From: "Alice Turner" <akt@attglobal.net>
Subject: (whorl) Inhumi secrets and the ring
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 10:30:17 

Allan Lloyd theorized (apparently on Oct. 26, 1999):

>>First, whatever happened to Horn in the pit was one of the most
significant events in the novel. Horn says "With that fall the best part
of my life was over. The pit was its grave." He may have been speaking
of the betrayal of his wife to save himself, but I think it was more
than that. When he was unconscious after falling I think Krait took much
of his blood. The deal with Krait involved being given a transfusion of
mixed blood from Krait. We know that inhumi can do this because Jahlee
offered to return blood to the cow that she had fed from. (Horn didn't
believe her, but he's a cynical, rather unpleasant person who sees the
worst in everyone).<<

This is certainly possible. Though I don't know about the returning of blood. Jahlee is a notably sarcastic creature (as is Krait), and this may be an instance of her humor.

>>After a transfusion, the personalities and appearances of the donor and
receiver tend to merge. Krait had previously eaten from Sinew, and
Seawrack tells Horn how similar the three of them are, more so than just
father/son resemblance. Also, after the pit experience, Horn's eyesight
improves and he becomes a surprisingly good shot. So is the sharing of
blood in some way good for humans who survive the experience?<<

Certainly something happened there, a kind of death, but that it is "sharing of blood" is only a theory. (Actually, I am inclined to doubt it.) This is not the point where Horn's spirit goes into Silk's body, though--that, he says somewhere, happened later.

>>Seawrack gives Horn a ring. This fairly trivial event gives a whole
chapter its title. She tells Horn he must wear it because "he might fall
in the pit again". Horn says that he never would have guessed that it
would save his life on a ruined lander on Green. Does it protect the
wearer from the vampiric Inhumi? This seems a bit simplistic, but could
Wolfe be playing with the silver cross/vampire thing? The ring is made
of some silvery metal that did not tarnish as pure silver would have. It
also had a white stone that was very old.<<

It is the ring that causes the Neighbors to choose Horn as the spokesman for humanity. We have to assume that the ring came from the Mother, who is or was a god of the Neighbors. It's indeed important, but I don't think it is a guard against the inhumi, necessarily. More of a Neighbor thing, and we know that the Neighbors were not able to guard themselves against the inhumi.

>>The other thing that puzzles me is the dialogue on page 353 where Sinew
claims that no-one gets bitten in Pajarocu. They agree that visitors do
but natives of the town don't. Could it be the home brewed beer that is
mentioned!<<

Interesting! Wouldn't it be funny if that was the much-discussed "secret!" I had simply assumed that Pajarocu was a sort of DMZ, though--don't mess with us and we won't mess with you.

-alga


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