The Seaman Expedition

The Seaman Expedition was a promotional website for Seaman that was active from August 2000 to February 2001, hosted at www.yoot.com (Yutaka Saitō's former personal website).

The website is now defunct and can only be accessed in archived form.

All information here has been taken directly from the website.

Index
Amid the desert heat of Egypt and the river waters of the Nile Delta, an American-led team begins the search for the elusive Seaman. Finding the legendary creature may lend clues and help raise the veil of mystery that has surrounded the Seaman for over 4,500 years.

Scientists soon hope to be able to study and research the Seaman in its natural habitat, a feat never before accomplished on such a major scale. The expedition team, led by renowned American explorer Andrew Resnick, will be building upon research initially done by Professor Jean Paul Gassé in the 1930's. Gassé was the French scientist first credited with the discovery of the Seaman.

The key to the entire expedition will be to track down the Seaman's natural habitat, which could cover various waterways and bodies along a 100-mile stretch of the Nile. No scientific eye within the modern world has recorded the life of the Seaman in the wild. Even Dr. Gassé's research on the animal was done with eggs grown in captivity. The evolution of the Seaman holds many secrets and with theories linking the Seaman to ancient Egyptian civilization, the expedition team hopes to answer some of them.

The Expedition
The Seaman Expedition brings together some of the greatest explorers and scientists from America, Japan, and France. Alexandria, Egypt will be their initial base of operations. Alexandria has the advantage of offering the modern facilities of the Oceanic Life Research Institute for the science team and is also the area where a Seaman was most recently caught. The main points of the expedition are twofold: 1)This will be the main thrust as the bulk of the team conducts a search and study of the Seaman as well as further the research originally started by Dr. Jean Paul Gassé. 2)This will be happening in parallel and consists of successfully breeding the Seaman in a controlled lab environment while receiving input from the field team.

This expedition also allows for the growth of science's newest field of study: Anthro-Bio Archaeology. Anthro-Bio Archaeology is a field of study unifying the theories of the biological, archaeological, and anthropological sciences. Until this field was developed, more and more scientists were becoming specialists of their respective fields. Consequently, it grew increasingly difficult to see the whole picture; it was nearly impossible to gather the wisdom of the different disciplines to help solve the greater mysteries plaguing mankind. France was the first to establish a research institute for the study in 1996, quickly followed by Japan. Two members from the expedition team are from each of the institutes.

Key Expedition Team Members:


 * Dr. Andrew Resnick- The famous American explorer leading the Seaman Expedition Team. His knowledge and contacts within the Nile Delta Region are extensive. Resnick has some ten years worth of experience in the area, most recently leading research efforts on the Nile Crocodile during the mid-to-late nineties.
 * Dr. Jean-Luc Reno- A French scientist direct from the Anthro-Bio Archaeology Research Institute in Paris. Reno worked closely with the institute's director, Professor William Southerland. Reno was a member of Southerland's research team that studied the egg samples from the Seaman caught near Alexandria in 1997.
 * Dr. Kenji Yamato- Prior to the expedition, Yamato was based out of the Anthro-Bio Archaeology Research Institute of Japan. He worked alongside Professor Kendare Takahashi, the institute's director, when Takahashi became the first person to successfully breed Seaman eggs in captivity. Yamato will be working on replicating that success in Alexandria.
 * Jon Miller One of American Science Journal's most talented correspondents, Miller will be there to document and report back to the world the progress of the Seaman Expedition Team. Miller's most recent and notable work was his piece on the current status and breeding habits of the Coelacanths off the coast of Madagascar.

July 10
A Mission with Destiny By Jon Miller Paris, France, July 10-

Today I will set off on a journey to pursue an elusive legend, 4500 years in the making. Unlike most legends, this one is living and to uncover it, my travels will take me to Alexandria, Egypt. I will be part of an international expedition team, led by American explorer Dr. Andrew Resnick, as we go in search of the mysterious Seaman.

Our main objective will be to track down the creature in its natural habitat and study it. While research has recently begun on the only Seaman bred in captivity by Professor Kendare Takahashi, no data exists on it in the wild. Despite the recent interest in Seaman, very little is know about it. This is why the mythos for Seaman or Habibi de Kimo (Seaman's scientific name) has grown. Spawning from stories of Seaman's link to Ancient Egypt, the lost experiments of the pioneer Dr. Jean Paul Gassé and his colleague, Kimo Masuda, to the animal's ability to interact with people, the time became ripe for a full scale exploration.

