Richard's Animorphs Forum
Animorphs Section => Animorphs Forum Classic => Topic started by: CDJV on March 06, 2009, 09:22:08 PM
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Think about all those Andalite body parts.
-Tail blades for quick self defense against predators
-Could also be used in obtaining mates, akin to Bighorn Sheep
-Eyes on stalks to see behind you
-large ears for a greater range of hearing
-Telepathy for communication over large distances
-Four swift legs in order to run extremely fast.
-Mouths on the feet in order to avoid being caught off guard whilst eating, and eating on the go
-Six fingers for increased dexterity
-And the large nose slits probably give better sense of smell
When you look at these, you tihnk of either a deadly predator, or a creature that needs to survive really well. We know that Andalites are herbivores, so that leaves the latter.
With andalites needing to pe able to detect any kind of danger, and then fight it off or flee from it almsot instantly, how dangerous is the Andalite Homeworld? What would force primitive andalites to evolve those traits?
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Most of the alien species we meet throughout the series indicate that earth's significantly more dangerous than what they're used to.
So, probably not. It's just that Andalites without tails would = deer. Hardly going to survive long enough when there are predators around to achieve sentience.
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It's stated somehwere that Andalites didn't always have blades, and were preyed on by carnivores. Then they evovled those blades, and the predators eventually died out. I think it was HBC.
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CDJV presents a very viable argument worth consideration.
Against what, then, are those blades used to defend?
Also, I suspect the nose-slits are more for efficient respiration than for smelling. Big nose = better sense of smell. It's all about surface area and nerve density.
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I don't know, but it seems the blade made a big difference. Maybe a predator that had hard skin or thick fur, so the blunt end of the tail couldn't really hurt it. But add a blade, and it slices through.
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Oh, I'm not saying predators don't exist on the Andalite homeworld. It's stated they do. And at some stage they may have been as formidable as the stuff we have on earth.
But with all the references to earth's complexity and amazing creatures, with the "sharks are perfectly engineered killing machines" talk, etc, it probably seems the Andalites, at least the current generations, aren't used to that type of thing.
The Visser's big monster morphs are mostly said to come from barren wasteland moons and such, not the homeworlds of the species we meet.
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I believe it's said in the Ellimist chronicles that the predators of the Andalite world were nearly wiped out, so like humans I think Andalites probably claim not to have natural predators, but actually do. I can't tell you how many people I've met (mostly because I don't keep track) who thought that if you were lost in Africa nothing would hunt you because "the animals there don't hunt people" I don't know where this wrong and frankly, idiotic idea that humans were above being prey started but even some documentaries make the claim that animals won't attack humans . . . why, because the camera crew filming them in broad daylight from a safe distance is hunky-dory and therefore must assume that anyone else would be too?
So it's possible that your average Andalite has no idea how dangerous Andalite animals are, also it's probable that meeting an alien species has a certain shock factor to it, i.e. if you meet a tiger you know how screwed you are, why you're screwed and you know you might want to run away . . . terribly fast. If Ax meets a Tiger he will stand there and ask it if it's Jake, he may or may not have to use his tail to get away but the fact is to him it's a surprising and unpredictable alien animal.
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Now I have a really funny mental image of a camera crew poking a lion in the face with a zoom lens...
We're thinking quite close-mindedly. We're assuming that the evolution of blades is to fight. Look at the Hork-Bajir. They're a walking blade, and it's quite clear that they don't use them in battle. The blades can easily be used to fight, but the Hork-Bajir didn't evolve with them for that purpose. Why should Andalites?
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Hork-Bajir didn't evolve at all. Bad example. ;)
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Hork-Bajir didn't evolve at all. Bad example. ;)
....Shut it.....
My point is still valid.
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We're thinking quite close-mindedly. We're assuming that the evolution of blades is to fight. Look at the Hork-Bajir. They're a walking blade, and it's quite clear that they don't use them in battle. The blades can easily be used to fight, but the Hork-Bajir didn't evolve with them for that purpose. Why should Andalites?
Actually I also considered that the tail blades might have a purpose in mating, like antlers on a deer, which is supported by the fact that females don't have very pronounced or useful tail blades, after all if they were evolved for self defense the females should also be able to defend themselves.
