Nnedi Okorafor’s “From the Lost Diary of TreeFrog7” was one of my favorite reads this semester. The plot of the two researchers trudging through a jungle in pursuit of a mysterious CPU plant was fascinating, and Okorafor did an incredible job in creating the “Jungle-fever” feel.

What I most liked about the story, of course, was the entomological influence on the organisms. In a world that was supposedly far advanced than our current society, the insects seemed to have evolved as well. We see that the wingless hawk moth is acting almost as a guard against the CPU plant. This behavior is not different from current insects protecting their territories from invaders. However, what a drastic change is the size in the moth. Currently, insects are thought to be limited in size due to the relatively low oxygen concentrations in the air (21%). This is supported by the fact that we had dragonflies the size of eagles in ancient times when oxygen concentrations were higher (35%). Since insects have a passive respiratory system and no way to pump oxygen around, how much oxygen in the air is hypothesized to be correlated with size. Perhaps in the plant-dominated world of TreeFrog7, oxygen levels have increased enough so that you get giant moths that intelligently stalk you from behind.

URLs:

https://www.livescience.com/24122-why-insects-are-not-bigger.html (Info)

Here’s an image of a beetle pupa that reminds me very much of Giger’s art. The ribbing of the abdominal section on the pupa looks just like the ridges you see in the dead pilot alien. It’s also interesting how this pupa is almost entirely immobile and inactive (although the innards are churning through the metamorphic processes), just like the frozen pilot. I actually thought there was going to be a jump scare of the alien popping out- thank goodness that didn’t happen.

Are you convinced that invertebrates can inspire SF? I think more and more through this journey I am coming to the conclusion that that is the case.

URLs:

https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/38729066 (Image1)

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-alien-1979 (Image 2)

After watching Alien (1979) and being astonished by the fusion of mechanical and biological systems to create the Alien world, I was interested in the mentality of the creator behind it all- H.R. Giger. I had originally learned about him from my co-worker this past summer who was raving about the art. As I mentioned in my previous Alien post, much of his creations were inspired by invertebrates.

A further search into Giger’s works revealed many interesting things about the artist. Contrary to what I thought, his work mainly surrounds the intersection of humans and machines. This actually makes sense since the final form of the Alien is still humanoid in shape. Furthermore, though the facehugger is invertebrate-like, it is very much shaped like a human hand. That said, since invertebrates are segmented creatures and machines often have distinct sections, it is easy to melt vertebrates and invertebrates together in this art form.

Fun fact: turns out Giger has several bars designed with his “biomechanical” theme!

URLs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._R._Giger (Info)

https://hrgiger.com/ (Info + images)

I briefly mentioned in another post about the butterfly drones in Cimini’s The City in the Sky. In the film these are presented in an ominous fashion, almost like trackers for the android or for the clone hiding from his “master”. As we discussed in class, there is tremendous irony here since in many cultures butterflies symbolize life and the soul (http://www.gardenswithwings.com/butterfly-stories/butterfly-symbolism.html). Furthermore, the butterfly’s beauty (especially swallowtail butterflies) remind people of the magnificence of nature. By creating artificial butterflies in a dark, metallic world, we see a glimmer of hope that is instantly extinguished when we see they are likely to help track down beings considered as “property”.

I do not think the butterflies in this story are necessarily a warning from Cimini against using insects as drones, since I see it as merely a way to artistically enhance the desperate environment of the story. That said, it is still an example of the permeation of invertebrates within works of SF.

(Screenshot from City in the Sky)

URLs:

http://www.gardenswithwings.com/butterfly-stories/butterfly-symbolism.html

There are so many animal-like drones out there. Though this one isn’t exactly an insect drone, this bird-mimicking camera is deployed to record insect activity! Check out this video. Absolutely fascinating.

This goes to show how insect drones have an advantage in that they could reduce spooking or detection. I never thought of using a robot to capture footage of natural systems, but clearly this video demonstrates that capability. I think so much of this is framed by dystopian SF works, like the spying butterflies we see in Cimini’s City in the Sky.

URLs:

https://fstoppers.com/documentary/drone-disguised-hummingbird-captures-incredible-footage-monarch-butterfly-swarm-480714?fbclid=IwAR3Qn5bhJap2aTBD7hEbcKK0ZDMjKfNGvuwhwCU4LwEsGE5B__51MBRHa0w (Info)