From: dd@adobe.com (David DiGiacomo)
Subject: Re:  (whorl) Inhumi (RTTW spoilers)
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 13:35:26 

>From: adamsteph@earthlink.net (Adam Stephanides)
>
>While I'm at it, another question about inhumi, deriving from IGJ but given
>added point by the revelations of RTTW.  At the end of Chapter 23, after
>"Horn" has finished explaining to Hide that the inhumi derived their
>intelligence from humans, as they had earlier from the Neighbors, Hide asks
>what happened to the inhumi once the Neighbors on Blue had been hunted to
>the point where it was no longer worthwhile for the inhumi to fly from
>Green.  Horn says "'I think you know,'" and the chapter ends.  What does he
>mean?  I can think of two possibilities:  One is that the inhumi enslaved
>the Neighbors who had travelled to Green, as they do the humans; but since
>the Neighbors can "go away," I'm not sure how this would work. The other,
>which follows more logically from the discussion, is that the inhumi
>reverted back to beasts.

The Neighbors of Green sent their slave inhumi to prey on the Neighbors of
Blue.  Once that source of blood was exhausted, the inhumi turned on the
Neighbors of Green, ultimately destroying their civilization.

It would not be very satisfying if these very bad Neighbors could escape
the consequences of their evil through astral travel.  It makes more sense
to me that they were damned and died in the hell of Green.  Like the
people of Viron, they seem to have neglected to bring their gods with
them, and suffered greatly as a result.

On the other hand, the Neighbors on Blue would have had the assistance of
their gods in developing astral travel.  Perhaps they "went away" in order
to avoid having to kill all the inhumi.

>But this would mean that, in introducing inhumi to the Whorl, the
>Neighbors were actually creating the inhumi as a threat for humans, by
>restoring their intelligence.

It seems odd that the inhumi would be able to retain the astral travel
ability of the Neighbors, but none of their intelligence, so I think that
they may not have devolved completely.


*This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.
*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.moonmilk.com/whorl/
*To leave the list, send "unsubscribe" to whorl-request@lists.best.com
*If it's Wolfe but not Long Sun, please use the URTH list: urth@lists.best.com