THE ARTIFACT

Log 24, flamentum. The air is not the only place that contains methane on this planet. While smaller than the air, the oceans do contain a noticeable amount of methane. This is most apparent on the arctic coast where the methane clumps up into bubbles under the ice. Fish avoid these bubbles however one has found a use for them. Dubbed the flamentum these fish use a special substance shot from a nasal cavity to ignite the bubbles as a way of killing prey. While it may sound like this creature is derived from an avian ancestor, scans have shown that the ignition organ is completely different from any species so far. Rather than a combustion organ shooting gas from a vent the flamentum uses a mixture of chemicals form the water and bodily fluids to make a spray that ignites methane. The bodily fluids are stored in a sack along the spine while chemicals from the water are obtained by “breathing in” and using hairs on a web to filter the water. The chemicals are put into a mixing organ, shot out through the nostrils, and then kaboom. This whole process happens in about 5-7 seconds, the flamentum will always “breath in” right before firing. Certainly a fun but potent creature to study on your own, luckily the droid is keeping watch on Georg, letting me get as close as I want to the fish.