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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=severiansola@hotmail.com
href="mailto:severiansola@hotmail.com">Lee Berman</A> </DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">>Gerry
Quinn: </DIV></DIV>
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> Apparently there was no sapient life on Green before the <BR>>>
Neighbours developed space technology and went there. Inhumi were just
<BR>>> like animals, and even if they flew by accident to Blue they never
caused <BR>>> a problem there. After the Neighbours came to Green,
the inhumi preyed <BR>>> upon them and became intelligent. This was
long before the arrival of the <BR>>> Whorl.<BR><BR>> As has been
established in this conversation, inhumi spaceflight could only<BR>> come
about through very highly specialized, directed evolution. First they<BR>>
would have to evolve muscles which achieve near-rocket-power thrust to<BR>>
propel them to escape velocity. This velocity would have to be achieved long
<BR>> before they reached the end of the atmosphere because their wings rely
on air <BR>> to propel them. <BR><BR>> Then they would have to evolve the
ability to jetison every drop of water from <BR>> every cell in their body
and let their mummified, dry bodies rely on inertia to <BR>> accurately get
them to Blue. Then, if they didn't burn up entering Blue's <BR>> atmosphere
they'd have to evolve the ability to regenerate their bone-dry husk <BR>> of
a body from Blue's salt water (which does not exist on Green).<BR><BR>> That
ain't no accident. If inhumi could do all that and fly to Blue then they
<BR>> are evolved to do so and would, en masse. So, how can you casually
postultate <BR>> they accidentally flew to Blue but didn't cause any trouble?
The entire argument <BR>> is fishy (heh) from begining to end. I see no
reason to ignore that stench other <BR>> than pure stubborness and a
determination to remain deluded.<BR></DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">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. </DIV></DIV>
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style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">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.</DIV></DIV>
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style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">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! </DIV></DIV>
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Gerry Quinn</DIV></DIV>
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