Folly of Man: Fauna of the Transantarctic (Part I) By TrollMans Watch

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Geological mapping suggests that the Transantarctic Ecosystem runs for at least two-thousand kilometres beneath a large portion of inland Antarctica, and to an unknown depth. The intense subterranean volcanism of the continent has created a hidden environment that is able to contain populations of indigenous megafauna, kaiju species, and apparently even at one point an once grand civilization. It appears most likely, most of these organisms are descendants of those contained on the continent as it froze over, or mutations of more standard fauna native to (or at least once native to) Antarctica, although there have also been suggestions that this is a remnant environment that once spanned the entire surface of the landmass.



The contained climate varies wildly due to the inconsistent nature of the geothermal vent pockets. As a general rule, the deeper the caverns, the hotter it gets; many of the tunnels directly beneath the ice or even exposed to the air through crevices in the surface glaciers are cold, although quite as inhospitable as aboveground, while the deepest tunnels are only suited for the most heat-resistant life-forms, and quite hostile to human beings. Therefore the variety of native organisms varies wildly by specific climate; there my be flora and fauna adapted to survive the chill or those that thrive best in the steaming depths and do poorly in different regions of the same cave system. Creatures that blast a freezing chill or release burning heat coexist within different levels just as fish adapted to different depths can coexist in the same location.



The 1970 Monarch expedition to the region was unable to penetrate far beyond the lost city before they were forced to retreat as Gezora attacked, and therefore were only able to chart a very small portion of the ecosystem and its ecology most closest to the surface. Most vegetation in this region is root, lichen, or moss-like, and grows thickly upon the ground and walls which grows quickly but is low in nutrition. This already is enough to sustain a great quantity of near-surface life, and some bio-terrestrial organisms also directly consume the ore-rich rock and volcanic soil directly as their diet. However, as the productivity of this region is rather low, it is likely this is only a small portion of the ecology's true biota, and further inward there exists a greater multitude of fantastical life-forms, a notion supported by frescos and carvings found etched in the architecture of the Antarctic civilization, which show a great variety of kaiju/kaijin that have yet to be found. However, further expeditions into the Transantarctic Ecosystem are too risky to continue due to the presence of Gezora, and it will continue to remain a mystery until further notice.



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Species of the Antarctic Underworld (1/3)



Ice Borer: A species of mammaloid grazer, the elephantine animals live in large herds for protection. Their front teeth have become fused into broad shearing plates that are ever-growing to withstand carving through rock and ice. The flattened tusks are set loosely in separated sockets, and can be pivoted individually to help better grip and scrape away snow and dirt. Their bodies are covered in thick fur for insulation against the cold, with two layers of dense inner hair, and an outer coat of porcupine-like quills for defence; their young are protected from both predators and the cold by living within this fur for the first few years of their life. The newborns are very small compared to the adults (which can grow up to eight metres at the shoulder), as they are born in large litters. Adults possess large mandibles to burrow through rock and ice, as well as a large fleshy pad over their head which they can redirect excess radioactive energy to superheat the skin, easing their task by flash-heating ice to steam. Against predators, the ice borers will use these pads as battering rams, as these can be hot enough to cause spontaneous combustion and severe burning in anything flammable or living. They are ferociously protective of their young, and the whole herd will work together in the defence of their offspring; their beak-like tooth plates and powerful jaw muscles, while adaptations for burrowing, also make them devastating offensive weapons.



Sub-Manta: Fish-like flying super-chimeras seemingly descended from a type of marine crustacean (morphological similarities suggest either isopods or amphipods as likely ancestors), they partly graze the root-like hyperflora that grows along the valley walls and crevices, using a pair of ciliated mandibles to feed the vegetation into the mouth, but numerous rows of gill-like filters on their undersides also help them collect radioactive particles from the saturated air while in flight. Four pairs of limbs have become fused and broadened into two pairs of wings between nine to twelve metres across that enable flight, while the remaining pairs are poorly developed, making the animals cumbersome on land. To become more lightweight and maneuverable, their exoskeletons are thin and non-calcified, but this also makes them more vulnerable to predation, and they travel in groups to make up for it. With low metabolisms, they need to eat seldom and generally spend long periods in hibernation, emerging in flocks for a few hours each day to feed before returning to their roosts, sleeping for eighteen to twenty hours per day. Sub-Manta are cryogenic organisms (an umbrella term for a creature which only thrive in or utilizes temperatures far below freezing), they can spray a type of supercooled fluid which causes severe frostbite on contact, but also acts a frigid smoke screen to facilitate their escape. As they become uncomfortable in warm temperatures, they travel in groups to conserve cold, and releasing freezing gas en masse, they can create huge clouds of ice which freeze smaller organisms solid within seconds on contact. They occasionally feed on tough volcanic vegetation by first crop dusting it with this fluid, as the extreme temperature difference breaks through the outer shell of the hyperflora and allows them to feed on the softer inner tissues.



