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B5 Alien Anatomy

FlarnChef

FlarnChef

Regular
We know Centauri have 2 hearts and the males have 6....... Narns have pouches,
Pak'Mara have very strong digestive systems, and Minbari don't sweat...they secrete a fluid from who knows where....? What else is known that I obviously have missed. I know there must be more info out there! Ya know like....what is Kosh really made out of, or how thick is a Minbari skull, or what else do the Pak'Mara & Marcab have in common???

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"...abso-FRAGGIN-lutely, damn it! I have been studying your use of lauguage since our last discussion. Do you approve?"
 
You've covered all the ones I know. There was never any mention of Drazi reproduction organs
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One interesting thing is that apart from the Vorlons and Shadows they all appear to be upright bipeds with two eyes, a nose (of some sort), two arms, two ears and a mouth
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jomar:
There was never any mention of Drazi reproduction organs
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<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Umm.... yes, there was. In A Call to Arms, if I remember correctly. It's the small pouch under the male's arm or something like that.
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"It's animal magnetism. What can I say?"
- G'Kar, A Tragedy of Telepaths
 
Wasn't there an EP where G'Gar had gills or is there just another hole in my mind?

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"...abso-FRAGGIN-lutely, damn it! I have been studying your use of lauguage since our last discussion. Do you approve?"
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by FlarnChef:
Wasn't there an EP where G'Gar had gills or is there just another hole in my mind?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
He had Gills in THE GATHERING, but he said they were implants, so I assume that they are not natural to the Narn species



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“Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought and why we died. All that matters is that today, two stood against many. Valor pleases you, so grant me this one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, the HELL with you!”

Eat More Goat.
 
You're right Kribu, I just forgot A call to Arms. It was a really messy spot
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jomar:
It was a really messy spot
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<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

One you wouldn't exactly want to dig into...
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Oh, and I believe the hump on the back of the Pak'ma'ra is supposed to be the female...

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"It's animal magnetism. What can I say?"
- G'Kar, A Tragedy of Telepaths
 
Minbari don't drink - can't drink. It sends them psychotic, apparently. Shame we never actually saw that on the show. I wonder what would happen if a Minbari ate a Christmas cake, or a sherry trifle? Or used iodine?

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Interesting thought!

But who breaths methane?

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"...abso-FRAGGIN-lutely, damn it! I have been studying your use of lauguage since our last discussion. Do you approve?"
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>We know Centauri have 2 hearts and the males have 6...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

And that Centauri females also have 6 ....
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We also know that the Minbari reproductive system is substantially different from that of the Humans, since Delenn asks Ivanova why she has suddenly started getting "these odd cramps."

There must be several species of methane breathers, since they have a bathroom for them, but besides the Vorlons, I don't know who they are. (And somehow I can't imagine the Vorlons needed to use the bathroom. Although the picture of Kosh sitting on the throne with his encounter suit gathered around his ankles as he reads Universe Today is pretty funny.)

Perhaps the Gaim, since they wear what is obviously breathing aparatus. Who else does?

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net

[This message has been edited by Joseph DeMartino (edited September 01, 2001).]
 
The Pak'ma'ra are known to tolerate most kinds of food... and various atmospheres, including methane. But they either can't eat fish (or anything that grows in water) ...or they just don't like it.

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N'Grath and the Na'ka'leen feeder are two more examples of non-humanoids.

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Now that you mentioned it... the Minbari are certainly oxygen-breathers but do they have a capability to store a substantial amount of oxygen in their system?

Didn't we see an episode where Delenn enters Kosh's quarters, takes off the breathing mask and proceeds to talk to Kosh without having implanted gills like G'Kar or Lyta.

I remember having seen something like that... but can't recall such an episode no matter how much I try. Can anyone help me - am I mistaken or was there such an episode?

[This message has been edited by Lennier (edited September 01, 2001).]
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Joseph DeMartino:
Although the picture of Kosh sitting on the throne with his encounter suit gathered around his ankles as he reads Universe Today is pretty funny.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Gee, thanks, Joe. I have little pieces of grapes all over my keyboard and desk now, after reading that.
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In other words: yes, that is a funny thought. Scary, too.
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As for the other methane breathers... I suppose they were kept in the alien sector and never really seen walking around or attending council meetings. I am assuming that the rather large-looking section where Kosh lived actually housed more species than just the Vorlons and the Gaim.

Oh, N'Grath was an "alternate atmosphere" breather as well.

