To understand the appearance (and subsequent disappearance) of the amoebogermO'chor, you must first understand what controls this complex organism'sactions.

As it relates to the problem at hand, information about the size of thequonvibular organ of these amoebogerms should shed some light. Judging fromthe size of the quonvibular organ found in full grown amoebogerm specimens,which is approximately 10^3 nm in length with a weight of about 10^10 ng,we can safely assume that the quonvibular organ in question would weighin at no more than 10^3 ng with a length not exceeding 10^0.53 nm.

As we well know, amoebogerms have effective sensors for detecting prey.These sensors, including their thermal radiation sensor, all operate ata fairly low temperature compared to most things on Earth. Amoebogerms,particularly nocturnal ones, are used to functioning in an environment aboutthe same temperature as they are. This makes it hard for them to take advantageof their effective thermal sensing system, since detecting radiance fromEarthlings who are warmer than they are requires pulling a weak signal outof heavy background noise. Amoebogerms on Earth have apparently adaptedto this problem by relying on quonvibular secretions instead of thermalradiation to guide them to their prey.

The quonvibular organ of an amoebogerm has been found to secrete thiol,an organic sulfur compound, when in the presence of a dextran-conjugatedfluorescein compound which is found in most perfumes. It has been demonstratedthat high quantities of thiol can artificially trigger the feeding periodof an amoebogerm. It is for this reason that amoebogerms have survived onEarth with a diet consisting mostly of certain strains of the human species.

Evidence from repeated laboratory experiments has shown that limiting thesecretion of thiol can have a profound effect on the direction sensing abilityof a terrestrially challenged amoebogerm. Thus with a quonvibular organof such limited size as it is assumed to be the case in O'chor, it shouldbe expected that this organism will display highly erratic behavior duringthe day. At night, when it is able to fall back on its thermal radiationsenses, O'chor should conform to the more recognized behavior patterns associatedto amoebogerms.

Dr. Markus P. Spanglestein, O.R.I.