Re: Civilization without fire

tb0pwd1@corn.cso.niu.edu writes:
>
>
>My limited science is showing: can octopodes survive for any time out of
>water?  They might seek dry land for the construction of fire.  Also,
>aren't there some chemical reactions that combust in the absence of
>atmospheric oxygen -- like peroxide and gasoline?  They might not discover
>fire themselves, but once exposed to it they're bound to find ways to use
>it.
Well, I heard that in one aquarium they couldn't figure out why the crabs
in the crqab tank kept disappearing. One night it was found the octopus
across the hall would crawl out of it's tank, into the crab tank, grab a
crab, and then go back to it's tank (they found if they put strips of
astroturf  around the rims of the tanks, it was enough to keep the
octopuses in).

Obviously, they can last as long as they have oxygenated water in their
mantles (is that the correct word for the saclike body?), as the gills are
within the saclike body. Unfortunately, they are often very flat and
squishy when out on land (if you have seen when fishermen catch them in
their nets, and throw them on deck, they tend to look like blobs).  Maybe,
they could develop ways to have easy access to water on them (like a tank
filled with water?). Of course, they would have to overcome the problems
of decreased mobility on land, perhaps they evolve enough they form a
shell like Natiluses do? Perhaps they use could make use of amphibious
vertibrates to get around on land (maybe a symbiotic relationship)?
>
>
>Shit, that's *another* alien langauge.  Perhaps color-based or tactile or
>a mixture of the two.
>
>--Pat
Hmm well you can do that language Pat :). I have my work cut out for me
working on the dictionary for Saalangal as it is :).



________________________________________________
Barry Garcia.
- My homepage:
 http://student.monterey.edu/dh/garciabarryjames/world/dahon.html
- The Saalangal Language:
http://student.monterey.edu/dh/garciabarryjames/world/contents.html