h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You said yourself that the Phoenix reproduces by burning up and being reborn in the flames: OK... it's not the same as the one father, one mother or the one sister approach (as favoured by amoebic(.net) lifeforms), but it's a reproduction method all the same.

OK, so I concede that technicaly speaking that's a reproduction method.

I personaly don't believe that the phoenix really existed although there are probably some extremist hippie types who do. If there is only one then the survival chances for the species as a whole would be low...especially if it sets fire to itself.

If setting fire to its self is as pleasureable as the way humans reproduce... you'd do it on a more regular basis than every millennium, wouldn't you...

Hmmm....in that case, <> (or "Maybe" for you non-French buffs ^_^) the Phoenix can only reproduce at certain times...like a life-cycle. I do, however, find it extremely doubtful that a species of 1 could effectively exist, unless it were extremely versatile and hard to kill off.

What's to say that it's the last of the breed?

Hi Raven! I'm a guardian angel , and I'd just like to suggest you write something in your space by clicking on edit page, then people can talk to you easily and freely. Won't the world be a much better place?

^. .^
= ' =

It's so unfair... you get your own smiley or but we (the Ace's) don't. I reckon we need an ace of Spades...

Hah!


^. .^
= ' =

Umm...speaking as a relative "newbie" to H2G2...may I respond to that with a resounding "Huh???"

^_^ Explanation, s'il vous plais...*grins*

What don't you quite understand?

If it's generation, click on the and you'll be whisked away to somewhere where you can learn all about them.

If it's the aces vs angels... well, that's a long story. The Aces are official, the angels aren't.

But they have *altitude*

The Phoenix does exist. It reproduces through descendantive-clonage, a process scientists are still strangling themselves trying to achieve. First, the Phoenix makes a nest out of the leaves of the spice plant. Then the Phoenix (which is always female) lays an egg & bursts into flames to warm her egg, at which point (to some theories) her soul enters the egg. After the fire, the Phoenix' ashes fertilizes & nurishes the egg, which hatches into a new Phoenix.

I sincerely believe in the existence of the Phoenix, & I'm not even a 'hippie'.

It's possible that the concept, "Dies in the flame and is reborn from the ashes.", could've been a case of mistaken identity, so to speak. My personal theory on the phoenix is that it was a bird with the ability to secrete a combustible phosphate that ignited as soon as it came in contact with oxygen. It might have functioned in the same manner as the poison secreted by South American frogs, in that the bird automatically secreted it if frightened by something. The reason for said adaptation is fairly obvious. Any predator would think twice before attacking a bird that was literally on fire. To protect itself, it's plumage could have had a chemical composition similar to asbestos. However, this adaptation, if my theory is correct, had a serious flaw which likely contributed to the bird's eventual extinction. If the bird was in the middle of a molt, it would loose its protection from its own flame. Many phoenixes could have killed themselves by activating their flame while molting. This is where said mistaken identity occurred. It's possible that at one point, a female phoenix in the middle of a molt was guarding a clutch of eggs when someone stumbled upon her. The phoenix, in a panic at the sight of the person, would've activated her flame and ultimately died as a result. Now, at least one of the eggs, which likely had an extremely high heat threshold, survived the fire and began hatching shortly after its mother's death and forced its way out of her ashes. To the person, it would've seemed that the bird had died and been reborn. From there, the story of said phenomenon spread and the rest is history.

That's another theory. Theories differ from one nation to the next. But only the yogis of ancient times know for sure. They were meditating near where the Phoenix always 'ressurects'.