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
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.
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