But if they were evolved for both defense and attracting mates or fighting for them, it'd make sense that one gender, be they male or female, would have a more dangerous looking blade. I also considered they might have harkened to a time when Andalites may have dug at the soil for nutrients when there wasn't enough grass.
But these things didn't seem relevant to the topic of discussion, which is how dangerous the planet might be.
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...You my friend... Get a pat on the back for that one.
That is all.
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It's possible that after the predators got wiped out, perhaps from a virus or something, that the tail blades became accustomed for mating. Perhaps the prehistoric andalites had larger tail blades.
Also, perhaps there was a tectonic shift, and the Andalites were smart enough to go onto the continent without any predators, and ocne they were strong enough they simply killed the predators off. They seem to have no qualms with destroying an enitre species, why not a majority of their planets ecology?
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I believe that in The Ellimist Chronicles, Andalites didn't yet have tail blades, and were therefore preyed upon by native predators. Since the Andalites grew tail blades and became the dominant species on the planet, it's easily possible that those predators no longer exist, but even if they do they clearly no longer pose a threat to the Andalite people.
Hork-Bajir Chronicles mentions the fact that many Andalites have trouble sleeping due to their time as prey animals when they would be easily awakened from sleep in order to flee from potential danger.
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So I read through this, and the whole time I hear my old bio teachers lectures in my head.
Evolution's trippy; Andalite physiology doesn't really mean that the planet must be dangerous, it just means that those traits encourage, or just happen to be on creatures that survive.
Had they could have evolved all that stuff anywhere; if they had happened to be from earth and evolved like that, I'm betting they'd be okay in general. If they happened to be from the land of buttercups and pixie dust, still they'd be okay.
Earth is plenty dangerous, but as any Andalite would tell you, the dominate race is physically laughable.
Decked out traits is a lucky convience. If it were about everyone evolving to danger, all the things the Andalites evolved to out match would evolve to keep out, and be more dangerous. And then the Andalites would evolve again. And then the other things. Then the Andalites....didn't turn out like that. :-\
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Physically laughable? You bet. But that's because we're getting weaker and weaker, at some point we developed spears and everything went downhill, even our bite strength is decreasing, the time will come when mankind can no longer handle a steak. Look at our spearless cousins the chimps, they're a lot like us, they even go to war . . . with their bare hands, talk about hard core, they can rip monkeys apart and eat them raw, we shoot a deer and cook it.
Science and an almost total lack of natural selection has allowed us to become weak, so I wonder why the Andalites, with their superior science and utter lack of natural selection when not at war haven't gotten weaker, or, if they have, what kind of super race existed between the Ellimist Andalites and the Andalites of today.
While it might not be an indication of a dangerous planet, I think it very well could be if the Andalites, despite their science, are not weakening.
This will all probably make less sense to me when I fully wake up :P
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Maybe we're just uniquely pussified within the galaxy?
To put the question crudely.
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maybe the tail blade is for fighting with other andalites?
or showing off for mating or something?
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Physically laughable? You bet. But that's because we're getting weaker and weaker, at some point we developed spears and everything went downhill, even our bite strength is decreasing, the time will come when mankind can no longer handle a steak. Look at our spearless cousins the chimps, they're a lot like us, they even go to war . . . with their bare hands, talk about hard core, they can rip monkeys apart and eat them raw, we shoot a deer and cook it.
Science and an almost total lack of natural selection has allowed us to become weak, so I wonder why the Andalites, with their superior science and utter lack of natural selection when not at war haven't gotten weaker, or, if they have, what kind of super race existed between the Ellimist Andalites and the Andalites of today.
While it might not be an indication of a dangerous planet, I think it very well could be if the Andalites, despite their science, are not weakening.
This will all probably make less sense to me when I fully wake up :P
You make a very good point, but you forget that Andalites evolved from very different creatures than us. The first chance humans got, we built shelter for ourselves which eventually led to houses, other buildings, cities and easier and easier living as technology advanced.
