Cainite Scenery

"The Master Key."

When the narrator studies a photograph of two Cainites:

"The background was harsh plutonic hillside, where grass of a pale yellowish turquoise grew between dark boulders." (p. 283)

Poul Anderson often describes extraterrestrial equivalents of grass. The Cainite growth is described as "grass," not as "psuedograss," but is a slightly unusual color.

The background is harsh, dark and "plutonic," an adjective that is significant in Classical mythology just as "Cain" is in Biblical mythology.

The rest of the environment visible in the photo comprises "...a densely wooded valley...," (ibid.), a wan sky and orange sunlight that is said to distort colors. We are looking into the scene of dark and distorted events.