I thought it might amuse you (many of you do read the Foreigner books) to get a little window on the worldbuilding. You’ll notice, absent their own Chicxulub event, some things are different about the Earth of the atevi. No birds, for one thing.
A few things militate against birds. A: no dino foundation species. B. no dino foundation species. C. no dinos. They kinda went from the Permian straight on…
And would they have had a Permian? Well, if a world starts off with bacteria and fungi and on up to worms and such, there are some logical developments involving land. And legs are are pretty good adaptation to land. Yes, snails, but they don’t fare well away from water. It’s that slime they have to produce.
So—no PErmian extinction type event.
What the atevi Earth has is reptiles. Lizards. But not dinos, which are sorta-maybe this or that, with really interesting internal structures from which (ultimately) birds turbocharging respiratory system arrived. (see: bird respiratory systems). The Permian guys were more basic all around, and one of their adaptations to life among the basic was, yes, mammal-like reptiles.
So that suggested, yep, you don’t need a meteor.
What are the wi’itikin? Sort of like little pterosaurs…and there WERE little pterosaurs. They don’t do a from the ground takeoff. They like cliffs and rocks, will do fine with trees. They do lay eggs. They hatch. None of them are much above the size of a goose, and many the size of a chicken. They’re kind of endangered when Ilisidi took up the cause of ecology and species protection. They do not domesticate. For one thing, they’re not all that bright. None are vegetarian, though they will scarf up rotting flowers and some small fruits. They are more common on Ilisidi’s side of the mountains, but none exist in the frozen heights: they winter within their range, and grow torporous when the temperatures drop, tending to the lower altitudes for their wintering-over, which is brief. At any warm spell they are active again, as is their common prey, small lizards; but they will scavenge winterkill remains.
I always love to hear the world building decisions and thought processes that a writer goes through when deciding this, but not that. Possibly why my copy of Medea : Harlan’s World is falling to bits.
I love worldbuilding tidbits too! Almost as much as reading the actual story (sometimes even more so). I’d love to know more about the planet’s biology and so on.
That suggests that they should have some interesting amphibian-analogs, too. Something like Diplocaulus in streams – maybe on the eastern side of the continent.
and “Resurgence” is pre-ordered. (Now I wonder who, besides nand’ Bren, is on that train.)
I wonder what else is out there on the atevi world.
There are so many weird and fascinating critters, plants, etc. that have existed on our own Earth, and so many times where something else could’ve arisen.
For flying creatures, Earth has had (at least) pterosaurs; and a bizarre four-winged creature for which they are still debating how it could have flown or glided; and we have bats and flying squirrels and sugar gliders among mammals; and all the birds (aves); and then we have various flying insects. And then we have penguins and manta rays, just to confound things. And one of those cryptozoic claims is for some sort of flying, nearly invisible, ribbon-like creature, sort of a cryptid airborne version of how various worms or slugs, or possibly eels or snakes move. (The claim was these things sort of corkscrew through the air, or they undulate like a whole series of sine waves, wiggling themselves up and down through the air.) (I recall that from some video whats-its a while back.) — So all of those are there to choose from.
The wi’itikiin seem to me very pterosaur-like, but I like the idea more that most life on the atevi world is more similar to the Permian amphibians and early animals that were something like (or between?) reptiles, but a bit mammal-like, possibly warm-blooded.
I’d pre-ordered Resurgence when I was reminded of it here, and yes, Amazon says January 7th, 2020. Whenever Divergence in Foreigner, and the second Alliance Rising volume, become available, oh, I will jump on the pre-orders.
“Flying” fish and “flying” squirrels and “flying” snakes – flight, or at least gliding, seems to be more common than we think. I’ve seen theories that it evolved twice in mammals: the small insect-eating bats with sonar, and the large fruit bats that forage by sight.
What puzzles me about that is, they are both “bats.” I haven’t looked at it to see if there are significant differences other than, say, echolocation, or if they are morphologically a single type that split into two subtypes based on sonar.