The Andalites on the other hand, despite having vastly superior technology to us, still spend most of their time outdoors and only use shelter when it is needed. Therefore, they still need most of the traits for survival in the wild, unlike humans who adapt to their situation instead of evolving to meet their needs. Biologically this makes humans not very impressive, but it gives us the advantage of being highly adaptable to any changes that come our way. The only flaw in this is if a change is so big and happens so fast that we don't have a chance to adapt.
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what's the difference between evolve and adapt? isn't evolution adapting to one's surroundings or something?
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Over like a bazillion gazillion years with a few extra "illions". Adapting is, like, "hey, Antarctica is cold - I'm gonna kill something and wrap its skin around me for giggles".
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Chimi's right. Adaptation is much faster than evolution. One single person can adapt to different environments and lifestyles if they have to. Evolution is much slower.
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Adaption is faster yes, but it also heavily relies on what you can accomplish with your surroundings. For example, living in a very cold climate it would make sense to steal animal fur to keep warm, but what if there is no animal fur available? You're going to be wishing you had your own fur then.
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What about the time-keeping sense? I understand the tail blade, the ability to sense polarity/magnetic fields, the extra eyes. Those all make sense when you're talking about adaptations. But where along the lines is an adaptation for keeping time useful? Obviously it has something to do with the rotation and revolution of the planet and its sun(s), but why? Does it have something to do with tracking the seasons or something?
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the andalites could have evolved those traits for defense, and with the help of those traits become the dominant species and wiped out what used to prey on them. it is possible, as humans have done similar things back in our evolutionary history
and while we are on the topic of planet andalite, y in 60 books, as she never able to actually NAME the place. i just feel like always saying andalite homeworld is kinda simple, especially for such a sentient race
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I'm guessing it would be something along the lines of 'Andal' or similar.
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Yeah, I had always thought "Andal", since they are "Andalites". Like...Michiganites or something. But maybe I just think that b/c one of the fics I've been reading uses Andal as the name of their homeworld. :)
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The timekeeping thing was just a story mechanic, so it wouldn't be so hectic trying to figure out what time it was. That may be part of the reason why she decided to make one of the main characters an Andalite, instead of just six Humans. Or five Humans.
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the timekeeping might not be natural. they could've installed in their heads for military use or something...
I don't think it's called Andal. We don't exactly call our planet Hum or something like that...
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Well I'm new here, but I think I'll get to the point.
As far as Andalites not growing weaker, and if anything, stronger, I think this is caused not by natural selection, but by selective breeding.
Ax originally feels extreme hate towards vecols and other invalids or disabled people, not because of his character, but by what his society has taught/told him. Most likely, these people are shunned in an organized fashion to prevent the mingling of 'bad' DNA with 'good' DNA. I remember from one of the chronicles books, I think it was the Andalite Chronicles, but it may have been Hork-Bajir; the respective Andalite of the book performs the wish-flower ritual and says something along the lines of, "With the war going on, they may start letting some families have children." It was either Aldrea referring to her younger brother or Elfangor to Ax.
Either way, this demonstrates that the Andalite government has at least some form of when kids could be had, and possibly to who. It's also well known that the Andalites have pushed something of a strong sense of what could be compared to nationalism to their people. Initially, Ax is extremely steadfast in the beliefs of his people and is for a while is disbelieving they could do wrong. This is likely caused by propaganda, probably put into effect behind the scenes. I remember in the book where Ax meets the other Andalites for the first time (with Estrid... I think it's 38), the 'Apex Level Intelligence' or something like that, basically controlled the Andalite council. If it's anything like this at all - War and corruption while the people see nothing - the Andalites could be made to try to form the "Aryan Master Race" of sorts. In other words, "Your tail blade is small. You will not have Children." The propaganda fed and nationalistic Andalites would happily comply. This, coupled with very likely behind the scenes bio-work, could easily make them stronger with extra senses (Time, etc) than what would naturally occur.
As for humans, put simply, we're opportunists. If there's an easier way to do something, we do it. Why work fields when you can ride a tractor? As for adaption, we've had no choice. A small population in a temperate region with tail blades for keep predators at bay wouldn't have trouble. A relatively small mammal with no natural weapons, low strength, and low speed needs to be able to exploit every possible opportunity to survive.
