From: "Kevin J. Maroney" <kmaroney@ungames.com>
Subject: Re: (whorl) vampires make bootstrap lift off
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 12:18:11 

At 09:19 AM 9/6/00 +0200, Alastair wrote:
>No; you're right, Mantis - if the inhumi "fall" from the lagrange point
>between Green and Blue, then they're essentially going to hit Blue's
>atmosphere with speed on the order of escape velocity. 

Agreed. I've been assuming that they don't fall from that distance. There
are three basic possibilities, as I see it: 

The inhumi move from planet to planet via traditional ballistics, which
requires them to reach some high percentage of escape velocity from Green
and absorb that kinetic energy at Blue; 

The inhumi are under some sore of controlled flight for the entire trip
from Green to Blue and vice versa, but with an unknown mechanism; or 

That they teleport most of the distance via some gift from the Neighbors
and only fly within the atmospheres of the two planets. 

I'm actually most inclined to believe the third. I have a suspicion that
the Neighbors evolved on Blue, the inhumi on Green, and they only came into
contact with each other after the Neighbors tried to conquer Green,
relatively recently. The Neighbors do not perceive distance the way humans
do. The inhumi gained a great deal from the Neighbors, as Horn has; the
evidence in _Green_ is that some of that difference can be communicated to
humans and almost certainly to inhumi as well. 

This scenario also helps explain how Quetzal and his kindred came on to the
_Whorl_ despite its tremendous distance from Green. 

I don't think that the inhumi can teleport at will. Fava's surprise at
Incanto's ability demonstrates that. But I think they might be able to slip
from place to place. 


-- 
Wombat, a.k.a. Kevin Maroney kmaroney@ungames.com
Kitchen Staff Supervisor, New York Review of Science Fiction
http://www.nyrsf.com

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