(urth) Typhon's nature

[Jerry Friedman]

> From: António Pedro Marques <entonio at gmail.com>
> Jeff Wilson wrote (11-10-2011 08:30):
>> On 10/11/2011 12:25 AM, Jerry Friedman wrote:
>>> Jeff Wilson wrote:
>>>> "Hmm, weather patterns continue to deteriorate... Great Me, 
> what is that
>>>> THING on the infrared?"
>>> 
>>> :-)
>>> 
>>> With no evidence, I imagine the sea monsters cold-blooded, so they
>>> wouldn't show up on the IR.
>> 
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/yoshihirata/
>> 
>> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071015215148.htm

The fish is illuminated by an infrared source

http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050277

and I'll bet the beautiful creatures on Flickr are too.  In some of the pictures it seems the source (the sun) is visible.  So maybe if Erebus swam or oozed over a volcanic vent...

Of course this has nothing to do with Wolfe, and I don't mind if it turns out I'm wrong.

By the way, many thanks to Yokogawa et al. for publishing in an open-access journal!

> FTA:
> 
>> And their babies reveal many details because they are see-through.
> 
> +10
> 
>> Unfortunately, some of the researchers had to stay awake along with the
>> fish. "Originally, we didn't have the automated sleep-deprivation 
> system,
>> so I manually sleep-deprived them, becoming sleep-deprived myself,"
>> Yokogawa added.
> 
> 'Unfortunate' is an odd spelling for 'fair'.

Indeed.  Maybe I can observe that in Wolfe stories, we're seldom invited to care about animals that can't talk.  For instance, what would "Our Neighbor, by David Copperfield" be like if anyone suggested we feel sorry for the birds?  Say if a starling said, "I can't get out"?

No doubt there are lots of exceptions, though.

Jerry Friedman