From: "Robert Borski" <rborski@charter.net>
Subject: (urth) Re: 5HC details
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 17:31:20 

Earlier today mantis having speculated:

<1) Re the artificial-seeming age/decay of the buildings on Ste. Croix.
(Have we already talked about how) This is another strong pointer towards
Veil's theory being true--in that abos can't construct buildings; hence the
buildings were built by humans, and then the humans were quietly, slowly
exterminated and replaced. (?)>

I like this idea a whole lot, as I do your other notion about the abo-rooted
Wolfe family being "stuck" in human form. Not many people on the list seem
to believe in the validity of Veil's Hypothesis, of course; your two points
are effective counterpoint.

<2) Length of Annese year.  Is this clutching at straws yet?  JVM says VRT
looks/is 16 (Terran) years old.  If "A Story" is autobiographical, then as
Sandwalker is 13 (Annese) years old around the time when VRT is 16 (T)
years old, then the Annese year is 1.23 Terran years . . . which equals
10788.922 hours . . . divided by 402 Annese days . . . gives an Annese day
of 26.838114 hours . . >

This still seems too short for me. Look: Marsch talks of "too-long days and
stretched nights," but if we take 26.84 as the length, at the equinox, this
would only add about 85 minutes to each of the Earth standard twelve-hour
halves, or about 7 minutes "extra" to each hour. I'm not sure this would be
detectable, at least on a subjective basis, or where a visitor would feel
compelled to make a journal entry about "too long" days and "stretched"
nights.

Victor looking 16, but being 13, may or may not be an example of how some
abos seem to be able to control the appearance of their age (e.g., Cassilla
is only 21, but "In the bright daylight [the junior officer] could see fine
wrinkles near her eyes; the girl was aging.") An adolescent male might be
more appealing to John Marsch for a number of reasons over a boyish version;
hence the rather inhumi-like faceshift Victor may have implemented.

Robert Borski


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