Targovi goes out of doors on the island of Zacharia:
the breeze is cool;
it smells of leaves and sea;
it ruffles his fur - and he is almost naked;
the moon, Icarus, tinges the clouds argent while the sun-ring, stretching around the sky of horizonless Daedalus, tinges them bronze.
Thus, four senses for a Starkadian raised on Imhotep, now visiting Daedalus. Poul Anderson's Technic History is a detailed future history series fully incorporating individual members of many intelligent species. Targovi crawls, stalks and hunts like a cat, senses with his tendrils and climbs trees and walls with his claws. He is the son of Dragoika, the friend of Diana Crowfeather, daughter of Dominic Flandry, and is with Terrans against Merseians.
An interesting universe for Poul Anderson to construct, for us to read about and for Targovi to inhabit.
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
A being covered with fur won't be exactly naked. But he might well use a breech clout.
Ad astra! Sean
I think any tool user would want some minimal clothing, if only to have pockets to carry useful tools.
Jim,
Targovi has a breechclout, belt and knife.
Paul.
Humans have been using breechclouts for a very long time; it was probably the first garment. In fact, we've probably had our physical evolution influenced by it.
Also, our upright stance renders the genetalia -- particularly the male variety -- more exposed and vulnerable than in quadrupeds and knuckle-walkers.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I am sure the human bodily structure was in many ways advantageous for our species. But the cervical myelopathy problem I had this summer and the surgery needed for correcting it makes me wonder if that bodily structure also has disadvantages.
Ad astra! Sean
"Six million years, and we still haven't gotten bipedalism right", as I like to say.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I'm finding that out the hard way this year!
Ad astra! Sean
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