The Pak'ma'ra seemed to have some sort of allergic reaction to fish - or was it anything that had barium in it? I don't think it was just that they didn't like fish... I mean, if they were suspected of eating dead Minbari...
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"It's animal magnetism. What can I say?"
- G'Kar, A Tragedy of Telepaths

[This message has been edited by Kribu (edited September 01, 2001).]
 
I don't think this has been mentioned yet (not even sure it's canon), but I think Gaim ambassadors are genetically engineered to be bipedal/"bi-arm". I think the general population of Gaim are much more insectoid. I heard/read that somewhere. Am I mistaken?

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Not many fishes left in the sea. Not many fishes, just Londo and me.
 
Perhaps I should have dropped by here a few days ago...
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Moving to Babylon 5 Discussion...edit: I mean General Discussion.

[This message has been edited by Prophet (edited September 02, 2001).]
 
Gaim society is based on the hive, lead by queens. Their drones are genetically engineered to best suit their purpose - there are representative drones, warrior drones of many sorts... and of course, various kinds of workers.

Not much is known about the Gaim except that:
- Their fleet strength is below average.
- Their ground forces are formidable.
- Most exports are related to genetic engineering.
- They can build undetectable fusion bombs.

Gaim representative drones are humanoid because humanoids seem to be a predominant form of life in the galaxy.

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As for Minbari bone crests... most of it is solid bone, enough to protect against a blow that would break most skulls. I guess this can partly be attributed to their fondness for denn'bok.

It may, however, serve additional functions. As a visible and usually unique external feature, it is probably used for long-range recognition. Various ways of bone-carving can bring out natural differences or similarities in headbones. Therefore it also holds the potential of being used to judge individual attractiveness.

Some have even speculated that regions of the headbone which don't have a protective purpose might indeed... be quite sensitive. In fact it is among the topics a Human-Minbari conversation dictionary might list as not suitable for smalltalk and a possible source of misunderstanding.

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Canned flarn is a sacrilege.

[This message has been edited by Lennier (edited September 02, 2001).]
 
In spite of all the differences, most of the aliens are remarkably similar to humans. They stand upright on two legs, wave two arms about, have one head with two eyes, and a mouth. It is difficult to see the ears in some of them (Drazi and Drakh) and a few of them have odd looking noses.

When one considers the aliens that are portrayed in science fiction movies or television, they seem to be either humanoid or like insects. I don't know if this is lack of imagination or the inability to project weird looking creatures onto the screen.
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Well, the humanoid part would have something to do with the fact that it's somewhat easier to find humanoid-shaped actors than non-humanoid actors.
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And it would be far too expensive - and not long ago, quite difficult - to create non-humanoid (CGI or muppet) aliens who would look convincing.

Na'ka'leen feeders weren't insectoid, as far as I can remember. The Vindrizi looked rather different as well. But basically it would be too difficult to create "alien"-looking aliens who would appear throughout the show.

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"It's animal magnetism. What can I say?"
- G'Kar, A Tragedy of Telepaths
 
I think Kribu has hit it dead center: its too expensive to have alien looking aliens. Some directors/producers detest the "muppet" use in scifi, yet I think its the only reasonably priced alternative to having suspiciously human-shaped aliens. Well, muppets or animation, that is.

It's one of those places where we have to suspend disbelief. Or do without aliens all together.

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"I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense,
reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."-- Galileo
 
The basic humanoid design is also a reasonable one for an intelligent tool-user, which is what any spacefaring race would have started out as:

Nature, at least on Earth, seems to have a bias in favor of bilateral symmetry, therefore even numbers of limbs, eyes and the like. Above insect size, more than four limbs don't seem to work very well. A tool user is going to need to have two limbs to manipulate tools, while reserving two limbs for locomotion - this gives you upright posture and bipedalism. Binocular vision is not only vital in a predator, but important for fine manipulation of objects, as is an opposable thumb, and multiple digits on the forelimbs. Ditto stereoscopic hearing, provided by two ears mounted on either side of the head. Having short, and well-protected, sensory paths from the major sense and communications organs to the brain is also good design, so brain, eyes, ears and mouth are all gathered in a single sensory extension called a "head." This is mounted high on the frame to provide the greatest ability to detect threats and/or food sources at the greatest possible distance.

While it is certainly possible to imagine all sorts of exotic aliens shapes and sizes, evolution on Earth suggests that the basic humanoid form might not only be the most practical for Hollywood, but that it can be justified on scientific grounds as well.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
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