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It was in Andalite Chronicles, and Elfangor was saying the government would let them have more than one child. Still, you're right that the government has controls in place for that. There very well could be some selective breeding going on.
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so basically, ur saying that the andalites are a bunch of communists?
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Not necessarily a communist government, just a corrupt one. Normal Politicians could be happily elected by the people, unknown to either that they would basically be puppets to the Apex Level Intelligence, and whatever other "advisors" exist in the background. For all we know, there could be a group influencing the US President's decisions.
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That's a really good point, Think (also, welcome to the forum!).
In more recent years there is definitely selective breeding going on. However, adaptations and evolution takes place over millions of years. I find it hard to believe that selective breeding has existed since the prehistoric Andalites. So some of the adaptations would have been natural, while perhaps some are in the best interest of the government. I tend to think that the time-keeping sense is a natural ability, however. Ax seems genuinely surprised in #4 when he discovers that the humans do not possess this ability. Additionally, most adaptations that were government implemented (like the translator chip) were referenced more as technology, rather than an ability.
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Thanks,
But while that's true, in prehistoric times, it wasn't selective breeding, it was natural selection. Selective breeding probably began as early as when small populations were not a problem. Ax often comments on things such as how he is shocked there were females in the military, and how men had dominance over them, in other words, strong and enforced gender roles. It's likely its always been that way, just that the corrupt government prevented free thought of equal rights. In the US, women's rights, racial rights, and gay rights movements all occured in the last 100 years. If there was no support for these, we'd basically be living in the 1800's with computers, planes and cars. That's probably what Andalite society is like.
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Deep thoughts. I like! It's funny how the topic has changed from a dangerous planet to a dangerous government...
Exploiting this pause has anyone tried creating an Andalite like planet (and creature) in Spore? It works out really well, I would post pictures but I've lost them =/ If you have Spore have a go! It is worth trying.
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Look that up on youtube. I don't personally have spore, but you'd be surprised. There's literally dozens of Animorph's creatures/aliens. I will say, that some are better than others.
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hmmm....wouldn't that be a twist? The race that supposedly we look to to save us, and rescue us, turns out to be an overly manipulative, controlling, panicky freaked out quasi-communist regime. And here we thought the Yeerks were bad. Only to discover that since we didn't know all the information...we defeated one evil race for another.
Here are my thoughts though about the dangerous government. Evolution wise, those blades are deadly. Even if used for mating, we know they're sharp. Even earth animals can use their horns for defense. So what I think is this, and this is the most logical to me, they evolved to fend off huge predators.....until they evolved enough intelligently to start making weapons and other things.
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..then through overpopulation of their cities (didn't they have cities at one point and then they cut back? this might also explain the children policy the government seems to control), pollution, lack of care of their planet, overtaxing resources, and what have you they wiped out those animals simply the way we are wiping out our own today.
This may also explain why the Andalites seem to have re-entered this hippy, nature-worshipping, planet loving phase. Their learning from past mistakes.
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they also live in domes.
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A dome is the most structurally efficient shape based on surface area, volume, and weight bearing strength.
We use domes. Look at ancient architecture, and modern covered arenas, domes all the way. Only reason average homes do not use domes is because wood is our most efficient building material, and its not exactly easy to bend.
And Azguard, I wouldn't say the Andalites are evil. Look at the former Soviet Union; just because Stalin was evil didn't mean ALL the Russians were. Like you said, the average Andalite is a warrior hippy nature lover. The ones in power are just corrupt, influencing the people. I view Andalite society as like old human societies, except with technology (Strong gender roles, intolerance, and the "White Man's Burden" style mentality, except it kind of is their burden because Yeerks were their fault) Also, they didn't wipe out animals for the same reasons we did. We eat them, they just spited predators.
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A dome is the most structurally efficient shape based on surface area, volume, and weight bearing strength.
We use domes. Look at ancient architecture, and modern covered arenas, domes all the way. Only reason average homes do not use domes is because wood is our most efficient building material, and its not exactly easy to bend.
damn it your right again
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true that. so...
...either they wiped them out intentionally...or they made our mistakes.
i can see it now. They wiped them out out of spite...only to realize the wrong they did. In this period of international realization and mourning, their scientific and exploration sectors of their space departments exploded as they tried to find new species and help them out instead of destroy them in a sort of way to right their wrongs.