The night before our flight, Professor William Southerland (Director of the Anthro-Bio Archaeology Research Institute in Paris) invited us out to what he called a "good luck and farewell" dinner. Now I can say that there are probably only five people on this planet that can be considered "experts" on the subject of Seaman. Two of them are on the expedition team and we were having dinner with the third. Good luck, it seems, was already on our side…all I could hope for now was a farewell. We spoke about what a milestone the expedition would be for the Anthro-Bio Archaeology community. And while I never fancied myself a scientist, I could only imagine the implications Seaman could have for the world in general.

Waiting on the airport tarmac was quite a sight, as I watched the cargo planes roll in and get fitted with supplies. It all looked more like a military operation than an exploration team. This crack precision seemed to underscore the scale and importance of it all as Andrew kept referring to it as the "mission". I was fortunate enough to share this leg of the journey with Professors Jean-Luc Reno and Kenji Yamato, the two "experts" I spoke of. Andrew would be meeting us in Alexandria as he had to tend to some last minute details with the dive teams.

With all the equipment loaded on board and the team strapped in, the two cargo planes began to roll down the runway. Jean-Luc turned to me and said, "I suppose this is our date with destiny." I corrected him and said, "If Andrew were sitting here, he'd say this was our Mission with Destiny." This got a chuckle from the group as we settled in for the flight. Next stop, Egypt.

July 25
Station Alexandria By Jon Miller Alexandria, Egypt, July 25-

The city is beautiful and has so far been very good hosts to our foreign expedition team. I'm sure this is due in no small part to having Andrew Resnick leading our group. Andrew has been making journeys into this part of the world for over a decade and is quite the celebrity here.

The weather here was as expected, 85 degrees and considerable humidity with the nights dropping to the low 70s, but the humidity seems ever present. Fortunately, most of my days have so far been spent underwater calibrating my camera and getting acquainted with the new dive equipment.

Andrew has everything running like clockwork. The dive teams have gone through their drills, the word has gone out to Andrew's local contacts for information on possible Seaman sightings, satellite imagery of the Nile Delta has been received, and our main ops center is up and running. Alexandria's Oceanic Life Research Institute has become our main base of operations. Their modern facilities and expert staff fit perfectly with Dr. Kenji Yamato's needs.

Kenji has spent a considerable amount of time ensuring that the conditions surrounding the aquarium-holding tank are just perfect. Everything needs to be accounted for if we hope to replicate Professor Kendare Takahashi's success with breeding the Seaman eggs in captivity. With Kenji's research in the lab and the field team's onsite survey, we should have a double source of data collection on the Seaman.

The arrival of Andrew's area guides signals the team that our departure is soon at hand. All the jeeps are laden with equipment and supplies and the team has enjoyed a comfortable stay in Alexandria. They have one more night to enjoy their accommodations because once out in the field things will be less than inviting. I, personally, will probably have a hard time sleeping, knowing that our search for the Seaman will begin only some 50 miles from here.

August 8
Ground Zero on the Nile By Jon Miller Nile Delta (between Disuq and Shubra), Egypt, August 8-

We have finally set up camp near the banks of the Nile. Andrew's guides have noted three main areas along the Nile where locals have sightings and stories of the Seaman. This may not be much to go on, but as Andrew says, "when you're chasing a legend, you don't have much of a choice."

The animal life and vegetation of the Nile Delta are truly amazing. Despite what most people may think, the Delta is very fertile ground and quite green for this part of the world. The Nile Eagle was a sight to behold as it would swoop down and snatch fishes out of the water. I just hoped that none of those fishes were our precious Seaman. Jean-Luc's humor shined through when he commented, "Not to worry, if it was our Seaman, he would be yelling for help." The Nile Crocodiles really kept us alert as to where we were stepping. The crocs seem to give Andrew a knowing look. Resnick had spent a chunk of the nineties leading research teams to study the Nile Crocs. This doesn't mean he respects them any less, he just doesn't freak out over them as much as I do.

I must say that I am quite proud of our little tent city. We have six tents situated together for living quarters and one for bathing and another for the latrine. As soon as the tents were set, the team went right on to setting up the research areas.

Dig sites were marked and sectioned off along the shores. Jean-Luc oversaw the site as members of the team sifted through, looking for signs of the Seaman. In 1932, Gassé had noted that he came across mutated bone fragments belonging to the Seaman. Nearly seventy years later, the expedition team is trying to do the same.

Andrew oversees the dive operations. A scaffolding is built out over the flowing waters of the river. This will serve as the waypoint for the dive team. During Gassé's time, such dive equipment, technology, and techniques simply did not exist and so a thorough search for Seaman in the Nile waters was never conducted, until now.

