(urth) (no subject)

[Jeff Wilson]

On 1/16/2011 2:21 PM, Andrew Mason wrote:
> Jeff Wilson wrote:
>>>> Apheta - cacogen. (She would certainly be called that if she came to Urth.)
>>
>> Yea and no; "cacogen" is Urthspeak for Bug Eyed Monster, and hierodules
>> wear scary monster masks when they visit Urth undercover. Apheta, being
>> a hierarch, doesn't need a disguise because she appears outwardly human
>> and if she reveals herself to be an exalted being, well, "divine
>> messenger" is right up there just under the Autarch.
>
> 'Cacogen' is used at times for all aliens, incuding Inire and the
> Cumaean, who don't disguise themselves as monsters. Certainly the name
> reflects a sense that aliens are monstrous, but it doesn't seem to be
> limited to those who wear monster masks.

Inire and the Cumaean are not widely known to be nonhuman, outside their 
circle of acquaintances. "'Just a little man he is, with a wry neck and 
bow legs.'" This is possible in part because of the masquerade their 
"cousins" maintain.



-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
Computational Intelligence Laboratory - Texas A&M Texarkana
< http://www.tamut.edu/CIL >