Banshee Snakes

If it looks like a ferret, don't be deceived! The Banshee Snake is a different beast altogether: reclusive, not attracted to shiny items, and less likely to stink things up or they'd have a harder time hiding.

Image created in Copilot: This rendition does not reflect the overall length a Banshee Snake can reach (~1.7 m), nor the plethora of coloring that can be found in this species, with populations mostly appearing black with reflective yellow eyes, which helps them hide in dark spaces.

The Banshee Snake was first discovered in the early 3000's in mainland Afikaa. While genetic testing shows it is more closely related to the Platypus (which shows itself in their similarities as egg-laying mammals), the Banshee Snake is not venomous -- however it is poisonous when consumed by non-upgraded humans, and has proven deadly to even the hardiest of people.

Banshee Snakes tend to make their homes underground, favoring underground cities for their protection from radiation belts, along with easy access to the foods they prefer (algae and fungi, which are key resources for larger cities that rely on Organic Matter processing farms to provide sustenance).

Why are they called Banshee Snakes? These hapless creatures have no real protections aside from remaining hidden and being incredibly hard to hold as they use vestigial limbs to propel themselves under silky smooth (and water-repellent) fur. However, when confronted with a threat, they emit an ear-drum shattering scream that has been measured at well over 120 decibels, with a maximum recording of 218 decibels (louder than current-day rockets heading to space).

Banshee Snakes have unpredictable breeding cycles and a high mortality rate in their first three months of life. Some females lay clutches of eggs every month, while others have been documented to go decades without laying a single clutch, even with an abundance of males to use as fertilizer. Scientists postulate that the females will lay clutches "when they damn well please and not a moment sooner...or later", hypothesizing that these creatures mentally decide when and where to breed. It was learned in the late 4000's that Banshee Snakes also produce multiple offspring types to increase survival of at least one pup per clutch, with most females reserving at least a third of her clutch for clones of herself -- she survived, which gives her offspring a higher chance of survival as well. She is able to determine how many eggs are fertilized by each male she mates with. Banshee Snakes are communal creatures, however gathering places (outside of the occasional mating ball) have never been identified.

Banshee Snakes are popular pets among Juggernauts, often used in planting infiltration devices and even explosives. The y can be loving, but several Juggernaut handlers are deaf by the time their second Banshee Snakes are procured.

Banshee Snakes enjoy an uneven lifespan of ~50 years for females and ~5 years for males (although males with more stable chromosomes have been shown to live up to 20 years longer).

The Warrant: Shattered Hollows, Founding Day (Daily Log)

I'll admit I'm relieved that Commander Black held true to his promises. Much easier than having to beat him into submission. We've agreed that Archer and Ranger will remain in the background -- ghosts of the unknown haunting the mists will add to the mystique the Commander thinks these Training Grounds need. Every thruster-sucking time something weird happens, the light of what I can only consider a mad hope enters his eyes. Humans haven't changed much, even after being buried alive for what I am beginning to think was three centuries -- it's hard to tell with their new dating mechanisms. Not that dates have ever mattered to me, but I suppose I am curious about the math. Still doesn't matter.

The first set of Trainees are rough, but all of them have some latent skills we can mold for Systems Analyst Bridge (I overheard the new Cadre start to just call the corporation 'S.A.B.' recently which is an easier mouthful with this unnecessarily quick dialect they've evolved). I'm still wrapping my mind around this idea of a corporation that is also a government with citizens in their midst that are not actually employed by them. I'm certain it's been done before with rather distasteful results, but so far have found no abject crimes against humanity that need correcting. Since they're the power that reigns, they're the one I'll use.

We lost a Cadre member to one of the gators that lurk beneath the black waters here this morning, just as the Trainees were entering for their initiation...unexpectedly set the tone exactly where it needed to be: this swamp is to be respected or died in. Good that they know it before we lose decent candidates to a sense of over-zealousness. It was hard not to laugh at the looks on their faces, but I did feel remorse at losing Bagley -- he had come around nicely to my supremacy in the agreement with S.A.B., however Instructor Ryta has a better mix of rebellion and empathy, and while she'll need more training and convincing, she'll set a better base-line for future groups.

