an Overview of Atmospheric Beasts

Have you ever seen something strange in the sky? A bug that also looks not like a bug? A translucent thing that you catch only a glimpse of? A cloud that does not move like a cloud? An unsettling blip on a photo?

People once thought that the bottom of the ocean was devoid of life, too extreme for anything to exist. Too lightless, too cold, too crushing, too empty. They were wrong. Even four miles down into the ocean’s depths, life exists. Mirroring this mysterious place, there is a similar ecosystem high in the sky, filled with animals parallel to those marine creatures found far below.

THEME SONG
Departing Duillond at Sunrise by Hole Dweller

EPISODE SONGS (listen to and download on the Free Music Archive)
Maarten Schellekens - Just Wondering
Lobo Loco - Raining Softly (ID 1827)
Aaron Ximm - Angela Climbs a Boulder at Horn Creek, the Sun Sets, the Bat Flies By
Aaron Ximm - Sirenity
Aaron Ximm - Pole Stars
Aaron Ximm - Spring Rain
Maarten Schellekens - A Better World
Kirk Osamayo - Discovery
Kirk Osamayo - A Fleeting Thought
Kirk Osamayo - Time
Kirk Osamayo - Tired
Kirk Osamayo - Emotional Silence
Kirk Osamayo - Blinking Lights
Kirk Osamayo - Clouds
Kirk Osamayo - Twinkling Lights
Kirk Osamayo - Pray
Kirk Osamayo - Before The Light Peaks Through
Kirk Osamayo - Early Morning Self Reflection
Kirk Osamayo - Top Speed
Richard Spasoff - 2 Sci-Fi 30 sec Intro & Outro Music

SOUND EFFECTS FROM FREESOUND (in order of use)
"AutumnBlackForest" by RandomRecord19
"20150721_seagulls.01.flac" by dobroide
"Office ambience.mp3" by Nightwatcher98
Bike, Chain Spinning, Fast, 02-01.wav by InspectorJ
mounts.wav by levelclearer
CD_LUMIERE_007FX_Whale_2.wav by kevp888
Cold Breeze Ambience.wav by SiyaMahlobo
Owl Hoot by freemaster2
Party Pack, Balloons, Popping, 02-01.wav  by InspectorJ
Releasing Balloon.mp3 by Percy Duke
Piano, Metal Mallet, Scrape, Full String, Damp, Short, A.wav by InspectorJ
Cthulhu growl.wav by cylon8472
Monster Screeching by MeijstroAudio
D215 Spear into Water.wav by billcutbill
Thunder, Very Close, Rain, A.wav by InspectorJ
Heavenly_Horn.mp3 by 13NHarri
Water_Spitting by orginaljun
and other works in Creative Commons  0

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Transcript

Just Wonderingby Maarten Schellekens

The following are dramatized accounts; sources used here and elsewhere in this episode, as well as more information, can be found on the Ballyraven Cryptid Wildlife Protection Agency article, Atmospheric Beasts.

December 24, 1999 | Vitebsk, Belarus

High in the sky, it ominously hovered. The behemoth floated among the clouds, oblivious to those who watched below. On the ground, two people stood in awe, eyes fixated on its alien form. Not many spot sky squids when they descend this low, though during breeding season, they are more bright and colorful even to the human eye. Amorous, its skin shone the colors of a late sunset, blues, reds, and oranges. Still and cloud-shaped, it would have gone unnoticed had it not stretched out its head and arms. Semi-transparent, the clouds it drifted in front of shone through its body, obscured more by bands and balls of organs. Bewildering to those unfamiliar with cryptids, the Belarussian Squid was believed to be some sort of sharp, wingless, and asymmetrical aircraft with a bulbous backside - an unidentified flying craft. The sighting was a brief 3 or 4 seconds, the viewing ending with the Atmo Beast seemingly dissolving into nothingness. 

January 20, 2010 Andenes, Norway

Amateur photographer, Milkalsen, was out late one night photographing the Northern Lights. Later, he realized that some of his photos depicted a green jellyfish; clearly visible, it floated. Initially believing the jellyfish was due to a smudge on his camera lens, he was soon proven wrong. Contacted by numerous experts, the photographer was assured that the image was not created by a camera issue - or the Northern Lights. In fact, it was unlikely that the Northern Lights or the camera could create the optical effect on their own or together. 

