(urth) Atlantis and Gondwanaland

[Tony Ellis]

Gerry Quinn wrote:
> Of course these possibilities are for the most part absurd (except for
> Africa, I guess) - it is pretty clearly established that the Shadow Children
> are the descendants of human star travellers who arrived a century before
> the French colonists.  They have forgotten the name of their original home
> (though they remember where it is and point out Sol in the sky).  Wolfe
> whimsically has them remember some of the same names mentioned by the
> narrator of the first novel. The names also serve as an additional
> demonstration that they originate from our own culture or a successor, for
> only such a culture would know the names Atlantis and Gondwanaland.

Actually, it's not as clear cut as that. The Old Wise One says:

"we also hear the mind-singing of our brothers - who do not sing - as
they pass up and down between the stars... these thoughts come into
our songs. It is possible that our home was named Atlantis of Mu -
Gondwanaland, Africa, Poictesme or The Country of Friends."

In other words, the telepathic Shadow Children are dipping into the
minds of passing starship crews to get these names. And presumably
looking in the folder labelled 'lost lands' or 'human origins'.

They don't necessarily 'remember' these names because they are the
descendants of former colonists. They could be what they appear to be:
telepathic, indigenous aliens with a hive mind.