(urth) Silk's Origin

[James Wynn]

>> I'm thinking James' question might have had a whimsical
>> tone rather than being meant as a strict,
>> literal query but I do think you are right Marc. Thus the
>> "secret of the inhumi". Vines/lianas don't
>> engage in social pathology such as lying and manipulation.
>> They got that from us.  How do you think
>> the reptile/amphibian aspect of inhumi got incorportated?
>>
>> Does the multi-head/multi-limb aspect of the Neighbors
>> reflect a tree origin?
> In my opinion, yes, and it also symbolically represents the doubled genetic nature of a hybrid strain (corn genetics in the first chapter of OBW and hybridization linked to the condition of Blue - ad nauseum!  Both symbolic of Silk-Horn and the neighbors as hybrids more suited to the harsh environment).  Note how MAD the neighbors get when a guy with an ax goes into the forest.  why?  It's mother tree he's going to cut down.

There are indeed lots of references associating the trees on Blue to 
Neighbors and vines to inhumi.
When you see that Wolfe is overlaying the Neighbors with Fairie 
mythology--and since dream-travel is Time-travel, perhaps they are 
supposed to be the origins of the myth--the idea of the Neighbors as 
dryads makes perfect sense.

"Neighbor" = "Grey Neighbors" = Fair Folk = Fairie. Wolfe is aware of 
this because he refers to it in "An Evil Guest".

J.