THE WORLD WEST OF EDEN

Harry Harrison

The three volumes of the West of Eden series each have a section called "The World West of Eden". These three sections have been merged into this document.

• History of the World
  • The Early Years
• Physiology
  • Diet
  • Reproduction
• Science
• Culture
• The Eight Principles of Ugunenapsa
• Language

• Language

• Environment
• Language

• Yilanè-English
• Marbak-English
• Sesek-English
• Angurpiaq-English

YILANÈ

Translator's Note: The following section has been translated from Yilanè, an exercise that poses formidable problems. Of necessity the translation must be a "free" one and the translator apologizes in advance for any errors or discrepancies that may have crept into the text.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD

It must be pointed out at the very beginning of this particular history that it differs from many 'histories' currently popular. It differs in kind, a fact that the judicious reader must always take into consideration. For far too long Yilanè history has been the province of the fabulist and the dreamer. Whereas the intelligent Yilanè would be offended at any guesswork or wild speculation in a physics or a biological text, the same reader will allow any sort of imaginary excess in a work of history. A perfect example of fiction purporting to be fact is the currently popular history of this world that describes how a giant meteor struck the Earth 75 [more on maths] million years ago and wiped out 85 percent of the species then alive. It goes on to explain in great detail the manner in which warm-blooded creatures developed and became the dominant life forms on this planet. This sort of thing is what the present authors deplore; wild speculation instead of accurate historical research. No meteor of that size ever struck the Earth. The world as we see it is the world as it always has been, always will be, world without end. It is necessary therefore, in the light of other works of this nature, that we define the term history before we can proceed.

History, as it is known today, is far too often a very inexact science, so inexact that it is more fiction than fact, more speculation than presentation. This is due to intrinsic aspects of the Yilanè nature. We care little where we have been—but we know exactly where we are going. We are happy with changes of a short duration while, at the same time, we demand that the future shall be as the present, changeless and unchangeable. Since this need for long-term continuity is essential to our very nature we tend to feel unhappy about the past because it might have contained long-term changes that we would find offensive. Therefore we refer vaguely to 'the egg of time' and assume in doing so that this was when the world was born, whole and new—and changeless ever since.

Which is, of course, nonsense. The moment has now arrived in Yilanè history to declare that history as we have known it is worthless. Wre could have referred to this present work as new-history, but refrain since this gives an element of credence to the 'old-history'. We therefore reject all other works of history to this date and declare that there is now only one history. This one.

In creating this history we are grateful for the very few Yilanè with an interest in the sciences of geology and paleontology. We wish to honor these sciences and declare them true ones, just as true as physics or chemistry, and not the subjects of sly laughter as they have been up to now. The past existed, no matter how much we might like to ignore this unpleasant fact. We feel that it is intellectually more courageous to admit it and accept this fact, to admit that the Yilanè did not appear suddenly when the egg of time cracked open. This is the true history and a far more exciting and fulfilling one.

Permit us one more slight divergence before this history begins. We do not intend to go back to the absolute beginning and the birth of prokaryote life. That story has been unfolded in far greater detail in other works. Our history begins about 270 million years BP (before the present) when the reptiles were already well established in their dominant role on Earth.

At that time there were four main groups of socket-toothed reptiles that are referred to as thecodonts. These primitive creatures were equipped for a life of hunting for their prey in the water. They swam easily by moving their sizable tails. Some of these thecodonts left the sea and went to the land where their manner of walking proved superior to many other creatures like the proterosuchians, the ancestors of the present day crocodiles. You have seen the clumsy way that crocodiles walk, with their feet widespread, waddling along with their body actually hanging between their legs. Not so the superior thecodonts who thrust their entire limbs down and back with an upright stride.

Since the history of those days is written only in rocks, in the fossils preserved there, we find many gaps. While the details to fill these gaps may not be present, the overall record is still amazingly clear. Our remote ancestors were creatures called mososaurs, marine lizards of a very successful nature. They were specialized for their life in the sea with a tail fin, while their limbs had modified into flippers. One particular form of mososaur was Tylosaurus, a large and handsome creature. Large, in that the Tylosaurus were greater in length than six Yilanè. Handsome in that they resembled the Yilanè in many ways. The reason for this is that they were our direct ancestors.

If we place a representation of the skeleton of a modern Yilanè beside the skeleton of a Tylosaurus the relationship is immediately obvious. The digits of the limbs, hidden by the superficial flesh of the fins, reveal four fingers and four toes. So now we have two fingers on each hand and two opposed thumbs. The tail is our tail, suitably shortened. The resemblance is also clear in the rib cage, a flowing wave of ribs from clavicle to pelvic girdle. Look at these two similar skeletons and you see past and present, side by side. There we are, developed and modified to dwell on land. There is our true history, not some vague statement about appearing from the egg of time. We are the descendants of these noble creatures who some 40 million years ago became the Yilanè.

THE EARLY YEARS

Much of what follows is of necessity guesswork. But it is appropriate guesswork that fits the facts of the fossil records, not flights of fancy such as imaginary giant meteors. The record in the rocks is there to be read. We simply assemble the parts and fit them together, just as you might reassemble the broken pieces of an eggshell.

If you wish to assemble all of the pieces yourself, then consult the relevant geological and paleontological texts. In them you will discover the origin of species, how earlier species are modified to become later ones, and you will find revealed the history of the various ice ages, the phenomenon of continental drift, even the record sealed in rock that the magnetic pole was not always to the south, the way it is now, but has varied between north and south through the geological ages. You could do all of this for yourself—or you can be satisfied with our description in abbreviated form.

See then the world as it must have been 40 million years BP when the first simple and happy Yilanè roamed the Earth. It was a wetter and warmer world, with all the food they needed there for the taking. Then, as now, the Yilanè were carnivores, feasting on the flesh of the creatures that filled the land and the sea. The young, then as now, gathered in efenburu in the sea and worked together and ate well. What happened when they emerged on land is not clear in the geological record and we can only guess.

Having learned cooperation in the sea, the Yilanè certainly would not lose it when they emerged from the ocean and walked on solid ground. Then, as now, the males were surely the same simple, kindly creatures and would have needed protection. Then, as now, the beaches would have been guarded while the males were torpid, the eggs growing. Food was plentiful, life was good. Surely this was the true egg of time, not the imaginary one, when life was simple and serene.

In that early existence can be found the seeds of Yilanè science as we know it today. It can be seen in the Wall of Thorns here in this city. To defend the males, large crustacea were seized and brandished at predators, their claws a powerful defense. The bigger the claws, the more powerful the defense, so the largest would have been selected. At the same time the strongest and most offensive corals would have been chosen to defend the beaches from the seaward side. The first crude steps along the road to the advanced biological science we now know would have been mastered.

But this simple existence was doomed to end. As successful Yilanè grew strong and filled the Earth they would have outgrown that first city on the edge of that ancient sea. Another city would have grown, another and another. When food shortages threatened, the logical thing would have been to wall in fields and raise food animals and guard them from predators.

