Making Animals

From: Peter Larsen <plarsen_at_mail.utexas.edu>
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 09:24:46 -0500

Trotsky says:
>I believe that I have said that there is a 'common horseness' - i.e.
>that are certain properties that horses have regardless of origin. Their
>shape, for example. That's why there is a certain similarity between the
>Lotari and Vanchites *even though* they are unrelated. I don't know
>where this horseness comes from, if that's your next question.

        The creative powers of Glorantha seem to have been willing to cut corners when they could -- most of the "people" are pretty similar (the "person" or "man" rune at work, if you are GL-ish). So Uz and humans and Aldrayami and Mostali and all those other races look vaguely alike -- two arms, two legs, eyes, nose (more or less), etc. Imagine a spirit creates or becomes or causes the First Raccoon. It's got all those raccoon features -- quadruped, fur, a tail with rings, maybe that little mask -- and probably most of the raccoon behavior features -- washes its food, likes garbage cans, etc. Now, along comes some sort of god, who has an idea for a creature to create or become or cause. The god stumbles on the raccoon, and, because it matches most of what the god is thinking of, the god creates a "theist" raccoon. If the god does its work well (or wants to), maybe the theist raccoon is a really exact copy, to the point where members of the two "species" can interbreed (with or without fertile offspring). If the copy isn't as exact, the two creatures might look less alike, act differently, taste different, hate each other, whatever. Most animals have no need for the Otherworlds, so whether you are looking at an animist or a theist raccoon probably doesn't matter. If it does, you probably have a way to tell them apart. ("Hmmm. My Raccoon Calling Soong doesn't work on this raccoon; it must be one of those damned Vanchites.") Awakened animals probably lean toward their makers for magic, if it gets that far.

        I assume the same thing applies to plants, rocks, rivers, parts of the sky, etc -- understanding that a lot of things have become (through mixing, interbreeding, conquest, or whatever) Greg's "Everything."

        What does this mean on a daily basis? The animals, plants, etc that have prospered near theists tend to be "theist," if anything. Most everything will respond to any magic. Unless populations have been isolated, there are probably not too many "pure" species anymore; the copies have interbred and erased the differences between them.

Peter Larsen

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