1943: Nathan Porter’s Journal
EXPEDITION TO THE OUTSIDE
This trip took me along the coastline a little further than I have explored before.
I discovered, some way along, the carcass of a giant insectoid, with a monstrous head like a horse but with a mouth split all the way up the muzzle to the base of the neck, filled with extraordinarily sharp fangs, quite unlike any insect in our world.
…
The creature had gauzy wings like a dragonfly, translucent and shimmering as I inspected them. The wingspan of this creature is approximately 5 feet across, and 2 feet wide at the wings’ widest part. The wing is veined all the way across, creating uneven window panes of thin membrane like a mosaic of stained glass. They seem to be hinged on the creature’s back, embedded inside a casing not unlike a beetle, although the body seems to be segmented like a hornet. The casing is a brown-green, and covers the thorax.
The sting of the creature is enormous and would surely pierce through a man before any venom could be injected. It does seem to be venomous, as the stinger is hollow and came away when I cut at the root of it like a stubborn tooth. Venom spilled from the sacs to which it was attached, and I have collected samples for testing.
I have also cut away one of the giant wings for further examination of its mechanics and properties. If nothing else, it will make a fine mobile for the nursery, or a kite for the children when they are older.
Other external samples taken: fangs, one of the creature’s eyes, which are round orbs comprised of perfect hexagons, implying a full range of sight, and one limb of the six it possesses intact, for dissection.
I did perform a rudimentary dissection on the spot while I had the opportunity, and discovered the thing has three stomachs. I took samples of blood and attempted to sample the stomach acid but the acid burned through my glass vial. I took samples of the flesh where possible instead, to see what could resist such acidic properties.
I am not sure what the creature died of; there were no wounds upon it, so perhaps it reacted to a change in its environment, such as temperature or adverse weather. It may have starved to death; as far as I could tell, it’s stomachs were empty, although they dissolved my scalpel and other blades as I sliced them open to check.
Note: some stomach acidic spilled out upon the wing, and the wing is scorched in that spot, but has not completely eroded through. What is the wing made of?
Note: the blood is blue, like ink, and has a very similar texture.
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