Knotical

Through the Mathemalchemy Looking Glass

The turbhoversailboat is back in Knotilus Bay again. The engineer was not wholly displeased with the performance of the new turbine-sails, but as he walked away one could hear him mutter about maybe another round of modeling. Oblivious to his concerns, the two Fish[H]erons that make up the crew have settled in for a nice bit of fishing, an activity they much prefer anyway.

They are now working in tandem to pull in the net with smooth, practiced strokes. Alternating their beak-and-talon holds, they trade off singing jaunty verses of the Heaving Shanty. Up in the crow’s nest, three penguins enthusiastically bob along to the song; they have only recently arrived on the boat and are still learning the words. For them, this is an unexpected but thrilling trip. Word of their amphichiral theta-curve conjecture had reached the Fish[H]erons, who just last week alerted the penguins to possible evidence in their hauls. The penguins arrived on the very next current to see for themselves. Today’s catch is particularly exciting–not for quantity, but for the robust juvenile and adult theta-knotfish for which this bay will soon be famous. The next step will be to tag and release the brightly colored knots, so that the research team can track the migrations, tangling behaviors, and habitats of this potential “missing link.”

There are many other interesting critters swimming in the bay today. A small troupe of fancy-hat jellyfish is parading, headed towards the spot where the Long Ball-Arc dives under the surface; Knottie is showing off her curious bumps, and one of OctoPi’s siblings is lazing at the entrance to the bay. The water is sufficiently translucent that we can see the beautiful shell of a cruising origamulus, admire the graceful contortions of some knottibranches nearby, and even see some of the gear wheels in a mysterious broken machine. Everywhere, in the deeps as well as nearer the surface in the coral reef, or even stranded on the rocks, the jeweled starfish glisten in the reflected sunlight.

The coral reef is itself an impressive wonderland — all the differently colored corals offer on their densely packed undulating surfaces a seemingly endless opportunity for little grazing beasties, and a welcome sheltering location for other critters scattered among them and the curiously shaped rocks and pebbles.