In doing this the Yilanè proved their superiority to the inferior life forms. Look at Tyrannosaurus, a carnivore just as we are carnivores. Yet these giant, stupid creatures can only pursue with violence, tear down their prey, waste most of the good meat on its carcass. They never think of tomorrow, they neither tend herds nor do they cull. They are witless destroyers. The superior Yilanè are intelligent preservers. To a scientist all life forms are equal. To destroy a species is to destroy our own species. Our respect for life can be seen in the manifold beasts in our fields, species that would have vanished millennia ago had it not been for our efforts. We are builders, not destroyers; preservers, not consumers. It is obvious when these facts are considered why we are the dominant species on this planet. It is no accident; it is only the logical end product of circumstance.

PHYSIOLOGY

In order to understand our own physiology we must first consider the physiology of other animals. Simple creatures, like most insects, are poikilothermic. That is, they are at one with their environment; their body temperatures are the same as the ambient air temperature. While this suffices on a small scale, more complex organisms require regularization of body temperature. These animals are homeothermic, that is, they have a body temperature that is relatively constant and mostly independent of the temperature of the environment. The Yilanè belong to the kind of animals that are warmblooded and exothermic. All of the important animals in the world are exothermic since this way of controlling body temperature is far superior to that used by the ustuzou who must expend energy continually in order to maintain the same body temperature at all times.

We are one with our environment, utilizing the natural temperature differences to maintain the consistency of our own body temperatures. After a cool night we seek the sun; if we grow too warm we face into the breeze, expose less of our bodies to the sun, erect our crests or even seek the shade. We do this so automatically that we are no more aware of regulating our internal temperature than we are of breathing.

There are many other ways that our physiology is superior to that of the endothermic ustuzou. Not for us their endless search for food to feed the ravening cells. Our metabolism changes to suit the circumstance. As an example, on long voyages by uruketo we can simply slow down our bodily processes. Subjective time then passes quickly, while each individual will require less food.

An even more striking example of physiological superiority, unique to the Yilanè, is the inseparable relationship of our metabolism to our culture; we are our city, our city is us. One cannot live without the other. This is proven by the irreversible physiological change that takes place, in the very rare instances, when an individual transgresses the rule of law, does that which is inadmissible by Yilanè propriety. No external physical violence is needed to penalize the errant individual. Justice is there within her body. The Eistaa, the embodiment of the city, our culture and our rule of law, has only to order the errant individual to leave the city while also depriving this same individual of her name. Thus rightly rejected, the errant individual suffers the irreversible physiological change that ends only with her death.

The mechanism is hormonal, using prolactin which normally regulates our metabolism and our sexual behavior. However, when an errant individual is forcefully reminded of transgression her hypothalamus overloads and she enters a continuous but unbalanced physiological state. In our ancestors this was a survival factor that caused hibernation. However, in our present evolved state, the reaction is inevitably fatal.

DIET

It has been said that if you look into a creature's mouth you will know what she eats. Dentition denotes diet. A nenitesk has flat-topped, square teeth for grinding up the immense amounts of vegetable matter it must eat, with sharper-edged teeth in the front for cutting and tearing its food loose. The neat, attractive rows of cone-shaped teeth in our jaws denote our healthy and carnivorous fish-eating diet. The thickness and strength of our jaws indicate that mollusks once played a large part in our ancestors' diet for we did—and still can—crush the shells of these tasty creatures with our teeth.

REPRODUCTION

There are certain things that Yilanè do not talk about, and this is right and proper in a well-ordered society. When we are young and in the sea, life is endless pleasure. This pleasure continues when we are fargi; our simple thoughts should not be burdened with subjects too complex to understand.

As Yilanè we not only can consider and discuss any matter, but we must do this if we are to understand the world we live in. The life cycle of the Yilanè is perfect in its symmetry and we begin our observation of this circle of life at the time it begins, when the young emerge from father's protection and enter the sea.

This is the beginning of conscious life. Though all of the earliest activities are inborn reflexes—breathing, swimming, gathering in groups—intelligence is already developing. Communication begins, observation, cogitation and conclusion are initiated. Members of the young efenburu learn by observing the older ones.

This is where language begins. There are two main schools of thought about the origin of language among those who make a study of languages. Leaving out the detailed arguments, and phrasing them in a popular way, they might be called the swim-swim and the ping-ping theories. The swim-swim theory postulates that our first attempts at communication are brought about by imitations of other creatures in the sea: that is, a movement of the hand and arm in imitation of the swimming movement of a fish would indicate the idea of a fish. On the other hand the ping-ping supporters say that sound came first, the sounds that fish make being imitated. We cannot know, we may never know, which of these theories is true. But we can and have watched the young learning to communicate in the open sea.

The elements they use are all of the ones that they will use later, but simplified to a great degree. Basic movements of the limbs, colored indications with the palms, simple sound groupings. These suffice to join the members of each efenburu together, to build the strong bonds that will last through life, to teach the importance of mutual aid and cooperation.

Only when they emerge from the sea do the fargi discover that the world can be a difficult place. We may speculate that in distant times, when our race was young, the competition was not as severe. Only when communication in an advanced society became of utmost importance did the individual begin to suffer.

It is a law of nature that the weak fall by the way. The slow fish is eaten by the fast fish and does not breed. The faster fish survive to pass on their genes for swift-swimming. So it is with the Yilanè, for many of the fargi never learn to speak well enough to join the happy intercourse of the city. They are fed, for no Yilanè refuses food to another. But they feel insecure, unwanted, unsure of themselves as they watch others of their efenburu succeed in speaking to join in the busy life of the city. Dispirited, they fish for their own food in the sea, wander away, are seen no more. We can feel for them, but we cannot help them. It is a law of nature that the weak shall fall by the way.

It goes without saying that, of course, these self-chosen rejects are all female. As we know, all of the males are sought out and cherished the moment that they emerge from the ocean. Doomed would be the culture that allowed these simple, sweet, unthinking creatures to perish! Wet from the ocean they are brought to the hanalè to lead the life of comfort and ease which is their due. Fed and protected they live happy lives, looking forward only to the day when they can perform the ultimate service of preserving their race.

What follows may be too explicit for some to absorb. Details may offend those of too delicate sensibilities. Since the authors of this study wish only to inform, anyone who feels they would not be happy with material of this sort should read only the following paragraph, then skip ahead to the section labeled Science.

There is a process within reproduction whereby a small portion of male tissue, called a sperm, is united with a small portion of female tissue, called an ovum. This ovum becomes an egg, and the male carries the egg in a special sac. When carrying the egg, and keeping it warm and comfortable, the male gets very fat and happy and sleepy. One day the egg hatches and a lovely youngster goes into the sea, and that is all there is to it.

The union of the sperm and the ovum takes place during a process with the technical term intercourse. There follows a description of this event, the details of which are of a possibly offensive nature.

A male is brought to a state of excitement by the stimulations of a female. When this happens one or both of the male reproductive organs becomes engorged and emerges from the penis sac at the base of the tail. As soon as this occurs the female mounts the male and receives the penis into her cloaca. At this point mutual stimulation, which need not be described, causes the male to expel a large number of sperm. These specialized organisms find and unite with ova inside the female body to produce fertilized eggs.