Could the oddity have been created by a satellite reflecting the aurora's green light? In short, no. If the jellyfish was a reflection, it was the wrong color, too small, and, unlike iridium flares, the Northern Lights are 100,000 times weaker than sunlight and more comparable to moonlight.

UNKNOWN
Above North America

Pouring over NASA's archive of film, photos, and other media, the Alien Disclosure Group, discovered thousands of anomalies; clearly visible, some looked like strange, flying serpents, fish, bugs, and even jellyfish: floating or swimming, shining like a beam of light, and glowing a variety of colors.

Have you ever seen something strange in the sky? A bug that also looks not like a bug? A translucent thing that you catch only a glimpse of? A cloud that does not move like a cloud? An unsettling blip on the horizon?

People once thought that the bottom of the ocean was devoid of life, too extreme for anything to exist. Too lightless, too cold, too crushing, too empty. They were wrong. Even four miles down into the ocean’s depths, life exists. Mirroring this mysterious place, there is a similar ecosystem high in the sky, filled with animals parallel to those marine creatures found far below.

Title credits.

Cabin chat section.

Creatures in today’s episode will be described as they are viewed by the most perceptive of their kind; with Pentachromatic vision, the Sky Serpent has five different types of cone cells in their eyes, each able to perceive a different wavelength of light. With these specialized eyes, they can pick up a wider range of colors, and weaker luminosities, than human eyes. Through their lenses, the semi or fully-transparent forms of Atmospheric Beasts, their hidden light shows, and activities are brought fully to life. 

While most atmospheric beasts are not vocal, we have amplified the sound of their environment, edited so that the beat of their wings and quick movement can be enjoyed.

A Better Worldby Maarten Schellekens
The atmosphere is a bubble of layered gases that wrap around the Earth. Without it, the Earth would be uninhabitable; it protects those below from space debris and provides a livable temperature range, among many other things that allow life to exist on Earth. 

We are most familiar with the atmosphere’s lowest layer, the troposphere. Beginning at the ground, it is the lowest, wettest, and generally warmest, section, stretching as high as 4 to 12 miles. As you climb higher, temperatures grow colder, leaving tall mountains covered in snow even in the summer; air pressure drops too, which is why planes must be pressurized during flights - those unsuited to low pressure will experience altitude sickness, which worsens the higher and higher you go, and can even lead to death. [0] Almost all of Earth’s weather happens in this layer - and most atmospheric animals live here, as well, among the clouds.[1] [2] Ancestors interdimensional organisms that found a home here, Atmospheric Beasts feel alien, but have lived in the earth’s atmosphere for billions of years. From the smallest- microscopic beings of a hundred micrometers, to gigantic and rare beasts of 90 feet, these creatures of the sky are fascinating and entangled, dependant upon each other and a stable atmosphere to survive.

Discovery by Kirk Osamayo

Near your shoulders, past your face, over your head, and far, far above, minuscule organisms float and swim and fly around you. Called ‘air rods’, this category contains some of the smallest atmospheric creatures. You, however, cannot see them except under the most perfect circumstances - and even then, you probably aren’t looking.

Translucent, tiny, and predominantly hollow, air rods are invisible to all but other atmospheric beasts. If you could see them, they would likely startle you: bodies outlined in a stark white, each segment of their worm or centipede-like body is dotted by a pair of eyes and a pair of wings; some sprout the translucent, long wings of dragonflies or the shorter, rounder wings of bees, and others a membrane-flap like a flying squirrel, or spindly, reaching legs connected by bands of thin flesh. Uniform cylinders, the head is nearly indistinguishable from the end of the animal. The interior of each body part, each section, is almost completely see-through - it would be entirely so if the animals were organ-less. Where their internal processors reside, a saturation of color beams: yellows, greens, and oranges. All atmospheric creatures are so translucent that food can be observed throughout the entire dietary system, illnesses and abnormalities pinpointed, and pregnancies detected from the outside.