It was then that dig site 17 turned up the first major discovery of the expedition, mutated bone fragments. Jean-Luc took immediate examination of the pieces. The bone fragments did not match up with any of the animals from the surrounding area. However, the bones did match with Kimo's drawings as well as Gassé's notes and skeleton specimen. Jean-Luc confirmed the findings. This was the evidence we needed.

Dive operations commenced in earnest. It was now time for me to put my underwater dive experience to use. The cool depths of the Nile River proved to be a welcome change from the heat above. The first several dives proved to be fruitless, but on the fourth dive we hit pay dirt. Near an area of rock croppings, members of the dive party uncovered Seaman eggs. It was a grouping of six, but three of them damaged, possibly by predators. The remaining three eggs were brought to the surface and examined.

The eggs are amber in color and range in size from 2-3 cm. The eggs are often laid in rocky areas to help camouflage them. The eggs were quickly preserved and sent back to Kenji at the Alexandria lab. Subsequent dives in this area turned up little else. This discovery was our first living link to the Seaman. We are getting close.

August 28
Treasures of the Seaman By Jon Miller Nile Delta (north of Disuq), Egypt, August 28-

We have moved further up north to the second locale point provided by Andrew's guides. So far undocumented sightings and unconfirmed stories seem to be working out pretty well for us. Finds from our first site proved to be more than we expected and morale among the team is high. Setting up camp and our tent city proved to be much easier and quicker the second time around. At least I thought so, everyone else chalks it up to practice.

The crocs seem to be more prominent in this area. I still have not gotten totally use to them and keep a wary eye. Our Andy was cool under fire as always. If I didn't know better, I would've thought one of the crocs actually smiled at him. Andrew simply acknowledged it with a tip of his fedora.

I have found myself wondering more and more what Dr. Jean Paul Gassé would have thought of all this. It was his legacy that gave birth to the field of Anthro-Bio Archaeology. It was his passion and previous research on the Seaman in the 1930's that helped to build the foundation for this whole expedition. And it was his mysterious disappearance from mainstream society that continues to fuel the Seaman legend. Somehow, based on the progress we've made so far and the pure goals of the expedition, I think he would have approved and is actually with us in spirit.

The new dig sites are laid out and the dive platform is set out. This part of the river is a little trickier as the scaffolding had to be adjusted twice due to alignment problems. Early on, the dives did not turn up anything similar to the eggs or bones of the first site. Later in the week though, we had a stroke of luck.

Andrew and the dive teams began coming across Ancient Egyptian artifacts strewn along the river floor. Knowing that Seaman was linked to the Ancient Egyptians, the artifacts deserved a much closer inspection. The pieces comprised mainly of statues and tablet carvings. Our underwater archeology came into play here as we studied the artifacts right where we found them. Some of the pieces were just too large or heavy and we had to determine first if there was any value in bringing them to the surface.

It turns out that the pieces were quite valuable in narrowing the gap of the Seaman mysteries. All the artifacts, from the markings on the tablets, to the statues, and the headpieces, seem to relate to the Seaman. It became apparent that these pieces were not haphazardly strewn about nor were they lost to the river. They appear to have been deliberately placed. The team's hypothesis was that the artifacts were placed in the Nile River to honor or worship the Seaman. This can only mean that Seaman must have brought some value or importance to Ancient Egyptian Civilization. This only served to further strengthen Gassé's theory that the Seaman was related and pivotal to the development of Ancient Egyptian Civilization. Now I am definitely sure that Gassé would have approved.

September 14
The Living Legend By Jon Miller Nile Delta (south of Rosetta), Egypt, September 14-

The artifacts found at our last "dig" were important, but we have not made any further progress towards first contact with a live Seaman. We have moved even further north along the Nile and are now at the last known area for the Seaman. After digging in, the team splits off as one unit continues the search in the Nile and along its banks while the other goes to explore the nearby Abu Temple and Simbel Ruins.

The temple search team returned with another incredible discovery. Inside the Abu Temple was a small wall painting with images that correlate to Seaman. They appear to date back to around 2600 B.C. Carvings found around the Simbel Ruins also match up with Seaman. Their exact date is uncertain, but is believed to be around the same time period. Discoveries such as these continue to further cement Gassé's theories.

The dive team comes across more underwater artifacts very similar to the pieces found north of Disuq. During one of the dives, an amazing event occurred. A small group of Mushroomers were identified as they swam past one of the divers. Mushroomers are the larval stage of the Seaman appearing in this form upon hatching. They are composed of a bulbous head and a long whip-like tail. Mushroomers are easily spotted because in darkened areas they emanate a phosphorescent glow. It is believed that the purpose of the glow is to attract potential host organisms.

Andrew immediately gave chase after the Mushroomers before they could swim away. Unfortunately the little devils were too quick and got away. The incident was not a total loss, though; the team actually came in contact with a living stage of the Seaman. And for a brief time, we were able to observe its movement.