With the sperm is also released a prostaglandin that produces a reaction within the female body that causes rigidity in the limbs, among other things, that prolongs the sexual union for a lengthy time, a good portion of the day. (Intercourse without production of the hormone is technically named a perversion and will not be discussed here.) During this period, the fertilized eggs quickly develop and grow, until they are extruded into the male's pouch.

The female's part is now finished, her vital role fulfilled, and responsibility for the continuation of the Yilanè race now becomes that of the male. The fertilized egg now contains the genes of both male and female. The implanted eggs now grow placentas and increase in size as they draw sustenance; for this to occur major changes happen in the male body. There is first the urge to return to the sea, the warm sea, and this is done within two days, since a stable temperature is needed for the maturing eggs. Once on the beach and in the sea the male enjoys a physiological change, growing torpid and slow, sleeping most of the time. This state remains until the eggs hatch and the young are born and enter the sea.

It should be mentioned, though it has no bearing upon the continuation of our species, that a few males die on the beaches each year as their bodies resist the metabolic change back to their normal condition. But since this only affects males it is of no importance.

Thus the life-cycle of the Yilanè begins anew.

SCIENCE

There are many sciences, each a specialized system of study, too detailed to go into in this brief history. Those interested can consult specialized works that deal with chromosome surgery, chemistry, geology, physics, astronomy, and so on. Note will only be taken here of genetic engineering and mathematics.

Like all else in Yilanè history the true history of our biological development is lost in the mists of time. We can, however, make some logical assumptions that explain the facts as we know them now. With patience enough—and time enough—any biological problem can be solved. In the beginning it can be assumed that crude breeding was the only technique that was used. As time passed, and greater interest evolved in how reproduction actually took place, research into gene structure would have begun. The first real breakthrough would have been when the researchers succeeded in crystallizing the genome, that is bringing about evolutionary stasis. Only when we can stop evolution can we begin to understand it.

At this point the uninformed reader may be puzzled and might be inclined to ask—how does one stop evolution and make genetic changes? The answer is not a simple one and in order to answer it we must begin at the beginning.

In order to understand genetic engineering some knowledge of the biological makeup of life on this planet must be considered. Organisms exist as two grades. The simplest are the prokaryotes, ordinary bacteria, blue-green bacteria, blue-green algae, viruses and so on. The other larger and more complex life forms, the eukaryotes, will be considered in a moment. First let us look at the prokaryotes.

All of these have their genetic material as rings of DNA, or RNA in some viruses. These tiny organisms seem to be economizing on their genetic material because many of these coding regions overlap. They possess special DNA sequences between genes for at least two purposes. Firstly, the control of gene function, such as the turning off of gene transcription by the products of the coded enzyme in operons, and for providing sequences recognized by transcription or replication enzymes; secondly, there are DNA sequences that incorporate the DNA between them into other strands of DNA. (Examples would be into a host bacterium, for a plasmid or a bacteriophage, or a host eukaryote cell for a virus.) There are bacteria that produce a few enzymes which actually snip or join DNA by recognizing specific sequences for snipping or joining between two nucleotides. By using these enzymes it is possible to determine the sequence of DNA lengths. This is done by digesting them sequentially with enzymes which recognize the different sequences. Then each mixture of shorter resultant sequences is analyzed with other enzymes.

This is a lengthy process requiring millions of tries. But then Yilanè patience is infinite and we have had millions of years to develop the process. In order to recognize particular sequences, radioactive DNA or RNA messengers are attached specifically with base complementation along their length. Afterwards, special enzymes are used to remove a specific length and insert it into another organism's DNA ring.

This is the way that bacterial DNA rings are modified: Firstly by the use of plasmids, natural bacterial 'sex' sequences; secondly, by phages, viruses that naturally attack bacteria; thirdly by using cosmids, artificial DNA circles with special joining sequences, any of which can be tailored to include new or modified genes, so that the modified bacteria can make new proteins.

So it can be seen that it is relatively easy to change the protein chemistry of bacteria, simple eukaryotes such as yeast, and to reprogram other eukaryotic cells in a similar simple manner.

It is much more complicated to produce desired changes in the larger eukaryotic animals. In these creatures the egg itself is programmed in the mother's ovary, where it builds upon itself in the foundation of the embryo's development. Only after completion of this embryonic structure does each cell produce proteins that change the cell itself, as well as other nearby cells, in a process that finally results in the juvenile organism. How this process has been mastered and altered is too complex to go into in this curtailed discussion. There are other facets of Yilanè science that have to be considered.

Mathematics must be discussed since many Yilanè have heard of this, and since all of the sciences employ it, though they will not have run across it at other times. The following explanation, although brief, is accurate.

The science of Mathematics is based upon numbers. If you wish to understand numbers, spread your hands out before you, palms down, and inner thumbs touching. Wriggle your outside thumb on the right. That is called number one. Now moving one finger at a time from right to left, the adjacent finger is two, the next finger three, the inner thumb four. Left inside thumb five, fingers six and seven, and finally the outside thumb on the left is ten. Ten is also called base, a technical term that we will not go into here. It is enough to know that numbering starts over again after the base is reached, ten-and-one, ten-and-two, right up to two-times-ten. There is no limit to the number of multiples of ten that you can have. That is why numbers are so important in the sciences where things are weighed, measured, recorded, counted, and so on. Mathematics itself is very simple, just a recording of things that are bigger than things, smaller than other things, equal or not equal to other things.

The origin of mathematics is lost in time. Although mathematicians themselves believe that the base ten was chosen because we have ten fingers. They say that any number may be chosen as a base, though this seems highly unlikely. If we took two for a base then 2 would be 10, 3 would be 11, then on with 4=100, 5=101, 6=111 and so on. Very clumsy and impractical and of no real use. It has even been suggested that if ustuzou could count, a singularly wild idea in any case, that their base 10 would be our 12. All our numbers would change as well; the 40 million years of Yilanè existence would shrink to a mere 30 million years. You can see where such unwise speculation might lead so it is best we abandon such unhealthy theorizing.

CULTURE

We have had to introduce a number of new terms in this history, and culture is another one. It might be defined as the sum total of the way we live as it is transmitted down through the ages. We can assume that our culture had historical beginnings, though we cannot possibly imagine what they might have been. All we can do is describe our existence now.

Every Yilanè has her city, for Yilanè life revolves around the city. When we emerge from the sea we can only look on in speechless awe at the beauty and symmetry of our city. We go there as fargi and are taken in and fed. We listen and learn from others. We watch and learn. When we can speak we offer our services and are treated kindly. We see all the manifold life of the city and are drawn to one part or another. Some of us serve humbly and well with the herds and in the slaughterhouses.

As a city is built in rings, with fields and animals outermost, the living city next, the birth beaches and the ambesed at the heart of it, so also is our culture built. The large circle of fargi outermost. Within that circle are the assistants and the trained laborers in the various specialities. They in turn circle about the scientists, the supervisors, the builders—all those at the peak of their learned skills. They in turn look to the city leaders, and all look to the Eistaa who rules. It is logical, simple, complete, the only possible culture to have.

