Like a good Neighbor

James Wynn · 23 Nov 2011, 19:29 · from 2011-November.txt.gz

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From: crushtv at gmail.com (James Wynn)
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:29:53 -0600
Subject: (urth) Like a good Neighbor
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> Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:
> OK, let's see if I can summarize this correctly. You believe that
>
> (a) the Neighbors are sentient trees native to Blue, who can astrally
> project into the form the Narrator meets;
>
> (b) the inhumi are not-natively-sentient reptiles or amphibians native
> to Green, who take on the nature of what they feed on (at least in
> their offspring);
>
> (c) because they fed on Neighbors, who are trees, the inhumi "take on"
> a sort of tree-ishness and become lianas.
>
> Is that correct?

Precisely correct except that "reptile" is an analogy. One should not 
assume a true reptile nature.

As the Rajan says:
"These people, like people everywhere here, seem to fear that an inhumu 
may live on even with its head severed. That is not the case, of course; 
but I cannot help wondering how the superstition originated and became 
so widespread. Certainly the inhumi have no bones as we understand them. 
Possibly their skeletons are cartilage, as those of some sea-creatures 
are. On Green, Geier maintained that the inhumi are akin to slugs and 
leeches. No one, I believe, took him seriously; yet it is certain that 
once dead they decay very quickly, though they are difficult to kill and 
can survive for weeks and even months without the blood that is their 
only food. "
~ OBW chapter 4

Additionally, the Rajan notes that there is a general belief that inhumi 
can survive even after decapitation. He asserts that this is not true, 
but ponders how it came to be so generally believed. This might be 
reference to the Rajan's lianna staff that (it is implied) is still 
sentient. Additionally, HePenSheep says that the Neighbors fires are 
burning liannas.

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