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Ginormous Mech Animals Only Way To Travel
Les Machines de l'ile de Nantes are not mere spectacular gigantic/enormous mechanical animals. They are also fully functional vehicles that people can actually ride around in.
(Giant squid vehicle)
Want to know more about these amazing beasts? Let the unconscious poetry of automatic google translation tell the story:
"A team of builders Machines has set up his workshop in the halls of the old shipyards, in the heart of the island of Nantes.Their imagination explore the treetops, the savannah or funds submarines, they are building a bestiary machines live escapes from the workshop to populate the territory in flux.
The Great Elephant, Worlds Sailors or Tree of the Herons urban sculptures are accessible to the public. As doors opening onto the dream and travel, they give the island a reality mysterious as the time when vessels were launched for all journeys in the world ".
Science fiction fans, however, are unperturbed by the possibility of traveling inside vast sea creatures, having seen it all before. In Arthur C. Clarke's marvelous novel Childhood's End, a man figures out how to stow away aboard an alien spacecraft.
The tableau might have been the work of some mad artist in a drugged delirium. These battles were fought in the endless night of the ocean depths...The long, saw-toothed lower jaw of the whale was gaping wide... almost concealed beneath the writhing network of white, pulpy arms with which the giant squid was fighting desperately for its life.
The entire exhibit was more than thirty meters long... Everything was now ready, awaiting the Overlord's pleasure.
"We've no creatures as large as this on our planet," said Karellen... He stood for another moment staring at the great jaw, then moved on to examine the squid... [and left].
[Sullivan] steadied the ladder as Jan climbed into the great jaw, carefully avoiding the lines of teeth... There was the sound of the airlock hatch being opened and closed, and thereafter, silence.
[Jan] knew that he could expect to feel nothing here in his cell, for whatever tremendous forces drove the ships of the Overloards must be perfectly compensated.
Oh, and this just gets better. The Nante's Culture and Heritage group is looking for a maintenance technician responsible for the maintenance of the elephant and other systems. You should have a good knowledge of hydraulic systems, and five years (minimum) experience in a similar post.
Via Gizmodo; thanks to Fred for sending in the story tip.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/29/2008)
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