# Secrets and Domes *The Urth list — 8 messages, 5 voices, 28 Nov 2011* > Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright > in each message remains with the person who wrote it. > Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original > archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than > retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. --- ### Brian Lovely *28 Nov 2011, 17:19* Could the secret of the Inhumi be that they are a hybrid branch of humanity, and the colonists from the Whorl are the pure strain hybridizing through blood to make a more vigorous strain? Also, does anyone else see the ruined ring of glass that lets light through in one direction but blocks it in the other as a ruined greenhouse dome? Brian Lovely Brian at studiobl.com --- ### Brian *28 Nov 2011, 17:23 · follows Brian Lovely* I think the other secret of the inhumi is that they are a hybrid of humanity, and the colonists from the Whorl are a prue strain that is being combined through blood to make a more vigorous hybrid. Aslo, does anyone else see the ruined dome made of glass that lets light through in one direction but blocks it in the other as a ruined greenhouse? --- ### James Wynn *28 Nov 2011, 17:27 · in reply to Brian* > On 11/28/2011 11:23 AM, Brian wrote: > Aslo, does anyone else see the ruined dome made of glass that lets > light through in one direction but blocks it in the other as a ruined > greenhouse? That is a very logical assessment. But then you have to establish a theory of who built it and why it was built. I think those little trees in the broken dome are significant, but then that leaves us to... 1) How was it broken and when? 2) Why is Seawrack so troubled about being there? --- ### David Stockhoff *28 Nov 2011, 18:02 · in reply to James Wynn* > On 11/28/2011 12:27 PM, James Wynn wrote: > On 11/28/2011 11:23 AM, Brian wrote: >> Aslo, does anyone else see the ruined dome made of glass that lets >> light through in one direction but blocks it in the other as a ruined >> greenhouse? > That is a very logical assessment. But then you have to establish a > theory of who built it and why it was built. I think those little > trees in the broken dome are significant, but then that leaves us to... > > 1) How was it broken and when? > > 2) Why is Seawrack so troubled about being there? I don't think these are terribly difficult questions. I'd guess: (1) A big animal ran into it. Or inhumi slaves smashed it to expose the small trees inside. Depending on how long it's been since the Neighbors left, it could be harder to explain why such a glass structure might still be standing. (2) Because she knows it's a violated Neighbor nursery and she is not a Neighbor but knows enough about them, even if she may be on friendly terms with them. --- ### Brian *28 Nov 2011, 18:18 · follows David Stockhoff* Seawrack says something about there being similar domes on the bottom of the sea. Either those sank or this one has been brought up somehow. I've always wondered if there was a connection between these underwater domes and the neighbor one of Horn's sons sees when he looks through Seawrack's ring. What is going on beneath the surface of the sea? --- ### António Marques *28 Nov 2011, 21:08 · in reply to David Stockhoff* > David Stockhoff wrote: > On 11/28/2011 12:27 PM, James Wynn wrote: >> Why is Seawrack so troubled about being there? > Because she knows it's a violated Neighbor nursery and she is not a > Neighbor but knows enough about them, even if she may be on friendly > terms with them. What do you think Seawrack knows about the Neighbours? --- ### Gerry Quinn *29 Nov 2011, 13:26 · in reply to Brian Lovely* From: Brian Lovely > Could the secret of the Inhumi be that they are a hybrid branch of humanity, > and the colonists from the Whorl are the pure strain hybridizing through blood > to make a more vigorous strain? Marc has ideas along somewhat similar lines, I think. But really, I don’t see any strong reason to believe that the creatures of Green and Blue are anything other than alien species that evolved there. [Of course, one wouldn’t expect truly alien planets to have compatible ecosystems, but that’s something SF writers get a free pass on, same as FTL. Planets are like tropical islands during the great age of European sea exploration.] > Also, does anyone else see the ruined ring of glass that lets light through in > one direction but blocks it in the other as a ruined greenhouse dome? That’s one reading of it, though I didn’t see anything about it blocking light in any direction. It seems to amplify light: a possibility that occurred to me is that it transmits light from adjacent dimensions. Against that is that when Horn first saw the motion of the bush where the greenbuck was, he thought the glass might have helped him. But he later saw motion in another bush without it, and after that saw the greenbuck. Glass that amplifies light might be used in a greenhouse, or a solar power station, or an observatory, or for other purposes. - Gerry Quinn --- ### Brian *29 Nov 2011, 14:15 · follows Gerry Quinn* Good point, Gerry, after I sent it, I thought about how curved pieces of a broken structure with a circular footprint could also be a cylinder, not a dome. ...and the one-way glass could be arranged to let out as well as in. Still, I think it is signifigant, and I don't recall seeing any theories about how the ruin fits into the greater puzzle. > Could the secret of the Inhumi be that they are a hybrid branch of > humanity, > and the colonists from the Whorl are the pure strain > hybridizing through blood > to make a more vigorous strain? Marc has > ideas along somewhat similar lines, I think. But really, I don’t see any > strong reason to believe that the creatures of Green and Blue are anything > other than alien species that evolved there. [Of course, one wouldn’t > expect truly alien planets to have compatible ecosystems, but that’s > something SF writers get a free pass on, same as FTL. Planets are like > tropical islands during the great age of European sea exploration.] > Also, does anyone else see the ruined ring of glass that lets light through in > one direction but blocks it in the other as a ruined greenhouse dome? That’s one reading of it, though I didn’t see anything about it blocking light in any direction. It seems to amplify light: a possibility that occurred to me is that it transmits light from adjacent dimensions. Against that is that when Horn first saw the motion of the bush where the greenbuck was, he thought the glass might have helped him. But he later saw motion in another bush without it, and after that saw the greenbuck. Glass that amplifies light might be used in a greenhouse, or a solar power station, or an observatory, or for other purposes. - Gerry Quinn ---