Shockirus: Common dermal parasites of daikaiju, these crustacean-like organisms passively absorb the radioactive emissions of their hosts as well as draining their internal fluids with syringe-like mouthparts. They require a constant source of strong radiation or their body cells will begin to break down; this is a very rare condition that arises from certain organisms mutated by YOG, dubbed "hypervory", and without radiation will attempt to fuel themselves with any organic matter they can ingest, becoming extremely aggressive. Earwig-like tail pincers and four pairs of blade-like forelimbs are used to rip and tear apart prey. By curling the tail underneath the body, Shockirus are able to leap great distances to move more quickly or to put themselves upon prey. When Gojira first emerged on the shore of Odo Island in 1954, his arrival was preceded several hours prior when numerous carcasses of Shockirus washed up ashore; however, these turned out to be immature nymphs barely two feet in length, and during his later attack on Tokyo, specimens exceeding five feet in length swarmed the streets. Their size and appearance is slightly different depending on what environment or host they feed from. Genetic studies and morphological comparisons seem to indicate they probably evolved from a form of trilobite which once lived in the oceanic abyss near volcanic vents in early Palaeozoic times. A population of these arthropods live in the Transantarctic Ecology, some parasitizing particularly large native fauna, others existing only in the deep geothermal fissures, absorbing this energy instead. Occasionally, populations may grow large enough to form plague-like congregations that devour everything in their path, but these events are generally short-lived as larger predators quickly reduce their numbers, or they eventually turn on one other in their frenzied hunger.



Chōjiryoku: An armoured pseudo-saurian which feeds primarily on mineral ore deposits, incorporating these metals into its carapace. Although having a strongly turtle-like appearance, this is likely superficial; its 'shell', for example, is not comprised of fused bone plates, but of tightly overlapping plate-like metal scales analogously similar in structure to those of pangolins. Several pairs of antennae-like spines along its face are finely attuned to the strong magnetic field of the poles, and it can somehow harness these magnetic waves into its body, feeding off the energy of these waves as a partial magnetotroph. It is also able to charge these metals with the waves it absorbs to produce a powerful electromagnetic field that is magnetically charged, utilizing large specialized ganglia and muscle bundles contained throughout its broad body to maintain this . This biomagnetic field is powerful enough to cause severe disorientation and vertigo in other organisms within a radius of several metres, even in humans. It can use this ability to simply walk up to smaller organisms that are rendered unable to flee to kill and eat them as a supplement to its usually floral and mineral diet. When threatened, the first thing it does is rattle its carapace to intimidate enemies, and then puff up sacs underneath its segmented shell like a blowfish to appear larger and more threatening, sometimes increasing to several times its original size (of around ten to twelve metres in carapace length). However, just like a blowfish, this appearance is merely a bluff and it does not gain mass; in fact it actually becomes more vulnerable as its plate scales are spread apart. If pushed even further, it can reverse its own magnetic polarity to launch the metal plates that cover its body at opponents at high speeds, although this a rare attack due to its limited quantity of ammunition. It can actually control the movement of its plates (and certain ionized metals up to a specific size) in mid-flight within a fifteen metre radius through manipulation of its electromagnetic field, although only in simplistic directions. Underwater, it can also discharge electrical shocks using a more standard use of its strong electrical organs (as the species is a capable swimmer).



Ekitaigama: Mollusc-like organisms with bodies covered in a highly corrosive slime; they are in effect crawling stomachs, breaking down organic matter externally and then sopping it up with a long, sponge-like tongue. When threatened, they can release a thick, adhesive foam over their entire body quickly which sticks to its attackers, leaving chemical burns if not scrubbed off quickly. Genetic studies indicate that they are actually derived amphibians, possibly a primitive lissamphibian, and appear to be an extreme example of organic degradation by YOG infection, as hundreds of millions of years of continuous mutation have created a species which resembles little more than amorphous masses of meat, with few discernible external traits aside from this. They are still perfectly functional despite this, and also have the ability to change their body shape and skin colour. In a cephalopod-like fashion, they can become almost invisible, allowing them to hide from predators and ambush small prey organisms with their long tongues, indicating some degree of intelligence and self-awareness. The largest Ekitaigama are generally around forty centimetres in length; although they continuously grow larger, their lifespans aren't very long as their cells start to break down, literally turning them to mush within two or three years. To reproduce, they bud off numerous tadpole-like larvae into bodies of water to develop on their own, one of the few recognizable vestiges of their amphibian ancestry. The larvae have simple cartilaginous skeletons, but these are reabsorbed as they mature. Ekitaigama reproduce often and in large numbers; while usually most larvae die off quickly from predation, on some occasions this produces a boom in the population, as they overwhelm the ecosystem. These booms tend to rise and fall quickly as the food supply is depleted and predators, including other Ekitaigama, gorge themselves on the glut of prey.



