A great herd of creatures kilometers wide hovers lazily through the perilous sky of a faraway world.
They are bigger than any whale we have ever seen and fly like no bird we have ever identified. They traverse skies that are far different from that of Earth.
Our atmosphere is made of mainly nitrogen and oxygen, while theirs is constructed of hydrogen, helium, methane, ammonia and water. We cannot breathe the air they breathe, let alone thrive among these gentle giants.
Their planet has no solid surface on which to stand. If we are to set foot there, we would sink into smothering smog of hydrogen and helium until we perish in the scorching temperature.
This place seems horrendous. A treacherous planet to live in. Some would think, “how can there be living creatures at all in this hostile land?”
The inhabitants that reside there are well-adapted to their environment as much as we are perfectly suited to live on earth.
To survive in such a strange realm, the native species must match the level of strangeness, too. Therefore, don’t expect them to look remotely like us. More than anything, they resemble a hoarde of living, breathing hot air balloons!
By heating their hollow interiors, heavier gases such as helium are pumped out of their bodies, leaving only gas with the least mass, hydrogen. This results a buoyancy effect that lets them float around to escape the deadly surface of the planet and go about their floaty business.
Image of lazy Floaters by Adolf Schaller
Hence the name ‘floaters’ is derived.The gift of flight lets them soar and eat organic molecules littered all over the skies. However, they can create food by processing air and sunlight just as well should sustenance become scarce.
Intricate pattern of color is etched onto their skin. If the Floaters don camouflages, that can only mean one thing. They are trying to appear invisible to someone.