(urth) Recent human crash-landing on St Anne

[Lee Berman]

>Tony Ellis: Another problem, which I think we all need to consider in constructing
>5HoC theories, is that VRT is supposed to be a half-abo. He certainlythinks he is. He 
>has less of his mother's ability to change how he looks, but more ability to dress himself, 
>cook and write. If abos breeding with humans doesn't suit your theory, sure, you can invent
>reasons why he only thinks he is half-abo.
 
Tony first, I hope to clarify that your theory is that while Shadow Children are aliens, you 
propose that abos are fully (in descent as well as appearance) human. Yes?
 
My own interpretation is that Shadow Children and abos are both imitations of humans and not
a product of earth. The individual bits of evidence seem contradictory (or we wouldn't be
having this discussion). So I'd like to step back and attempt to look at the problem from a
broader perspective.
 
I think all can agree that the first portion of this novel is meant to force us to question our
ideas of family and kinship by presenting us with a family of clones. I think the questions 
regarding identity and relationsips which are raised actually prepare us for even more obtuse
questions raised in the next two sections.
 
Perhaps we can agree that whatever the imitative species native to Ste. Anne are, it is not in 
their basic nature to reproduce sexually. So when we hear the Shadow Children's words about 
their "family" it doesn't quite make sense to us.
 
If, as I tend to think, abos are also alien, imitative creatures, when we read the words of VRT
or interviewees on Ste. Anne what we are hearing is the attempts of an imitative asexually 
reproducing creature to describe their situation in terms of their current, sexually reproducing 
guise of human.
 
What I'm saying is that when we hear about VRT's "mother" or him being "half-abo", it doesn't 
actually mean what we sexually reproducing non-imitative beings think it means. For such beings,
being "half-abo" might have nothing to do with genetic ancestry but rather a level of imitation
currently achieved.
 
(FWIW I think Wolfe addresses similar issues in BotNS. In Thecla and Thea we have "half-sisters"
the relationship unexplained. But surely it means something. This is a society in which
cloning occurs but is not mentioned in polite conversation. I think we can detect it from names 
given- a clone gets a name which is a derivation of the source. Carina-Catherine, Pelagia-Pega and
perhaps a couple others. If Borski was to get anything from his "onomastics" he should have gotten
this one. But he didn't. Hah! ;- ) )