I really wish I could embed this, so I'll just have to link to it instead. It's a very clever music box based on a model of the solar system, with a tone assigned to each celestial object. Lots of fun. I'd hoped it would be the kind of thing I could just leave running for ambiance's sake, but the tones are a bit harsh for that.
Still, very nicely designed, very cool concept, and after my post on music boxes I just couldn't resist.
What follows concerns a key plot-point from the movie "How to Train Your Dragon," and if you are adamant about being totally surprised during a movie, you probably shouldn't keep reading.
It's also going to be really dorky, but oh well what the hell. I might as well bring down the intellectual level of my blog a peg or two. Or six.
I recently saw the movie "How to Train Your Dragon," a surprisingly enjoyable and completely adorable flick. It was like people remembered that you're allowed to make cartoons LOOK cartoony, which was a welcome relief.
The real strength of the film is, not surprisingly, the myriad of dragon species. Each one is cleverly designed with unique, if a bit RPG-y, attributes and learning about them is a real treat. Some are fast and maneuverable, others slow and tank-like, and still others have a habit of combusting. As a bestiary, the film is a delight.
About midway through the movie, the star dragon Toothless takes the inept hero Hiccup and his love interest Astrid to the "Dragon Nest." There, we see all of these uniquely formed dragons dump their catch of whales and sheep into the gaping maw of a "queen" dragon, while the others cower in fear. After a narrow escape, Astrid comments that "they're like bees" and that the big dragon is their queen.
That got me thinking, because clearly these (imaginary, animated) animals don't seem to behave like bees in any other way. If anything, they seem to be remarkably intelligent and independent. In my layman's understand of hive creatures, the workers are utterly dependent on their queen, and die miserably when separated from the hive. Not so with these dragons! If anything, they are smarter the further from this hive.
Later in the film, Toothless is once again in the presence of the Dragon Nest, and a noticeable change comes over the beast. It shows no interest in its surroundings, and seems hypnotized by an unseen siren song of the dragon queen.
All this got me thinking: what kind of dragon this queen was, and how did it work in this universe? What follows are my completely made-up findings, based off a very poor understanding of evolution and eusocial animals.
While Astrid's comment is insightful, the Queen Dragon is very different from hive insects. In a bee hive, all members of the colony are of the same species and the queen is the single reproductive source. The dragon hive, conversely, comprises thousands of dragons of different species each capable of breeding on their own.
Instead of a colony leader, the Queen Dragon is a highly complex parasite. Using a combination of powerful pheromones, the queen dragon compels dragons to forage for the queen's benefit -- even food that the affected dragon would not normally consume -- and live in a hive-like environment with the queen. The queen dragon is able carry out this impressive feat of social control because of the neurological similarity across species of dragon. In truth, dragons represent extreme cases of divergent evolution as these adaptable creatures spread out into harsh conditions.As a result, many aspects of the dragon nervous system do not differ from species to species and nearly all observed dragon species respond similarly to the Queen Dragon stimulus.
Once this shocking conclusion is accepted, it opens up whole new avenues of inquiry. For instance, it is possible that the amazing variety of dragon speciation comes primarily from the selective pressure of queen dragon colonies. Requiring a constant supply of food places a heavy burden on the hive dragons, and the swift destruction of any dragon that fails to supply ample sustenance to the queen only furthers this pressure. Hive dragons have been forced to become extremely adept at acquiring vast amounts of food beyond their own needs, and have evolved to meet those needs in whatever way possible.
Queen Dragons as the primary selective pressure on dragons is bolstered by the fact that each dragon can create such pheromones itself, but not in the same quantities as a Queen Dragon. It has been demonstrated that dragons separated from the hive, ostensibly free from the queen's control, are compelled by other hive dragons that have not been severed from the queen. These hive dragons repeat the same message as the queen, and in large enough numbers can pull unsuspecting dragons from their respective habitats into the hive. Huge swarms of dragons have been observed pulling hundreds more into their ranks with their mere presence over an area.
The Queen Dragon itself begins life as a relatively small creature, roughly the size of a horse, that still poses considerable threat to humans. These creatures are designed to grow, and do so quickly, as the size of the Queen Dragon directly correlates to the size of the hive it can control. Though the precise physical structure that controls dragons has yet to be determined, the series of nodules around it's crown and down the neck have intrigued scientists for some time.
Regardless of their evolutionary role, Queen Dragons are one of the single most powerful forces exerted on dragons. Their colonies can be massive, boasting thousands if not millions of inhabitants. Any future study of dragons that ignores the affects of the Queen Dragon does will likely limit its own utility, and risks being marginalized by more comprehensive works.
