Inhumi secrets and the ring
The Whorl list — 1 messages, 1 voices, 22 Jan 2000
https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/whorl/763

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Alice Turner — 22 Jan 2000, 10:30

Allan Lloyd theorized (apparently on Oct. 26, 1999):

> > First, whatever happened to Horn in the pit was one of the most
> > significant events in the novel. Horn says "With that fall the best part
> > of my life was over. The pit was its grave." He may have been speaking
> > of the betrayal of his wife to save himself, but I think it was more
> > than that. When he was unconscious after falling I think Krait took much
> > of his blood. The deal with Krait involved being given a transfusion of
> > mixed blood from Krait. We know that inhumi can do this because Jahlee
> > offered to return blood to the cow that she had fed from. (Horn didn't
> > believe her, but he's a cynical, rather unpleasant person who sees the
> > worst in everyone).<<

This is certainly possible. Though I don't know about the returning of blood. Jahlee is a notably sarcastic creature (as is Krait), and this may be an instance of her humor.

> > After a transfusion, the personalities and appearances of the donor and
> > receiver tend to merge. Krait had previously eaten from Sinew, and
> > Seawrack tells Horn how similar the three of them are, more so than just
> > father/son resemblance. Also, after the pit experience, Horn's eyesight
> > improves and he becomes a surprisingly good shot. So is the sharing of
> > blood in some way good for humans who survive the experience?<<

Certainly something happened there, a kind of death, but that it is "sharing of blood" is only a theory. (Actually, I am inclined to doubt it.) This is not the point where Horn's spirit goes into Silk's body, though--that, he says somewhere, happened later.

> > Seawrack gives Horn a ring. This fairly trivial event gives a whole
> > chapter its title. She tells Horn he must wear it because "he might fall
> > in the pit again". Horn says that he never would have guessed that it
> > would save his life on a ruined lander on Green. Does it protect the
> > wearer from the vampiric Inhumi? This seems a bit simplistic, but could
> > Wolfe be playing with the silver cross/vampire thing? The ring is made
> > of some silvery metal that did not tarnish as pure silver would have. It
> > also had a white stone that was very old.<<

It is the ring that causes the Neighbors to choose Horn as the spokesman for humanity. We have to assume that the ring came from the Mother, who is or was a god of the Neighbors. It's indeed important, but I don't think it is a guard against the inhumi, necessarily. More of a Neighbor thing, and we know that the Neighbors were not able to guard themselves against the inhumi.

> > The other thing that puzzles me is the dialogue on page 353 where Sinew
> > claims that no-one gets bitten in Pajarocu. They agree that visitors do
> > but natives of the town don't. Could it be the home brewed beer that is
> > mentioned!<<

Interesting! Wouldn't it be funny if that was the much-discussed "secret!" I had simply assumed that Pajarocu was a sort of DMZ, though--don't mess with us and we won't mess with you.

-alga


*This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.

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