Other planets aren't involved. It's an alternate Earth, a different world/timeline or set of them, as in the MWI, that diverged from ours 500-700 (there might be different estimates) million years ago. I want to be able to say "Dr. Sam is working on x while characters A and C are exploring the Quinault Canyon [underwater]." I thought she might work in quantum computing, since she went to U of Washington in Seattle (where they have a QC lab), but she doesn't have to. She'd be working with a philosopher of mind and a marine biologist, but their fields don't have to be involved.DaveC426913 said:Is the theory/hypothesis/experiment intended as a story hook to drive her/them into space, hot on the trail?
It seems there's two hurdles to overcome in the story: one is 'OMG, there's life out there on other planets' and two is 'OMG, they're descendants of Earth Cephalopods' in that order.
What combination of those two do you need to tackle?
It doesn't seem to mention anything related to my idea except aliens, which my cephs aren't exactly anyway.Bystander said:
Sayestu said:Other planets aren't involved. It's an alternate Earth, a different world/timeline or set of them, as in the MWI,
This makes it sound like you need to tackle both.Sayestu said:I want to be able to say "Dr. Sam is working on x while characters A and C are exploring the Quinault Canyon [underwater]." I thought she might work in quantum computing, since she went to U of Washington in Seattle (where they have a QC lab), but she doesn't have to.
I do plan on multiple threads. The MC had a psychologically and physically traumatic event after years down the "Cephs from another timeline" conspiracy rabbit hole that he now doesn't remember, and, without too much irrelevant detail, dreamed of a marriage with Biologist when really he was married to Physicist. In the dream world, which he still visits each night, his subconscious memories of the rabbit hole manifest as a mysterious mystery of unsolved mystery.DaveC426913 said:Is the theory/hypothesis/experiment intended as a story hook to drive her/them into an alternate world, hot on the trail?
It seems there's two hurdles to overcome in the story: one is 'OMG, there's alternate dimensions' and two is 'OMG, in this alternate world they're descendants of Earth Cephalopods' - in that order.
What combination of those two do you need to tackle?
This makes it sound like you need to tackle both.
I think you might want to address them both separately, in two side-by-side storylines, until they merge when the two scientists finally discover each other.
What I'm not sure about is how this is possible. Why would a scientist, exploring the Canyon in this world, discover anything from an alternate world?
What if - I don't know - the Cephologist is exploring paleocephalopodology - as a way of getting us readers up to speed on cephalopods - while on the primary plotline, the physicist fires up his Alternate-World-o-matic and summons a sentient Ceph. The Ceph of course, is utterly inscrutable, and she needs to bring in an expert in Ceph behavior.I am not sure how you're going to get over the hurdle that Cephalopods, having no bones, should be effectively non-existent in the fossil record. Is there an abyssal equivalent of preservation in amber? What if a Ceph was preserved, in situ in a pyroclastic flow?
So now that she has a sample to study, is there some way that a Cephologist might need the services of a physicist to ... er ... image ... Cephalopod remains, and that's what bring them together?
Cephologist keeps getting back images from the X-ray-o-matic lab that are useless. They are blown out with artifacts. A bit of sleuthing with the X-ray-o-matic lab suggests it is an artifact of neutrino exposure. Physicist steps in and discovers there are double or treble the number of neutrinos emitted from this specimen as there should be. Almost as if there's overlapping duplicate neutrino sources...
Hornbein said:This might help.
Ooh, yeah! Something like that might work! But not that exactly, of course.DaveC426913 said:Again, along the lines of researching similar stories: In Robert J. Sawyer's trilogy Hominids they used the neutrino detector buried under the Canadian Shield near Sudbury. When they turned it on, they accidentally connected with an identical neutrino detector in an alternate universe and summoned a Neanderthal - whose species had risen to intelligence instead of sapiens.
Cephalopods, such as octopuses, squids, and cuttlefish, possess several unique traits that could support their dominance in a hypothetical parallel world. These include advanced cognitive abilities, a capacity for rapid adaptation, highly developed senses, and sophisticated camouflage capabilities. Their ability to learn and solve complex problems, combined with their physical adaptability, allows them to thrive in various marine environments, which could be extrapolated to them adapting to broader ecological niches in alternate realities.
In a parallel world where cephalopods could become dominant, key evolutionary pressures would likely differ from those on Earth. For cephalopods to evolve into a dominant species, they might develop enhanced longevity, greater reproductive rates, or even more complex social structures. Evolutionary adaptations could also lead them to become terrestrial or amphibious if necessary, expanding their ecological dominance beyond marine environments.
If cephalopods were the dominant species in a parallel world, the implications for ecosystems and biodiversity could be profound. Their dominance could lead to unique food webs, with cephalopods at the top as apex predators. This might influence the evolution of other species, leading to a diverse range of adaptations and ecological niches. Biodiversity could either flourish under the novel conditions created by cephalopod predominance or suffer, depending on how cephalopods interact with their environment and other species.
Maintaining dominance in a parallel world would present cephalopods with several challenges. These could include maintaining genetic diversity, adapting to changing environmental conditions, and managing competition with other species. Additionally, as intelligent creatures, they might also face challenges related to social structure and resource management, especially if they evolve to have more complex societies.
The concept of cephalopods as dominant species in parallel worlds challenges our Earth-centric views of intelligence and evolution. It prompts us to consider intelligence in a broader, more varied context, recognizing that cognitive abilities can evolve under very different conditions and manifest in forms vastly different from human intelligence. This thought experiment also expands our understanding of evolutionary possibilities and the potential for life to adapt in unexpected ways, potentially informing astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.