquire from a variety of nutritional sources has allowed for a superior cranial system that enables communication, memory, and problem solving. It can be observed easily that the key factors that allows human intelligence allows for the same in this singular species.
Supertardigrades dwell near hydrothermal vents and on coastal regions of volcanic islands. The only danger they ever face are those of deep-sea environments, where their low density makes for challenging mobility at highly dense depths - thus rendering them easier prey by those species that have adapted to move much more easily here. The lack of light at these depths, of course, is of little consequence to the Supertardigrade, as their mode of communication is independent of this factor.
Due to the high levels of electromagnetic radiation left over from the formation of M-Franciscae, infrared waves are an integral part of the both the biology and mode of communication for Supertardigrades. This can be understood easily by picturing a remote pointing to a TV and signaling channel switches; this process uses infrared waves, too. Supertardigrades "speak" to one another by emitting infrared waves, and are capable of transmitting complex ideas in this process. While the remote control operation is binary, and a press of a button - or not the press of a button - implies an action, there are a variety of buttons to achieve a variety of actions. Supertardigrade communication abilities operate in a similar fashion.
The lifestyle and attitude of Supertardigrades is explained by describing their goals: they search beyond their own horizons and discover as many extreme environments that exist on their unique terrain as possible. As a result of their ability to detect any form of external infrared activity (due to a thin atmosphere), they have over time come to comprehend the existence of other planetary bodies beyond their own. They aspire to discover the environments on these as well. Supertardigrades are, however, limited to this exclusive mode of receiving and giving communication, aside from crude vision.
Note the timeline in which humans cross over:
- Humans, some x years in the future, have been furthering study in System X, where they’ve been detecting unusual heat patterns as well as high levels of it. With the help of thermal imaging they zero in on M-Franciscae, and then specific regions of the planet that correspond to locations of the hydrothermal vents, springs, and surrounding oceanic-volcanic regions.
- A satellite from Earth was sent near to M-Franciscae to collect images. The atmosphere on this planet is far less opaque than Earth’s and objects in the sky are relatively clearer. Supertardigrades have spotted the foreign object with both vision and thermal energy emissions.
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