SciFi Channel - Original Air Date: 10/8/08
Josh and crew first go searching for Issie, an elephant-sized monster in Lake Ikida (Japan again) that, like Nessi, is plesiosaur shaped. Locals describe the classic humped back (as well as a long neck and flippers). After flying over the lake, which is the flooded crater of an extinct volcano, the team decides to go looking with sonar and divers. While Ryder waits nervously on the surface, the divers see a huge dark shadow with silvery reflections, but no large fish live in the lake. Bringing their massive technology to bear at night, they chase something large breaking the surface. Then something knocks their underwater camera around. Whatever it is, it's large enough and tough enough to damage the carbon cover of the camera. Back in the US, an expert suggests that an eel -- which can reach up to 6' long in the lake -- may be responsible. The team remains open to the idea that there could be something in the lake.
From there, the crew moves to Iceland (again) to look for elves. I might think this quest absurd, or believe such creatures were merely confined to my novels, were it not for my friendship with Edward Readicker-Henderson -- Uncanny Radio 016 -- who's been to Iceland and knows they take their elves very seriously. In fact, he even brought back an "elf rock" for me from that visit. (Hear the story on the UR 016 podcast.) So, I was intrigued by what Josh and crew might find; to them, the idea seems more than slightly absurd. But one Icelandic expert says that 54% of Icelanders believe that elves exist. Some say that angry elves vex construction projects (and electronics), and the government will build roads around elf habitat. And, of course, locals claim to have seen the "hidden people." One local claims the best way to find them is to sit quietly (which, I note, seems to rule out Josh).
After the midnight sun sets, the team goes looking with their IR equipment. Supposedly, one of the way you know elves are around is that machinery breaks -- and the Fleer thermal is the first to go. To pass the time, Josh and Ryder have an "elf off" - each naming elves until one runs out. Other cameras start freaking out, too. The team does some call and response and actually hears a high-pitched reply. Then, some team members start hearing laughing and other noises (and there are no other people around). Then one of their cameras is pulled apart and its power and video cords disconnected. Ryder, trying to put the camera back together hears a big crash, and soon the others are hearing strange thuds, too. And something the thermal (now repaired) won't pick up is moving branches. Then they get a thermal hit that vanishes when they look in the bushes, though there's no escape, even for a burrowing animal. Then their time-lapse camera is knocked over, despite its solid tripod. Josh looks into the incidents, but is at a loss to explain how two cords, one of which won't work unless it's "locked," could be unplugged. Eventually, the team goes back to LA to check over their evidence. While they don't find any hard evidence -- despite a very harried exploration -- Josh concludes that it's difficult to dismiss Iceland's love of elves, since the creatures represent respect for nature in a world beset by ecological trouble.
Josh and crew first go searching for Issie, an elephant-sized monster in Lake Ikida (Japan again) that, like Nessi, is plesiosaur shaped. Locals describe the classic humped back (as well as a long neck and flippers). After flying over the lake, which is the flooded crater of an extinct volcano, the team decides to go looking with sonar and divers. While Ryder waits nervously on the surface, the divers see a huge dark shadow with silvery reflections, but no large fish live in the lake. Bringing their massive technology to bear at night, they chase something large breaking the surface. Then something knocks their underwater camera around. Whatever it is, it's large enough and tough enough to damage the carbon cover of the camera. Back in the US, an expert suggests that an eel -- which can reach up to 6' long in the lake -- may be responsible. The team remains open to the idea that there could be something in the lake.
From there, the crew moves to Iceland (again) to look for elves. I might think this quest absurd, or believe such creatures were merely confined to my novels, were it not for my friendship with Edward Readicker-Henderson -- Uncanny Radio 016 -- who's been to Iceland and knows they take their elves very seriously. In fact, he even brought back an "elf rock" for me from that visit. (Hear the story on the UR 016 podcast.) So, I was intrigued by what Josh and crew might find; to them, the idea seems more than slightly absurd. But one Icelandic expert says that 54% of Icelanders believe that elves exist. Some say that angry elves vex construction projects (and electronics), and the government will build roads around elf habitat. And, of course, locals claim to have seen the "hidden people." One local claims the best way to find them is to sit quietly (which, I note, seems to rule out Josh).
After the midnight sun sets, the team goes looking with their IR equipment. Supposedly, one of the way you know elves are around is that machinery breaks -- and the Fleer thermal is the first to go. To pass the time, Josh and Ryder have an "elf off" - each naming elves until one runs out. Other cameras start freaking out, too. The team does some call and response and actually hears a high-pitched reply. Then, some team members start hearing laughing and other noises (and there are no other people around). Then one of their cameras is pulled apart and its power and video cords disconnected. Ryder, trying to put the camera back together hears a big crash, and soon the others are hearing strange thuds, too. And something the thermal (now repaired) won't pick up is moving branches. Then they get a thermal hit that vanishes when they look in the bushes, though there's no escape, even for a burrowing animal. Then their time-lapse camera is knocked over, despite its solid tripod. Josh looks into the incidents, but is at a loss to explain how two cords, one of which won't work unless it's "locked," could be unplugged. Eventually, the team goes back to LA to check over their evidence. While they don't find any hard evidence -- despite a very harried exploration -- Josh concludes that it's difficult to dismiss Iceland's love of elves, since the creatures represent respect for nature in a world beset by ecological trouble.
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