BY LETTER
Boneless
Despite being culturally pragmatic and philosophical the nearbaseline humans of De Bourgainville, Audobon system, had an urban legend or folktale about a nearly invisible shapeless monster that ate wanderers in remote districts.
Research into old earth legends turned up a European folktale called Boneless, a creature often living near water or in dark forests that changed shape and crawled on the ground yet could rarely be seen. (Briggs, Tongue 1976)
A few victims were reported before the Version war, but afterwards the Zarathrustrist leaders of the community decided to apply military surveillance in the areas where Boneless had been sighted. Even the imperturbable Zarathrustrists were surprised to get several clear recordings of a bear-sized shapeless mass which seemed to melt into the soil or water after capturing prey.
An unknown alien species was suspected, nicknamed the Shoggoth by the local Audobon branch of Novamedia. Investigations of samples by the Eden institute of Xenoscience showed that the culprit was a virtual subsapient entity which had been given real-life incarnation using Utility fog at some time during the 5890's, but became detached by carelessness.
The neogen utility fog creature so created used organic compounds from animals and plants to maintain it's own existence, but had no advanced intellect, so was not held to be morally responsible for the victims it had taken over the years.
Finally captured by an infiltration swarm, it was released in a specially prepared reserve in Attenbrough County, De Bourgainville, but a scheme to introduce a companion of similar design failed when one individual ate/assimilated the other.
Research into old earth legends turned up a European folktale called Boneless, a creature often living near water or in dark forests that changed shape and crawled on the ground yet could rarely be seen. (Briggs, Tongue 1976)
A few victims were reported before the Version war, but afterwards the Zarathrustrist leaders of the community decided to apply military surveillance in the areas where Boneless had been sighted. Even the imperturbable Zarathrustrists were surprised to get several clear recordings of a bear-sized shapeless mass which seemed to melt into the soil or water after capturing prey.
An unknown alien species was suspected, nicknamed the Shoggoth by the local Audobon branch of Novamedia. Investigations of samples by the Eden institute of Xenoscience showed that the culprit was a virtual subsapient entity which had been given real-life incarnation using Utility fog at some time during the 5890's, but became detached by carelessness.
The neogen utility fog creature so created used organic compounds from animals and plants to maintain it's own existence, but had no advanced intellect, so was not held to be morally responsible for the victims it had taken over the years.
Finally captured by an infiltration swarm, it was released in a specially prepared reserve in Attenbrough County, De Bourgainville, but a scheme to introduce a companion of similar design failed when one individual ate/assimilated the other.
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Development Notes
Text by Steve Bowers
Initially published on 14 December 2002.
Page uploaded 9 December 2002, last modified 16 June 2003
Initially published on 14 December 2002.
Page uploaded 9 December 2002, last modified 16 June 2003
