With two short stories and most of a novel, Avalon fills just under half of The Technic Civilization Saga, Volume I, Rise Of The Terran Empire. The other half, also a novel and two shorter works, covers human history in the League, then the Troubles, then the Empire.
In "Wingless," young Ythrians interact with one young human being. Keshchyi, taking flight, whistles, trumpets and challenges:
"'What are you waiting for, you mudfeet?'" (p. 296)
Keshchyi's less impetuous cousin, Thuriak, asks Nat Falkayn, who is able join them in the air with his gravbelt, whether he is coming. At this stage of the narrative, the Ythrians might come across just as human youths with wings. However, the earlier story, "The Problem of Pain," had shown us their alien attitude to suffering and death. Before taking off, Nat reflects on the differences between the species:
"...the Ythrians were alien, and not just in their society. In their bones, their flesh, the inmost molecules of their genes, they were not human. It was no use pretending otherwise." (pp. 297-298)
"They were pure carnivores, born hunters. Maybe that was the reason why they allowed, yes, encouraged their young to go off and do reckless things, accepting stoically the fact that the unfit and the unlucky would not return alive -" (p. 298)
Nat thinks about molecules, genes, bones, flesh, carnivores, hunting and finally psychology which arises from biology. Regular readers know that the philosophical mind-body problem is a sub-theme of this blog. Imagining alien psychology helps us to address the problem. To list the properties of a psychophysical organism as observed by others is not to describe the organism as experienced by itself. The organism's brain is part of the organism as observed by others whereas the organism's consciousness is its observations of everything else. So no wonder they are different. But how do objective processes generate subjectivity? Any attempted explanation just describes another set of objective processes.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
More simply put I expect different intelligent races will think differently from each other, whether badly or well, wisely or foolishly.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: certainly.
We couldn't count on analogues between alien species and terrestrial animals.
Note that hunting birds are usually solitary predators -- but there are a couple of social species.
The Harris Hawk, for example. They hunt in packs, like wolves with wings.
And like wolves, they're unusually compatible with human beings. Unlike, say, falcons they become genuinely emotionally attached to their human trainers; they fit them into their social-instinctual repertoire.
I would also note that social carnivores are -not- careless of their offspring; in fact, they tend to be intensely protective.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
As so often, your comments sharpens or clarifies what I was groping for. I agree, we cannot put much stress comparing alien races with Terrestrial animals.
Not sure I ever heard of Harris hawks before, or of how compatible they are with humans. Other types of hawks seem to be of higher status with falconry enthusiasts.
I can well believe social carnivores are very protective of their cubs! Lions, wolves, bears comes to mind as examples.
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment