Cerathecan
Caught script hook in allocated memory for command >> generate-databank "Cerathecan" >> echo \memory-carve -signature=0xSEABEEF5 >> restore-databank
"Our PDAs point to organisms like the cerathecan and exclaim 'behold: the road not taken'. On Earth, seed shrimp are tiny slime-dwellers; on Proteus they grow huge. But just as easy life in our decontaminated bases deafens us to the call of Proteus, easy analogies blind us to the truth. The map from Earth is not only wrong, so is its basic dogma. Evolution does not follow roads here." —Anita Gottschall, *The Way Away Home* *Exile cerathecan*, the horn-cupped exile. A mysterious carnivore and deposit feeder with no clear Earth analog except the tiny ostracod (seed shrimp).
Overview
"Our PDAs point to organisms like the cerathecan and exclaim 'behold: the road not taken'. On Earth, seed shrimp are tiny slime-dwellers; on Proteus they grow huge. But just as easy life in our decontaminated bases deafens us to the call of Proteus, easy analogies blind us to the truth. The map from Earth is not only wrong, so is its basic dogma. Evolution does not follow roads here." —Anita Gottschall, *The Way Away Home* *Exile cerathecan*, the horn-cupped exile. A mysterious carnivore and deposit feeder with no clear Earth analog except the tiny ostracod (seed shrimp).
Gameplay attributes
No species-specific gameplay effect found; values use the engine's large- or small-creature default template.
AI profile
- Bite: 100, Physical, ~2.5 m radius
PDA Analysis
1. Exile
A crustacean hidden in an upright, double-valved shell, similar to an oyster or clam. The crustacean pilots the shell through a central eye and periscopic ears, and feeds with a cluster of basal tentacles. A thruster in the shell's hinge (a region called the umbo) propels it forward.
2. Behavior and diet
The cerathecan grazes on the seafloor, plucking detritus and prey from hiding places. To protect the cerathecan's body from struggling prey, the interior of the shell is lined with a paralytic neurotoxin. The cerathecan's shell muscles are themselves paralyzed by this toxin — it cannot open without secreting an antidote.
3. Perplexing genetics
There are no genes in the cerathecan's genome to produce a shell. Genetically, the cerathecan is simply a large shrimp. The shell tissues contain a partial genome, without organs to sustain an independent life. Further investigation required.
Assessment
Related Creatures
More entries from the same ecological slice.
BFJ
, the behemoth finger-legged jelly. A massive specimen with no Earthly analog.
Bluemoon
Databank entry coming soon.
Bullethead
, the armored squid dart. A swarm predator that attacks by ramming and penetrating its prey. Capable of *Caught script hook in allocated memory for command >> generate-databank "Bullethead" >> echo \memory-carve -signature=0xSEABEEF5 >> restore-databank* "I saw their eyes first. Bright yellow eyes, down the inside of the lava tube. I killed the motors and the floods, signaled Iso and Mel to grab the handholds, and held my breath. For a minute I thought we'd ride clean through. Then the current pulled the Tadpole into an outcrop and at the sound they all just—went off. Like bottle rockets. Back and forth, up and down, everywhere. One of them lodged in the port hull just aft of the canopy and I saw, very clearly, that it was a squid, completely plated in armor. They hit you tail first, hard enough to punch into titanium. Incredible. Do you think they run on compressed air? Or do they burn something? The hull alarm went off — I tried to blink the floods to confuse them — but Mel and Iso's blackboxes were already crying. The noise seemed to attract them. Apparently they like to get stuck in wounded prey and wait until you bleed to death, then go to work on your carcass. So by the time I got back to Habitat there wasn't much left of Iso and Mel for Iso and Mel to recycle." —Tsewangiin "Ruby" Anar, "When I Didn't Die"