Nibbler
When the Persean Scout Corps first delivered news of the discovery of the planet named Greenbelt in the Border Space region, xenobiologists thought it would be a dream-come-true. This was a tidally locked planet with an atmosphere which showed a life-abundant ring extending away from the day-night terminator in both directions. Surely some fascinating evolution would have taken place on such a world. The fact that the first scout ship returning from the world came out of jumpspace adrift with a ravenous beast aboard and no sign of crew made it all the more fascinating.
The first research expedition to the planet landed approximately 100 miles from the terminator on the daylight side in an area of broad rolling hills covered in rich green foliage. Plants resembling grasses predominated, with tree-like and shrub-like organisms dotting the landscape everywhere. Preliminary broad scans of the landing zone showed no large fauna, and particularly no signs of anything resembling what had been found in the hapless scout ship. There were, however, many species of small animal life which scanners showed scurrying around the grasslands and among the tree-like plants. Stepping out of the ship, the scientists were greeted by a number of small, fascinating, and apparently harmless and friendly, creatures which they quickly dubbed Nibblers.
The creatures rolled by using these mouths to grasp the ground; the arms would flex or extend to propel them in a desired direction. On hard surfaces, the lips could be used as suction cups to continue locomotion. With different arm/mouth units grabbing and releasing in sequence, the creatures could quickly achieve remarkable speeds. At rest, unused arms were held tight against the body, practically disappearing beneath the thick fur.
They were quickly discovered to have twelve sets of eyes as well, with each pair flanking one of their tiny limbs, but they only ever seemed to open one pair at a time. The furry eyelids made it almost impossible to discern the eleven closed pairs.
The creatures showed no aversion to being picked up and handled, which made physical examination much easier. When picked up and stroked, the creatures emitted a sound quite similar to a cat's purr; the scientists noted this only added to the creature's "cuteness quotient". They would also use their mouths to gently "gum" someone who held them; scientists described the sensation as "sort of nice" and reminded one of the "making biscuits" behavior of Terran house-cats. It is this behavior that led to the name "Nibbler".
Two hours later, the rest of the crew were awakened by the horrible crashing, thumping, and shrieking going on behind the researcher's closed cabin door. As they approached, the sounds stopped, replaced by fainter sounds of crunching and what sounded like something being ripped or torn. With two of their number armed with laser rifles, they carefully opened the door to reveal the sight of a creature that they instantly recognized as the one which had been discovered on the derelict scout ship.
The creature consisted of a hairy, roughly spherical central body about a half-meter in diameter. It stood on four long, spindly but muscular legs that ended in cup-like "feet". Four shorter, but broader arms ended not in hands, but in gaping mouths that flashed many sharp-pointed teeth, and four antenna protruded from the top of the sphere. These all whipped around to "face" the now-open door. The half-eaten corpse of their comrade lay beneath the creature. Several laser rifle blasts put it down quickly.
The thing that caused the transformation from Nibbler to Shredder was the removal of exposure to the light of the planet's sun. If you took a Nibbler and brought it to the planet's dark side, it would metamorphose. Putting it in a room and turning out the light had the same effect. Further analysis revealed that it was actually a fairly narrow band of near-ultraviolet radiation that was involved).
The transformation is rapid - taking no more than an hour. It is also irreversible. Further analysis of the Shredder form of the creature showed it to be omnivorous, preferring fresh meat but capable of subsisting on plant life if necessary. Contrary to the initial guesses, Shredders never attacked or ate Nibblers - at least they weren't cannibalistic.
The first research expedition to the planet landed approximately 100 miles from the terminator on the daylight side in an area of broad rolling hills covered in rich green foliage. Plants resembling grasses predominated, with tree-like and shrub-like organisms dotting the landscape everywhere. Preliminary broad scans of the landing zone showed no large fauna, and particularly no signs of anything resembling what had been found in the hapless scout ship. There were, however, many species of small animal life which scanners showed scurrying around the grasslands and among the tree-like plants. Stepping out of the ship, the scientists were greeted by a number of small, fascinating, and apparently harmless and friendly, creatures which they quickly dubbed Nibblers.
