C.O.W. #253, living interplanetary vessel. WIPs

[chriskot]

(lark: just wanna point out you made the deadline the 29th rather than the 28th, I was actually wondering why there wasn't a lot of entries, because I believe a lot of people thought the deadline's tomorrow...

That's my situation here. I've got a completely finished entry that is not in the voting thread simply because I thought I might have a few extra hours to fine-tune it a bit more. Does this mean that I don't get to submit it?

[Mr. P Show.]

(lark: just wanna point out you made the deadline the 29th rather than the 28th, I was actually wondering why there wasn't a lot of entries, because I believe a lot of people thought the deadline's tomorrow...

hmmm. That's what I thought also. This is what I copied down on my notepad:

"......Deadline:

March 29th 9:00pm PST (GMT -8 )"

Thanks for pointing that out Rob.

[diheb1]

Hi!! In my opinion, those who sent WIPs, just for this time, should enter votation..

[Cy-AN]

I am out of this race My opinion is that most people who participate and votes do not take seriously the topic, how can we arguing about the description??? The topic says it must be able to land and this is it. Think if you had to do this for a company and that will tell you this topic?? what you tell them, that they think too much about the topic and you should do what you think is best ??? That is not right. The creature must be able to land, which means it's a lifestyle and that means the creature do that often and its construction should be the same, What is with the Apollo rocket thing related, Apollo rocket break up into pieces to land. And can not work for a living creature, the creature must be built to land, this means that it must have protection to reentry (the protection may be the same as the Space Shuttle Columbia), must have a system to slowdown and a landing system, all this give shape to the creatures, But for some time now not all the rules of threads are respected we vote the most beautiful illustration not the most realistic and ingenious creature and that is not right THIS IS C.O.W.

[chriskot]

Well, for what it's worth, this is what my submission would have been:


Artist: chriskot

Concept: Meteoroid Bioshuttle
The meteoroid bioshuttle is a very large creature found on several celestial bodies in multiple star systems. The adults are sessile creatures which rely on the assistance of relatively large endosymbiotes for metabolism, while the young are free-swimming larvae that are launched through space in order to colonize other planets. The average larva reaches roughly half of a kilometre in length, although this size can vary greatly based on the health of the parent. Inside each creature is a large organ for housing the symbiotes which will assist it as an adult.

When a larva is fully developed, the parent launches it into an intersecting orbit with a nearby planet or asteroid. The larvae are far lighter than they appear and even bouyant in most atmospheres thanks to a large hydrogen gas bladder. A few seconds after launch, the creature begins to accelerate toward its target by firing a number of high-pressure gas jets behind it. Upon reaching its final speed, the larva enters deep hibernation to conserve energy for the long trip. Vapours which induce a similar state in the symbiotes flood their housing chamber.

Landing is a messy process. Upon final approach, the creature turns around 180 degrees and fires its jets in its direction of travel to slow itself down. The gas jet organs which allowed it to slow down before landing are crushed on impact. After landfall they are unnecessary to the creature and their sacrifice dampens the blow for its more vital parts. A dense network of spongy fibres within the symbiote housing organ cushions the impact for the bioshuttle's passengers. All of these measures collectively do plenty to slow the impact to survivable speeds, but they still have their limits. Bioshuttles will rarely surive collision with very planets more than 5.0*10^25kg or targets with thin atmospheres. The largest planets on which they can land successfully often have far greater populations, as many young will not be able to completely escape the planet's gravitiational pull and will impact elsewhere on the same planet. Immediately after collision with the planet's surface the larva roots itself into the ground and begins its metamorphosis into an adult.

Certain civilizations occasionally use bioshuttles as a cheap means of planet-hopping. The symbiotes are cleared out of a developed larva to make room for a crew, and direct intervention with the adult's nervous system allows distant planets to be targeted. Because the launch and impact forces can be traumatic or even lethal for most species, there are very few which choose to rely on bioshuttle for spaceflight, and those which do usually do so only as a cheaper alternative to their own technology. After landing, many species will continue to use to housing organ within the sessile adult as a temporary settlement.

[Mr. P Show.]

And this is what my submission would also have been lol. At least you got your entry completed chriskot.

Artist: Mr. P Show

Concept:

Theses colorful creatures were discovered by a race of colorblind aliens who are parasitic in nature. upon entry; the electrifide tentacles are blanketed by it's hind wing which also serves as a heat-shield against the natural exhausted gas from it's natural propulsion system. upon landing, it's three upper hind wings take over in steering it's descent.