This is the world of the Yilanè. It has been this way since the egg of time, and will go on forever. Where there are Yilanè there is Yilanè rule and law and all are happy.

At the two poles of our globe there is great cold and discomfort and Yilanè are too wise to penetrate these places. But only recently it has been discovered that there are comfortable places in this world where there are no Yilanè. We owe it to ourselves and to the world to fill these empty spaces. Some of these places contain ustuzou, unpleasant ustuzou. In the interests of science we must examine these creatures. Most readers will close this volume now since they have no interest in such matters. Therefore what follows is for those with specialized interests.

When discussing unpleasant matters it must be mentioned that monolithic as the Yilanè culture may seem, it must of course encompass minor variations. And, it must be said, schisms as well. For the student who wishes to know all of the details of the world and existence, no matter how repugnant, there follows a description of a belief based upon the thoughts of a Yilanè named Ugunenapsa, also called Farneskei for obvious reasons. It is advised that these thoughts should not be seen by the young and the impressionable.

It must also be emphasized quite strongly that the publication of these writings is in no way an endorsement of them.

THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF UGUNENAPSA

We exist between the Thumbs of the Spirit of Life which is named Efeneleiaa.

All principles spring from this singular and most significant insight: Yilanè and all other living creatures live between the Thumbs of the Spirit of Life. This insight came to me as a revelation, that is it was something that was always there, existing since the Egg of Time, that once seen was evident and obviously true. But the study that led to the insight, that was a revelation, took many years of study, much stern thought, even more extensive questioning and seeking of answers. During these years my quest took me through all of the principles of all of our fields of knowledge. In doing this my mind was stretched to its limits before attaining success. Until what has always existed was seen at last.

First I saw that the Spirit of Life must be within me, for I was alive. If it was within me, therefore it must be within all other Yilanè as well. With this comprehension came the final and complete understanding that all other living creatures also exist as well between the Thumbs of the Spirit. Most creatures do not have the capacity to comprehend the reality of their own existence; most Yilanè as well. They will not search out this knowledge. Only those Seekers for Understanding do begin to understand, and when they do they become Daughters of Life. In all of existence they are the only ones who are willing to realize or recognize this truth.

From this basic principle, this truth, many implications follow. Only some of these have I been able to consider and understand. Of these I include only the most general here. It will be seen that all of the other insights I have labored to comprehend and to teach and share with others, all of them follow from this single revealed foundation, this root source, this well of truth from which all that follows draws strength. I liken this truth to the cherished seed from which springs the tree that will be the city. My seed of truth, like the city's seed, grows a great taproot into the earth, then a mighty trunk into the sky. From which grow many branches that are insights that encompass the world of living things. This image constructs and embodies my second principle.

We all dwell in the City of Life.

When this has been stated there instantly appears the implication that this principle may be a threat to our traditional Yilanè way of life. This implication can only be explored when we understand completely an earlier, older, greater tradition; that we are all citizens of one great world-encompassing city; the City of Life.

Consider this. As full citizens of this greater City we are equally members of the City, so if equally members we are then equal in value, equal in worth. Rank and rule are now seen as being different from our traditional order of ruler and ruled. Equality becomes based upon our mutual citizenship in Life and not upon political, social or linguistic skills that normally determine our daily order. The eistaa of a city and the fargi still wet from the sea are both equal citizens in this larger City of Life. They will each be equally sustained, valued, enriched in direct proportion to the degree of realization and acceptance each achieves of this true order of life.

The basic truth of this observation may be seen in, and explained by, the Yilanè respect for all other species, our unstinting efforts to aid species that are threatened and to preserve the continuity of all species. We do this although we are unaware of the underlying principle upon which all of our actions and inclinations are based. It must be mentioned that even our greatest scientists, those who have manipulated life forms, changing and adapting them for our comfort and pragmatic benefits, even they have not seen the permeating principle of this shared citizenship in the great City of Life. It has also, unfortunately, remained hidden from even our best and most powerful eistaa. Although they have the power of ordering and control, life and death, they still have not seen the underlying principle from which their own power flows. It may also be unhappily said that many a strong eistaa by placing herself above this greater power has demanded an allegiance to herself that contradicts the greater citizenship that we all share. Although this may be caused by selfishness and the urge for absolute control, it is basically an unknowing lack of knowledge of the hidden truth.

The Spirit of Life, Efeneleiaa, is the supreme Eistaa of the City of Life and we are citizens and beings in this city.

Efeneleiaa's benevolence sustains our lives and the provenance of living. This rich luminescence enlightens us. To understand and know this Spirit of Life is to find meaning of self, through allegiance to Life and through kinship with all living things. Her qualities of sedate affirmation of life enable us to endure when death strikes those around us who do not know of her and her Way. We who know then come to see ourselves differently, apart from the unknowing, and see our lives and the lives of others in a totally different manner.

When we know the Greater Truth we are possessed of a new strength, for we then have a greater and higher center of identity and loyalty.

Knowing this truth bestows upon us a power and focus of life that others do not possess. The knowledge that we are Citizens of Life provides the causality for us to join together as Daughters of Life. Although we live as other Yilanè do in cities, and acknowledge the rule of the eistaa just as others do, we live there in the knowledge that our ultimate allegiance is pledged to the Spirit of Life. We are then embued with a greater sense of allegiance to a greater eistaa that goes far beyond the realm of the eistaa of our city. We serve the eistaa of the lesser city and are loyal to her. But only as long as she does not command us to violate the Principles of Life. If this should happen then we must reject her commands and obey the greater commands of Efeneleiaa.

This higher allegiance to a superior center of loyalty by one who truly understands the meaning of Efeneleiaa enables the believer to continue affirming life, by living, when the eistaa's wrath is turned upon her. This is a positive and not a negative act, for dying is the negation of living. It is the eistaa who orders death who has violated the Principles of Life. So what the eistaa sees as a defiance of authority is in reality an obedience to a higher authority. The opposite is also true: if we violate Efeneleiaa's principles we die—even though an eistaa orders us to live on.

The power to know The Truth requires a new vision of the mind. This vision enables the viewer to look at those things seen by all living beings, but to look beyond the surface to the unseen but present true order of existence.

Conscious awareness of the True Order of things enables us to identify with and give our allegiance to the Spirit of Life. This new vision, however, cannot be acquired without a major effort. It calls for a strict discipline of the mind, a conscious developing of the powers of the mind until the ability is realized to see in all things a pattern of a higher order. To be aware of this order in which all living things exist and become fulfilled.

There may be other paths that lead to the truth. If they exist I have not found them yet. But I have set my feet upon this path that has carried me through the barrier of seeing in the same manner as all others see. Now I behold reality in a different and enlightened way. I found this path by asking questions about the seemingly normal and obvious. But these were questions that Yilanè do not normally ask. I wanted to know why we are as we are. I wanted to know why we live as we do, follow the rules of existence as we do, relate one to the other as we do. I wanted to know why the eistaa is above and the fargi below. I wanted to know why we continually follow ways that are familiar and comfortable. Through our knowledge of all the sciences we modify all of the existing life-forms to meet our short-term needs. Yet we never consider modifying ourselves. For Yilanè want only stability and order for Yilanè. Tomorrow's tomorrow will be as yesterday's yesterday. We accept this way unquestioningly, so much so that even asking about it is seen as a threat.

