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Twitterbird

Twitterbird
Image from Steve Bowers

The original Twitterbird was inspired by the windgliders of Xenxac, a world with a complex xenoecology. Though the name of the creator has been lost in time, the notes in the genetic template he made remain. The windgliders utilize the high pressure of Xenxac to make their type of flight possible, but the creator wished to make a pet that could survive and fly in a standard nearbaseline environment. Though there are clear physiological differences between the twitterbirds and the windgliders, due to their different environments, one must assume that he was satisfied with the result, since the genetic template was released to the Known Net.

The twitterbird looks like a boneless flying wing with a sleek, aerodynamic head on the edge. Though the body does make a slight bulge in the middle of the wing, it isn't really possible to tell where the body ends and the wing begins. The wing is approximately 2 centimeters thick at its thickest point towards the forward edge of the wing and thinning to a membrane at the very edge at the back. The bird is featherless with a white to light grey skin. Possessing no legs, the twitterbird needs to either stay continuously airborne or rely on its owner to get it back into the air.

The genetic template was changed some time in the 6th millennium, giving it the song from which its name originates. The change was made by the Masterspiel empathic clade, and has given the twitterbird's song very soothing qualities, perfect for relieving stress, or simply helping one to relax. For this reason the twitterbird is very popular on some worlds in the NoCoZo, though its spreading is limited by the fact that it itself is very vulnerable to stress, and tends to sicken and die if exposed to very chaotic and noisy surroundings. It is also popular in the Sophic League, where it is used by some people to aid in meditation.

 
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Appears in Topics
GengineeringHigh Tech / HitechNeogenics
Organic/Biotech
 
Development Notes
Text by Thorbørn Steen
Initially published on 17 July 2007.

 
 
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