# Digest urth.v013.n003 *The Urth list — 1 messages, 1 voices, 11 Jun 1998* > 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. --- ### Neal Smith *11 Jun 1998, 17:25* Alga writes: ------------------------------- desk? That's why I say colonists rather than explorers, who presumably have been trained in many skills. Or, if that won't wash, say that nearly everyone was killed except for a few folks as dumb as me. And that we then inbred and got kind of spacy, as I would imagine people do get under such circumstances (cf Australia, if you like--hi Damien!). This, it seems to me, would create at least a rope bridge between you and Borski. ... Exactly. They devolved because of lack of ability to pass on acquired knowledge. Also (this is 1972), they're a bit New Agey to start with. ------------------------------- With respect to the idea that the abos are "spacey" or "New Agey", I think the addictive, (perhaps hallucinogenic?) drug that the shadow children are shown being addicted to in "A Story" would provide this. -Neal Smith ---