Some Air Rods move like worms or serpents, fluidly curving up and down or side to side; while their translucent, dainty bodies aid in their invisibility, so does their surprising speed. Regardless of their method of locomotion, they can change direction on a whim and with ease, losing little speed in the process; some flap in billowy waves, others arrhythmically beat, but most rapidly buzz uniformly. Air Rods range from one to six inches in length, or form connected colonies that stretch up to four feet. They hunt other Air Rods or the tiniest Atmospheric Animals, the Atmoplankton.

Straight cylinders, curving spools, and ovular discs, Atmoplankton are microscopic. Carried by the wind, their light bodies float through the air. Unable to move much, they can shoot forward or adjust speed with aid from an air pump or alter their course with help from two, long, spindly fins, or a singular, wavy flap. At the current’s whimsy, they feed on sunlight like phytoplankton, moving when needed to reach sunlight. While the winds may carry the organisms high above the clouds and into ideal feeding plains, it can also blow them to the ground. Atmoplankton can survive here as long as they receive at least a little sunlight each day and avoid copious water or being stepped on. If they're lucky, a gust of wind will send them airborne once more.

These tiny organisms feed many Air Rods, as well as larger filter feeders, like Sky Whales and Atmospheric Jellyfish. The base of a sprawling food chain, they do not live long or complicated lives, relying on rapid reproduction to survive as a community. 

As atmoplankton feed, they store some of the energy gained; the more energy they have in storage, the greener they glow and the bigger they grow. Well fed populations of Atmoplankton are found high above the clouds, as well as in often-sunny places; when currents cluster and tangle them together, the air may take on a visible, slight green tinge. Bright green atmoplankton are at the end of their lives; going through a process known as multiple fission, the dying parent divides into 2 or more identical copies of itself. Smaller and pale, its offspring continue the cycle of life.

Air Rods are divided into two categories: those that feed solely on Atmoplankton, and those that feed solely on other kinds of Air Rods. Unlike Atmoplankton, Air Rods interact more with their environment and have a broader, more complex sense of sight, instead of only being able to detect light. 

“Herbivorous’ Air Rods feed on these airborne microscopic organisms, as well as flecks of drifting pollen, and occasionally, tiny, lightweight seeds; these types of Air Rods are rounded on each end and often described as more bubbly and wide. A nickname was given to them based on their mouth-agape feeding method: Flying Fish. Small and quick, daytime grazers consume ten dozen or more Atmoplankton a day. Nocturnal grazers eat after sunset or while under cloud cover; these darktime species have a special trait: when hunting for food, they float in place and pulsate with weak, pale light; emanating from a wavy, thin membrane that completely encircles the creature, it quivers hypnotically. The glow activates nearby atmoplankton, who become dormant in the dark and more difficult to spot, even by other Atmospheric Beasts. 

Time by Kirk Osamayo

While this amazing adaptation helps Sky Fish feed, it also draws in predators. Predatory Air Rods are keen hunters, who have nocturnal, “flashlight eyes” tuned to spot a variety of even the faintest glows, reflections, and shapes. These creatures are unable to function in bright light, but have impeccable vision in complete darkness - able to dodge obstacles, pinpoint the translucent, hiding forms of others, and quickly attack. The light produced by other Atmospheric Beasts is pronounced in Air Rod eyes, they cannot only easily find prey, but spot dangers.

Grabbing prey by one end with sharp pinchers, they grip the rest of the body with their own, snapping a segment off from the Air Rod; releasing, the hunter minces the piece through a tunnel of different sized and shaped, crunching, shredding teeth. As long as one segment remains, the Air Rod will survive, albeit weaker, slower, and more at risk of further violence. Air Rods must continuously feed, any disadvantage puts them in peril

