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VC-25-A,
Air Force One.
747-200-Bs,
tail number 28000
With over 1.25 million known species and an estimated five hundred thousand still to be classified, earth’s ‘bugs’ outnumbered all of the other animals combined. They made up 95 percent of all the planet’s species and an astounding 40 percent of the planet’s biomass.
‘Yeah,’ Tolland shouted back. ‘Polar bears actually give the Arctic its name. Arktos is Greek for bear.’
‘Antarctica has no polar bears,’ Tolland said. ‘So they call it Anti-arktos.’
Pickering knew she was right. Under Title 18, Section 3056 of the United States
Code, agents of the U.S. Secret Service can carry firearms, use deadly force, and make ‘un-warranted’ arrests simply on suspicion that a person has committed or is intending to commit a felony or any act of aggression against the President. The service possessed carte blanche.
The prehistoric creatures you just named – dinosaurs, reptiles, birds – they all have internal skeletons, which gives them the capability to grow to large sizes despite the earth’s gravity. But this fossil …’ He took the sample and held it up. ‘These guys have exoskeletons. They’re arthropods. Bugs. You yourself said
that any bug this big could only have evolved in a low-gravity environment. Otherwise its outer skeleton would have collapsed under its own weight.’
‘Water is a low-gravity environment,’ Tolland explained. ‘Everything weighs less underwater. The ocean supports enormous fragile structures that could never exist on land – jellyfish, giant squid, ribbon eels.’
‘Crustaceans are essentially giant sea bugs,’ Tolland explained. ‘They’re a suborder of the phylum Arthropoda – lice, crabs, spiders, insects, grasshoppers, scorpions, lobsters – they’re all related. They’re all species with jointed appendages and external skeletons.’
The hot spot causes a reverse temperature gradient – hot water on the bottom and cooler water on top. It results in these giant spiral currents. They’re called megaplumes. They spin for a couple of weeks and then dissipate.’
Rachel frowned. ‘So this documentary you were making out here was about this magma dome phenomenon?’ ‘Megaplumes and Sphyrna mokarran.’ ‘That’s right. You mentioned that earlier.’ Tolland gave a coy smile. ‘Sphyrna mokarran love warm water, and right now, every last one for a hundred miles is