Andrew and Jean-Luc, feeling that this was the closest the team had come, were inspired to make the dives even more effective. I could only marvel at their ingenuity. They constructed (Andrew would say "rigged") a device that was essentially an underwater sound wave transmitter. The transmitter was specifically tuned to output the frequency ranges of the human voice. The trick was that they calibrated it to mimic human speech sounds while at the same time compensating for transmission through a body of water. Gassé noted that the Seaman is attracted to the sounds of human beings.

The Nile River dives are resumed with the aid of this transmitter. After a few attempts, all the while constantly adjusting the transmitter, the miracle event happens…first contact. A Seaman is spotted swimming up to one of the dive team members. The creature is at the Gillman stage of evolution. Andrew swiftly swims over to the Gillman with the transmitter in hand. The creature appears to take a liking to the device. With some coaxing, the Gillman follows Andrew to the surface. It is not until they reach the surface of the dive platform that the team can hear the sounds of the Gillman. Most of what it speaks sounds like baby gibberish, but it is distinctly human sounding.

The Seaman Expedition Team had done it! We made contact with a Seaman in its natural habitat. Over the next few days, the makeshift research area begins to take on a more permanent look. The Gillman continues to return and visit the dive platform. Jean-Luc constantly communicates and interacts with the Seaman. This starts to bring about a few recognizable words from it…the Gillman is learning! The constant conversations continue to develop the Seaman's language capabilities. Even Kenji was able to make it out to the field to see for himself.

The research is far from over. It took us a little longer than anticipated to track down the Seaman. We can now begin the observation and behavioral studies. We are still uncertain as to the Seaman's population and many questions still remain unanswered. But a few agenda items remain clear…the Seaman's habitat area must be protected and cordoned off for scientific research. A campaign must also be underway to educate the locals about the Seaman so that it can avoid being caught in fishermen's nets. Once taught, the local people will know what they can do to protect and preserve what will soon become a living national treasure.

Dr. Gassé
Jean Paul Gassé, the Father of Anthro-Bio Archaeology

Born in Paris at the turn of the century (1899), Jean Paul Gassé developed an early desire to explore that which would benefit all of mankind. Though young, Jean Paul was not short on academic genius and soon excelled at all his studies. Yet even amid such academic success, Jean Paul suffered due to his introverted nature and soon plummeted further into solitude. It was during this lonely time that Jean Paul embraced the field of biology - biological science in particular.

Expanding on his initial thoughts and ideas regarding biological science, Gassé was soon rewarded a scholarship to the University of Warsaw. It was his studies at the University and his future teachings at a local high school, which led Jean Paul to develop a new theory that "the forest and its inhabitants were learning as a single unit." Expanding on this theory, and through his studies on the earthworm, Jean Paul soon had written a thesis entitled, "The Mutual Effects and Earth's Symbiotic System Carried out in the Forest by Earthworms." It was in this text that the University of Paris soon discovered the genius of the young Gassé and opened its doors to him.

Gassé's further involvement with biological science intensified during discussions with his new roommate Kimo Masuda, a transfer student from Japan. It was the different personalities of the two men, which bound their friendship, yet also drove them to constantly test their ideals and beliefs. Much has been said that without the exuberant Kimo in constant discussion with the quiet Jean Paul that much of Jean Paul's work might have never happened. Four years later, however, Kimo would return to Japan leaving the brilliant Gassé to combine each other's philosophies and ideas into one unique mindset.

In 1932, Gassé was selected as a member of an investigating commission out to conduct a large-scale study of the Nile coastal ecosystem between Aswan and the city of Alexandria on the Nile River. During the 8-month course of the expedition, Gassé began discovering mutated bone fragments along the river's bed. While studying the fragments, Gassé determined first, that all these creatures had evolved independently over a short period of time by adapting to the environment. And secondly, that because this creature could interact and speak to human beings, it served as a medium to transmit human knowledge. In other words, this creature could acquire knowledge from the person it was speaking with and attain a human-like intellect. He also discovered that the bone fragments of these unknown creatures correlated with hieroglyphics found on the ruins of pyramid walls dating back to the ancient third dynasty. It was through this last hypothesis that Gassé believed that this new creature had in fact transmitted mathematics to the Ancient Egyptians.

