(urth) grumble at wolfe comment made attached to guardianarticle

[Gerry Quinn]

From: "Lee Berman" <severiansola at hotmail.com>
>>Roy C. Lackey
>>The inhumi were introduced into the LSW by the Neighbors.
>>Windcloud was one of them:
>
>>"I was one of those who boarded your whorl when it neared our sun. In the
>>_Whorl_, I made the acquaintance of many of your race, and I have known
>>others since, on both the whorls we once called ours."
>
> Sure, that could be the answer. Better than boring through the hull, 
> anyway.

How do you mean "better than boring through the hull?"  Windcloud said he 
was on the Whorl - he doesn't say how he and his team got in.

Maybe they obtained access by way of a lander or surface infrastructure 
associated with one - or maybe they just bored a hole and popped up in the 
tunnels. All we know is they got in somehow.  Given that their mission (as 
we know from elsewhere) was to introduce inhumi, secrecy would probably have 
been paramount.  In particular, it seems certain that they avoided contact 
with the Crew (in fact, perhaps they knew nothing of the Crew).

> Still, there are some problems. First, how long ago was this Neighbor 
> visit to
> the Whorl? I agree with Stu there is a question of how long was the
> infiltration and establishment by Quetzal. It seems pretty long. How long 
> has
> the Whorl been in orbit?

Pas died thirty years before the events of BotNS, but it's conceivable that 
the Whorl was in-system for some significant time before that.  Perhaps 
while the Gods warred, the Crew stood by rather than initiate exploration 
missions etc.

According to Windcloud, the Neighbours infiltrated the Whorl before it 
reached the system.

Fifty years seems feasible.


> Second, if the Neighbors were on the Whorl in recent times, why isn't that
> discussed in Long Sun? The presence of Quetzal suggests certainly they 
> made
> an appearance in Viron.  At least loquacious Lemur or somebody should have 
> made
> mention of the appearance of a creature with an indeterminate number of 
> legs, heads,
> bodies, whatever. What form did the Neighbors (and Inhumi) take during 
> this
> infection? Who were the "many" acquaintances and why did we not hear from 
> them?

Lemur evidently knew nothing of the inhumis as such (though he knew one 
personally).  Rumours of their existence were pretty vague - and they were 
preying on humans, while the Neighbours presumably brought their own food.

We don't have any evidence from BotLS of the Neighbours talking to anyone - 
it's possible Wolfe simply didn't think to put it in.  Still, many people 
saw various mysterious visions on BotLS, and perhaps rumours of strange 
eight-limbed beings would have been lost among the various ghosat stories 
and suchlike...

- Gerry Quinn