We find it easy to imagine aliens who organize themselves for war and conquest as human beings have often done - HG Wells' Martians, Poul Anderson's Merseians, Larry Nivens kzinti etc. No doubt this is possible. The point of sf is to entertain different possibilities. Guided by Miriam Abrams, Yewwl leads some of her fellow Ramnuans to the human settlement of Dukeston:
"'...to spy out what may be a hostile territory...'" (p. 137)
One of Yewwl's followers complains:
"'I seize no sense...'" (ibid.)
The text, narrated in this passage from Yewwl's pov, continues:
"In truth, the idea of organized enmity was vague..." (ibid.)
Poul Anderson does not stop there but backs up this Ramnuan vagueness with a very tactile analogy:
"...and tricky as wind, and felt as icy." (ibid.)
By now we are alert to any mention of wind!
Yewwl asks her followers to suppose that a feud - so they do have "feuds" - between the leaders of two groups has set their loyal retainers at odds. But, of course, there need not be any personal enmity or even acquaintance between the commanders of two sides in a military conflict. In fact, how would you explain war to a Ramnuan?
2 comments:
"Fighting over land".
Kaor, Paul!
If Ramnuans can have feuds and fights for desirable land as glaciation worsened, then "organized enmity" should not be that hard to imagine.
Ad astra! Sean
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