....then in this mode they discovered the Yeerks a few hundred years down the road.
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At Brad... You say it like its a bad thing ;D
And Azguard, yeah, that's basically how I see things. Except now the corrupt government is in power, and those specific quasi-Stalins want power and empire, and are using "Right the Yeerk Wrong" as a front to do so... Look what they did on the Hork-Bajir world, and what they planned to do to humans. Andalites are so goal oriented they seem to take things to the end, sort of like extremist utilitarians.
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the problem with the andalites is that they where to full of themselves. they where so wrapped up in their own problems that they couldent reach out to do the right thing with other races. i mean look wat happend to the :horkf:
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I sort of just said that :-X
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but i said it in a simple way...
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hahahaha.
yeah. the Yeerk problem is now kinda a scapegoat. And they feel so embarrassed about it they're going overboard...with a few plotting their own agendas in the mix.
oooOOooo...the drama.
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also the yeerks were jealous of andalite tails because theirs where small and they where trying to compencate
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......yeah....way small...^^
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also the yeerks were jealous of andalite tails because theirs where small and they where trying to compencate
"Yes . . . we were jealous of the tails. We were jealous of their eyes, their legs, their hands, we were jealous of their freedom! I had a vision, a joyous vision where even the smallest of yeerk grubs can crawl freely into an Andalite ear and run in fields of grass singing thoughtspeak songs of merriment and joy, a dream of freedom a vision of peace through partnership, however one-sided . . . and you humans ruined it all with your silly little "let's morph into animals and stop the evil Yeerks" club! Now our grubs are left to cry, bodiless, or else forced to morph once and only once into some alien shape, stuck forever as something they might not want to be . . . and it's all your fault, humanity . . . I hope you're happy . . . because you're so out of my Fav 5."
~ Message from the Yeerk Emperor
Dont ask me why he contacts me . . . it's top secret.
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dang. That's the second person to drop me from their fave five.
I better call and tell Ax he's back into my top 5.
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Since the Andalites grew tail blades and became the dominant species on the planet, it's easily possible that those predators no longer exist, but even if they do they clearly no longer pose a threat to the Andalite people.
I think it's more like as it is with the cheetah and the antelope. When the cheetah becomes faster and can catch more antelopes, and survive, the antilopes have to become faster to escape, to survive.
The most dangerous animals our ancestors had to fight was bears and wolfs, at least were I live. And both of them is still here.
And that thing on their moon is obviously to dangerous for them.
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Survival of the fittest, adapting and adapting to others' adaptations, all a part of evolution . . . so cool.
I don't see Andalites swimming a whole lot to be endangered by that thingy though, also wolves aren't around just because they're canny (that's the Coyote) they're around because at some point we realized that killing every last one of them wasn't smart and we started preserving them, they've just recovered really well. They'd be extinct (or at least near-extinct) if mankind as a whole all over the world made a concentrated effort to get rid of them, and it's slightly implied that this is exactly what the Anadlites do to their predators so even if andalite predators kept adapting to kill the Andalites eventually technology would have made it not only possible for the Andalites to wipe their predators out, the Andalite lifestyle would have made it necessary.
Any predator that evolved to continue preying on the Andalites would have been a danger since the Andalites don't live in cities or even very well defended homes, wolves don't pose that great a danger to a city full of people, and while a bear is the last thing you want to see knocking on your door they're not going to kill off entire towns. Similar predators could have wiped out entire andalite families since they live such secluded lives. Even a farmer in a wilderness of wolves has four walls and a roof to protect him, Andalites live in scoops which are just ditches in the ground with minor weather defense.
On the other hand think of what happens any time a predator kills a human being, we get up in arms to hunt it down and kill it so it doesn't happen again. When a lion eats a person an effort is made to kill that lion that often enough results in dozens of innocent lions dying as a result. Same for sharks, wolves, bears, chimps, any species that preys on us pays for it though sometimes the individual responsible isn't the one who pays. For the Andalites killing off all their predators or at least driving them into the places Andalites wouldn't bother going anyway, wouldn't have been anything less than a necessity for their safety unless they started building walls and such, which might have been less trouble but doesn't seem to fit the Andalite mentality.
