Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 12:41:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jerry Friedman 
Subject: RE: (urth) TBOTSS and colonialism


--- Dan'l Danehy-Oakes  wrote:
> Matthew quoted Adam quoted me...
...

> I very much like your summary:
> 
> > The inhumi cannot both renounce evil and survive as they 
> > currently are. Humans might do so, and in doing so
> > co-incidentally rehabilitate the inumi but they won't or can't 
> > except perhaps for the rare "saint". The conflict is within
> > human nature: those who cannot enact their own redemption
> > against those who could but won't.
> 
> The conflict is also very much in the purview of Christianity --
> nobody can save himself; they must be saved by the willing 
> sacrifice of others. It is possible that the "answer" to the
> secret of the inhumi, which the Narr hints at, is for saintly
> humans to voluntarily give their blood to them. The next inhumi 
> generation will then include saintly inhumi who will not attack
> humans but only accept voluntarily-given blood. If enough humans
> were to be saintly enough, there would appear a beneficent cycle,
> in which ultimately the humans and the inhumi could live in
> peace.
> 
> But, of course, it will never happen in the Fallen world...

I've given this matter more thought than I probably should have, and
I don't think saintliness is required.  The inhumi can pay for the
blood they drink.  Unfortunately, they aren't capable of doing much
manual labor (though like the abos, they're okay with ropes--Krait
can sail), but Blue certainly needs a good communication system,
not to mention maps.  Then considering that the inhumi can live on
animal blood sometimes, and even beef tea, one might be able to
develop a workable economy in a Fallen world.

Bluvians might be wise to limit the inhumi's pre-reproduction blood
meal to human volunteers in order to encourage altruism as well as
commercialism.

To get back to something more to the point, why doesn't Silkhorn
try "donating" blood to inhumi?  That would seem like an excellent
attempt at making improvements.  He's too humble to think he
would help?  Too squeamish?  Wolfe didn't like the echoes of the
Eucharist?

Jerry Friedman

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