(urth) Like a good Neighbor

[Gerry Quinn]

From: Lee Berman 
>Gerry Quinn:  
> > Apparently there was no sapient life on Green before the 
>> Neighbours developed space technology and went there.  Inhumi were just 
>> like animals, and even if they flew by accident to Blue they never caused 
>> a problem there.  After the Neighbours came to Green, the inhumi preyed 
>> upon them and became intelligent.  This was long before the arrival of the 
>> Whorl.

> As has been established in this conversation, inhumi spaceflight could only
> come about through very highly specialized, directed evolution. First they
> would have to evolve muscles which achieve near-rocket-power thrust to
> propel them to escape velocity. This velocity would have to be achieved long 
> before they reached the end of the atmosphere because their wings rely on air 
> to propel them. 

> Then they would have to evolve the ability to jetison every drop of water from 
> every cell in their body and let their mummified, dry bodies rely on inertia to 
> accurately get them to Blue. Then, if they didn't burn up entering Blue's 
> atmosphere they'd have to evolve the ability to regenerate their bone-dry husk 
> of a body from Blue's salt water (which does not exist on Green).

> That ain't no accident. If inhumi could do all that and fly to Blue then they 
> are evolved to do so and would, en masse. So, how can you casually postultate 
> they accidentally flew to Blue but didn't cause any trouble? The entire argument 
> is fishy (heh) from begining to end. I see no reason to ignore that stench other 
> than pure stubborness and a determination to remain deluded.

Again, your physics is correct: while the issues of the vacuum / dryness etc. can be argued around, the problem of escape velocity can’t easily be.  Nevertheless, I think Wolfe intends flight to be the means of transport.  He can ignore physics when he wants to.  
Brian Aldiss wrote a book once (Hothouse) in which a far future Earth is ruled mostly by plants (Marc might like it!) and the Earth and the Moon are connected by giant spiderwebs.  Compared to that, inhumi spaceflight is hard SF.
Your idea that inhumi come to Blue by other means is reasonable – but leaves lots of loose ends and doesn’t really seem to lead anywhere.  If that’s the Secret of the Inhumi, I would have imagined Wolfe would have left a few confirmatory clues for the satisfaction of those who figured it out.  But it’s still not a very *interesting* secret! 
- Gerry Quinn
 
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