From: StoneOx17@aol.com
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 19:17:38 EDT
Subject: Re: (urth) In a Pig's Eye


"Charles Reed"  writes

> I've been following the pretty high-level discussions going on
> concerning Silk-in-Pig, Silk-23 vs Silk-43, etc.  But at the risk of
> sounding both mundane and stupid, I need to ask a question regarding
> Silk giving his eye to Pig.

> Pig is a (smallish) giant, but a giant nonetheless.  He's what, maybe
> four or five feet taller than Silk?  Given this, Pig's head might
> reasonably be assumed to be twice as big (in diameter) as Silk's head,
> with eye sockets proportionately sized.  How plausible is it, then, that
> Silk's eye could be successfully transplanted into Pig's eye socket?  I
> don't pretend to know much about advanced physiological concepts, but it
> seems to me that Silk's eyeball would really have a lot of room in which
> to flop around.

> Any thoughts?

Wolfe addresses this (possibly by accident, although I doubt it) when 
Silk/Horn is talking to the godling.  Silk is talking:

"Oreb can see even when it seems to me that there's no light at all."

There was no reply, and he wondered whether the godling had heard him.  
"Oreb's eyes are larger than mine," he continued gamely, "though Oreb is so 
much smaller.  Your eyes seem very small to me, but that's only because they 
are small in proportion to your face.  Each must be the size of Oreb's head."

The lesson to be taken from this, of course, is that the size of the eyes of 
giants and godlings increases disproportionately slowly, so Pig's eyes could 
be only slightly larger than Silk's.  

Until Charles asked his question, I had assumed that the discussion of the 
size of the godling's eyes was just incidental detail, and/or speculation on 
how physical proportions would change in giants (after the excerpt above we 
find that the godling's reaction time and speech are slower than Silk's).  
Now, I see that Wolfe's also very cleverly slipped in the answer to an 
objection someone might raise about an event that happens half a book later.  
I am impressed!

-- Stone Ox

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