-Poul Anderson, Fire Time (St Albans, Herts, 1977), p. 83.
On Earth, quadrupeds became bipeds or two-legged, two-winged flyers. On Ishtar, hexapods became quadrupeds, four-winged, two-legged flyers or two-winged, four-legged flyers.
Someone said that, if we were quadrupeds, it would cost more in trousers. However, Anderson's intelligent quadrupeds on different planets are always, like mythical centaurs, hardy enough not to need clothes. In fact, it is difficult to imagine appropriate garments. Larry Niven's tripedal Puppeteers also go naked.
Anderson's Ishtarians can trot, gallop, sleep out of doors and live off the land or their own bodily foliage while traveling long distances. Porters are strong, messengers are fast and ranchers pull their own wagons. In fact, why are human beings so helpless in their natural environment? We make up for this by cooperation and intelligence and have constructed vast artificial environments instead.
I am getting back into rereading Fire Time but am also just about to go out to a meeting so will be back online later.
1 comment:
Hi, Paul!
I can't think of many science fiction writers who took as much care and thought as Poul Anderson did in describing what non human races might actually BE like. It is difficult to avoid extremes such as turning aliens merely into humans with make up or utterly implausible BEMs. But I did like Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's Moties in their THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE and THE GRIPPING HAND.
Sean
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