Preface This is a comic that contains artwork that is largely by a generative AI, the Deep Dream Generator, under my direction. Hope you all enjoy the story. A Pleasant Fishing Trip, or, A Fish Story Hello everybody! So good to see you all again. I just got back from a really pleasant fishing trip to a planet named Kandor, but it's more affectionately known as The Swamp. I was doing some of my artwork when the Leon called, asked if I wanted to go fishing? I asked him what are you talking about and he gave me the lowdown. He had to pay a visit to this planet, Kandor, on behalf of The Alliance. The place is a fishing paradise, the entire planet is primeval swamp and a lovely place to visit. So he figured might as well have some fun and he thought I was fun to be with. I about swooned! He told me the place was called The Swamp by fishing aficionados. There are huge expanses of a sort of a cypress swamp, trees in the water. And lots of insects, some truly lovely bugs. Bite Hell out of you too. Then there are some pretty ugly critters that are pretty harmless. Make great fish bait though. We saw some lovely vignettes of swamp undergrowth. And other places that were just an overgrown thicket of verdant green. There were these broadleaf plants in the undergrowth that have tuberous roots kind of like a yam or potato. Fry up a passel of them sliced thin for some really good eating. Besides the wooded areas like the cypress swamps there are these huge expanses of marshland. And large numbers of water birds that call the marsh home. Some of the birds are about the only thing that will eat the abundant snakes. We saw an aquaculture float where this guy we're going to see, fellow named Fitch, was growing some plants as experiments, or food. There was this amphibian thing that was resting on top of some reed tips. Probably to avoid some of the toothy reptiles that would enjoy eating him. Some of these marsh alligator like things have an almost benevolent smile in their appearance. Believe me, there is no kindness in these critters. We passed through some of the tree swamps where the water had a blue sort of a tint. And we saw some more of Fitch's aquaculture handiwork. Fascinating in a way. Some of the tree swamps had a thinner canopy than others but were still not overgrown. We were actually lucky enough to see an Iger. These guys can swim pretty well and they are a top tier predator. No explanation for why there are not more of them. In the more polar latitudes there were some pretty colorful auroras. There are some other mammalian sorts of life, like these swamp rats. This one is out with her young. One thing there was a huge abundance of was frogs. Cute lil boogers. We saw this turtle enjoying the sunshine while basking on these lily pads. This guy was another sort of a frog we saw. And then there were these beasties, a top tier frog predator. Lots of sharp teeth. A frog with teeth. The little monster would merrily feast on its brethren. This frog like hybrid thingy had like wings and it could glide a long way after a good hop. There were these crustaceans that ate fish and frogs. Some would drop out of a tree on to a frog. Ugly as sin but boil that sucker up and man you are talking some good stuff! We saw a few of these little guys. Just such an adorable little critter with a nasty disposition and a head full of sharp fangs. The place was rife with vegetation and we saw a few patches of those yam plants. Other areas were overgrown with swamp plants growing on swamp plants. This fellow Fitch, he had some nice yam patches near his place. We saw some pretty dense clumps of these trees. The canopy was not letting much light through. We saw some moss like growth that had an attractive red coloration. This is Fitch, the guy we were there to meet. This fellow spent much of his time either in the water or on the water. His living quarters, "the official residence", was a neat little sort of a fishing cabin built up on piers above the water. But he also had this kawaii little hut nearby and that is where he did his serious sleeping. There was pretty good sized scavenger bird that lived in the trees nearby and it would make these loud caw like calls at about sunset' But the fish! So many fish of so many sorts. These guys are kind of like bass. The Leon reeled in this nice catfish and it was a feast. Pan fried with this ghee butter Fitch got from four goats he kept. These guys reminded me of trout. There were lots of these sorts of pan fish, kind of a sunfish or maybe brem. I caught this one. Fitch caught the all time winner though. This guy was delightful in taste and texture. We had been there just over a week putting on the pounds when Fitch brought up the snakes after we saw these guys. He led into his comments by telling us about some of The Swamp's monkey population. It came as no great surprise that most of the monkeys had a close relationship to water. Some of the monkeys were colorful in a subdued sort of a way. There was a legend about a monkey that had been as intelligent as the humans that first came to Kaldor. Fitch had a monkey, not very large but it seemed whip smart to us. In fact Fitch had gotten a small boat for the monkey, whose name was Isaac, to use in its own adventures. So Fitch said that right soon after that Isaac had drawn his attention to other monkeys catching certain snakes. This fanged monster being one sort. And this strange creature here. It turns out that the bite of these two snakes together, at about the same time, had a most profound effect on the bitten. It was a colorful long lasting psychedelic sort of an experience and Fitch wanted to have some of the snakes turned over to The Alliance. He already had some prepared and ready to load onto our dropship. We spent the next couple of days viewing some truly memorable scenery. Our last night there there was a Hell of a thunderstorm. It almost could have been romantic. OK guys we'll see you again next time. Conclusion I hope you enjoyed our fish story. As always, Comments, Criticisms, and Suggestions are welcome.

Hyenas 4 — The Primeval Swamp on the Planet Kandor

Too Long; Didn't Read

Bob Wright

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