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| We believe felines have a magnetic sense (a compass) inside their heads. It can sense the direction of the magnetic fields of the planet, helping them to travel, to find the den back, etc. Pigeons too have a compass, and probably their one is more precise than feline ones. Chakat heads are a much feline, so I assume chakats too have a magnetic compass in the head. So far I don't remember reading stories that use this chakat sense. Chakasas have the normal feline magnetic sense, plus a better one (working with tiny magnetic ferrous particles) in the antennae (there are other biological ways to implement such sense, but I have chosen the way used by some magnetic-field-sensitive bacteria). Inside the "My new brother" story I have described a chakat temporary turned into a human: http://www.fantascienza.net/leonard They have helped him to simulate some of the chakat senses. In that story I have forgotten to talk about the magnetic sense. Some people have found a simple way to "give" this sense to a human. This document talks about a belt with many vibro-tactile stimulation points on it controlled by an electronic compass, that allows its user to continuously feel his/her absolute orientation: http://www.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/%7E An image of the belt:  This document can also be useful for a writer to gain the intuitive background needed to understand what it may mean/feel for a chakat to have such magnetic sense :-) Such practical knowledge is essential for a writer that wants to describe our world felt by other creatures (like chakats). | ||||||||
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