Tired by Kirk Osamayo

While all Air Rods are generally able to escape predation, they are particularly vulnerable during fragmentation - another type of asexual reproduction. Like Atmoplankton, Air Rods are ready to reproduce once enough energy has been stored - and child-creating also marks the end of their life. Air Rods begin reproduction by flying high in the sky and above the clouds to be obvious and clearly visible to potential mates; carrying out dazzling performances, each species has its own preferences and displays: some coloration is on the wing, creating vibrating neon stripes, others blink moving patterns across the body, or light their entire form up in reds, oranges, greens, and yellows. Air Rods ready to mate attach themselves to the front or back of a partner; the organisms’ bodies morph, binding together and swapping genetic material; when enough partners have connected, the Air Rod ceases to glow and begins to sink. Tethered in breeding colonies, their movement is awkward and slow, though, luckily, they do not need to feed. After a few days, the group breaks up into at least double the number of Air Rods that initially congregated. These small, baby Air Rods are weak; it takes many months for them to mature and grow strong enough to form young of their own. Their attention focused elsewhere, energy expended on attracting partners, and their defenses greatly lowered, predators have a chance of catching the elusive Air Rod.
Emotional silence song
Atmo Jellyfish are a unique kind of cloud Animal: they lack any semblance of eyes, relying on sensing light and tremors in the air to navigate and detect food. With a round or ovular "head" that appears bloated or full of air, like a jellyfish or parachute, they are most recognizable for a secondary section made up of tentacle-like appendages, strands, or other lengthy, thin, and numerous pieces. Overall, Atmo Jellyfishes' appearances are very reminiscent of the ocean's jellyfish; however, Flying Squids are also categorized as Atmo Jellyfish. While all Flying Squids are Atmo Jellyfish, not all Atmo Jellyfish are Flying Squids. A subcategory, Flying Squids have two heads, one elongated and large, the other small, round, and retractable, as well as two tentacles or elongated growths that can be hidden inside the body.  Both are filter feeding omnivores.

Carried by wind currents, Atmo Jellies swim through the sky; unlike Air Rods, they cannot go against the currents and are not agile; they rely instead on their great size to survive. There are few dangers for these animals; while other organisms that prey on them do exist, they are most threatened by air pressure. Unable to withstand even slightly higher pressures, Atmospheric Jellies burst if they are brought too low. Sensitive to pressure changes, they may alter their forms to glide upward or slow down. Strong storms may overcome them regardless. 

Like many smaller Cloud Animals, Atmospheric Jellies spend their day seeking sunlight: that’s where food is. 

In sunny spots, the Jellies prepare to feed. Inflating with air, flattening limbs and curling them forward all around the body, and opening a mouth found atop the head wide, they push the held air outwards, speeding forward; the arms trap any small food bits just out of reach of the mouth and push them towards the vacuum. The gulp passes through a mass of stringy, sticky carpet; any material in the air is captured in the filter, the rest flowing past and out of the Jelly. After, the jelly swallows: a chitinous, flat scraper runs down the filter, pushing what is trapped in it down into the stomach. Atmospheric Jellyfish must float and propel endlessly, as none of their bodily functions work without air moving through them; food, however, requires a period of still dormancy, allowing meals to be digested.

Flying squids drift arm-forward instead of head-forward. Much larger than Jellies, Flying Squids are incapable of propelling themselves, completely at the mercy of the currents. During filter feeding, the animal repeatedly opens and closes its mouth, which lies between its pair of tentacles; so large, it inevitably catches something. Flying squids do not rely on filter feeding to provide the bulk of their meals, however. Masters of camouflage, these animals tuck most of their body within their larger head and fluff up, appearing as a small cloud. Remaining in the middling air between the troposphere and stratosphere, their powerful limbs whip from hiding, grappling larger prey and shoveling it into a larger, secondary mouth filled with spinning spools of small, serrated fangs.

BLINKING LIGHTS by Kirk Osamayo

The second atmospheric layer, the stratosphere, is much different than the troposphere; it has no turbulence, no updrafts, is incredibly dry, and temperatures rise the higher up you go. Tall or nacreous clouds occasionally reach above and into this layer. Most atmospheric beasts reside only in the troposphere; two kinds, however, have evolved to flit between both. The stratosphere is the breeding pool for Atmospheric Jellyfish of all kinds. 

Cloud animals are bright and colorful when romance is on their mind. The entirety of female Atmospheric Jellyfishes bodies illuminate, bubble, jiggle, and dance when they are seeking a mate; their heads neon bulbs and their ribbony extremities pulsating or dancing with beams, flashes, or speckles of light, they look to draw the attention of the opposite sex. Atmospheric Jellyfish cannot see the entrancing colors they produce, but the display generates a specific type of heat, as well as lures in food animals; the activity creates a lot of motion, enticing nearby Jellies moreso. Interested males slowly float towards the larger females; if they like what they see, they hold each other's tentacles, twisting together. 