Before he was to return for Paris, fate played its hand again when Gassé happened upon one of these living Seaman in the town of Alexandria, north of the Nile. The locals were aware of the living Seaman and Gassé was quick to procure some of the eggs to take back to study in Paris. Gassé quickly tried to breed the Seaman but his exhaustive efforts would fail time and again. Based on his comprehensive studies, Gassé would soon write a new theory, "The Examination of the Evolution of Living Creatures as Seen through Seaman's Adaptation to His External Environment and Speed of Organic Change. "In this thesis, it said while genes were being rearranged dynamically inside Seaman's cells, an adaptation is made to the environment." Moreover, while this creature interactively talked with humans, it created a medium for him to expand his human knowledge. In other words, he becomes more human-like by other's knowledge.

Fascinated by this newfound discovery, Gassé soon proposed his theory to the other brilliant minds of his time. Gassé's theory, however, was soon ridiculed, leading the already introverted Gassé to disappear from written history. Though later documents reveal that Gassé would surface occasionaly[sic], the only accurate accounts show that Gassé had met up with his friend Kimo on a remote island in Southeast Asia. Much else of Gassé's life and experiments performed on the island remain a mystery.

Kimo Masuda
Kimo Masuda - Japanese Elite Scholar

Born in Matsuzaka in 1896, Kimo Masuda quickly evolved into an independent and modernized thinker, incorporating western and eastern philosophies, hoping to one day "modernize" Japan. Graduating from Tokyo's Imperial University's school of medicine, Kimo soon set his sites on the University of Paris which he attended in 1922. While attending the school, Kimo roomed with an introverted yet brilliant scientist named Jean Paul Gasse. A quick respect and friendship soon developed between the two men as they embraced their differing ideas. As their discussions on biology and science in general intesified[sic], so too did the future of biology.

Returning to Japan in 1926, Kimo found himself back at the Tokyo Imperial University as a researcher, working on genetic and immunology research. Blessed with a wife and two children, Kimo continued his research through army grants while corresponding with Gasse by mail. In 1932, however, Kimo left the confines of Japan and his family for France upon receipt of a letter from Jean Paul. In the letter, whose contents weren't revealed until decades later, Jean Paul had requested Kimo's assistance with a new species he had discovered. Upon his arrival in Paris, Kimo was not heard from again for quite some time.

Kimo's remaining years in Japan remain mysteriously absent from all historical accounts, the only revelation coming from Jean Paul's lost diary, discovered in Masuda's storehouse in the late 1990's. Though the diary contained Kimo's detailed sketches of the Seaman, it did not however explain the continued research conducted years later near Kimo's homeland on remote islands outside Southeast Asia. Nor did the diary reveal much else of Kimo's life or his remaining involvement in the Seaman experiments.

Legends and Theories
Local legends in and around the Nile Delta Region tells of a mysterious animal called the Man of the Sea that spoke to humans and possessed great knowledge of the ancient world. Much of the legend and mythos surrounding the Seaman has to do with the fact that there is so little hard evidence on the creature. Even though one was bred in captivity and was on display in aquariums across Japan, it remains a mystery as to what the creature is or how it will evolve. Sightings of the creature are rare and interaction with one in the wild is even more so.

Many of the theories brought forth by Dr. Jean Paul Gassé (credited with the discovery of Seaman) and the Anthro-Bio Archaeology community help to support the legend and are still hotly debated today. Much of the speculation surrounds Seaman's connection to ancient Egypt. The greatest mystery of the ancient Egyptian civilization is the sudden appearance of an advanced society in the middle of the desert. Normally, intermediate steps can be observed in the development of any civilization. There have been, however, absolutely no such discoveries that could explain the development of ancient Egypt. Some people have even tried to tie the existence of these creatures to creatures from outer space. The reasoning behind their theory was that the ancient Egyptian civilization appeared suddenly, with unknown origins and was technologically advanced enough to build pyramids -- a feat of engineering that is challenging enough with modern equipment and technology.

Images of Seaman began appearing in ancient Egypt around 2600 B.C., after the ancient third dynasty, as wall paintings. The third dynasty is famous for being the beginning of the rush to build pyramids. Prior to that time, there is no record of the existence of Seaman, and after the later half of the third dynasty hardly any drawings of Seaman exist. There are, moreover, absolutely no records of how the pyramids were constructed.

Dr. Gassé hypothesized that because this creature could interact and speak with human beings, it served as a medium to transmit human knowledge. He came to believe that the knowledge necessary to construct the pyramids was somehow entrusted in Seaman, and then spread to other ancient civilizations as well. Considering all the conditions, Professor Gassé constructed the hypothesis that a living creature (i.e. Seaman) could take the knowledge that existed during the third dynasty, and cross oceans to spread the knowledge to other lands. Gassé even started to believe that the creatures spread knowledge to other civilizations that propagated and flourished. Moreover, he felt that it was through Seaman that ancient Egyptian mathematics were transmitted.