Therefore I sought the fundamental facts of our existence and questioned them. But when I did I received only pragmatic answers. Answers such as when this certain thing is done that certain thing will result. But this is an observation and not a reason. The most basic and most important questions about our lives were never asked. Not only were they not asked, they were never even considered. Although all of life is taken under observation and shown to be mutable, our own existence as Yilanè was considered to be an exception. Yet this is impossible since we are one with all other life.

Seeing this and understanding this I took the process of asking questions, then seeking the true answers, as my model of mental discipline and mind development. My first consideration was the most important consideration of all: life and death. Yilanè live and die as all creatures live and die. With a single major exception. A Yilanè abolished from her city by her eistaa will fall and die without a blow being struck. Yet this same Yilanè when obeying a benevolent order by her eistaa to leave the city, and then return, will not die. Why? What is the special control over life and death that the eistaa have? What could it be?

It could not be physical, for only communication is exchanged. But it had to be something shared by all Yilanè. Could it be that there is a higher or more basic force, invisible, unseen, yet universal? If so, what must this force be like? Is it unique to Yilanè or is it a force that unites all forms of life, even though we have never sought for it or attempted to examine it before? Is there a unity of some kind on which all depends, something that all forms of life have in common that is much more significant than our apparent differences? If one could know such a source, become consciously aware of it, would one not then become better able to affirm life and the strength of life, and thus be better able to understand the reality behind or within the various appearances of everyday life, existence and struggle?

There is an Order of Interdependence within and sustaining all living things, an Order that is more than those living things themselves, but also an Order in which all living things participate, knowingly or unknowingly—an Order that has existed since the Egg of Time.

With the new vision of mind, we see the Order of Interdependence of all things. When seen in its entirety and observed to be functioning correctly, this Order is a coordinated totality of parts functioning in harmonious relativity.

In this harmonious relationship within the Order, competition occurs only as the result of ignorance of the complexity of interrelationships, as well as from seeing only a part of the totality and one's self as a distinct, separate part-as if one were the whole and independent of others and other parts. In all truth, in this interdependent order, one's own worth is achieved and realized by helping others to realize their own worth.

The worth of self must be understood and realized in relation to the whole. This provides for and fosters self-affirmation as the appropriate good, but a self-affirmation of Life wherein one affirms self as part of the whole, which is the Way of Life. This is quite different from, and moves well beyond, the egoism of an eistaa and the pragmatism of Yilanè cities. It is more like the warm relationship of efensele within the seaborne efenburu, where such peaceful cooperation and harmony seem natural. But it is natural and without conscious consideration. Though unremarked until now this Order has existed since the Egg of Time.

We can know this Order and understand it because there is a correlation of rational order between the workings of the developed mind and the order of all things in the domain of the Spirit of Life. The laws of our nature are part of the pervasive order of the Way of Life. It is an illusion to think of personal uniqueness in the sense of individual isolation. Each individual is equal in being part of the whole. Individuality is real, but individuality only within the equality in belonging to the City of Life, being part of that city as a Yilanè is part of a physical city, not as separated entities. Our minds are limited instances of the Spirit of Life as expressed through thought; our bodies are instances of the Spirit of Life as expressed through extension; our lives are instances of the Spirit of Life as expressed through affirmation of life.

Insofar as we understand these interrelationships of minds to minds, of bodies to bodies, of lives to lives, our minds are enlarged and in this way lose their limitations and the restrictions manifested when we tend to consider them uniquely ours. By knowing and understanding this Order and living in accord with it, we become affirmers of that Order and of life.

Daughters of Life are enabled and obligated, by the recognition and understanding of that Order and in loyalty to the Spirit of Life, to live for peace and affirmation of life.

Once seen, known and understood, the newness, strangeness and beauty of this Way and Order of Life and of Efeneleiaa may tempt us to suspend our activities and reside only in meditation or ecstatic enthrallment of the vision. Thus did I live until I became aware of the dangers of this isolation. For to do this only would be to overlook and ignore the way that each of us can benefit self and others and fulfill self and whole. This may be accomplished by working peacefully with others in cooperative harmony to affirm Life.

Since the whole operates better when all parts consciously operate together for the affirmation of the whole which is the reaffirmation of the parts, all Daughters of Life—we who know and understand the Way and Order—by the very fact of our awareness, also have an obligation to spread this knowledge of Life and the Spirit of Life to others. Efeneleiaa's way is the way of harmony, the way of peace and cooperation among all citizens of her City.

Daughters of Life bear the responsibility to help all others to know the Spirit of Life and the Truth of the Way of Life.

We who know the Way must help others to learn and understand, to consciously follow the Spirit of Life. However when this truth is stated two immensely important questions arise. Firstly, how can we do this in the face of those who will our deaths? Secondly, how can we maintain the peace and harmony that affirms while we continue to live by causing death? Must we cease to eat to avoid killing that which nourishes us?

Firstly, just as every day has two parts, a dark side and a bright side, so do we have two opposed forces dwelling within us. The darkness of the will to death and the brightness of the will to life. So even those who hate us the most have within them the will of life as well, and this is in accord with Efeneleiaa. Our affirmation of life will change those who live in affirmation of death, just as this knowledge changed us.

The answer to the second is that if we do not eat we will die. We sit at the summit of a great vine of interrelated life that begins with insensate plants, continues up through more complex forms of plants to the herbivores to the carnivores, to us. It appears ordained that each cell in this vine of life must exist to nourish the cell above that culminates in Yilanè, then in us, the only part of the vine to understand the totality of it. Therefore there is no act of killing or of death but only the act of nourishing. Taking the life of an animal or fish for food is not the negation of life but a form of the affirmation of life. That life contributes to sustaining another life and thus becomes a way of strengthening life. So it is and so it has been with all life forms in the sea, on land and in the air since the Egg of Time.

Yet to take life needlessly, or to kill for reasons other than the need for food, is the negation of life, the violation of the Way of Life and an offense to the Spirit of Life. It is to avoid such violation and negation that the Daughters of the City of Life must follow this Way and teach others to follow the Way of Harmony and peace and the affirmation of Life—for Peace is the Way of Life that reigns in the domain of the Spirit of Life.

LANGUAGE

Slow development, for millions of years, has created a rich and complex language. So complex, in fact, that many never manage to master it and never become Yilanè. This cultural handicap separates the race into two subgroups, one of which, barred from the life in the cities, remains in a feral state, living off the life in the sea for the most part. They do not breed because of their inability to protect the torpid males from predators. Their loss means that the gene pool of the species is slowly being altered, but the process is a glacially slow one.

The Yilanè speak in a linked chain of gestalts, with each gestalt containing one to four concepts. Each gestalt also has a control sign which is indicated by a stylized body posture or movement that has some relationship to the overall meaning. These gestalts are rarely the same because they have so many possible combinations, approximately 125,000,000,000.

