(urth) fifth head priest/cinderwalker

[Marc Aramini]

Really quickly, two refracted images I wanted to explore- when Flying Feet is drowned in Sandwalker's dream: he says he would pretend to be still and then arise, but Eastwind defeats this subterfuge.  Of course his fear and discomfort at the scene presages his destiny of a watery drowning , but he also sees the mysterious priest in the cave rise up and through blood resurrect the skull of an otter, so that flesh grows back onto it and it swims again.  

Seems like the method cinder walker uses to create another woman from an arm, or perhaps even number five's doubling of chromosomes in an egg cell and initiating viable development and growth. I would wager the priest's ability is at least theoretically related to the translation of simple chemical sequences into a living organism.
Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 29, 2013, at 9:27 AM, Marc Aramini <marcaramini at yahoo.com> wrote:

> 
> Well, the Dollo's law reference is just saying that humans could theoretically evolve to become like abos, (lose the ability to work with their hands) and then have to find another way to use tools (not just start using their hands like that again) but still be more or less descended from something that could have once used their hands- I guess it's a little metaphorical plea for his continuing/innate humanity as well - "just because I can't use these tools does not mean I'm not human, too, I just have to adapt back a different way" in paraphrase, perhaps.
> 
> --- On Fri, 3/29/13, Gerry Quinn <gerry at bindweed.com> wrote:
> 
> From: Gerry Quinn <gerry at bindweed.com>
> Subject: Re: (urth) fifth head owlet- wolf
> To: "The Urth Mailing List" <urth at lists.urth.net>
> Date: Friday, March 29, 2013, 9:13 AM
> 
> 
> 
> From: Marc Aramini
> 
> > Yes, I think you are right.  The only question then becomes, if the Shadow
> > Children were once terrestrial, if Sandwalker is a completely distinct
> > evolutionary tree (forgive the bad pun, mostly unintentional) from them,
> > how can a human and non-terrestrially descended aborigine mate?
> > VRT is pretty clearly half human before he selects mimicking a full human.
> > He also dwells on Dollo's Law - that a species that evolved away from a
> > trait won't get it back but would instead adopt  a new way of doing the
> > same old thing.
> 
> I don't think we know that VRT is half-human.  It is a wise child that knows his father.
> 
> Since this is science fantasy, I would not necessarily assume that it is impossible for humans and abos to have issue, unlikely as it might be biologically.  But we don't have to believe it (even if VRT himself does).
> 
> The Dollo's Law reference is a bit vague, I cannot read too much from it.
> 
> - Gerry Quinn 
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