Dr. Cargle

Dr. Cargle is a researcher from Ioblia. He is the only one of his species, having been mutated by mysterious energies and bearing little resemblance to his original ancestors. Dr. Cargle is best known for his self-motivated research on his home planet and his cooperation with off-world explorers. He is the unofficial co-editor of the Ioblian wildlife document and the creator of multiple independent research logs.

## History

Dr. Cargle's claim to fame was being one of the only Ioblian entities who actually cared about how Ioblia worked. The others just kinda went with it.

It was he who categorized species, traced ancestors, and documented lifestyles. It was he who discovered Ioblia was not a sphere, but a column, with a clear, delineated top and bottom. He studied the relationships between Ioblia's three main environments - the gas fields, islands, and iodine seas - and was the first to document the existence of its fourth: the gravel pits. According to him, his mutation is a direct result of prolonged exposure to the latter.

## Personality

Dr. Cargle has a highly eccentric personality and a slightly inflated ego. He claims to be Ioblian's foremost researcher, but in his defense this is technically true. Despite his narcissistic tendencies he has proven to be helpful to anyone who may seek his assistance. Dr. Cargle possesses a quick wit and tends to land on his feet. This helps him out of the many perilous situations he willingly enters in the name of study.

## Research Log 1

(The following is taken from Dr. Cargle's study of the Gas Fields with his consent)

*Ah, the Gas Fields. Clear as day and dark as night, depending on the position of the sun, of course. There's nothing to block light from penetrating through. There's none of what many foreigners call "translusency" so according to the eye, the Gas Fields must not exist! WRONG!!! The Gas Fields are real as this writing, and the eye needs to rethink its biases. They may be invisible, but they are very dense, allowing all manner of Ioblian wildlife to zip, buzz, or float about. Sadly I am not built to fly like them. I am however, built to build things that let me fly like them. So really, who's laughing now?*

*It is in their territory that one truly appreciates aerial life. Cloracious Fiends dart about, searching for the next easy meal. Pernicious Fernicious float about, doing much of the same, but slower. Wibbers undulate through the atmosphere, and the Cuboids feed from them parasitically. More than once I have had my fair share of undesirable encounters with particularly nasty specimens, but I have never been easy prey, and never will.*

*The Gas Fields always seem to naturally repel islands and seas, unless those things are inside it. Then it repels it equally in all directions, sticking it firmly into place. How did our lands, seas, and air first form? What formed first? I may never know (but that is wishful thinking on my competitors part!)*

## Research Log 2

(The following is taken from Dr. Cargle's study of the Islands with his consent)

*No, the islands are not alive. Well, partially. Islands are chunks of largely inert material that not one creature on record ever evolved to use. On the other hand, the outside is caked in a dense layer of organic compounds that support the growth of many autotrophs and help form a basic food pyramid. I am told that on many other planets, the photosynthetic organisms are anatomically much different from the herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. How strange that must be!*

*Life on the Islands is dominated by opportunistic omnivores. Many creatures will take what they can get when they can get it. Even the majestic Joshredder, gentle grazer of the plains, won't shy away from some mobile meats. Herbivores and Carnivores are only named as such because they have their preferences, but really everyone can eat almost everyone else if they put their mind to it. I have, on occasion. But I'm here to study what's around me, not drive it to extinction.*

*The Islands raise another peculiar question as well. I have seen creatures fall from the islands above and land on those below. I imagine this is how most of the islands became populated, but it seems virtually all islands have the same species, the same plants, and the same general ecosystem. Did island species first evolve on the very top island and gradually trickle down? If so, wouldn't there be more variations between species on different islands? Perhaps Ioblia is very recent. Perhaps all that I see was created as is - or close to it - not too long ago...*

## Research Log 3

(The following is taken from Dr. Cargle's study of the Iodine Seas with his consent)

*The seas are what really make things difficult. I'm still not quite sure how they float about. They seem to exist anywhere they want and prop themselves on, under, or between a Gas Field. Sometimes they even prop themselves above ANOTHER Iodine Sea, with a very small but stable line of air separating them. According to the composition of that air, it's technically an incredibly small, lifeless Gas Field (To be fair I wouldn't want to live there either).*

*What I do know is that the seas increase in frequency towards the bottom end of Ioblia, and tend to have very miraculous specimens. Here life can afford to ease off the reigns and specialize. The frequency of opportunistic omnivores is much less, and one can more easily tell which species is going to eat what. The tiny creatures such as the Zibble, Sticklet, and Cunc, rarely have the chance to eat the meat of a larger seafarer or stray researcher. On the other hand, the massive Molar Mover can eat whatever doesn't get away fast enough.*

*Most foreigners seem perplexed when I mention the Iodine seas. They must live on planets where the oceans are some other liquid. Acid perhaps.*

## Research Log 4

(The following is taken from Dr. Cargles study of The Gravel Pits)

*The Gravel Pits lie at the very end of the Ioblian column, probably for good reason. On a cursory glimpse, it's just a place with bad wildlife that does bad things, but I am no cursory glimpsist. In my earlier days as a young [illegible] I would perch at the very edge of the bottom island and peer through the seas with a long mirrored stick. If I was lucky, and my stick was long enough, I would catch glimpses of the hole beneath the sea. I couldn't explain the entities below, but I observed what made them similar. Many were characterized by long sinuous arms and legs, all traits I've observed in the native seaborne Krunk and the island dwelling Nargle Pot Spreader, and both of which are known for their highly predatory tendencies. There was more to this than met the eye at the end of the long stick, and I wouldn't be the top researcher if I didn't find out what.*

*So I graduated from the stick and entered a self-taught course in spelunking. I descended to the Gravel Pits myself to find out what was what. I do not regret the decision, but between me and this entry, I admit it could have used better planning.*

*In the Gravel Pits I saw entities that had been locked away from the rest of the world. Some, like the Swallowtail Graveltail, could be traced back to existing wildlife up above. Others like "Nasal Spy" "Human Dave" or "MAN ITS" look like wholly aboriginal beings. I quote these names because I did not come up with them. I simply know that those are their names and have always been. I eventually returned to the surface to document my findings, but found one more species to document on the way: myself. During my stay, I had changed.*

*I hypothesize that the Gravel Pits are the source of a warping energy, and the entities with names are the ones who've learned to use it for their benefit. Animals like Swallowtail Graveltail may have been relatives of the Island Swallowtail Swallowtail that fell beneath the bottom of the sea and absorbed those energies. Others, like the Krunk and Nargle Pot Spreader, had ancestors that came into contact with the Gravel Pits and broke free as I did. The mark of the place is evident on their unnaturally long, shapely limbs, as it is now on my own.*

*It's probably fine.*