Trotsky and Tiggers.

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_cs.ucc.ie>
Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 18:28:58 GMT


TTrotsky on me on Greg on dogs:
> To clarify my position: I am merely repeating the official line here (as
> it is liable to promulgated in future products) - I didn't say necessarily
> found it terribly plausible. Indeed, I think Nick's myth is great, if a clear
> case of 'IMG' (or perhaps IVEBGSG*).

In the best spirit of Humakti oaths and Irish geasa[#], I choose to regard this not as The Official Line, but as Entertaining Things Greg Says, until presented with uncontroverible evidence otherwise. After all, doesn't even Papal Infallibility only work when Da Pope says "I'm being infallible now"? (It may be I'm thinking of Simon Says here, of course.)

([#] i.e., pettifogging literalism and semantic hair-splitting.)

[keeping dogs to herd with]
> Agreed; my understanding of the official line is that they prefer to use
> alynxes for this sort of thing not that they *never* do anything else. Ditto
> with goats.

That's grand, then. The idea of the occassional sheep (or deer??) herding alynx by no means offends me. ("The wonder of the thing is not that it's done well, but that's it's done at all.")

> The hevren is meant to be a lot heavier than a lynx, and I'd put 45-50
> kg as a reasonable estimate of its maximum (but not typical) size. What that
> equates to in RQ SIZ terms, I don't know.

That's SIZ 7, which isn't so bad as I'd originally feared...

> << So is the dark-furred alusar (and for that matter the shadowcat)
> "Familiar Fodder"? >>
>
> I'd imagine they're prized for that purpose, although whether there's
> enough of a demand for it for an entire breed to be created I don't know. And
> they are said to be independently minded even by cat standards (!)

Not being familiar with the source you're working from, I can only make stabs in the dark here; are we in fact talking about a breed in the sense it's be purposefully *bred* by humans with some end in mind, or merely some sub-species which has popped up due to some unforeseen developments in wacky Glorantha feline mytho-genetics?

> I think there's pumas in parts of the barbarian belt, and small wild
> cats such as _F. sylvestris sylvestris_ throughout. The murni may be housecat
> sized, but the wild alynxes aren't.

I've assumed that there are also housecat-sized housecats, just to make things complex. If they're interfertile with alynxes it muddies the 'species' waters, fo course, but is worth it for the amusement value of making alynx breeders' lives more complicated. ("Spot! Leave that tabby moggy alone, she's not Yinkinikly Pure!")

Cheers,
Alex.


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