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Artemis writes...

This isn't really a question, but rather a corrective comment.

Obviously Goliath wouldn't know, but I don't know about you, but Thailog is NOT Goliath's son. They are brothers. Until I went to a genetics seminar with my AP bio class, this would never have crossed my mind.

Anyway, to the point. The reason Thailog can't be Goliath's son is because of genetics. Thailog's genes came from Goliath, which in turn came from Goliaths parents. Now, therefore, technically Thailog has the same parents as Goliath (since all his chormosomes can be traced back through Goliath's parents).

There's more to it that, but I wanted to keep it it terms understandable. Another simpler way to make the argument is that since Thatilog has the same genes as Goliath, they're sort of like identical twins, born years apart (and of course identical twins are siblings of each other). It's the same with the labrynth clones as well, they are bothers of the gargs they were cloned from.

Delilah is a whole different story. I can't explain that one, but i guess she's a half sister to both Elisa and Demona, but I can't prove it genetically.

Sorry if I seemed to have a "you're wrong, I'm right" attitude, but I just wanted to let you know what the real world truth was. Now Gargoyles Universe truth, well, I can't tell you what's right and wrong, that's for you to decide.

Thanx for listening to my lecture :)

Greg responds...

Actually, I found this post very interesting and informative. It doesn't change the emotional reality of how Thailog and Goliath feel about each other. But it's good to know. And I appreciate -- greatly -- that you weren't trying to make me look foolish, just filling me in on an obvious gap in my knowledge.

It's over a year since you posted this, so I don't have any idea if you're still hanging around. But Thank You, Artemis. It is appreciated.

Response recorded on June 05, 2003

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F7 Addict writes...

This one is purely out of personal curiousity.

Given the fact that Gargoyles are warm blooded, have mammatory glands (for those who fell asleep in Anatomy, look at Demona and Angela to figure out what the m glands are), and lay eggs, it's safe to assume that genetically they are closer to the infamous duck-billed platypus than humans. (another argument against the Goliath/Elisa issue)

Was this done on purpose or am I reading too much into it?

Greg responds...

I think "those who fell asleep in Anatomy" would have better luck looking up "mammary glands" than "mammatory glands."

I'm not sure what you're reading into it. What was done on purpose was the idea that Gargoyles are a separate species. Not specifically platypusian. Gargates, I think we've been calling them.

Response recorded on May 30, 2003

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Tukins writes...

Hey Greg
I'm not gonna bother you long, I only got one question

I was just wondering, since gargoyles see upon the entire clan as their family, and they concider them all brothers and sisters, how do they prevent interbreeding? I mean, they don't know just how closely they are related to eich other, doesn't that lead to problems sometimes?

That question has been bothering me for a while now, hope you can answer it for me

Greg responds...

It's been bugging you, but you chose not to check the archives for the answer. Instead you posted a question that I didn't get to for a year and a half.

Couldn't have been bugging you too much.

Within a generation, you're not going to get anyone mating with their biological brothers or sisters, because they don't have any among their rookery siblings. First Cousins are a possibility, I suppose. I have posited in the past that smell creates a natural anti-disposition for a gargoyle choosing a mate that he or she is too closely related to.

Response recorded on May 16, 2003

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Adam Carlson writes...

how many eggs can a gargoyle female lay at one time? during there life time?
And, if there are 36 eggs taken to Avalon, how many gargoyles lived at Castle Wyvern before the massacure.

Greg responds...

1. One. Two on EXTREMELY rare occasions, maybe. Maybe.
2. Three or four tops.
3. I've answered this before, and I don't remember what I said exactly. About forty. But nearly half the clan migrated to form a new clan sometime before the massacre. So there are more eggs than you'd expect from the small numbers that were massacred.

Response recorded on April 22, 2003

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Dragon7 writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman I find your posts on gargoyle physiology and culture very fascinating. Having recently read some of your earlier answers to the newly identified Loch Ness Clan a question came to my mind as to how this clan raised and cared for its offspring. It is widely known that gargoyles in the other clans in the gargoyles universe lay eggs is this also true of the Lochness Clan and if so do they put their eggs into caves until hatching as the Wyvern Clan did in generations past?

Greg responds...

Yep.

