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Published: 2020-01-24 19:42:51 +0000 UTC; Views: 297; Favourites: 8; Downloads: 0
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On the 6th of October, 2349, a group of 3 researchers was sent out on an expedition to the coast of the nearby Mare Diconexa sea.
The expedition team consisted of Richard Dromer, Emily Yonders, and Samson Canders.
After getting into the on site rover, the crew traveled for approximately 30 minutes before arriving on the coast.
The researchers described the weather as "nice, but slightly cloudy".
They said that small bird-like organisms (which from now on will be refered to as "birds" for convenience sake) could be seen flying around, sometimes sitting on the large "tube plants" as Samson called them.
Said "birds" were reported as "too fast to catch", and acquiring high resolution photos proved difficult.
But the closer they got to the coast, the plant life seemed to disappear more and more, until almost no green could be seen amongst the rocky holes and crevices of the tide pools.
No birds, no tall plants, just bumpy rocks and the occasional "moss beds".
The crew got out of the rover, as they have agreed that using it to drive across the rocky terrain may cause structural damage to the vehicle.
Samson turned on his camera, and began recording.
They walked towards the sea, until a noise caught their attention.
The sound of something big being dragged over the rocks made the group strenghten the grip they had on their guns.
Making their way through the rough terrain, they realised that the dragging noise had stopped, and had been replaced with silent groans.
Emily looked around the corner, before quickly trotting back to the group.
She swore she saw something resting near a big tide pool.
Running over to the same corner Emily had looked around just a minute ago, the group could only look in disbelief.
At first, they thought it was dead, stranded on the shore by the retreating tide, the noises they heard were its last attempts at dragging itself into the water, before succumbing to lack of oxygen.
Then its head rose up, the 3 pairs of eyes now wide open.
Samson focused his camera on the beast.
The following text is a transcript taken from a quick expedition to the south-eastern coast of Mare Diconexa in Midlandia.
Emily Yonders: There it is, look!
Richard Dromer: The hell is that?
Emily Yonders: Like I'm supposed to know!
[The creature continues looking around, presumably trying to locate the researchers who disturbed it.]
Richard Dromer: So uhhhh, the creature appears to be at least 5 meters long, that's 16 feet. I can see multiple pairs of eyes, the head is triangular in shape. Looks like there are whiskers hanging off the lower edges of the head. This thing has a long neck and a tail that ends with-
Samson Canders: It noticed us!
[After briefly looking at the group, the organism goes back to resting.]
Richard Dromer: Entity doesn't seem too aggressive. Tail appears to end with a flat tail fluke simular to that of benthic sharks. There are only 2 visible forelimbs, and 2 slits on the side of the organism. I assume there are two more on the other side.
Emily Yonders: Some small orbs surround the creature, many appear to be beached. They have the same 2 holes of the pillar plants we found around the landing site.
Richard Dromer: Take photos Samson.
Samson Canders: Right.
[Samson takes multiple photos of the creature and plants.]
[The research team continues exploring the coast for 30 minutes, before returning to the base by rover.]
End of Transcript.
The organism encountered has been given the nickname of "seal worm", due to its ability to climb onto the shore to sunbathe.
Much of its lifestyle, however still remains a mystery.
Judging by the tail fluke and streamlined body, it's commonly assumed that this organism spends most of its life in the water.
The two powerful forelimbs are probably useless while in the ocean, as they are not flat, and would thus be highly inefficient as a manner of propulsion.
3 pairs of eyes are located on the head and neck of the being, a large field of view combined with the powerful tail and flexible neck would make the seal worm very hard to catch in the water.
The function of the two pairs of holes on the sides of the seal worm remains a mystery, though in the footage recorded by Samson the holes could be seen opening and closing, which leads most to believe that they are a part of the respiratory system.
Footage and eyewitness testimony show that multiple filamentous hairs seem to grow out of the edges of the creature's mouth.
Function of these hairs is anyone's guess.
They may be used as sensory organs, filtering devices, or could even be covered in cnidocytes that deliver deadly poison upon contact with another living being.
Multiple samples of the "small orbs", as well as the "moss beds" were taken.
The "moss beds" appear to be close relatives of the orbs, sharing simular anatomy and behaviour.
Connections to the pillar plants have also been suggested.
The orbs are much like the man o' war of Earth, floating on the water's surface via internal chambers filled with air.
The orbs, however use photosynthesis as a means of gaining energy, their flesh packed with thiosulphate - a chemical which is dangerous to dogs and cats if consumed in great quantities.
When the low tide comes, many get trapped on land, they close their oxygen excreting pores to minimize water loss.
The Moss beds live in tightly packed groups, they use a single root to anchor themselves in the hard rocks, taking in whatever nutrients they can from the water that surrounds them during high tide.
Scientific and common names have been proposed for the organisms described in this document.
"Seal worm" - Vermophoca magna, Greater seal worm
"Bright green small orb" - Parvicircus leios, Emily's blobine
"Darkish green small orb" - Planocircus melior, Right blobine
"Teal moss bed" - Mironaphus pallium, Teal mossite
"Light green moss bed" - Mironaphus siccus, Rough mossite
"Dark green moss bed" - Mironaphus triticum, Moss bed