(The “flying fish” completely escaped my memory, and should not have. I have the feeling I left out some other type of gliding / flying mammal with skin membranes, not bat-like.)
Flying fish have to “hold their breath” when they fly. Equivalent to a human jumping into and swimming under water to escape a predator. Nature is strange and wonderful.
Had a similar thought — the “herding” instinct of land herbivores vs. the “schooling” instinct of fish.
I was thinking of the “flying” lizards of the genus, wait for it, Draco!
“Draco is a genus of agamid lizards that are also known as flying lizards, flying dragons or gliding lizards. These lizards are capable of gliding flight; their ribs and their connecting membrane may be extended to create “wings” (patagia), the hindlimbs are flattened and wing-like in cross-section, and a flap on the neck (the gular flag) serves as a horizontal stabilizer. Draco are arboreal insectivores.
While not capable of powered flight they often obtain lift in the course of their gliding flights.”
“Megachiroptera” and “Microchiroptera” – though that’s changing as they do DNA analysis:
Wikipedia:
Genetic evidence indicates that megabats originated during the early Eocene, and belong within the four major lines of microbats. [15] Two new suborders have been proposed; Yinpterochiroptera includes the Pteropodidae, or megabat family, as well as the families Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, Craseonycteridae, Megadermatidae, and Rhinopomatidae. [18] Yangochiroptera includes the other families of bats (all of which use laryngeal echolocation), a conclusion supported by a 2005 DNA study. [18] A 2013 phylogenomic study supported the two new proposed suborders. [15]
I recall when DNA testing was done on assorted predatory birds… turned out falcons are not hawks; they are in the same genetic bin as parrots. So much for morphology being a reliable indicator of relatedness.
Then there were all the dinosaurs that were thought to be different evolutionary stages and were regarded as separate species… but when you saw open a bone and check, proved to be various-stage juveniles of the same species. (Look up Jack Horner’s lectures on Youtube. He’s THE expert on this.)
So would not be very surprised if different types of bats were convergent evolution rather than directly related. (Might also be the case with some early hominids.)
In my own universe, long-ago ecoforming developed and spread the same core species to all habitable planets… and also (accidentally) spread a species that is obviously not related to the rest (being it came from elsewhere). But local ecologies got pretty much done away with. The upshot is that there’s not much biosphere variation from one world to the next.
I’ve wondered about the year-round availability of eggs, Bren’s go-to safe dish for uncertain circumstances and unpalatable seasons.
I remember it being said that these were lizard eggs, not chicken eggs as there are no chickens on the mainland. I’ve also mentally associated them with the wi’itkitin, probably because they are bird-like lizards, but if those are recovering from endangered species status, that seems highly unlikely.
Now earth chickens have been bred for ages to lay eggs without a rooster present (I read somewhere it’s easier to keep unfertilised eggs for longer), and to continue to lay eggs for most of the year – even my very old type of bantams, capable of taking care of themselves without a heated coop in Dutch winters from the 1700s on, would lay for at least six months every year.
Nowadays, by keeping chickens in warm and well-lighted barns, I’ve heard they can keep laying 11 out of 12 months, and the farmer can stagger the non-productive month for different groups of chickens by varying their light cycles.
As the Atevi are not in favor of domestication, how are they managing to keep eggs available year round? No wild animal has such a long breeding/laying season; those are generally much narrower defined by natural seasonsal temperature changes, and concomittant changes in availability of food.
Especially with cold-blooded lizards, who would get torpid in the cold, no eggs should be laid in the colder months.
The hard-shelled bird’s eggs can be kept for months in isinglass and other preservation techniques; even just cleaning them and storing them dry, clean and cool is enough to keep them for a month at least.
Are these lizard eggs as hard-shelled, or more leathery? Are they preserved, maybe pickled?
Did the atevi breed their egg-producing lizards for more sustained production? Do they keep these around their farms, in coops and barns, or does someone have to climb cliffs or trees each morning to gather eggs from wild nests? If so, how do they avoid over-predation and breeding out the tendency to make nests in atevi-accessible places?
