Recurrent Themes – Derellian Bats

Derellian bats really get around. This fun little made-up creature, it seems, has been just about everywhere.

Background

When I first began to write Reversal, I did not perform too much detailed or careful research (oops). I knew that Dr. Phlox had kept a bat. However, I could not recall the real name of it (it is the Pyrithian Bat, by the way).

This bit of negligence resulted in my naming the creature. I went with the made-up term, Derellian Bat. I mainly just like the euphony. The name ‘Derellian’ is not meant to have a meaning. I am not even so sure any sentient species come from its planet. It could very  well be the smartest species on its world.

Appearances

Pyrithian Bat

The Derellian Bat has been in a number of places, and this little creature is known in both the prime universe and the mirror. In Temper, the bat is a part of Cyril Morgan‘s Sick Bay. The bat also makes appearances in Fortune, Day of the Dead, Entanglements, Together, Reflections Down a Corridor, The Further Adventures of Porthos – The Stilton Fulfillment, Coveted Commodity and The Puzzle, a Tale Told in Pieces.

As a part of In Between Days continuity, the bat even goes all the way back to A Single Step, making the species, and its mild empathic healing properties, known to the Caitians.  Hence the creature is a part of the entire In Between Days timeline. However, it does not (yet) seem to be a part of the Times of the HG Wells. In addition, it does not seem to be a part of the Eriecho continuity, which includes the Kelvin timeline.

Upshot

Almost like Alfred Hitchcock in his own films, I like to see where I can slip the Derellian Bat into my fiction. This little Swiss Army knife of a creature will be back. I guarantee it.