<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif;font-size:12pt"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Lee Berman <severiansola@hotmail.com><br><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><font face="Tahoma" size="2"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></b></font><br>> >James Wynn- In an interview, Wolfe referred to Sandwalker as a Shadow Child, which is not <br>> > surprising considering their psychic connection. But if the Shadow Children are human then <br>> > Sandwalker is human too, and then surely all the abos are human and that is a step I cannot take.<br> ...<br><br>I must say I was very disappointed by that interview. I think I'd decided that all the abos were human, and I liked that.<br><br>>
P.S. I may not have been clear about something in the last post about Inhumi. We are openly told a bunch of <br>> times that they are reptilian in nature, but in the finale of RttW they are revealed to have an amphibious<br>> reproductive system with external fertilization.<br><br>(If we trust Juganu. Just kidding.)<br><br>> Perhaps I am over-emphasizing a minor zoological error <br>> by Wolfe but I think it is purposeful by him.<br><br>I certainly hope so. I think having the inhumi be reptiles in all respects would have been almost a zoological error. They're aliens, not Earth life; they're reptilian but not reptiles; and their external fertilization reminds us of that.<br><br>> One of the defining features of reptiles is sexual <br>> intercourse and internal fertilization. I think this may serve to additionally illustrate the multiple levels <br>> of deception the Inhumi operate on.<br> ><br>> The reason
for this relentless deception is a recurring Wolfean theme, specifically outlined in UotNS- <br>> the deepest instinct of an imitative species would be to avoid detection by another species.<br><br>Well, that would be important to it once it was intelligent enough to know when it was detected, but that wouldn't be its deepest instinct. Lots of flies imitate bees and wasps, and they have instincts (to eat, mate, etc.), but they don't appear to avoid me any more after I notice that they're really flies. (Inept insect photography is a hobby of mine.)<br><br>In general I imagine you're right--Wolfe's imitative creatures try hard to avoid being recognized. However, I don't think hiding their methods of reproduction is such a case. The inhumi aren't trying to convince anyone that they're biologically the same as Earth reptiles.<br><br>> We see this <br>> illustrated when Zak runs from Severian after he recognizes that he is
the previously animal creature. <br>> Also when Number Five manages to drive off Dr. Marsch by insisting that he is really an abo. <br><br>An interesting parallel.<br><br>Jerry Friedman<br></div></div>
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