On Earth there is little to no seasonal influence in equatorial tropical regions. Plants, even the same species, bloom whenever they individually “choose”, based on their “microclimate”, etc., so animals need not have seasonal breeding cycles.
Same trick works with wild birds as with domestic: nesting birds are wired to think they need approximately a certain number of eggs before they start setting the nest. So if you steal one egg every day, they’ll keep laying, trying to reach that predetermined number. So long as you don’t otherwise disturb the nest, you can filch eggs for several weeks or months, depending on the species, and the bird will just lay another. Once you’re familiar with the species’ lifecycle, you could stop taking eggs at a point where they could still raise that season’s clutch of chicks, so your egg theft would have little impact.
This is basically what we do with domestic chickens. Also works with mallard ducks (not a domesticated species, but easily raised as if they were) and pigeons.
Anyway, point is it’s perfectly possible to manage wild egg-layers as if they were domesticated, by taking advantage of their hardwired nesting and egg-laying behavior. And eggs keep well, especially if waxed and refrigerated (I’ve seen ’em keep almost a year). So even if egg collection is seasonal, so long as you don’t expect to eat eggs every day, you should be able to store enough to make regular meals of ’em.
Occurs to me this could also be pest control, for whatever is their analog to starlings (gotta be something, given life follows the rule of “Junk fills the space allotted”).
And come to think of it… is it ever specified that these “eggs” are not a form of fish roe?
I think that the white domestic ducks are closely related to mallard – that entire genus (Anas) interbreeds very frequently. (I’ve seen it claimed that mallard drakes will mate with any female that they can get at. Duck reproductive tracts are baroque, as a result,a s the females try to restrict their availability to ales of their own species.)
I’ve seen ducks, turkeys, and tomcats try to mate with anything that would stand still long enough. And yes, there’s considerable interbreeding among ducks (some being more varieties than species); that’s how you get those white-mottled ducks that otherwise look like a mallard.
In addition to what Hanneke said, I’ve noticed atevi animals tend to be combative. 😀 So whoever’s gathering the eggs might have to shoo away the lizards / wi’itikiin / whatever they are, in order to get the eggs without getting pecked / bitten / clawed a lot.
Hmm…. You know, there would likely be more than one kind of egg-laying creature whose eggs were used. Humans typically use chicken eggs, but also gather other bird eggs.
(OK, to all the vegans, I’m sorry. I’m omnivorous, happily enough so. But I don’t mean to bother the folks who choose to be vegetarian.)
Pickling or other preservation might offer some variety for Bren’s palate. Spices and cooking methods and other ingredients could extend the range of what’s safe or a go-to dish for him among atevi.
I may need an omelet tomorrow morning. — And darn it, I forgot to get Cole slaw or cabbage or lettuce, just a couple of salad kits. But I’ll wait a couple of weeks, probably , before getting those.
Food-related: I ordered what turned out to be a small round of cheese, Snowden Company Truckle – Green Thunder, a cheese flavored with spices, and I missed that it was 7 ounces and imported to the US from Wales. (It’s available if you search on Amazon.) I liked it, but I’d want more for the price. That 7 ounce sample made four small but tasty samples. I am probably going to buy 2 next time. They unfortunately do not offer a larger size or a sampler pack. You can get US-made cheese for a better bargain, but those too can be pricey. (I sometimes get a pack of 6 or 7 cheeses from a Wisconsin-based company for about $18. These last a good while; each is individually wrapped, and when refrigerated, you’ll be fine to keep these on hand.) So, I liked the sample of flavorful Welsh cheese, but I intend to look for some flavored cheeses US-made for a better price. (If it’s a good price, I am certainly not against imported cheeses!) But I’m trying to keep to a budget. Kinda-sorta trying? :-/ (Thanks to our crazy economy, my grocery dollars are buying less for the same amount of money, but hey, I am doing OK for now.)