Update 1
In 1933 Professor Jean Paul Gassé was the first person to ever attempt to breed Seaman eggs in captivity. While the eggs did hatch, the specimens did not live past the 25-day mark and the experiment was deemed a failure. The reason for the failure was attributed to the creatures' lack of adaptation to the environment. This reasoning may be somewhat questionable in light of recent findings, but we may never know since exact records of the events that transpired during the 25 day experiment are currently unattainable if they even exist at all. Initial observations of the Seaman can best be summed up in a letter Dr. Gassé wrote to his friend and colleague, Dr. Kimo Masuda, in late January 1933, after his return to Paris.

My dear friend, Kimo,

''I came across a strange living creature by chance in the marketplace in Alexandria on the 7th Egypt Investigation sponsored by the French government. I brought an egg sample back to my lab. This creature is called man from the sea by the locals, or "Seaman" in English and is a legendary creature.''

''While trying to reproduce Seaman's region and environment, I continued making experimental mistakes in the aquarium in the lab. While doing so, I realized that this creature was not your ordinary creature.''

''These Seamen live together, reproduce and breed by parasitism and spawning, feed on one another, capture, transform and emerge. The Seamen changed quickly and drastically, while powerfully repeating all the activities maintained by creatures on earth. It was like the embodiment of Darwin's theory of evolution that we were so keen on when we were young students in Paris.''

''There was one thing that did not change however, and that is his face. This creature's face is just like a human being's.''

''Furthermore, it seems the Seamen continue evolving. They begin to mature intellectually. As time passes, they are more able to comprehend my words. Surprisingly, I've verified the fact that they can even speak their own mind. It's surprising but although this creature has very primitive characteristics upon being hatched, through the transformation and generational change processes complicated, dynamic changes occur.''

''This living creature is without a doubt made from organisms that exists on land. However, this creature may be a warning sign from God about civilized society or a new creature on earth. Nobody knows. There's one thing I can say and that it is an anomaly to what we biologists know.''

I would like to meet with you as soon as possible and look forward to showing you this odd creature.

Yours truly, Jean Paul Gassé 66 years later, in Japan, Dr. Kendare Takahashi continued Gassé's breeding experiments. On July 13, 1999 he succeeded. Takahashi was Director of the Anthro-Bio Archeological Research Institute of Japan and he had just become the first person to ever successfully breed Seaman eggs in captivity. The Seaman is then studied and presented at aquariums across Japan starting in September 1999.

As the current Seaman Expedition sets forth, Dr. Kenji Yamato will be attempting to repeat Takahashi's success at the team's field base in Alexandria, Egypt. Dr. Yamato has one major advantage on his side; he worked alongside Takahashi during the first successful experiment. The aquarium chamber will be key in breeding the Seaman. The Vivarium Corp. has built and supplied the expedition team with an aquarium that is a reproduction of the unit Takahashi used. In actuality, Takahashi's unit was based on the same aquarium equipment originally used by Gassé. This lab environment has three main components: the thermostat, the oxygenator, and the lighting. All the pieces are based on an analog system so constant monitoring must be maintained.

Update 2
With this update, begins the first in a series of reports chronicling the evolutionary stages of Seaman. Seaman's scientific name is Habibi de Kimo. Habibi means "best friend" in Arabic. It is rumored that inspiration for the name came from Gassé's college friend, Kimo Masuda.

Seaman Eggs

Dr. Kenji Yamato will be heading up this portion of the research. The field team was able to track down and procure three Seaman eggs. One egg was set aside for the first study phase while the rest were kept in stasis for possible future research. Seaman begins life as a fresh water creature. Its eggs are amber in color, and are often laid in rocky areas as a form of camouflage. They are approximately 2-3 cm in diameter, and it is known that only 3-8 eggs are laid at a time.

Hatching Conditions

Using the heater, the water temperature in the tank is raised to ideal hatching conditions which is between 15 degrees Centigrade and 20 degrees Centigrade. The egg is then placed in the tank and the waiting begins. On average, the egg will hatch within 3 days. However, on rare occasion, the eggs have been known to hatch after only one day. Even though Seaman usually procreates through sexual reproduction, during periods of drought, just like the water flea, Seaman can reproduce asexually. The egg will then form a cyst around itself, to prevent it from drying out in the dry weather. It will survive in such a state until the next rainy season, during which it will hatch unscathed. Though much of the details behind this remain a mystery and require further research.

Update 3
The second report in the series has Dr. Kenji Yamato and his team preparing the aquarium tank for receiving the Seaman egg. Once ready, the egg was placed in the tank and the Yamato waited for it to hatch. After about three days the egg burst with life as it spawned a group of eight Mushroomers.

