Acculturation

Daniel Holm deplores his son Christopher's Ythrianization yet he himself invokes the oath to Ythri and even "deathpride" when arguing for continued war against the Terran Empire. (Rise Of The Terran Empire, p. 566) How far can a man be removed from his origins? When Ythri was first contacted in "Wings of Victory," we did not then imagine that, later in the History, there would be human beings loyal to an interstellar Domain of Ythri. Despite her common sense about human-Ythrian relations when speaking to Christopher/Arinnian, Tabitha Falkayn calls herself an Ythrian when speaking with a Terran. (p. 568) Later still, Dennitzan Merseians will be loyal to the Empire.

Human history is a history of cultural fusions. The King James Bible is an entirely English document yet is a translation from Hebrew and Greek. We use Roman letters, descended from Greek, before that from Phoenician, and "Arabic" numerals, originally from India. When I went to a Youth Hostel quiet room to practice Japanese zazen, I was joined by a Japanese man reading his Bible. The guy who runs our meditation group found that not regrettable but amusing. A Jewish man showing a group of students around a synagogue said that, during their service, the Rabbi, having read from the Torah scroll, holds it up above his head for the congregation to see. Our guide commented, "Shades of the elevation of the Host!"