I am continuing to do very well following surgery, for which I am extremely grateful. I am 10 days postop now. The main bugbears are swelling and bruising. Between the surgery and the Lovenox, Plavix and aspirin (which were restarted the day after surgery!), some of my bruises are real lulu’s. — The swelling is slowly receding and with it comes improved flexibility. The PT guy wants easy, full and consistent 90 degrees of knee bending. I’ve got about 105 degrees so far (assuming 180 degrees is straight leg). Pain is manageable with Tylenol and Aleve. I’m supposed to do my PT exercises 3x day. This helps dissipate the swelling and maintains muscle strength.
You start losing muscle mass after three weeks of inactivity. You lose cardio, or aerobic, fitness more quickly than muscle strength, and this can start to happen in just a few days. The quicker you can get back on your feet and start moving around, the less ground you lose, and the quicker you can get back to normal activity levels.
I could have driven a car the day after surgery (mine is automatic transmission, and the bad leg is the left one). The limiting factor is being able to get in and out of the vehicle safely. The PT guy expects that I will be driving myself to my postop office visit on the 10th.
The mind blowing thing is that the implant is not the problem. It’s the incision (and danger of infection) and swelling from the surgery. You can bear weight on the operated leg from post op day 1. You can tromp around on it with your full weight no problem. It’s the swelling that limits your flexibility, not the implant. I use the walker mostly for balance, but I’ve moved pedestal fans from room to room, picked stuff off the floor, routinely gotten in and out of a bed that’s at least three feet high. and walk from one end of the house to the other, go up and down the step into that stupid sunken living room that’s in between the front door and the whole rest of the house, etc., etc. The one big no-no is torque. I have to be careful not to apply torque to the leg — lateral twisting.
Thanks so much, dear salads, for the good vibes and positive thoughts. Much appreciated.
Just keep up with those exercises but don’t over-do. Drink lotsa water. I drop lemon stuff (that stuff in the plastic lemons from the supermarket) into it to persuade me it’s not just one more glass of water….
IIRC they had my mother start PT right after surgery – she did the work as scheduled, and within a few months was able to go up and down stairs. She was 83….
We hope your recovery continues to be eggs-cellent. …Oh, that sounded way better in my head…. 😀
I don’t know if anyone has been watching the 5-part TV miniseries Chernobyl​, on HBO in the US and on Sky UK. It’s one of the most brilliant and riveting series I’ve ever seen.
It’s currently the highest-rated TV series of all time on IMDb, and it deserves to be. All 5 episodes are rated 9.5 or above, and the last episode is currently on 9.9.
The essence of the show is scientific facts vs. politically convenient and comfortable lies – a theme which is highly relevant today.
The acting and period detail is superb, and it holds your attention for every single minute of the 5 hour series. Experts on the Chernobyl disaster are saying it’s highly accurate. People from Russia and the Ukraine who lived though that time are saying that the details are correct, and so is the general feel of life in the Soviet Union at that time.
There is both incredible heroism and self-sacrifice, and incredible stupidity and arrogance. And it’s all true.
Chernobyl trailer
It’s on our to-watch list. Good Omens is brilliant, too.
Yep, just watched the series (Chernobyl) this weekend, and finished up last night. It’s GOOD…
It’s an excellent, if harrowing, series. We may acquire it for the library. DH and I did some research comparing Chernobyl to Fukushima, and Chernobyl beat Fukushima by at least an order of magnitude in almost every measure of destruction.
I’d seen another recommendation recently. With the recommendations here, I’ll add it to my watch list. — I recall seeing a one or two hour documentary that was good but eerie; harrowing would be a good word, yes.
The reviews also put me in mind of the 80’s movie, The Day After, and another movie from around that time which I think was called Testament, which focuses on a mother and her two or three boys surviving, narrowly.
The point about scientific reality versus government and big business (and other groups) lying or covering up or spreading half-truths — is all too important these days.
Oh, I want a better future. Things lately are turning into some sort of dystopia, but without the heroic crew arriving to fix the altered timeline.
I looked and did not find it listed on Netflix, Amazon, or iTunes. Looks like I’m out of luck until it comes on one of those.
Aha, I see now it’s listed on iTunes. Maybe it’ll be on Amazon and/or Netflix soon.