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The Clockwork Spider

Someone in this City is working an unsavory science. While searching for my little invader, I instead discovered this vicious creature in the tall grass of the Broad Meadow.

Tiny biting gnat pixies flew in a cloud around me as I crawled along the ground searching. I heard a tinny snapping sound, and suddenly, the gnat pixies had vanished. It took my quick eyes to spot the little arachnid devouring the last remains of the gnat pixie.

Before taking the capture, I stunned it with a blast of compressed air, and to my surprise, a hinged cover blew open on its back, revealing delicate and impossibly tiny clockwork gears. Only a master tinkerer could tune such work, and only in the City could one combine the machine with the flesh of the spider.

Note the unusual marking of gears that clearly confirm the arachnid’s manufactured nature. I have read in my research of the many unusual forms of life here, but I cannot find anything like this in any of my bestiaries, and not surprising, given how few of my fellow naturalists show interest in the animalia smaller than a closed fist.

The spider recovered from my stunning and scrambled back up the stalks of grass to wait for gnat pixies. I watched as it devoured a dozen more of the poor creatures. It became clear to me that whoever built the spider was taking sides in the struggle that was one of my areas of research, and I felt my bile rise.

The natural ecosystem of the City Park contains few insects; nearly every ecological niche is filled by a native faery species. Within the past century, due to arrivals such as the carry-on in my shipping container, insects have begun to compete for survival here. If I had to make a wager for one side over the other, I would pick the faery population winning out in the end. Their viciousness and intelligence have always put them at an advantage. But now, I discover that someone has taken it upon himself to improve the invasive species! Interfering in this way goes against every naturalist ethic I hold dear.

I attempted to collect the spider for further inspection, but it was unusually quick and it escaped my net. Luckily, I made a respectable photonic capture of the marking on its abdomen. I will share it with my collegues in an upcoming paper, but I fear I will soon find other creatures marked in such a manner.

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