(no subject)

[sythyry]

Digression [14 Nivvem 4261]

This is mostly by way of musing for an essay in Civilized Monsters of Melpeia.

In the city-state of Crothmanay -- which is, naturally enough, on the world-bramch Melpeia -- there lives, or lived, a nendrai called Usissassïsü. She was made entirely of silk. I imagine that she looked like a nendrai-shaped silk bathrobe, with masks for heads. She had five heads, named (from left to right) Usu, Isi, Asa, Ïsï, and Üsü.

(Naturally, we don't know even that much about her. We don't know if Usissassïsü was her real name. We don't know if she really was made of silk, or just chose to transform herself that way. We don't know if she really had five heads, or just one but she wanted to transform herself that way. (Or maybe she had eighteen, and thought that was excessive, and cut it down to five.) Her heads' (nick)names were actually used, though.)

Technically, Usissassïsü wasn't all that scary a nendrai, compared to Vae. Most of her magic was around complexity thirty or forty, which is (1) about half Vae's capabilities of complexity; (2) much less effective than half of Vae's abilities; and (3) still rather beyond what I can manage. Also, a silken body doesn't sound that dangerous, though I imagine there would be some surprises if one tried to set her on fire or crochet her to death.

But Crothmanay wasn't a very powerful city-state either, nor very rich.

Anyways, the nendrai showed up in Crothmanay city one afternoon. Yes, in the city.

(That makes no sense! I must investigate the origins of the situation. [I hereby spend two and two-thirds hours going to the library, with a side trip to Cafe du Fronde with Yarwain for extra kathia, and all you get is this stupid parenthetical note.] Usissassïsü evidently lived there before Crothmanay was founded, but the nendrai lived on a side branch, some seventy miles ... um ... one book says seventy miles out from Melpeia proper and another twenty to Crothmanay, and the other book says seventy miles from Crothmanay. Cursed books!)

Anyways, it sounds as if Crothmanay didn't think they lived close enough to the nendrai so they needed to worry about it, and, so, didn't make walls strong enough to keep nendrai out. I guess that makes sense. It wouldn't be a very cheap wall to make, really.

Anyways, there was a serious sort of war between Crothmanay and Usissassïsü for a while. It turned pretty bitter. Nendrai don't generally kill people that often, at least not in large numbers. If they want to be nasty to people, they've got far nastier options than simply killing. Crothmanay's adventurers wrecked Usissassïsü's home, and in exchange Usissassïsü actually killed several hundred people in Crothmanay's.

Several hundred people killed there. Usually when you think of a duel-war of primes against primes, you're thinking of seven people on each side. There might be seven hundred spectators. If one is ever tempted to think of monsters as somehow prime-like, remember Crothmanay.

(Um, and forget about the Holocaust Wars. We sometimes kill hundreds of ourselves, too. Or more. (I do not like anybody today. (Except Yarwain. (And presumably Jinthinia, except I'm not seeing her today.))))

Anyways, Crothmanay surrendered, after that. I wish I knew how that scene went, but the library is closed now and I am not adventurer enough to try to break into it. (No, it's probably not very well guarded, and I'm sure I could just fly over and teleport through a window or something. As I said, though, I really am not such an adventurer.)

(Oops. seventy miles out and twenty across would be only 72 miles as the transformed monster flies, which might as well be rounded to 70, so the two books probably actually meant the same thing. Uncursed books!)

Anyways, Usissassïsü demanded that Crothmanay provide her with five citizens for a year each. She shows up in the city (still in the city! They haven't built Usissassïsü-proof walls yet! Which is part of the surrender arrangement, I think.), drops the five citizens from the previous year off, and picks up the new ones. And they'd better be good citizens too, or she'll get upset and nendrai around a bit more.

The citizens who have been with Usissassïsü can't remember a thing about it.

Not that their memories are lost, exactly. They know exactly where their memories are. Usissassïsü has turned their memories of the year into a small mouse and given it to them.

So, civilized or uncivilized monster?

Civilized or uncivilized people, for that matter?

(Also: grumble! If I wanted to take an ethics class, I'd have taken one with "Ethics" in the name.)

Well, it's an uncivilized hour of the night, and I have to be at Enchantment class by dawn, so I am going to finish this assignment later.