Response recorded on April 15, 2003

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Vashkoda writes...

I've never bother to question any of the following, and I still pretty much accept it as "just the way things are", but I figured I'd still ask about it just in case it led to any interesting revelations:

1) Why *do* gargoyles assume threatening poses while they sleep? You've mentioned that gargoyles have a similarity to scarecrows. Also, one explanation for building gargoyles on medieval churches was to scare away demons. But what's the "Gargoyles-Universe" explanation? Is it really that effective in scaring away predators (and what kind of animal would attack something made of stone, anyways?). Even scarecrows lose their effectiveness over time, once birds get used to them.

2) In Japan, where the clan said that they face inward as a sign of trust to the humans, they still strike frightening poses. Is this "pose-behavior" therefore something instinctual?

3) Similarly, why did the trio, Hudson and Bronx assume threatening poses as the Magus's sleep spell took place? I'm not sure the gargoyles even understood what was happening, or identified the Magus as a threat (Lex says, "What's he talking about?" and Hudson asks, "What's all this?" just before the spell). As they see the magic swirling around them, I think they get suspicious, but it still seems odd for them to assume attack poses at that moment (I would have expected them to be confused or afraid, but not violent, especially if they haven't had time to understand what's going on). I was wondering whether the fact that they were becoming stone had triggered their instinctual pose-behavior, or were they indeed getting ready to attack the Magus?

Greg responds...

1. Partially, it's just tradition. Keep potential enemies away. A reminder to any potential attacker of what they might face.

2. Possibly. You're in a state of relative vulnerability. The pose might lend some sense-of peace-of-mind.

3. That's possible too, although I always assumed that they were on the verge of leaping into action at the attack when they got caught in it.

Response recorded on April 11, 2003

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The Endless writes...

1) Are the Gargoyles and the Garg-Dogs (prolly not correct, please don't yell!) related evolutionarily to humans, animals, plants, and cells as are all other known denizens of the biological kingdoms? i.e. Did Gargoyles and Garg-Dogs emerge from the same kind of ancestral single-celled organisms that every other animal comes from and if so, what are the closest evolutionary relatives to the Gargoyles besides the Garg-Dogs?

2) Does a Gargoyle in stone form weigh as much as he does in flesh form?

3) Why is the humanoid form (arms, upright walking, opposible thumbs) most prevalent in the known sentient races? (Fae, Gargoyle, Human)

4) Are Gargoyles photosynthetic organisms? If not, how much food do they need to eat and do they actually produce some type of feces or is stone skin their waste product?

Greg responds...

1. Yes, but I'm not going to answer your question specifically.

2. It seems like it must, but I don't know.

3. I don't know this either.

4. Everytime I even try to answer these types of questions, I wind up digging a deeper hole for myself. Tonight, I'm shovel-free, so I'll demure.

Response recorded on July 22, 2002

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Galvatron writes...

2.Are there any viruses and bacteria within gargoylesthat can survive stone sleep? If not why? If nature can develop such a defense system as the stone sleep surely nature can develop something that can allow viruses and bacteria to survive (if theres a niche in nature waiting to be filled then it will be filled) unless gargoyles are fundamentally different from humans and other animals on this planet?

Greg responds...

Galvatron,

Again, I kinda feel like you're TRYING to stump me. To make me or the show look foolish.

If that's the goal, congratulations.

If not, I'm not sure how to help you feel comfortable. I've said time and time again that I'm not a scientist. I don't have all the answers. You seem much more well-versed in this then I am. So figure it out to your own satisfaction based on the evidence in the aired episodes.

Response recorded on June 10, 2002

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Galvatron writes...

Gargoyle diseases
1.Do gargoyles get cancer? If so can they die from it?

Greg responds...

1. Tend to think not, but I'm not ruling it out.

Response recorded on June 10, 2002

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Galvatron writes...

Stone Sleep
1. Do Gargoyles cells engage in mitosis/reproduction during stone sleep?
2.How can they be in suspended animation during stone sleep when many biological functions are still active? It doesn't make sense.

Greg responds...

1. I don't know what that means, so I cannot answer.
2. Makes sense to me. But I'm no scientist. How about you come up with an answer?

Response recorded on June 10, 2002


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