The leatherskin

Charles Reed · 18 Nov 2002, 15:43 · from urth-v0211.mbox · original

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From: "Charles Reed" <cmreed at link.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) The leatherskin
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 09:43:53 -0600
Message-ID: <urth-v0211-2146 at digest.urth.net>
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Hello Don.

I'd like to respond to your idea about the "alien-ness" the animals of=20
the Blue/Green system.  You say that the leatherskin is "the only really=20
alien creature in the book," but I think you're mistaken.  ALL the=20
animals we encounter on Blue are very and extremely alien to anything=20
that existed on the Whorl.  It's just that settlers, where possible,=20
have given the alien animals names that reflect the only animal names=20
they know.

For example, there's a beast on blue that is rather large, lives in the=20
forest, and has a very long snout.  Instead of making up something new,=20
they start calling it an elephant, despite the fact that it has eight=20
legs.  It's much easier to do that than try to create a new taxonomy.=20
 Every settler knows what a real elephant is, and this new creature of=20
Blue is similar enough in appearance that when somebody says "elephant"=20
everybody immediately knows what is being talked about.  Similarly,=20
there's a creature that lives in the river that is at least vaguely=20
reptilian, probably looks like a log floating in the water when still,=20
and might eat you if you fall in, so instead of making up something new,=20
they call it a crocodile, even though these new crocodiles are obviously=20
not the same animal as the "real" crocodile whence their name derives=20
("real" crocodiles don't have eight legs). =20

That's not to say that some Blue animals don't get new names.  Some=20
animals are so different that they're not reminiscent enough of a Whorl=20
animal to inherit a Whorl name.  In those cases, the names given are=20
very utilitarian and descriptive in nature -- such as "leatherskin."

You're also forgetting the inhumi, and the great variety of alien beings=20
on Green, which were pretty much mentioned only in passing.  Still, some=20
of their descriptions bear little resemblance to anything we ran into on=20
the Whorl.

Blue is an alien world.  The evolution of land-based life on Blue for=20
some reason favored octopedal locomotion rather than quadrupedal=20
locomotion, as was the case on Urth and subsequently in the Whorl.  In=20
fact, I can't think of a single animal we meet that is native to Blue=20
that does not have eight limbs, and that includes the departed Neighbors.

Wolfe is an extremely surprising writer, and is often subtle --=20
sometimes subtle to point of being frustrating -- but I really don't=20
regard him as being "tricky."  I tend to take his (and his narrator's)=20
explanations at face value until there is a reason to do otherwise.=20
 Sometimes there is such a reason, but I don't think this is one of=20
those times.

Charles

Don Doggett wrote:

>Howdy all,
>
>One of (imho) Wolfe's first tricks in SS to give us the impression of Blue
>as an alien world is his introduction of the leatherskin, a terrible
>creature with three (gasp!) jaws.  It is the only really alien creature in
>the book (even the neighbors are four limbed humanoids).  Or is it?  Here's
>a more mundane (sort of) explanation:  The leatherskin is a sort of evolved
>shark. Yes, a shark.  Its three jaws are really three rows of teeth.  To
>someone like Horn, or Silk, who has probably never had any previous
>experience with salt water creatures, these rows could very well appear to
>be three jaws.  Sort of the way people with no experience with horseback
>riding might have seen the first horsemen as centaurs.  Sharks also have
>extremely rough skin.  Just a thought (a scary thought - a shark that can
>climb into your boat.  Ugh.)
>
>Don
>
>
>
>

--=20

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