Kinger: Lizard-like pseudo-saurians (an avicephalian ancestry has been suggested) fifteen to twenty metres in length which clamber about the walls and cliffs, their powerful beaks grow continuously to facilitate their tough, mineral-rich diet. This is expressed through their armour-plated scutes, which are infused with silica and metals to produce a spiny carapace that is both heat-resistant and extremely durable, allowing them to withstand the hostile conditions of their natural feeding grounds. They are surprisingly quick in short bursts, and combined with their ability to change the colour of their skin, they can seem to teleport as they disappear with a ripple of their scales, and then reappearing some distance away. However, their primary defence is their vocal mimicry, with their most well-known cry being a nearly flawless parroting of Gezora’s high-pitched chittering, which is so finely tuned that it can even imitate the distortions that would result from the call echoing from some distance away, giving potential predators of Kinger the idea that Gezora is approaching and usually prompting a hasty exit or at least a momentary distraction, allowing Kinger to escape. A heavy armoured tail coated in long spikes (normally used as a fifth appendage to grip walls while climbing) is a final defence if even this fails to deter any predator, although its relatively short length makes it a last resort attack useful only in very close range.



Takora: Semi-terrestrial cephalopods unrelated to Gezora (while initially reported as a form of octopod, closer genetic and morphological studies suggest it as a form of shell-less ammonoid), they are harmless to human beings but very keen thieves, often collecting useless objects and trinkets purely for their own curiosity, forming extensive bowers filled with junk. Their particularly large mantles (between four and five feet in length) are primarily filled with air bladders and fluid sacs, forming a combination aerostatic and hydrostatic skeleton that keeps their body's shape together outside of the water. They also produce a particularly thick mucous film that helps the skin retain water underneath it. The bonebed of Maguma fossils are scattered with the pens and beaks of Takora, which suggests that the cephalopods associated strongly with the super-mammal species when they were still populous, perhaps scavenging on scraps or parasites in symbiotic relationships that colonies of the kaiju would inevitably bring back. Similar to most cephalopods, they have very acute camouflaging skills and can change their colour and shape to imitate objects, or even other animals, by rapidly shifting chromatophores and reorientation of tentacles, modifying the shape of the mantle through redistributing internal fluids, and altering skin texture (some Takora were even seen to try and imitate humans). Their ability to disguise themselves is exceptional even among cephalopods however, as specialized, translucent, crystalline scales over their body are able to refract light to break apart their body shape and momentarily become nearly invisible through a rippling movement. They often seem to try and test their shapeshifting prowess for no reason than to amuse themselves, honing their capabilities further in doing so. Their exact numbers are therefore very difficult to quantify, as utilize their disguises often, making them difficult to spot and track.



Mogela: A likely close relative of Kinger which takes a much different route while maintaining a similar body plan, burrowing through the rock and earth with metal-plated claws and a flattened, trowel-like head. This species was actually first discovered a few years before the Transantarctic Expedition, in 1967, when an individual in Hokkaido was accidentally awoken from dormancy underneath Mount Tarumae by construction work. The creature made its way to the city of Tomakomai in search of metals, burrowing underneath the infrastructure and sinking the buildings into the ground. In Japan's second kaiju incident since Godzilla, casualties were much lower, with no recored fatalities thanks to a fast response and evacuation effort of the surrounding area by G-Force, although several city blocks were sunken into the earth. Its extremely thick metal plating could not be penetrated by most conventional artillery, and it was eventually killed when it was forced out of the ground and bombed with modified bunker busters which were able to pierce its hide. The animal later became something of an unofficial mascot among G-Force personnel as the creature caused minimal destruction compared to Godzilla and no fatalities, and led to increased support towards the military branch due to their success in eliminating Mogela. From Monarch's studies of the species in Antarctica, it appears Mogela are normally peaceful and spend their days endlessly tunnelling through walls searching for nutrient-rich ore deposits, their extremely thick armour insulating them from extreme heat or cold, but the very same tools used for digging make them very hard to put down when they are on the defensive, so few predators bar Gezora himself bother with them. The specimen which attacked Tomakomai measured at a little over fifty metres in length, but it seems this was a particularly large individual, as most Mogela seen in Antarctica range between thirty-five to forty metres. It is able to project pressurized hot air from holes at the end of the tail, which used to clear away rubble and soil from its tunnels while digging, but this is also an effective defence against cryogenic predators such as Gezora.



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NEXT: The Firestorm of Beijing

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Published : Jul 12, 2019