Any attempts to transcribe Yilanè in English presents formidable problems. Firstly, the control signs, the stylized body positions, have to be considered. An incomplete listing, with stylized transcription symbols, follows:

The sounds of Yilanè approximate those of humans, but for a basic understanding it is not necessary to consider all the differences. However, in English transcriptions zh is the sound in rouge, x the ch in loch. Th and dh are rarely used. There are four extra symbols denoting sounds particular to Yilanè. They are ' (glottal stop), < (tock), ! (click) and * (smack of lips).

The richness of the language and the difficulty of accurate transcription can be seen in the translation of the following expression:

To leave fathers love and enter the embrace of the sea is the first pain of life—the first joy is the comrades who join you there.

First the kernel string of gestalts, each one with a separate controller, numbered C1 to C12 for ease of reference:

¹ At this point circumambience is also suggested by rotation of the tail tip.
² Warmth also suggested by movement of jaw muscles as it to gape.
³ Note that units 4 and 5 are linked by controllers, 3 and 5 by paired opposite concepts at the start.
⁴ The Yilanè pauses here and repeats gestalts in reverse order to form a deliberate balance or chiasmus.

A literal translation of this, with the definition of the control signs in brackets, reads as follows;

A broad transcription of this would be:

Enge hantèhei, agatè embokèka iirubushei kaksheisè, hèawahei; hèvai`ihei, kaksheintè, enpeleiuu asahen enge.

The most accurate translation into English would be in verse, but barring that, this is an approximate translation:

The love of your father, to be expelled from it and go into the cold unloving sea, that is the first pain of life: the first joy of life (in that cold hunting ground) is to come upon your friends and feel their love close round you.

The basic differences between human language and Yilanè are so great as to be almost insurmountable for someone attempting to learn Yilanè. Human beings, talking to each other in different languages, start by picking things up and naming them. Rock…wood…leaf. After some understanding, they go on to actions: "Throw the rock, pick up the leaf."

This just cannot happen with the Yilanè. They do not name things but describe them. Instead of the noun 'chair' they would say "Small wood to sit on." Where we would use a single noun, 'door', the Yilanè would have different constructions. "Entry to warm place." From the other side it might be "Exit to a cold place."

You will find an example of this in volume one of the West of Eden trilogy. Enge attempts to teach the young Tanu girl, Ysel, to speak in the correct Yilanè manner. The basic concepts always elude her. She manages to memorize a few words and has some slight idea of the use of controllers. When Vaintè attempts to talk to her the exchange goes like this:

This can be translated as: (Star) top-demand (Hunch) this-one-speaking-demand (Stretch) speech-difficulty equality (Stretch) life-continuation-increase (Hunch) speech-equality-increase (Star) speech-equality-life; in translation,

"I personally demand it most urgently! Speak, please, as well as one of the Yileibe. This way you will keep on living and growing. Speech means growth—please! Speech means life—understand!"

The best that Ysel can do is say, "has leibe ènè uu"; she thinks that she is saying "I find it hard to talk, please." What comes out, however, fatally for her, is more like "female—age/entropy—suppleness—increase." The mistakes she has made are:

1. has does not mean 'I,' but 'female.' The confusion was caused by Enge pointing to herself when she said it.

2. leibe does indeed signify 'difficult'—if it is said with a controller that implies some degree of constraint, for instance "Hunch," "Stoop," or "Squat." Without this, the meaning edges towards 'age,' that is the process of something running down, not only Yilanè.

3. ènè does not mean 'talk' at all, but indicates suppleness since the Yilanè associate these ideas very often.

4. uu is a common termination used by Enge in her lessons for encouragement. But it signifies concepts like "growth, go on, try." It does not mean 'please.'

Since Ysel has no tail she cannot make the cower gesture correctly. In addition she makes the fatal mistake of imitating Vaintè's last posture, the Star, that of threatening dominance. So Vaintè thinks that Ysel was saying something like "The old female grows adroit," or possibly even "Growing supple puts years on females." This is nonsense and Vaintè rightly loses her temper, her anger fed by the fact that she was polite to this animal; she may not have cowered but she did hunch as well as star. Ysel's fate is sealed.

That is he communicates (Cower) top-disgust-cessation (Lift) top-speech-volition (Neutral) longlong (Neutral) hardhard.

Vaintè understands this as "I very much don't want to die. I want very much to talk. (Giving up). Very long, very hard." At first Vaintè doesn't notice the 'cower' for he has no tail. But she does recognize the 'lift' and slowly realizes what he is trying to say.

LANGUAGE

Marbak, like the other languages spoken by the Tanu, is a modern dialect of the lost parent language that has been named Eastern Coastal. In Marbak 'man' is hannas, the plural hannasan. Variations are hennas in Wedaman, hnas in Levrewasan, neses in Lebnaroi, and so on.

All of the names of these small tribal groups are descriptive, for example, Wedaman means 'the island ones,' Levrewasan 'tent-black-ones,' that is the people of the black tents. Like man, hannas, woman, linga, plural lingai, has widespread similarity. A person, sex not specified, is ter, while the plural tanu is generally accepted as referring to all other people.

The most common masculine noun declension is:

Paramutan

Like the Tanu, the Paramutan are descended from the New World primates. Although fossil evidence is lacking, gene analysis reveals that Tanu and Paramutan are genealogically quite close and only their great physical separation has prevented inbreeding up until this time. Although superficial resemblance does not seem to bear this out, i.e. the fur-covered Paramutan and the relatively hairless Tanu, it should be noted that both groups have approximately the same number of hair follicles. Many Tanu are born with rudimentary tails, merely an external projection of the coccyx, which contain exactly the same number of bones as the Paramutan tail.

Therefore the obvious physical differences between the groups are of little importance; what is relevant are the social and cultural factors. The Paramutan migrated further north than any of the other primates. We may postulate population pressure from behind or relevant technology that made subarctic existence first a possibility, then a necessity. Their dependence upon a single major source for food, raw materials, existence itself (the ularuaq) allows no other possibility. Their use of north-temperate materials (wood for their boats, oak-tanning of hides) is still important-but the ularuaq is irreplaceable to their existence as their culture is constituted now.

It must be pointed out that Paramutan is a misnomer since this is a Marbak word that means "raw-meat-eaters." The correct term, in their own language, is Angurpiaq, meaning "real people," for this is how they see themselves. In their solitary existence in the northern wastes they feel, with some good reason, that they are the real people, the only people. This is why they call the Tanu Erqigdlit, the fantasy people. Strangers who come from an unreal world who therefore must be unreal themselves.

ENVIRONMENT

The Paramutan live in the subarctic because of the abundant food to be found in the ocean. There are many more living creatures in the sea than on the land-and many more kinds. Life began in the sea and all of the major animal groups have many representatives still living there. The basis of all open ocean productivity is the floating unicellular algae. These microscopic plants live only in the top few meters of water where they can obtain energy from the sun. There are about 600 common kinds of algae which form the basis of the food chain. They are first eaten by tiny planktonic animals, the most common of which is the copepod Crustacea of the genus Calanus. (The commonest animal on Earth-both by numbers and weight.) These are eaten in turn by larger, shrimp-like Crustacea as well as many other animals including jellyfish, arrow-worms, baby fish, many larvae of molluscs and squid, as well as even larger benthic Crustacea such as crabs and lobsters.

