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gedoena writes...

Greg,

[ Gargoyle Science Question: ]

This probably looks a little silly, but I was just rereading my last posting and decided to reverse my thoughts on the matter.

Because gargoyles mate for life, it is probably very important to them to have someone fill that role in their lives. In an isolated clan with an unequal number of each sex for one generation, there would be very little hope of finding a mate for some of the clan members. With no possibility of mating with the equivalent of a widow, this would doom the "left-over" clan members to a lonely life, with a great gap to fill. Would this feeling cause them to bond to one-another?

This explaination is probably much less romantic then the one you would give, but I feel that there must be something in the biology and culture of a species that will at least allow for any given behavior to exist (just as you said that you did not think gargoyles would be found with a particular pashion or talent for architecture, as this was not an area where their talents were likely to be useful).

I guess this was much more of a ramble then a question. But again I would be very interested in hearing your response.

Thanks,

Gedoena

Greg responds...

Did I say that about architecture? Is that an exact quote?

See my previous response for my explanation.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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Gedoena writes...

Greg,

[ Gargoyle Science Question: ]

I have been reading through the archives lately, and was surprised to see that you believe that there would be homosexual relationships between gargoyles. This is not because of any personal moral problems; I was just wondering about the background of it within this species.

According to your other posts, gargoyles mate for life, and are driven by biological urges tied to certain scents peculiar to their mates. I would assume that even though each gargoyle has a particular scent, females' scents would be much more similar to eachother then to the scent of any male (and vice-versa). Therefore, I don't understand how two members of the same gender would become attracted to one another.

Furthermore, gargoyles only mate once every 20 years, and only lay one egg at a time. Being a warrior race, there is a probably a fair likelihood that at least one of the parents has died before more then one or two eggs have been laid, making it hard to keep up a sustainable population. It would seem that it would be of great import to the clan to have as many mated pairs as possible.

I guess this was more of a comment then a question, but I would very much like to hear your response to these thoughts.

Thanks,

Gedoena.

Greg responds...

I think your logic is flawed. Not that I'm a biologist. But taking humans as an example, it seems to me that there are plenty of people who are biologically geared to being homosexual (scents and all). In the nature/nurture argument, I think nurture has very little to do with it, save adding a sense of repression, generally.

I mean if it ain't biology, it's reincarnation or something.

So if that's the case with humans, why wouldn't it be the case with gargoyles. I've even read about homosexual ducks.

As to your "Furthermore", keep in mind that gargoyle mates have sexual relations as often as they are in the mood. Females are only fertile every twenty years. That doesn't define their sex drives. Or the males'. And yes, I do think there would be a cultural imperative toward mating pairs. But maybe the cultural imperative to find a soulmate for life would be even stronger.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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matt writes...

is it possible that Demona could lay an egg every twenty years since she is biologically a middle aged garg and (probably) still responds to those Earth rythm things? do gargs mate any time they want or only every twenty years? did Demona have sex with Thailog? sorry about the vulgar questions... :)

Greg responds...

Gargoyles potentially have sexual relations more often than once every twenty years. Fertility and lust are two separate issues, not that they are mutually exclusive either.

In theory, Demona could lay an egg every twenty years, assuming she had a mate who mated with her when she was fertile. That hasn't been the case.

As to Thailog, to be blunt, the answer is almost certainly yes. But they broke up years before Demona would be fertile again.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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Basilisk writes...

You've said that gargoyles concieve eggs every twenty years and the eggs take ten years to hatch. What are the intervals for gargoyle beasts?

Greg responds...

The same.

Response recorded on January 31, 2001

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IMPFAC Goldberg writes...

Hey Greg, I found this at IMDB and wondered what it was:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120911
You and some others from Garg. are named. Just wondering.

'Nother question: How many eggs to gargs lay at once? Can it be more than one?

Greg responds...

What's an IMDB?

One egg at a time.

Response recorded on January 26, 2001

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The One writes...

1) If a Gargoyle dies at night, what happens to the remains, do they turn into stone? If they do turn into stone, do the reamins continue to rot at night?

2) How exactly do Gargoyles have eggs? Does the female carry the eggs for a term and then lay out those huge eggs? Or do they lay something small that slowly matures and get larger?

3) Are Gargoyles warm-blooded? Cold-blooded?

4) Where do Gargoyles get the extra bodily mass when they turn into stone?

Greg responds...

1. I've answered this before. No. A dead gargoyle stays in whatever form it was in when last alive.

2. The female does carry the egg for a short term. The eggs are soft when laid, and don't get hard until the first sunrise after being laid. They stay hard after that, until the hatching.

3. Generally, I'd say they are warm-blooded. Though they might fall under a third category.

4. Who says they have extra body mass?

Response recorded on January 26, 2001

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zakhur writes...

Hey Greg, i Was wondering, what's the maximum amount of eggs, that a gargoyle female can lay in a lifetime?

Greg responds...

Generally, three.

Response recorded on December 22, 2000

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matt writes...

is it possible that the closest living relative of the gargates would be the platypus? i mean, if you compare them its interesting. both are warm blooded, egg laying while still nurse their young, have claws and beaks! they are probably even more similiar but i'm trying to remember the features of the platapi from a discovery channel show from a long time ago. this is probably a really stupid question but its really late and i can't tell. good night.

Greg responds...

I suppose it's possible, but I'm not ready to call the platypus a gargate without more evidence than the relatively superficial things that you mentioned.

Response recorded on December 22, 2000

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JADE writes...

I was just wondering, if a gargoyles died in battle would they turn to stone, or stay in their flesh form? Because I belive that in "Future Tense" it showed Hudson in stone and he was said to dead, or was that just some type of a memorial? Just wondering....

Greg responds...

That was a BRONZE memorial. Not stone. Metal. Not him. A statue.

When a garg dies, he or she stays in whatever form he or she was in when he or she died. Presumably, any garg that died in battle was flesh when he or she died. Thus they'd stay flesh.

Response recorded on December 22, 2000

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matt writes...

was sevarius' theory of gargs storing solar energy ever confirmed? i assume it was.

Greg responds...

I buy it.

Response recorded on December 22, 2000


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