Hatching

Upon hatching, the Seamen enter the larval stage, known as the Mushroomer stage; having a large bulbous head and a narrow tail. Just like a mosquito larva, the Mushroomer merely drifts about in the water, propelling itself on occasion with its whip-like tail. Although primitive in this initial form, the Mushroom is very sensitive to auditory and light stimuli, and has some basic organs.

Parasite

The Mushroomer is a parasitic organism. Parasites are organisms that attach themselves in some manner to another "host" organism and live by taking in nutrients from the host body. Usual hosts for the Mushroomer include deep-sea tuna, mackerel, and other such fish capable of travelling long distances across the ocean. For a small organism such as the Mushroomer, traversing across vast oceans by itself would be very dangerous. Using various fishes as hosts, the Mushroomer can travel long distances. On occasion, they are also known to prey upon octopus, squid, and other similar animals.

Movement

The Mushroomer can imitate plankton in order to be eaten by various potential hosts. It has a single tail-like tube extending from its body. Just like a mosquito larva, the Mushroomer regularly swims up to the surface of the water and uses the tube to breathe.

The tube is the base form for what Dr. Kendare Takahashi calls the "SCSII" port. At the larval stage, the tube's two primary functions are for locomotion and as a sort of breathing snorkel. The tip of the tube is also equipped with a sucker-like organ, which is used to absorb the bodily fluids from the host body in which the Mushroomer is living.

Radiation

If put in a darkened area, the Mushroomer emanates a phosphorescent glow. As an experiment, Yamato darkened the aquarium and observed the soft light given off by the Mushroomer. It is believed that the Seamen developed this trait in order to be more readily seen by potential host organisms.

Senses

The Mushroomer has developed a few basic senses in order to aid it in finding a host body. It also has a light sensory organ located on its topside. Much like the iris in a human eye, the Mushroomer's "eye" is controlled by a sphincter muscle that expands and constricts depending on the intensity of the available light source.

If the Mushroomer detects a freshwater fish, it will stick to the bottom and disguise itself as algae or some type of water plant by waving in the current. This way, the freshwater fish will not eat the Mushroomer.

If for some reason the Mushroomer cannot find a suitable host, it will float to the surface and wait for a bird to swallow it. It is known that birds are viable host bodies for the Mushroomer, however, there is no data pertaining to what it will metamorphose into after that point.

Providing a Host Body

Following Gassé's notes and Takahashi's methods, Yamato placed a nautilus in the tank to serve as the Mushroomers' host. Once the nautilus emerged from its shell, the Mushroomers became quite active and tended to hover very near it. It did not take long for the nautilus to notice and it quickly reached out with its tentacles and ingested four of the Mushroomers.

Predator Turned Prey

Once the Mushroomer is ingested by its host, it makes its way to the intestines and begins its life as a parasite. The larva then uses its tail-like tube to attach itself to the intestinal walls via suction. Damaging its host as little as possible, the Mushroomer then begins to absorb nutrients from its host until the next step in its metamorphosis.

The next step occurs after there is a change in the saline levels in the blood of its host. In some cases, this can take up to a year to happen. By this point, within the bulbous body of the Mushroomer, its stomach, intestines, face, and other basic structures have already formed.

Within the Host Body

When the saline levels drop in the host's blood, it signals to the Mushroomer that it is near a source of fresh water, such as a river mouth. The young Seaman in its newly transformed body makes its way inside the host's body to the liver and other internal organs. The Mushroomer continues absorbing nutrients from the host until the proper time to leave the body arises.

From this point, it is only a matter of days until the host organism dies. However, during those few days, the host enters a convulsive state due to the severe amount of pain the Mushroomer is causing. Professor Gassé wrote in his journals referring to this as "the Dance of Death".

Update 4
This third update report comes after the "host" nautilus ingested four of the Mushroomers. It took about four days before any notable affects overcame the nautilus. The creature's convulsions within the tank signaled it's imminent demise as well as the final stages of the Mushroomers' metamorphosis into the second generation. After it has finished devouring the inner organs of its host, it emerges as an organism resembling a young fish. The body of Seaman may look like a fish, but its face has begun to look like that of a human.

Nutrient Pouch

After Seaman emerges from the host body, a translucent pouch-like structure will be hanging from its underside. This "nutrient pouch" is the Seaman's stomach. The pouch contains all the nutrients that Seaman absorbed from its host. By using this pouch as a storage reserve it can survive for an extended period of time without the need for food.

At this point, Seaman enters the Gillman stage. Throughout this stage, Gillman will undergo the processes that will change it from a young fish into an adult Seaman. This is an intermediate stage, lasting through the period of days between hatching and reaching adulthood. The Gillman, at this point, has more characteristics of a fresh water fish than that of a salt-water creature.