Not very mobile flyers, the pair fill themselves up with air, ballooning to make their way upwards. Reaching the drier, calmer layer, they release gametes through a multitude of pores on the head; this type of reproduction is called spawning. Weightless, floating eggs spreading out in a cloud, the jellies awkwardly flip themselves upside down with help from each other, and release their held air, propelling back below. Their offspring are safe in the stratosphere; those who would eat them can only exist below.

Courting Jellyfish, however, are not safe. Primed to capture them, Sky Serpents are writhing, many-winged or wingless animals with long, sinuous bodies and dragon-like heads. Shapes described as similar to brine shrimp or Chinese Dragons, these creatures swim through the air like a snake in the sand or on the water. There are two types of Sky Serpent: Horned and Lightning Tongued. 



Horned Sky Serpents have long, sharp faces; confined only to the highest reaches of the troposphere and the lowest of the stratosphere, they must make every interaction with potential prey a success. Small, thin, and winged, they zoom through the air in coils and wavy lines. Stalked eyes found throughout the body, they pick up shapes, colors, and movement 360 degrees around them. Able to fly in any direction, against strong currents, and perform impressive aerial maneuvers, while they are not as fast as Air Rods, they are the strongest flyers of the high sky. As they careen through the air, they pierce through small prey, Air Rods, small jellies, Sky squid young, or smaller sky serpents. With a prehensile tongue, they wrap around catches and bring them to the mouth. Some Sky serpents have multiple head spikes, upping their chances of spearing prey.

Horned Sky Serpents are also able to hunt prey larger than themselves. Spotting Jellies and Squids, they shoot towards them, aiming for the translucent indicator that marks where their filter resides; spearing through, just before it, a boney tailfin catches the serpent, snagged parallel against prey. The tail keeping it in place, it boomerangs backwards. A second piercing attack, this one aims for the smaller, oranger brain; flaring with color when engaged, it is easier to spot than at other times. If successful, the snake feeds itself for days, even weeks; it also feeds the many carnivorous Air Rods passing by. If unsuccessful, however, the serpent is in deep trouble. Stuck to the Jelly or Squid and unable to easily unattach from its thrashing foe, it can be battered by the Atmospheric Jellyfishes strong, sometimes stinging or thorned limbs. The first attack pining the mouth closed, the combat could also end with two losses and a feast for other organisms. If the Atmospheric Jellyfish can unhook a Sky Serpent from their body,  it can regrow missing tissue and heal. Sky Serpents are not as durable; prone to bursting when squeezed, and even more susceptible to air pressure, their lives can be cut short easily.

Known as Dragons or Magic Worms, Lightning Tongued Sky Serpents are wingless marvels. Glistening, stark bodies made up of  white lines or dots on translucent bodies that even humans can see from a distance, they are large creatures. Their faces are broader and rounded, some only having nubby horns or none at all, in addition to round, earthworm-ish bodies that look like they are filled with boba pearls. Moving in up and down waves, they seemingly swim through the air. Covered in large pores that open and close, and possessing several air bladders throughout the body that hold and expel air through the same pores, speed, weight, and direction are controlled. Slower than their horned relatives, these creatures depend on an ability that is almost magical. 

From head to tail, the boba pearls seen from outside are actually several rows and bands of round, air filled nodules; as the creature undulates and air is pushed past them, the bubbles rub each other. As the Magic Worms fly, sparks shimmer within; inside they generate a powerful shock. Building up a charge, the animal only releases the energy towards prey or other, aggressive Flying Serpents. When a target is acquired, a long projectile, forked tongue jets out, making contact and embedding into the prey's body. As Cloud Animals are gelatinous creatures made mostly of water, electricity is very damaging; when these animal’s bodies are heated or overly pressurized, it transforms into a different substance: star jelly. Magic Worms consume this substance alongside whole, small prey, siphoning up the falling liquid with a secondary tongue, a siphoning tube.

