The Kameyama

"One of the most amazing known life-forms is the Kameyama <turtle mountain>, the giant space turtles that swim in the void between planets the way sea turtles swim the oceans of Earth. The size of these creatures is staggering. To actually see one in the flesh is a moment not to be forgotten.

"They lumber lazily through the spaceways seemingly oblivious to their environtment, for, in truth, what can possibly pose a threat to these behemoths? For all their time spent in the void, remember they are living beings dependent on air to breathe. Just as their earthly sousins would emerge from the ocean depths so their beaks could touch the sunlight and draw in a breath of air, so too the Kameyama must occassionally descen upon an oxygen-rich planet.

"The coming of a Kameyama is regarded with dread in some cultures and as a religious event in others who regard these creatures as messengers of the Gods. Many believe that the beasts' mouths are the portal to the mansion of the Gods...and to be devoured by one of these is akin to being "raptured" to Heaven. After it has sated its appetite, whole forests are left ravaged and lakes left dry.

"Fortunately, the Kameyama are solitary creatures, few in number. However, every 500 years or so, a spawning instinct is triggered where hundreds of these space turtles have left entire worlds all but devastated in their frenzy. Eggs are usually laid and covered in the warm sands of some newly emerging world still in the throes of volcanism. The only time in its life that the Kameyama is so susceptible to predators is when it first emerges from the sand...but within a few weeks, the predator often becomes the prey to the appetites of the voracious Kameyama as it, like all newborn, gains weight as quickly as it can.

"How it actually manages flight, no one really knows. It may be the result of unknown gases it manufactures within its shell or maybe due to some as yet unguessed mental process. How long their lifespan is, no one actually knows but it must be measured not with years but with out generations. It is a fortunate warlod indeed, who locates a Kameyama carcass.

"The body is excavated, the shell sanitized then towed to a space dock. A new "head", navigational "flippers" and "tail" are constructed; decks are built; equipment is installed; thrusters added; and weapons mounted. After years, a dreadnaught of the spaceways emerges from the hangar--a flying fortress that can be likened to a castle in the sky. Such was the KAME-1, the flagship of Lord Matabeh of the Shirohoshi Clan System."

-From the writings of L. Hearn, Space Usagi #1, Volume 2. © Stan Sakai 1993

The Kameyama appears several times in the Space Usagi series. Their name, translated from Japanese, basically means "turtle mountain", and a very fitting name it is. I have lots of pictures of it because it has a big part in one of the Space Usagi issues. This is one of my favorite Space Usagi creatures. It also looks very cool as a battleship.

[Main] [Mystics] [Space Usagi] [Usagi Yojimbo] [Young Usagi]