Capeworld Comics

Ivan Sanderson Research Base

 

Named after Ivan Sanderson, the father of aerofauna biology, Ivan Sanderson Research Base floats in the thermosphere nearly out of Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists aboard the Ivan Sanderson primarily study nearby herds of niamh attracted to the base by ultraviolet radiation, but they also study niamh herd symbiotes like discus and predators like nuadas.

 

The base was founded in 1936. During the early 1940’s, an incident occurred which resulted in the death of one researcher and the creation of a light-based quasimorph named Roger after Roger Bacon, famed pioneer in the field of optics. Roger the Ray, as he came to be affectionately called by the research staff, became a trusted and valued member of the crew following a period of existential trouble. His ability to generate radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum allowed him to not only illuminate aerofauna, who are typically invisible due to an adaptation which allows the rare superheated particles of the thermosphere’s thin atmosphere to pass harmlessly through their bodies, but “feed” specific niamhs with directed beams of ultraviolet radiation and through this feeding partially domesticate them which made studying the herd substantially easier.

 

During the 1940’s, the Ivan Sanderson was a controversial installation. Many felt aerofauna research was a waste of funds that could have otherwise been spent on the war effort and that Ivan Sanderson researchers were a group of useless elites hiding out from the draft in an ivory tower far above the battles. Roger the Ray took such criticism to heart and throughout the war would try and enlist only to be talked out of it by his fellow researchers who feared for his safety.

 

The Ivan Sanderson remains in the thermosphere to this day, still studying the ecosystems of the thermosphere. Roger the Ray is now head researcher and a member of the Martin’s School contact education program. He mentors students interested in aerofauna biology like Tanya Abelman to pass on his love for the creatures onto younger generations.