Weren't the Amnion cool?

[Cheval]

I thought that the Amnion were an interesting lifeform,
though it reminded me too much of the Borg in Star Trek.
(Amnion were a bit more devious and intelligent, IMO)
I also thought that Mr. Donaldson left things open
to bring them back if there was to be any more Gap books.
(Wishfull thinking, but not likely.)

Ms. Mary wrote:

-but they seem to think that this was an acceptable thing
for them to do, and in line with "keeping their agreements."
Whereas, to me, it seems like treachery.

My impression was that they would do anything to get whatever gain in their interests, even if it is treachery. Business deals are business deals. (Greed is worse, are the Amnion are a greedy bunch.)
If they suspect that they would get the short-end if the stick, then they change the rules!
Kind of like the Devil granting immortality to a person,
but then makes that person end up in prision with a "life" sentence.

But to answer the question at hand,
Yes, I think the Amnion are cool!

[Loredoctor]

I thought that the Amnion were an interesting lifeform,
though it reminded me too much of the Borg in Star Trek.

In all fairness, Star Trek was not the first to come up with a species like the Borg.

[Cail]

The Amnion reminded me of the aliens in P.K.Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich, only creepier.

[Loredoctor]

Which aliens? I don't seem to recall any.

[Cail]

Maybe I'm mixing up my stories, but P.E. was infected by an alien life form that was bent on conquering earth using similar means as the Amnion.

[Loredoctor]

That's right; he came from alpha-centauri bearing some alien fungi, that once ingested it created that alternate 'reality'. If I am not mistaken, wasn't there some form of alien consciousness lurking in deep space that Dick hinted was God?

[Cail]

Yes indeed. That was a common theme in his books (the God thing).

[Sorus]

It's my humble opinion that the Amnion were far too nasty and devious to be explained by mere insectoid 'hive mind' intelligence.

C&O spoilers...

Spoiler

"What they wanted was to use me in an experiment. They'd developed a new - I guess you could call it a drug - and they wanted to know if it worked on humans. If it worked, they told me, I would still be human when it was done. I could have my ship back, they would save us, give us a gap drive, anything we needed."

I always thought that the Amnion knew full well what they were doing - what the result would be. First and foremost, they wanted Soar under their control. Mutual satisfaction of requirements? Not exactly. They used her. Not just devious, but devious in a way that always struck me as being quintessentially human in nature.

(Will probably edit this later, as it's somehow failing to get across the point I was aiming for...)

[Sorus]

Finally found one of the quotes I was looking for:

"Vestibule remembered treachery, but he'd forgotten the rest of being human."

[Sorus]

A corollary problem involved the apparent absence in Amnion speech of a number of abstract concepts much relied on by humankind, among them "good," "evil," "justice," "mercy," and "loyalty." It was theoretically possible, however, that such concepts did exist between Amnion, but could only be communicated by means of pheromones.

Did Vestibule retain his capacity for treachery because it was a concept already understood by the Amnion, or were they perhaps getting more than they bargained for when they added humans to the Mind/Union?

[Loredoctor]

Good posts, Sorus. I think Vestibule retained it from his memories.

[bossk]

.. mmm .. interesting plot line .. SRD must possess a dark side .. he is able to 'conjure' up horror so well! !

I am loath to guess, but much of what he's said in the GI and what he writes so well convince me that Mr. Donaldson suffered some extreme physical trauma in his past. It just seems sensible to me that someone who felt powerless against physical harm would be sent to learn martial arts by his psychologist.

[drew]

I saw the Amnion as being very ---Haruchai-ish..but like bad Haruchi,not like the Bloodguard

[I'm Murrin]

Could you maybe spoiler that last bit, drew?

[drew]

Spoiler

LOL

[I'm Murrin]

I was serious. As far as I'm aware, we are still working under a total blackout policy regarding The Runes of the Earth outside of the Runes forum, and that counts as a spoiler.

Spoiler

Mentioning the Masters is probably okay, but saying they are the Haruchai spoils it for anyone who hasn't read that far yet.

[drew]

Done.

[I'm Murrin]

Thanks. I know it can be a bit of a bother, but it's sometimes easier than dealing with people who don't want to be spoiled.

[Dragonlily]

Reviving this thread because SRD talked about the Amnion Friday in Portland.

He said he was thinking about what a common theme shape-shifting is in sci fi/fantasy, but so often it is presented positively. The hero with special powers, and whatnot. SRD said he thought it ought to be a scarey thing, so he created the Amnion to shift shapes in the scariest way possible. Compulsory shifting, with total loss of self, ending up as a being determined to shift everything else in the same way.

I'd say he succeeded, since he ended up with a being I don't even like to focus on.

[Loredoctor]

God, I love this thread.