Crocagators

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 25 Apr 2001, 12:58 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: "Dan'l Danehy-Oakes" <ddanehy at siebel.com>
Subject: (whorl) Crocagators
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2001 12:58:00
Message-ID: <whorl-v0012-0728 at digest.urth.net>
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The Kitchen Staff Wombat wrote:

> My understanding is that the number of human attacks from
> crocodilians is very low. They're much like wolves that=20
> way--feared as human predators all out of proportion to the
> actual danger they present. Which isn't to say that they
> can't sometimes be very dangerous, indeed.=20

Which was pretty much my point. Assuming per argumentam the
"Golden Rule" theory of the Secret, _and_ that the human
colonists somehow manage to implement it, then the inhumi=20
become "something we can live with," either as benevolent=20
sentients or as dangerous but mindless giant leeches.

In fact, there's some doubt in my mind as to how many=20
people are actually killed by the inhumi in the situation=20
which actually holds on Blue at the time of Horn's journey
-- I don't recall many examples of someone actually dying=20
from inhumi attacks [excepting the attack on the wedding,
as a very special special case]. Do the inhumi, like wolves,=20
bears, sharks, snakes, crocodilians... suffer from=20
exaggerated human fears as to the extent of the danger they
pose?

I somewhat doubt it, on the grounds that the inhumi (at
least in the form we know) are far smarter than wolves,
bears, etc., and able to "pass" as humans: a combination=20
that makes one inhumu potentially far more dangerous in=20
the long term than a good-sized pack of wolves. But the
Bluvian scenes in SHORT simply don't seem to reflect a
people in imminent danger of being wiped out by predators.

I dunno. There's _something_ weird missing here, what it=20
is ain't exactly clear...

--Blattid

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