The Domrath's energy and intelligence are functions of temperature. They not only sleep at night but also spend two thirds of their lives in hibernation. But that could mean that they spend up to seven ninths of their lives unconscious! Anderson refers to "...the ghostly half-dreams of hibernation..." (p. 291)
Are "half-dreams" half like waking experiences? If either psychological processes or shamanistic practices are able to generate coherent, vivid, recurring dreams, then waking life might come to seem unreal by comparison.
G'ung speaks this year for his "tribe."(ibid.) Radio-linked, the base computer instantly translates Domrath speech. Thus, Flandry hears the Eriau word, "maddeuth," accompanied by an indication that this is a debatable interpretation of the sound uttered by G'ung. Flandry renders "maddeuth" by the Anglic word for "tribe," although also knowing that these Eriau and Anglic terms are not close equivalents. This at last confirms for readers of the Technic History that "tribe"/"maddeuth" is not the same as "Vach."
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And it seems like such a WASTE, for the Domrath to spend so much of their lives hibernating. HOW might they break out of this crippling handicap? They would certainly first need to learn how to survive AWAKE during the long winters of Talwin.
And that similarly applies to the Ruadrath, altho they were more fortunate than the Domrath, needing only to spend six months in the ocean estivating.
Then we should perhaps understand "Vach" as meaning an aristocratic CLAN, with associated clients and dependents.
Ad astra! Sean
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