Green ain't Lune

Jeff Wilson · 06 Apr 2002, 06:19 · from urth-v0204.mbox · original

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From: Jeff Wilson <jwilson at io.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) Green ain't Lune
Date: Sat, 06 Apr 2002 00:19:41 -0600
Message-ID: <urth-v0204-543 at digest.urth.net>
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> From: "Roy C. Lackey" <rclackey at stic.net>

> My excuse for missing this is that it is only my second reading of RTTW, =
and
> I wasn't looking for it the first time through. On page 163 Silkhorn is
> answering Pig's question about what he had been thinking:
>=20
>     "The three whorls. Two large and low, by which I mean near the Short
> Sun. This one near the stars. I don't know whether Green's bigger than Bl=
ue,
> or Blue's bigger than Green; but both are much bigger than this whorl we'=
re
> in, the Long Sun Whorl."
>=20
> Now, it's true that he gives no absolute answer to the question of which
> body is larger, Blue or Green, but the fact that he has been on both worl=
ds,
> seen both from a lander in space, and was unable to distinguish one from =
the
> other by size indicates, at the very least, that there is little differen=
ce
> between them with regard to size. Earth is about four times the size of t=
he
> moon; Urth is presumably four times the size of Lune. Blue cannot be four
> times the size of Green, or someone would have noticed.
>=20
> Also, the Green-born inhumi would have had a hell of a time flying around=
 on
> Blue with all those extra gravities dragging them down. And if it was hard
> for them to escape Green's gravity to hunt on Blue, as Jahlee indicated,
> then it would be just about impossible to escape Blue's and return to Gre=
en,
> if Blue had much higher gravity.
>=20
> Does this finally kill the Blue=3DUrth idea?

	No, because 1) Lune shows signs of Urthlike gravity in TBOTNS, and 2)
Silkhorn's statement could be an acknowledgement of the varying apparent
sizes of the bodies during his travels on and around them.=20

	The gap between Green and Blue could perhaps be bridged at close
approach by an expansion of the atmospheres due to tides. This could
allow the atmospheres to mingle, but they would also be attenuated so
that flying through the thinned air is very difficult even in the lower
effective gravity between the worlds.=20


--=20
Jeff Wilson
How Am I Posting? 1-800-555-6789
"If your SecOp can see you, so can the enemy." -Cpt Law


--=20

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