From:	Nexx <nexx@********.NET>
Subject:	Re: ED Races in SR; why it can't happen (long)
Date:	Wed, 6 May 1998 17:28:09 -0500

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> From: Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM>

> Who designed this virus and why?
<snip dragons and IE's>
I agree on the IE's, but there is a possibility that I think a lot of
people overlook. Coincidence. VITAS could have coincidentally targeted
those segments of the population that carried the windling\t'skrang
capability (IIRC, Obsidimen are asexual, and born from their Liferock).
The first plague, IMO, could have very likely been targeted at something
else entirely, but came to humans.
Another possibility is that VITAS is what happens when a certain virus (I
don't remember what VITAS stands for, so I won't speculate), and it
Awakened before either T'skrang or Windlings. In the Fourth World,
T'skrang and windlings had anti-bodies to this disease... it would get a
few, but most could resist it. In the proto-Sixth world, those antibodies
had long been bred out, being no longer needed. When the virus Awakened
into its more virulent form, it killed many of the people who would become
windlings and t'skrang (having been keyed to certain genetic tags that
would have made them what they would be, had they survived).
Believe it or not, not everything is a conspiracy. In the immortal words
of the bumper sticker: Shit Happens.

> Obsidimen seem to have some sort of relationship with their Liferock; I
> have no recollection of anything regarding obsidimen mating or of
> obisidimen babies. So they probably arise somehow direct from the
> Liferock. This, if I'm right, would automatically eliminate the
obsidimen
> from being goblinized humans.
Correct. They are born from the Liferock, and they go back to the
Liferock.

> Windlings seem to be normal mammals, but they don't seem to be able to
> breed with any of the other races. If windlings are the same as SR's
faeries, this
> supports the argument; they have a different genus (is that right? they
> aren't homo sapiens mutablis or something is what I mean).
I believe you mean "sprites" (can't say, don't own the book myself).
However, windlings I'm also not so sure about. IMO, they are Awakened
humans, likely a "subrace" of elves. They aren't fond of cities, which
opens up another avenue: They could be either offshoots of dryads or a
corporeal race of nature spirits (since they are dual-natured in ED).

> T'skrang? Sure, they're humanoid. But they are essentially lizards.
> Overgrown iguanas. They probably share more genetic code with the
lizards
> of the Gallapagos Islands than they share with humans (similar,
actually,
> to how we share a sizable portion of our genetic code with chimpanzees).
> T'skrang are evolved lizards just like humans are evolved apes.
Actually, the problem is whether or not they're warm-blooded (which the
ED text seems to indicate they are). I would place them as being closer
to birds, but actually being an Awakened form of dinosaur, if they are not
human (which I am finding increasingly unlikely). Given the possibility
of surviving dinosaurs in the Congo, look for them to be coming out of the
jungles of Africa... or maybe a lake in Scotland <g>

> So basically, I really don't think VITAS necessarily wiped out any of
the
> Earthdawn races. What did happen? Here's a speculation.
Actually, there is something else you haven't considered: Did VITAS only
affect humans? Its highly likely that the decimation of humans from VITAS
was only a side effect, originally having targeted another species.

> Obsidimen probably just go back to their Liferocks and try to sleep it
out.
> It's possible that their Liferocks are actually uranium of some other
> valuable mineral, so we've mined or damaged nearly all their Liferocks.
Uranium I find highly unlikely, as it would have adverse effects in the
real world to be near an obsidiman. However, it should be noted that
certain clans of obsidimen have veins of semi-precious stones that
actually run through their flesh. If they do wake up, it might be to find
that all of their nobles are dead.

> "This job has taken my dignity, my self-esteem, my creativity and my
> precious time on this earth. YOU'VE TAKEN ALL I HAVE! THERE'S NOTHING
> LEFT TO GIVE!!!"
>
> "The blood drive is next week; this year it's mandatory...and a
three-pint
> minimum."
This is a bloody fucking hilarious quote.