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<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=crushtv@gmail.com href="mailto:crushtv@gmail.com">James Wynn</A>
</DIV>
<P class=para1>On the other hand, let me posit something that I believe is
close to accurate. Dream-travel involves the formation of an astral body for
the soul of the traveler. This body is created along the same principles as
the creations of the weapons and astral-Hide. <BR>During astral travel, the
link between the traveler's soul and his corporeal body is the astral body. If
the astral body dies, the soul cannot return to the corporeal
body. </P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I agree with thiis part.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<P class=para1>The link between the Rajan's astral body (or other
Neighbor's since I suppose it is his Neighbor part that gives the Rajan his
special abilities) and his corporeal body is an inhumi. <BR>The link
between normal human dream-travelers and the inhumi is the Rajan.
</FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>This doesn't really make sense to me. The
inhumi dream travel as well, in company with SilkHorn. Dream travel for
them seems similar to humans. I don't see any reason why they should
function as links between the human travellers and their astral
bodies.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The presence of an inhuma does seem to be necessary
for SilkHorn to effect dream travel. I interpret it as an emergent ability
coming from the contact of humans and a telepathic alien
species - we have seen this before in the case of the humans who became the
Shadow Children, and the native Annese. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I don't believe SilkHorn has any Neighbour
part. He has been the subject of spirit transference by way of both
Neighbour and Human technology, but the spirits transferred (Silk, Horn, Pas)
were always ultimately human in origin. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>So why has SilkHorn alone developed this
ability? Perhaps those spirit transfers and internal reconstructions have
loosened the connection between body and spirit, and enabled him to separate
them and catalyse the separation of others.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I would not normally expect to be invoking Peter F.
Hamilton in trying to explain the works of Gene Wolfe [I have nothing against
Hamilton, he isa a good writer but he tends to work with one or two big ideas
and then fill 3000 pages or so with 'event', plus lots of sex and
gore]. But I am reminded of the anti-hero Quinn Dexter in Hamilton's
'Night's Dawn' trilogy. In this series, an alien species comes in contact
with humans, and inadvertently catalyses the takeover of some of them by the
soulds of trhe dead. In their new bodies the souls suppress the original
souls and gain various psychic powers. Dexter manages to drive out the
soul inhabiting him, regaining control of his old body and even greater
abilities. The abilities seem to stem, essentially, from the loosening of
the bonds between body and spirit. SilkHorn may be experiencing something
of the kind.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Do the Neighbours use inhumi for dream
travel? I don't </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>think so - they seem happy
to leave them behind. In truth, I suspect that while the Neighbours do
something that resembles dream travel, it is really not quite the same thing at
all.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">But
what if the bodies of the Neighbors are not so limited. If Green Man were in
dream-travel, and you put him on an IV for fluids, would there be any limit to
how long he could remain there? What if Lemur were in soul
travel?</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Maybe Lemur *is* in soul travel!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">In
fact, I suspect that is the case for the Neighbors. I believe that the
corporeal bodies of the Neighbors are tree-like. Not that every tree on Blue
needs to be a Neighbor (although they might be in some sense). So they can
sleep and remain in dream-travel as long as their astral bodies lived
(assuming their astral life-span is shorter than their corporeal life span).
If a Neighbor's astral body dies, his corporeal body can continue to
live...even reproduce. But he has lost his Sentience, because the link to his
soul has been lost.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Trees don't have brains. Sentient trees don't
really make sense. And why would their spirits be something other than
trees anyway? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Neighbours lived in houses and built
structures. Trees wouldn't have bothered.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>- Gerry Quinn</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
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