To me at least this might imply why andalite warriors rarely ever morph in battle, we humans morph the things that kill us, maybe Andalites killed off all the things that killed them, this could also lend to their arrogance. Just imagine the things that would have hunted Andalites though, I mean look at Ankylosaur (sp's almost certainly off) a walking tank. Something forced it to evolve that way so's to avoid gettin' eaten, and then something evolved to get past that armor so's to keep eating it. So whatever evolved to outdo the andalite tail blade must have been one awesome beast.
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i agree. and yeah i'm sure they must have killed them off. there might be some alive in a secluded place or whatnot who knows.
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I don't think it's called Andal. We don't exactly call our planet Hum or something like that...
Actually, we kinda do in some languages. In Hebrew, "man" and "dust" are homophones. Latin "homo" which became English "human" is related to "humus", meaning "soil" and the root of English "inhume" and "exhume" meaning "to bury" and "to dig up".
So, we hyumans really do live on a big ball of Hyume.
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yeah i mean they have the mentality of herbivore pray animals.
I mean imagine that antelopes as as smart as humans and they see Lions trying to eat them.
soon they will try to get rid of the problem. So they elaborate ways of stopping or even killing the lions off.
That is basically what the Andalites did. They are very smart antelopes.
We are very smart omnivores so we didn't have those kind f issues much.
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Maybe the Andalites keept there super predators on the moon for zoos or they just killed there predators the way we kill malaria and tape worms (our true predators), the tail blade is presumably a hangover from the old days of fighting off super predators, in the ellimist chronicles the andalites are shown fighting with a giant predators.
not quasi communists (I hate commies more than most people but if any species is communist in the animorphs it is the yeerks) but fascists and eugenics being a fascist eugeninist is actually quite compatible with being a hippy nature lover proud warrior race guy, much as i hate to invoke godwin's law but the nazis are perfect examples of this... Also Andalites who don't have the gene for thoughtspeak or sharp tail blades would have it really hard.
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I know what kind of predators hunted Andalites. Sand sharks!!
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I like the eugenics idea... It also explains their intelligence as well as their physical fitness.
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I like the eugenics idea... It also explains their intelligence as well as their physical fitness.
and given their attitude towards cripples, as well as hork bajir, its not entirely baseless.
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I know what kind of predators hunted Andalites. Sand sharks!!
Then Ax must have been horrified by the very notion of the Street Sharks! ;)
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LOL. haha. yeah, i wonder if he saw it on TV....haha
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Some one should examine this idea (eugenics) further in fanfiction.
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Lol I remember the street sharks good times
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I loved street sharks
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Then Ax must have been horrified by the very notion of the Street Sharks! ;)
Someone HAVE to write a fanfiction about that HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA
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hahaha. that would be a funny one to read.
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What would the species that Andalites evolved from look like? (I know this belongs more on "Andalite evolution" but I was the last person to post on that topic)
if you read about neoteny and the baby chimp theory, you realise that humans look like baby chimpanzees so you can sort of guess what humans evolved from by looking at baby and adult humans...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny
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For some reason, I always imagined Andalite ancestors to look something like Garatrons.
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more horse like... bigger features and less reifined looking, I reckon the tail would be pretty old/ingrained and would've gotten smaller as andalites became more civilised (for the same reasons that modern humans are so puny in comparison to chimps).
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I think... I imagine that they didn't had a tale at all, or only a small one with some kind of nail. Then as the ones with bigger tails became more attractive they was the ones that got most children and so on. And then to survive the ones with biggest nail were superiour and then there was a time when they had much bigger blades thay today. They evolved back. That's what I think.
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what if the pre-Andalites had BIGGER tails? and MORE weapons?
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Good question! I thing that is more than possible. How old are the andalites as species, by the way?
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a few million years yeah? i haven't thought about timeline yet.
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You should do a timeline. Yup. That's my solution. ^-^
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In which you chart the significant events of their history and trace their evolution. Also see my calendar for andalite dating system (ie how long andalites have been around)
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I think that the andalites plant was called Anda. I mean if it were Andal then the pemalites planet would be Pemal. Ites I belive is like Lites but Ites is refering to certain members of one species(sp?). Lites seems to refer to an entrie species.