Soon, we'll be able to train nearly 10,000 candidates in one go. I'm pleased to start with only 2,000 and understand the corporation's need to test this out on a few rounds before going full bore. Ironic that this first set will get much more of my attention since there's fewer of them to parse.

Finally got my replacement for Dietrich this morning. The man was brilliant but his pushback with every request in my game plan for the Simulation Pods without actually thinking things through was getting exhausting. New engineer is Madsen, and already she's pumped out more appropriate programming than Dietrich would even consider. Should I add a policy for even split gender on the staff? That would keep me from overemploying women...I'll wait until we've run a few cycles before making the decision. I prefer merit based work, but it's important to have useful idiots around for things to move smoothly.

Heard a small dust-up through the Earth today...off somewhere to the east where I've sensed a small settlement taking root -- felt like a small battle. Will send the Ranger to look into it as soon as they've finished setting the parameters for the upgrade dampening equipment. Archer says there's no way to guarantee the Shattered Hollows will stay fully hidden, but then keeps on about 'memory inhibition upon ingress and departure' so we'll see how much of that nay-saying is just their oppositional character and how much is based on reality, soon.

Logs should work for note-keeping for now. All these S.A.B. personnel are over-committed to stoicism, so they end up looking the same...maybe this will help me keep their faces and names in my memory, but already the candidates are simply more interesting

.

--Note: All fruit appears to have been killed off and been replaced with engineered lemons. Our first shipment of fresh foods for the candidates arrived yesterday -- I tried a lemonapple and lemelon. Ridiculous that they think this is what fruit used to taste like, but no one's likely to ever experience scurvy again.

The Big Disclaimer

I've struggled with identifying how to phrase this without mentioning any current political figures. While it may seem obvious to many, c. 2025 has turned out to be the year that many of the themes in my work have stepped into reality.

Dear readers, please know that in my mind, the current state of affairs is one that I assume will always have its day, and should be expected in cycles.

(Metaphor) Hey look! A chair waiting for someone to sit down! Otherwise useless, unless filled. This is the role. The person who sits in the role, IS the chair (or the authority imbued by its position).

When I began Shattered Hollows, it was a short story that only included the first chapter of Book 2 (Entangled Binds), and I wrote that in 2015. It was not until later that year that I decided to start fleshing out the work more deeply, working to convey what corruption, xenophobia, and classism would look like in the future (TL;DR: fascism is an inevitable struggle for humanity and is often portrayed in classic science fiction).

In general, I wanted to create a world that had found a way around sexism, racism, and the phobias of sexual inclination -- a world that legitimately does not care about skin color, or who you love...so long as you toe the line. This is an investigation into how power will ultimately attempt to elevate itself using division, whether by value of birth, skillset, or monetary worth (as per usual), and how, without that division, it falls apart.

The political figures of today are/were not the basis of my work, in any way shape or form. The fact that many of the corrupted people in power resemble my characters, is because present day power foci are filling a pre-set role seen in most fascist/demagogue centered societies. Magnus was built to fill the role of puppet master, but if not him, it would have been someone else. The role is what is created over time, before it then becomes a power void that must be filled. No current day politicians or officials are meant to be illustrated in this work. ANY similarity is role-based, NOT person-based. Also, take note that Magnus is actually a genius, and I would not describe the puppets in power in most countries

as the true font of authority today or in the future. As per usual, power is a nesting doll, and the smartest of those in power do their best to stay unknown and unnamed when possible.

My work is thematic and the roles are historically concrete. Any likeness to current figures is incidental and any parallels drawn by the reader belong solely to the reader, as my work does not invite or invest in comparison to the events of today.