| 11253 Mesyats | 1976 UP2 | October 26, 1976 | Nauchnij | T. M. Smirnova | — | MPC · 11253 |
"Mesyats" is a "minor planet" in the Solar System (I had not known that astronomers used this classification for orbiting rocks) and "Mesyatz" is a moon of Dennitza in Poul Anderson's A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows.
On Dennitza, zmayi, descendants of Dennitzan immigrants, tell humorous fairy tales about Ri, a hero who went to live on Mesyatz. Cultural fusion is demonstrated when Kossara Vymezal tells Dominic Flandry that, as a child, she would beg Trohdwyr for Ri stories. Human Dennitzans see an orlik - a winged theroid - in the pattern on the Mesyatzan surface.
Zmayi have been on Dennitza for four centuries, plenty of time to create fairy tales. However, since Merseia has four moons (see here), it is possible that the Ri stories originated there.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And we see mention of some zmayi going to Merseia itself for advanced educations. The Dennitzans of Merseian race were loyal to the Empire and disliked the aggressive racism of the Roidhunate, but Merseia was still the homeworld of their species, so some would go there for educational reasons.
Sean
Post a Comment