The product of all this activity is a slow rain of corpses and excreta that sinks down to the bacteria on the ocean bed. The essential nutrients, particularly nitrogen and potassium produced by the bacteria, are carried away by the deep-sea currents. This is the primary source of the abundant life in the polar oceans. Despite the low temperature and lack of light their productivity is high and virtually continuous. For the cold is indeed the source of the ingredients that nourish life. The temperature of the surface water is a chill four degrees centigrade—while the warm currents from the south range from five to eight degrees. The warmer water rises through the colder, denser water to feed the abundant life on the surface.

An unusual feature of the ice shelf is the qunguleq that fills an ecological niche that is empty in the world as we know it. The cold eco-system of the qunguleq is unlike any other in the ocean. Rooted in the ice, the great skirt of green tendrils spreads out through the sea, taking nourishment from the water and energy from the sun. This northern meadow is grazed by the ularuaq, the largest living creatures in the world. They tear at the strands with their thick, muscular lips, taking food and life from the qunguleq. They are utterly dependent upon this single food source. With the southerly movement of the arctic ice cap the ocean currents have been changed and emerge further to the west. The ularuaq follow the qunguleq and the Paramutan in turn must follow the ularuaq. Every link in the food chain is dependent upon the link before it.

LANGUAGE

Any student of the Angurpiaq language will quickly discover how few terminal sounds there are. Because of this it may appear superficially simple at first, but greater study will reveal its richness and complexities.

The difficulty for Marbak speakers is that the k sound must be distinguished from the q sound. The latter is made with the tongue much further back than the k. The closest approximation that a non-native speaker might make would be -rk.

There are also two distinct forms of l, one voiced, the other unvoiced. The unvoiced form is transcribed here as -dl or -tl to note this important difference.

Linguistic difficulty is not a one-way street. The Angurpiaq have problems with some of the Marbak sounds, finding them virtually unsayable. For example Armun emerges as "Arramun" and Harl as "Harral" and so forth.

One of the most interesting things about the structure of this language is that it consists only of nouns and verbs. One of these begins every word. However this root term is open to scores of affixes which then can combine with even more affixes. In this way sentence-long words are built up. For example:

qingik a house
qingirssuak a large house
qingiliorpoq he builds a house
qingirssualiorpoq he builds a large house
qingirssualiorfilik a man can build a large house, and so on, apparently without end.

It is very important that the right-branching nature of this be noted. We are all used to left-branching constructions, such as:

Once one system is used by a native speaker it becomes "natural" to speak that way and organize language in this manner, making learning a new order particularly difficult.

In addition to affixes, nouns and verbs also have suffixes. These are used to mark case, person or mood. Verbs can be in the Indicative mood, or Interrogative, Subjunctive, Optative, Conjunctive, Infinitive. As an example of how this functions let us take "like" which in the infinitive is alutora.

alutoroq he likes
alutorut she likes
alutorauk does he like?
alutorassuk do they like?
alutorliuk may he like (Optative)
alutorlissuk may they like
alutorpagit he may like (Subjunctive)
alutorpatigik they may like

Although Marbak and Angurpiaq are not linguistically related they are structurally related, even if in a mirror-image fashion. If Armun, for instance, was to use alutora for "like," then point to herself and then to some object that she likes it would be comprehensible. The Angurpiaq might consider her stupid for getting the ending wrong, but they would understand what she was trying to say. This as opposed to Yilanè where nothing would be understood at all that wasn't expressed within specific and precise narrow bounds.

One thing that is very imprecise in Angurpiaq is the sense of time, for they are indifferent time-keepers at the best. There is a vague form of future tense, but it is rarely used. The term most often heard is tamnagok which can mean once upon a time, or it can also mean then or now-or even in a bit. The only other time-related term is eetchuk which signifies a long long time ago. This is so unspecific that it could mean forty or even two thousand years.

As is to be expected their language reflects their physical existence. They mark many distinctions that do not exist in Marbak, yet completely ignore others. For obvious reasons there are a number of terms for snow. They refer to packed snow, powder snow, frozen snow, wet snow, snow that you can cut blocks from and even snow that balls underfoot. Yet on the other hand green and blue are not distinguished as separate colors. And while red can be told from yellow there is no separate designation for orange. Since the terms for these colors are only affixes, never used as words of their own, there is really no clear sense of their exact meaning.

It has been theorized that their strong feeling for affixes and innumerable connections and cross-connections may have some relationship with the Angurpiaq deftness and ability to see how mechanical parts fit together. Though it is certainly true that their assembled and tied boat frameworks, their navigational charts, reflect this it must be emphasized that this is a theory only.

