From: "Roy C. Lackey" 
Subject: Re: (urth) chem slavery and bio slavery
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 13:49:06 -0500

Jerry Friedman quotes and writes:

>> The chems didn't follow the bios to Blue
>> and Green--the subject never even came up. They had been built to last
>> about two-hundred-and-fifty years, the intended duration of the voyage
>> of
>> the _Whorl_. Planned obsolescence. When the trip was finished, so were
>> they.
>...
>
>I generally agree with your point about how the chems were thought
>of when the _Whorl_ was created, and I thank for you for all this
>bits of evidence of prejudice on both sides.  I have a quibble with
>the above, though.  Marble was taken to Blue, and isn't Cijfer a
>chem?  Outside of New Viron, we may not know about some characters
>whether they're chems or not.

Marble ending up on Blue was a fluke; as Mucor's guardian she was just in
the right place at the right time, and being the calde's friend didn't
hurt. Cijfer was married to Wijzer, who was a bio, so I don't think she
was a chem. Silkhorn traveled to several other cities and was even the
ruler of one. There is no textual evidence to indicate that any chem other
than Marble ever went to Blue or Green that I am aware of. Chems would
have been impervious to inhumi attack and near invincible as a weapon
against them, which is probably why Wolfe left them on the _Whorl_.

-Roy


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