Twinkling Lights by Kirk Osamayo

Sky Serpents are not like other Cloud Animals - they do not take part in courtship rituals. Once a year, the animals seek mates - whomever they see first - the twisting, quick greeting is the only socialization of their kind, and the interaction is only a few seconds long in total. Egg layers and fertilizers, both serpents bear young after a coupling. To lay, they scour the stratosphere for unbothered clutches of Jellyfish eggs. If a Sky Serpent has already deposited eggs into the hatchery, they may destroy them, replacing them with their own; alternatively, they may choose to seek another location instead. If better areas cannot be found they will lay in the open air instead. Sky Serpent hatchlings feed on the eggs of Atmospheric Jellies, as well as recently hatched young; if ample food is not nearby, they will cannibalize their siblings.

PRAY by Kirk Osamayo

There is a final classification of Atmospheric Beast, the largest, it sits at the very top of the food chain. It has no natural predators and can eat anything in its path: the Cloud Whale. Surprisingly for a creature of such massive size, it is the most elusive; very little is known about them at all. 

Cloud Whales do not really resemble whales much at all: they are billowing thunderheads with three pairs of chunky flippers that wave out of sync on the underside. With large heads that taper downward into stubby tails and high-rising, upper backs, the shape is reminiscent of Humpback or Sperm Whales. Large specimens are almost only found preceding or alongside massive storms, hidden among other large thunderheads. Round, black, beady eyes appear in clusters: some on the chin of the animal, others on the head’s top, side, and snout. To those viewing the animal below when it is active, it is not transparent or very strange at all - only a fluffy, darkening cloud. If one stares long enough, though, oddities can be spotted: horizontal stripes flicker or stream with white, yellow, and orange light; these generally blend in with lightning storms, but when isolated it is troubling. The animals also are more animated than other clouds, moving in unusual or eye-catching ways, floating quicker, or even moving backward.

When feeding, a growing triangle appears in the cloud, followed by a drop in air pressure and a series of unsettling noises; sounding like metal scraping against metal or an echoing trumpet, and in rare instances, muffled roars, they Cloud Whale’s screech has been documented numerous times and posted online, often under the title “Heavenly Trumpet” or “Weird sounds in the sky”. The feeding pose of the mouth can be difficult to observe on the ground, unless one is far away and in high elevations. Opening wide and far, there is little resemblance of a head in this pose. Massive filter feeders, Cloud Whales inhale all but the largest of Sky Squids. Once they are finished, they slowly dissipate, as invisible as Air Rods. Even sky serpents have trouble spotting cloaked Sky Whales; either due to their massive size stretching their membrane incredibly thin or a specialized adaptation, even serpents are surprised when one wakes from dormancy and draws it into oblivion.

Other activities of Cloud Whales are unknown; there have been observations of small Cloud Whales near large Cloud Whales, and small, solitary individuals of various sizes, lending to the belief that they reproduce while camouflaged, are born small, and may be sexually dimorphic. There are not many stories or detailed sightings of Cloud Whales, though one account claimed to have seen a small one spit a stream of horizontal water across the sky. Active Cloud Whales have also been spotted outside of stormy behavior; the connection between weather and whales have not yet been discovered. 

The habitat of Atmospheric Beasts are being threatened by climate change and pollution. Efforts for cleaner air and green energy are not only necessary to preserve these beautiful animals, but to prevent atmospheric blooms; as algae blooms are detrimental to underwater organisms, atmospheric blooms are deadly to air-breathing creatures. Out of control populations of atmoplankton are on the rise; inhaling too many causes a variety of respiratory illnesses, some fatal. These issues will only grow with intensity as more greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere and atmoplankton-eating animals grow fewer and fewer. Consider donating to the Clean Air Task force, a charity dedicated to meeting the world’s rising energy demand in a way that is financially, socially, and environmentally sustainable and to push technology and policy changes needed to achieve a zero-emissions, high-energy planet. Visit catf.us to donate today.

If you or someone you know has seen an Atmospheric Beast or has information about them, contact the BCWPA. We will provide an update on these magnificent creatures when new information is gathered.

If you are interested in other strange, flying creatures, read about the Aerial Manta Rays, found above the Ohio River. If you are interested in other transparent cryptids, look into the English fog entity: the Shapeless or Boneless.