DICTIONARIES

MARBAK-ENGLISH

SESEK-ENGLISH

ANGURPIAQ-ENGLISH

NOUNS

VERBS

AFFIXES

ZOOLOGY

	BANSEMNILLA (Metatheria: Didelphys dimidiata) A reddish-gray marsupial with three deep black bands down its back. It has a prehensile tail and opposable toes on its hind feet. It is carnivorous, favoring rats and mice, and is bred by the Sasku to eliminate these vermin from their corn-cribs.
	BOAT (Cephalopoda: Archeololigo olcostephanus mutatus) Yilanè surface water transport. Propulsion is obtained by a strong jet of water expelled to the stern. The creatures have only rudimentary intelligence like their ancestral squids, but can be trained to follow certain simple commands.
	CLOAK (Selachii: Elasmobranchus kappe mutatus) Used by the Yilanè for warmth during the night or inclement weather. These creatures have absolutely no intelligence, but if they are well-fed they will maintain a body temperature of approximately 102° F.
	DEER (Eutheria: Cervus mazama mazama) A small deer with antlers as unbranched spikes. It is found in great numbers in the North Temperate Zone. The Tanu value these creatures both for their meat and their skins. The hides are tanned to make clothing and small leather articles (e.g. moccasins [madrap] and bags).
	EISEKOL (Eutheria: Trichechus latirostris mutatus) An herbivorous aquatic mammal which dredges for underwater plants in its original unaltered state. Gene manipulation has greatly increased the animal's size so that it can be utilized for underwater channel clearing, as well as dredging.
	ELINOU (Saurischia: Coelurosaurus compsognathus) A small and agile dinosaur, much appreciated by the Yilanè for its pursuit and destruction of small mammalian vermin. Because of its colorful markings and complaisant nature it is often given the status of a pet.
	ENTEESENAT (Sauropterygia: Elasmosaurus plesiosaurus) A predacious marine reptile well adapted to pelagic life and relatively unchanged since the Cretaceous period. They have small short heads and long snake-like necks. The paddle-like flippers are similar to those of the marine turtle. Newer varieties have been developed with greater cranial capacity that enable them to be trained to supply food for the larger uruketo (Icthyosaurus monstrosus mutatus).
	EPETRUK (Saurischia: Tyrannosaurus rex) The largest and most powerfully armed of the great carnosaurs. Over 40 feet long, the males weigh up to 7 tons. The forearms are small but strong. Because of its great weight it is quite slow, therefore attacks only the largest animals. A large amount of its diet is obtained by driving smaller carnivores from their kill.
	ESTEKEL* (Pterosauria: Pterodactylus Quetzalcoailus) The largest of the flying reptiles with a wingspan of over thirty feet. The bones are very light and strong, while the weight of the immense toothed beak is balanced by the bony outcrop on the back of the skull. They are found solely at the mouths of large rivers since they can only become airborne in locations such as this where large waves run counter to the prevailing winds.
	GREATDEER (Eutheria: Alces machlis gigas) The largest of all the deer. It is distinguished from other members of the Cervidae by the spread of the impressive antlers of the males. Hunted by the Tanu, not only for its meat, but for its hide which is preferred for use in covering their tents.
	GULAWATSAN (Ranidae: Dimorphognathus mutatus) The application of gene-splitting for controlled mutation can be appreciated when the gulawatsan is examined closely. This was formerly a toothed frog, but the present form appears to have little resemblance to its forebears. Their powerful croaking, heard in tropical jungles during the mating season, has been enhanced and increased until the sound emitted is deafening in close proximity.
	HÈSOTSAN (Squamiata: Paravaranus comensualis mutatus) This species of monitor lizard has been so modified that it now bears little resemblance to the original. Steam-generating glands from Brachinus beetles violently project a dart which is poisoned when it passes over the sex organs of a commensal Tetradontid fish. This poison, the most deadly known, produces paralysis and death when as little as 500 molecules are present.
	ISEKUL* (Columbae: Columba palumbus) This gentle bird presents an ideal example of Yilanè science at its most practical. Like many other species, this one uses magnetized iron particles in its forebrain to detect the Earth's magnetic field as an aid in navigation. Through selective breeding the isekul* will now point its head in any selected direction for long periods of time, until distracted by thirst or hunger.
	LONGTOOTH (Metatherio: Machaerodus neogeus) Long-tusked member of the marsupial tiger family. A large and ferocious carnivore that uses its greatly extended upper canine teeth to bring down its prey. Some Kargu hunters have a commensal relationship with these beasts to aid them in hunting.
	MASINDUU (Anuva: Rana catesbiana mutatus mutatus) The sanduu is an accepted laboratory creature for magnifying images up to 200 times. However it lacks versatility in that only one observer at a time can utilize it. The masinduu is a variation that permits the image to be projected onto any white surface to be viewed by two or more researchers.
	MASTODON (Eutheria: Mastodon americanus) A large mammal noted for its long upper tusks. It has a prehensile trunk reaching to the ground. Its domestication by the Tanu permits them to cover great distances when hunting and foraging, using the mastodons to pull large travois.
	NAEBAK (Psittacosauria: Psittacosaurus) One of the family of small "parrot lizards," so called because of their narrow, hornless head and sharp parrot-like beak used for biting through tough leaves and woody stems. They browse on all fours, but can run as well using only their strong back legs.
	NENITESK (Ornithischia: Triceratops elatus) Herbivorous quadruped characterized by the possession of three horns set in a bony protective shield, unchanged since the Cretaceous period. They reproduce by laying eggs. Their brain capacity is small and their intelligence even smaller. Since they are slow growing they are of little use for meat supply, but are extremely decorative.
	NESKHAK (Gadus macrocephalus) A mutated warm-water fish, adapted for varying conditions and altered so that the ambient water temperature can he measured by noting the color changes on the creature's sides.
	NINKULILEB (Archaeopteryx compsoghathus) An intermediate form of development somewhere between birds and dinosaurs. Simple feathers, fingers at the wing tips, and a slim, toothed jaw make this creature distinctly different from both ancestors and possible descendants.
	OKHALAKX (Plateosauridia: Plateosaurus edibilus) One of the largest of the "flat lizards," so called because of their solid bodies and strong skulls. Although these creatures normally walk on all fours they rear up on their hind legs to graze the tops of trees. Its flesh is considered particularly tasty and is much sought after.
	ONETSENSAST (Ornithischia: Stegosaurus variatus) The largest of the plated dinosaurs. These immense herbivorous creatures are protected from attack by two rows of plates down the neck and back, as well as heavy spikes on the tail. They first developed in the late Jurassic and only careful preservation by the Yilanè has prevented the destruction of this living fossil.
	RUUTSA (Ankylosauria: Euoplocephalus) This giant creature is perhaps the most dramatic of the "living fossils" so carefully preserved by the Yilanè. Covered with great plates of armor, studded with spines, and protecting itself by the great ball at the end of its tail, it is hard to believe that it is a vegetarian and completely harmless, except in self-defense. This species has not changed in over one hundred million years.
	SANDUU (Anuva: Rana catesbiana mutatus) Extensive gene manipulation has altered this animal in almost every way; only its outer skin reveals its origins. Magnification of up to 200 power is available by proper use of sunlight directed through the different organic lenses of its head.
	SPIKE-BACK (Nodosaurid anklyosaurus: Hylaeosaurus) With small teeth and weak jaws, these harmless creatures graze on low-growing plants. Their only protection from predators is their flexible armor of bony slabs, plates and spikes, set in tough skin and sheathed with horn.
	TARAKAST (Ornithischia: Segnosaurus shiungisaunis mutatus) A sharp-beaked carnivorous dinosaur, the largest examples being over 13 feet in length. They are difficult to train and require great strength to manage, but when properly broken make a desirable Yilanè mount.
	UGUNKSHAA (Squamata: Phrynosoma fiernsyna mutatus) Since the Yilanè language is dependent upon skin color and body movements, as well as sound, keeping written records is impossible; therefore writing has never developed. Historically, knowledge was passed on verbally, and the recording of this information only became possible when an organic liquid crystal display was developed for visual accompaniment of the auditory memory records.
	UNUTAKH (Cephalopoda: Deroceras agreste mutatus) One of the highly modified animals used in Yilanè technology. This cephalopod digests protein matter, especially hair and modified epidermal plates with ease.
	URUKETO (Ichthyopterygia: Ichthyosaurus monstrosus mutatus) This is the largest of the "fish-lizards," a family of immense aquatic dinosaurs. Millennia of gene surgery and breeding have developed a strain of ichthyosaurs very different from the parent stock. There is a large chamber situated above the spine and centered on the dorsal fin that is used for both crew and cargo.
	URUKTOP (Chelonia: Psittacosaurus montanoceratops mutatus) One of the most extensively modified of the Yilanè animals. Used for land transportation, it can carry heavy loads for great distances since after gene-doubling it has eight legs.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In writing this novel I have sought the advice of experts in various fields. The biology of the Yilanè is the work of Dr. Jack Cohen. The Yilanè and the Marbak languages are the work of Prof. T. A. Shippey. This would have been a far different and lesser book without their help and advice. My gratitude to them is infinite.