Also, Who ever said that Hobbers weren't dangerous? How about Krafits?
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ites is a human suffix especially found in archaic texts such as the bible. for example Israelites, Hittites, Jebussites, Canaanites, Medianites, Ammanites, Edomites etc (mispelt slightly these are the ones I know off the top of my head). More recently Malikites (arabic malik means king, it is a christian church of which I know little). From what I can gather (i am not sure wikipedia is obscure on this point) ites means people of: Malikites are people of the kingdom (of god), Israelites are the people of Israel etc. Therefore Andalites (people of Andal) Pemalites (people of Pemal) however since the ellimist named both species (remember the ellimist chronicles) we can conclude that Andal does not mean 'earth'... end thought
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Think about all those Andalite body parts.
-Tail blades for quick self defense against predators
-Could also be used in obtaining mates, akin to Bighorn Sheep
-Eyes on stalks to see behind you
-large ears for a greater range of hearing
-Telepathy for communication over large distances
-Four swift legs in order to run extremely fast.
-Mouths on the feet in order to avoid being caught off guard whilst eating, and eating on the go
-Six fingers for increased dexterity
-And the large nose slits probably give better sense of smell
wow! you'vejust described the ladies on Desperate Housewives! jkjk!
but since the Andalites are friggin ancient, they've evolved for ages to eradicaate war entirely (atleast among themselves) and throughtout the series you can see that they are flawed.. so I'm guessing, they were just like us.. except, with built in weapons..no gun purchases for them.. back when they were still primitive, there was probably al lot of fighting and uh, adultery (?) and killings and stuff..
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I suspect that Andalites like cattle and horses have quite a low sex drive-only thinking of sex when the female is in season.
The telepathy is from the Ellimist, they used to use sign language, imagine what happened to the andalites that aren't descended from the Ellimist-unable to use thoughtspeak...
As the Ellimist chronicles demonstrated Planet Andal was a dangerous place with huge predators, but I don't think they were especially aggressive: human aggression is reflected in monkeys (monkeys as Cracked will tell you are crazy) but the biological niche filled by Andalites (that of large herbivores such as cattle or horses) fights mostly over females and even then has a low death rate.
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I think that the andalites plant was called Anda. I mean if it were Andal then the pemalites planet would be Pemal. Ites I belive is like Lites but Ites is refering to certain members of one species(sp?). Lites seems to refer to an entrie species.
Also, Who ever said that Hobbers weren't dangerous? How about Krafits?
I think I love you
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you may as well ask why senseless tragedies happen to the undeserving and try to apply reason to who wins the lottery!
I cannot help it, I cannot explain it, I can only suffer from what I expect to be purely unrequited affection. My passion will boil and rust and batter my heart, but no matter what pain I endure I shall never stop, for one may as well ask the seasons to stop changing and my cat to stop licking herself.
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Although this is not about Andalite evolution in reaction to the physical dangers of their planet, but rather about the dangers (such as crime) possible on the Andalite homeworld due to technology:
Aside from the obvious identity theft possible through morphing technology, it occurred to me reading Anijen magnificent story, that with the widespread availability of spacecraft (perhaps not as common as cars but about as common as those expensive caravans) the possibility of criminals [spoiler](especially the Humbert Humbert’s of the world[/spoiler]) taking off ([spoiler]with their victims in tow) [/spoiler] around the universe and never being caught.
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I think... I imagine that they didn't had a tale at all, or only a small one with some kind of nail. Then as the ones with bigger tails became more attractive they was the ones that got most children and so on. And then to survive the ones with biggest nail were superiour and then there was a time when they had much bigger blades thay today. They evolved back. That's what I think.
Physical attraction would fit in with the prejudice that we've seen from the Andalites. I mean vecols are treated as last class citizens if I recall correctly. Ankylosaurus shape probably wouldn't look that physically attractive but a slenderer more agile shape and if we treat the tail blade thing like deers with antlers then we can see that certain things would appeal more than others....
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yeah, never thought about sexual selection in andalites. cool point!