Tail-like Tube

As was with the Mushroomer, the Gillman has a long tube protruding from its head, ending in a sucker. Until this point, the tube was primarily used for locomotion and the absorbing of nutrients from a host body. However, the tube now has other functions. Much like the cloaca in birds, the tube is used in excretion as well as egg laying. It is also used in symbiosis with other organisms. The tube still retains the name coined by Dr.Takahashi, the SCSII (or Seaman's Crap & Symbiosis Icky Interface) port.

Cannibalism

Even as the nutrient pouch grows smaller, the Gillman will not actively search for food. However, if the baby Gillman's pouch becomes dangerously empty, it will use its SCSII port to suck the nutrients out of the pouch of another baby Gillman in order to survive. Such are the laws of nature: eat or be eaten. Perhaps, the Gillmen instinctively know to let the strongest amongst them to survive, for even those being killed show no signs of struggle. It is almost as if they accept their fate as only existing to aid in the survival of fellow Seamen.

Learning Languages

The baby Gillman can learn to speak little by little. During this time, the Gillman will grow in relative speed to the amount of words it is taught. It has been found that direct human interaction, particularly in the areas of speech and conversation, accelerates the baby Gillman's development.

Gillman

Upon reaching maturity, the Gillman will no longer prey upon its own kind and will begin to actively seek out food. Yamato and his group keep the Gillman fed with specially prepared nutrient supplement pills created and provided by The Vivarium Corporation.

As the Gillman continues to grow so does its ability and comprehension for speech. The full extent of their linguistic abilities are not known at this time, but constant human interaction seems to be a key ingredient in the creature's speedy development.

Timeline
April 15,1932 - Professor Jean Paul Gassé is part of a French investigating commission out to conduct a large-scale study of the Nile coastal ecosystem between Aswan and the city of Alexandria on the Nile River. It was during this assignment that Gassé encounters the Seaman. December 7,1932 - Alexandria, Egypt, Gassé comes across a group of returning fishermen and notices a strange fish in their catch. He learns from the local villagers that it was called "Seaman."

December 13,1932 - Gassé procures some Seaman eggs and returns to Paris. January 18,1933 - Gassé starts to conduct his breeding experiments with the Seaman eggs in a Paris Lab. February 12,1933 - The 25 day breeding experiment ends in failure as the Seamen died.

February 14,1933 - Gassé dissects a sample and begins to write a specimen document.

April 17,1933 - Gassé's historic thesis was printed in Annalen der Biologik, a biological annual report. The historical document was called, "The Examination of the Evolution of Living Creatures as Seen through Seaman's Adaptation to His External Environment and Speed of Organic Change."

May 19,1933 - Gassé's theory (without a living sample) is ignored by mainstream science. Being seen as a publicity stunt, the newly appointed director of biological studies fires Gassé.

1934-1945 - After his dismissal, news of Gassé's whereabouts and activities were unknown. Details during these years are sketchy at best. There were rumors that Gassé's trail could be traced to some remote islands in Southeast Asia. It is known that he escaped the shadows of war and met up with his colleague, Kimo. This is gathered from the Indian ink drawings of Seaman Dissections discovered in the Masuda storehouse. It became clear that sometime during these years they were able to conduct further research on Seaman's evolution, quite possibly even up to the creature walking on all fours. Unfortunately, very little hard data or evidence exists to substantiate these findings.

March 1996 - Anthro-Bio Archeological Research Institute established by the French government and headquartered in Paris. The institute is based on the work of the Professor Jean Paul Gassé, the first scientist credited with he discovery of the Seaman. Most of the modern day research of Seaman specimens has taken place here. July 22,1997 - A living specimen of Seaman is caught just off of Alexandria by a boy fishing

August 25,1997 - Professor William Southerland, director of the Anthro-Bio Archeological Research Institute, Paris France, and his team makes announcement that there was a strong possibility that "Seaman" was closely related to the origin of ancient Egyptian civilizations.

October 6,1998 - One of Gassé's formaldehyde specimens is discovered at the University of Paris

February 15,1999 - Parts of Gassé's journal and notes turn up in the Masuda family storehouse in Matsuzaka City in Mie Prefecture, Japan.

July 13, 1999 - Professor Kendare Takahashi, Director of the Anthro-Bio Archeological Research Institute of Japan, becomes the first person to successfully breed Seaman eggs in captivity. September 1999 - Seaman is presented at aquariums across Japan

July 10,2000 - Expedition team, led by American explorer Andrew Resnick, embarks for Egypt in the first major field research of the Seaman in the wild.