Well of Souls Forums

Loroi gender imbalance applied to human society in another work of speculative fiction. In case you are interested.

The alternate-history/alternate-Earth aspect of it was done well enough that it got me over the fact I was reading a romance novel.

Arioch

What kind of adaptation do the delrias have? I remember reading this old qoute from the forum dump (yes i've bothered to read those aswell, chocking )

It is certainly a biased comment, as it reflects the Loroi view that their hyper-specialized society is "normal" and more generalized societies are backward and possibly inferior. However, her comment is in reference to other examples of what the Loroi consider to be "warrior" races -- the Umiak and Barsam -- that also have biological strategies for very aggressive population growth (the Umiak strategy being hermaphroditism, in which all individuals can bear offspring). The Loroi contrast these "successful" warrior species with other examples like the Delrias, who despite having had a very martial culture, have a more conventional system of reproduction similar to ours (balanced gender ratios, slower maturation). The speed with which the Loroi were able to conquer the Delrias makes it easier for them to view the Delrias as inferior, and not a "true" warrior species. Ignoring, of course, the fact that the speed of Loroi victory meant that the relative rate of Delrias reproduction had nothing to do with the outcome of the war. But it is true that without their high reproductive rate, the Loroi probably would not have been able to keep up with the Umiak in the current war.

Jericho wrote:What kind of adaptation do the delrias have?

They have multiple-birth litters, and the females slightly outnumber the males.

Arioch, I was wondering, do the Loroi have any inhibitions against eating their dead? As a warrior species, I guess funeral rites would be important to them, but at the seem time, they do seem to me the kind of efficiency-oriented species that wouldn't want to waste the snack.

GabrielGABFonseca wrote:Arioch, I was wondering, do the Loroi have any inhibitions against eating their dead? As a warrior species, I guess funeral rites would be important to them, but at the seem time, they do seem to me the kind of efficiency-oriented species that wouldn't want to waste the snack.

Cannibalism is very rare, not just in humans, but in pretty much all higher animals (especially mammals). In addition to the obvious social taboos against viewing your own kind as food, and that other carnivores tend not to be very tasty, I think the primary reason for this is that disease organisms pass most easily between members of the same species; eating the flesh of one of your own kind leaves you very prone to catching whatever nasty bugs he may have had (hence the spread of diseases like Mad Cow). You're also more likely to consume species-specific hormones or other chemical compounds which may improperly signal your own body to do something you don't want it to do.

The few mammals that do cannibalize tend to be scavengers, like hyenas. They can probably get away with this because they have to have a robust gut microbiome that allows them to eat carrion without dying. So I think any species that regularly engages in cannibalism will probably need to be specialized to do so.

Ironically, eating your own young or your juvenile siblings is probably the safest form of cannibalism, as they are unlikely to have any diseases that you don't already have. I think this is the most common form of cannibalism in non-scavenger mammals and birds.

Loroi are not carrion eaters, and they are just as emotionally attached to their friends and family as humans are, so I don't expect cannibalism will be any more common among Loroi than it is in humans. Which is for the most part, limited to rare instances of emergency famine, insanity, or bizarre (and usually short-lived) tribal rituals.

Arioch wrote: or bizarre (and usually short-lived) tribal rituals.

Luck eating rituals confirmed.

CF2 wrote:

Arioch wrote: or bizarre (and usually short-lived) tribal rituals.

Luck eating rituals confirmed.

I could imagine the ancient Loroi eating the hearts or brains of their slain enemies, much like some ancient Terran cultures did and it would not surprise me at all.

entity2636 wrote:

CF2 wrote:

Arioch wrote: or bizarre (and usually short-lived) tribal rituals.

Luck eating rituals confirmed.

I could imagine the ancient Loroi eating the hearts or brains of their slain enemies, much like some ancient Terran cultures did and it would not surprise me at all.

KA-LI-MAHHHH!

Hey Arioch I had a quick question, I was going over possible lines this story might take and I gotta ask. How dark is the end of this and the next chapter going to get?

How's Arioch possibly supposed to answer that other than "Spoilers!" ?

Xolf wrote:How's Arioch possibly supposed to answer that other than "Spoilers!" ?

MWAHAHAHAHA! Spoilers.

Or just thinking "Spoilers!" and not answering at all.

Warringrose wrote:Hey Arioch I had a quick question, I was going over possible lines this story might take and I gotta ask. How dark is the end of this and the next chapter going to get?

NO FURTHER ENHANCEMENT
SPECIAL ORDER 937
SCIENCE OFFICER EYES ONLY

Arioch wrote:

Warringrose wrote:Hey Arioch I had a quick question, I was going over possible lines this story might take and I gotta ask. How dark is the end of this and the next chapter going to get?

NO FURTHER ENHANCEMENT
SPECIAL ORDER 937
SCIENCE OFFICER EYES ONLY

Ok, so I wonder who Ripley is in this case... (and Jonesy)...

I guess we know who the xenomorph is.

CJSF

I forget if this was mentioned earlier buttt....

I watched something not too long ago that said Horseshoe crabs have blue blood because they are mostly copper.

Loroi blood is blue, which is why their skin is a light blue.

So, do they mostly have copper in their blood?

Xolf wrote:How's Arioch possibly supposed to answer that other than "Spoilers!" ?

Outsider, as written by GRRM:

Page 135:

Beryl and Alex look deeply into each other's eyes as torpedo lock-on warnings blare, painting the cockpit red. In the next panel, the Highland-7 is shown frantically trying to dodge, only to be knocked into a flat spin by the explosion of a near hit. Unable to maneuver, two more torpedoes slam into the shuttle, tearing it apart and sending the lifeless corpses of Alex and company tumbling into the void.

Cut to an entirely new set of characters to continue the story.

saint of m wrote:I forget if this was mentioned earlier buttt....

I watched something not too long ago that said Horseshoe crabs have blue blood because they are mostly copper.

Loroi blood is blue, which is why their skin is a light blue.

So, do they mostly have copper in their blood?

Their blood contains haemocyanin instead of haemoglobin hence it's blue. Yes, they are "copper based" so to say.

orion1836 wrote:Outsider, as written by GRRM Ken Grimwood:

Page 135:

Beryl and Alex look deeply into each other's eyes as torpedo lock-on warnings blare, painting the cockpit red. In the next panel, the Highland-7 is shown frantically trying to dodge, only to be knocked into a flat spin by the explosion of a near hit. Unable to maneuver, two more torpedoes slam into the shuttle, tearing it apart and sending the lifeless corpses of Alex and company tumbling into the void.

Cut to an entirely new set of characters to continue the story.

Alex knows Beryl and the rest dies, but he survives once again, being picked up just in time by anotehr alien ship, and the story starts anew.

orion1836 wrote:Outsider, as written by GRRM: tearing it apart and sending the lifeless corpses of Alex and company tumbling into the void.

In case of taimat explosion there would be no corpses, they literally vanish in light.