The Nibbler
At first glance, Nibblers appear to be limbless balls of fur with a pair of large ocular organs which once researcher described as "puppy-dog eyes". Fur colors ranged widely; specimens of every color of the rainbow were observed. The creatures moved about - sometimes quite quickly - by rolling along the ground. Closer analysis revealed that they did have limbs of a sort: twelve extremely short, jointed arms were arrayed around the body in a dodecahedral arrangement. Each appendage ended in a mouth-like structure equipped with lips and plate-like "teeth" ideal for tearing and crushing the native grass-like plants.The creatures rolled by using these mouths to grasp the ground; the arms would flex or extend to propel them in a desired direction. On hard surfaces, the lips could be used as suction cups to continue locomotion. With different arm/mouth units grabbing and releasing in sequence, the creatures could quickly achieve remarkable speeds. At rest, unused arms were held tight against the body, practically disappearing beneath the thick fur.
They were quickly discovered to have twelve sets of eyes as well, with each pair flanking one of their tiny limbs, but they only ever seemed to open one pair at a time. The furry eyelids made it almost impossible to discern the eleven closed pairs.
The creatures showed no aversion to being picked up and handled, which made physical examination much easier. When picked up and stroked, the creatures emitted a sound quite similar to a cat's purr; the scientists noted this only added to the creature's "cuteness quotient". They would also use their mouths to gently "gum" someone who held them; scientists described the sensation as "sort of nice" and reminded one of the "making biscuits" behavior of Terran house-cats. It is this behavior that led to the name "Nibbler".
Trouble
Things changed when the scientists decided their first day of work was complete. They retreated to their ship to relax, eat, organize their initial notes, and get some sleep. One Nibbler seemed to have formed a bond with one of the researchers; it had followed him around all day. He decided to bring the creature aboard, taking it into his cabin when he retired for some sleep.Two hours later, the rest of the crew were awakened by the horrible crashing, thumping, and shrieking going on behind the researcher's closed cabin door. As they approached, the sounds stopped, replaced by fainter sounds of crunching and what sounded like something being ripped or torn. With two of their number armed with laser rifles, they carefully opened the door to reveal the sight of a creature that they instantly recognized as the one which had been discovered on the derelict scout ship.
The creature consisted of a hairy, roughly spherical central body about a half-meter in diameter. It stood on four long, spindly but muscular legs that ended in cup-like "feet". Four shorter, but broader arms ended not in hands, but in gaping mouths that flashed many sharp-pointed teeth, and four antenna protruded from the top of the sphere. These all whipped around to "face" the now-open door. The half-eaten corpse of their comrade lay beneath the creature. Several laser rifle blasts put it down quickly.
Transformation
Several ensuing weeks of further examination of the cute Nibblers still left the researchers baffled until an extended field trip closer to the terminator region of the planet revealed the secret. They noticed that as they approached the day-night line, their scans began to pick up more of the carnivorous creatures, which they had unofficially dubbed "Shredders", and fewer of the cute Nibblers. At first, they assumed Shredders were simply hunting Nibblers, but the trend continued until, beyond the terminator, the balance seemed to shift to all Shredders and no Nibblers. But all the while, the relative population density per area of the two combined remained the same. This triggered the discovery.The thing that caused the transformation from Nibbler to Shredder was the removal of exposure to the light of the planet's sun. If you took a Nibbler and brought it to the planet's dark side, it would metamorphose. Putting it in a room and turning out the light had the same effect. Further analysis revealed that it was actually a fairly narrow band of near-ultraviolet radiation that was involved).
The transformation is rapid - taking no more than an hour. It is also irreversible. Further analysis of the Shredder form of the creature showed it to be omnivorous, preferring fresh meat but capable of subsisting on plant life if necessary. Contrary to the initial guesses, Shredders never attacked or ate Nibblers - at least they weren't cannibalistic.
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