The Crucial Moment Of Realization On Ythri

When Vaughn Webner tells Aram Turekian to "...take the supercharger off [his] imagination....":

"The other man froze where he stood.
"'Aram.' Yukiko seized his arm. He stared beyond her. 'What's wrong?'
"He shook himself. 'Supercharger,' he mumbled. 'By God, yes.'"
-Poul Anderson, "Wings of Victory" IN Anderson, The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1979), pp. 3-22 AT p. 19.

We recognize the signs. Hearing a significant clue, the competent problem-solving Andersonian hero, who will save the day, freezes, stares, shakes himself, mumbles - then takes charge, disobeying an order and mutinying but nevertheless saving the lives of his two companions and himself. Interpreting his recent observations of Ythrian organisms, he suddenly understands how a flier can be intelligent.

That legs have become arms (see Evolving Limbs) is demonstrated when the large ornithoids attack:

"Talons of the right foot, which was not a foot at all but a hand, gripped a sword curved like a scimitar." (p. 20)

Hands and brain have evolved together:

"For an instant, Turekian looked squarely into the golden eyes, knew a brave male defending his home, and also shot to miss." (ibid.)

Ythrians are as territorial as human beings are sexual:

"The reason lies in their evolution. It does for every drive in every animal everywhere." (ibid.)

I agree about "...every animal everywhere." We can transcend fundamental drives - can write poetry and philosophy and play musical instruments with fingers and opposable thumbs adapted for grasping and manipulating our immediate environment. However, such transcendence is adaptability, intelligence and reflection, not some independent spiritual essence.