Comments

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a barbarian nendrai, really. That's the sort of tribute barbarians like when they conquer a city.

On the other hand, certainly civilized enough to talk to and surrender to, so that's something. And she gives the people *back*.

I guess I'd need to take the course before I could really pronounce judgment.

[nekomavin.livejournal.com]

That is something of a poser - is it really torture if you can't remember any of it after it's over, and it leaves physical scars? Frankly, I think it's a kindness that they have their memories in a non-accessible form...

Of course, if the nendrai didn't remove the memories, zie might not have such a long-term arrangement with Crothmanay. So it might be self-interest, rather than any kindness.

Nope. No idea.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

I suspect that she's more using her victims to make things for her, rather than torturing them.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Make things as in enchantment? Or as in orgasm-inducing waffles?

[wave-cannon.livejournal.com]

This reminds me of when King Minos, ruler of the island of Crete, extorted the city-state of Athens to give him 5 young men and 5 young women every year to feed his monstrous half-son the Minotaur, as a penance/tribute for when his (human) other son was murdered there.
...
Perhaps Crothmanay could offer up a team of skilled monster-slayers as "tribute" to Usissassïsü in order to dispose of the menace once and for all?

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Your species does that sort of thing to itself?

...

...

Could I have more details, please? And, um, move your whole world to Melpeia? It would probably make an excellent term paper for my Civ Monst course!

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

I'd bet on the waffles, myself.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

[Bard recommends sending a link, if that. -bb]

[fringe-worthy.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I'm sure the scope of horrors that can be had will rise along with your civilizations population. All you need is to give it time.

Considering some of your viewpoints towards others, it's almost a certainty.

Unless your gods are of course using monsters to direct your horrors to them, which is a horror of sorts.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Civilization is, intrinsically, a set of rules by which various people agree to behave, in order to resolve conflicts. Usissassïsü has entered into a state of civilization with the people of Crothmanay, as it were, but this state of civilization may resemble barbaricity by Sythyry's view.

[justicezero.livejournal.com]

I suspect that it would depend on just how the whole 'ended up in the city one afternoon' started. From your account, it sounds as though Usi et al essentially wandered in out of curiosity, at which point the city adventurers demolished her house - i'd be rather put out myself. I also suspect that the citizens are not suffering too terribly horrible a fate.. if I were in such an agreement, I would want the citizens for conversation and light labor - housekeeping, maybe, or crafts so they could give me things.

A theoretical question, would one be able to decrypt the memories by undoing the transformation into a mouse, or does that information become lost in transition?

[wave-cannon.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a bad habit of my species...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theseus#The_Minotaur

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

That would, indeed, be a mighty paper. I wonder if Vae will move Crete for me...?

[wave-cannon.livejournal.com]

People and gods have tried to do that: it's easier to start your olive tree plantations elsewhere.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

But it can't be my term paper if it's on the wrong branch! Or the wrong world.

[wave-cannon.livejournal.com]

Good point.
Why don't you dabble in time magic to help your studying of the subject?

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

One would, indeed, be able to recover the memories by breaking the spell. For some reason, the residents of Crothmanay don't do this. Perhaps they don't want to contradict the nendrai too much. If they had proper city walls, the matter might be different.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

It sounded to me like she invaded the city with the intention of 'getting things from primes' in the typical Nendrai fashion, and it eventually escalated to the house-destroying, mass-murdering conclusion.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Very yes!

To the tribute-paying-city conclusion after that, too.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

I do! Extra Sleep in the Morning is one of my favorite spells!

[wave-cannon.livejournal.com]

I meant more along the lines of travelling back to observe the actual events or giving yourself more time to write the report.

[vernononfm.livejournal.com]

I would say she got what she was after, then. Not only getting things from primes, but getting primes themselves! I shall never go to Crothmanay. Not ever.

[kris-schnee.livejournal.com]

Depends on whether the mouse format is lossy or non-lossy compression. Maybe it'd be compatible with MS products?

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Healing magic can restore information even if the medium that used to be holding it is completely destroyed. It's impossible to destroy something so thoroughly that healing can't bring it back.

Having the nendrai mutoc it back into memories might be lossy or inaccurate, though.