Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by David Johansen

In the later books it turns out that the "vats" are actually Telexiu females.

I know, but my head canon is that the Telexiu vats are replacing the females.

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Gross...They don't seem like they like to talk much...I'm sure the temple has other uses for them as well. Are there both females and males?

Thanks,

H:0)

Nope, they were pretty aggressive when we met them; not much talk at all, but lots and lots of sharp pointy things. Phil's description was creepy enough...

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Gross...They don't seem like they like to talk much...I'm sure the temple has other uses for them as well. Are there both females and males?

Thanks,

H:0)

Forgot to add; yes, there are males, from what we saw in the darkness, and they have the usual glossy black chitin of the Pe Choi males. We did not stay around to get more information, however...

[From AsenRG:]I'd be really grateful!

I'll see what I can do for you!

Right, it sounds unlikely, then.
Then again, we know (from his blog, too) that Dave Morris was playing Tekumel in the 80ies. And he was an influential figure in the 80ies FRP scene in the UK, due to having published "Dragon Warriors"...he was even writing to Phil, leading to the Court Case of the Sold Steel Sword.
So there might be some crossover, but it's not really likely.

I'd agree with this; it's what the data says...

Same objection here.
Complainer: "Waah! Asen's being mean to meeee!"
Asen: "No, I'm mocking you. If I start getting mean, everybody would notice the difference."
Bonus: it's a new player and everybody else in the group looks at him or her and nods. "He's saying the truth, you would have noticed!"

(Variant: "You're abusing your GM powers."
Asen: "If I wanted a PC dead, I'd declare you got sudden cardiac arrest. And it's what would happen. Now can we play this scene where you actually would have had a chance, if you weren't trying to play me instead of the game?")


Yeah; I'd agree with this approach. Clear and to the point!

Well, you get a breeding program and life vats even in Dune...

Phil really enjoyed Dune, he said; it was the kind of 'hard SF' he liked.

And I'm sure it was a nice moment when you managed to creep Phil!

It was, really; it was always very hard to surprise him, as he'd been there and done that all over the world - there wasn;t a lot that fazed him. These did...

I like them. They seem like something some nasty people would use as a honour guard.

Like some of the people in the Temple of Dlamelish that I know...

If they're used by the temple of Dlamelish and a population is possible, you can bet there would be both males and females!

Either that, or they grow more in the vats. Either way, I really don't want to know...

Originally Posted by Bren

Those are a bit unsettling. Very nice.

Thank you! I try.

A modern substitute is made by RAFM, I believe...

(I have the males, too...)

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Sweet Karakan I'd forgotten how horrific those damn things are.

Yep; that was one of Phil's creepier nights, wasn't it?

I'm not sure if these could be considered a 'Saturday Night Special'. Phil had salted his world with lots and lots of little surprises like this, and they all lay in wait for us to come by and trip over them...

Originally Posted by David Johansen

In the later books it turns out that the "vats" are actually Telexiu females.

Really! Off to the bookshelf, then...

Originally Posted by AsenRG

I know, but my head canon is that the Telexiu vats are replacing the females.

Um; could be. The 'life vats' were a pretty stock item in the Fifties, so I think that's where they came from. The hospital at the South Pole R&R center has them, which is always good for laughs as the players panic...

Originally Posted by David Johansen

In the later books it turns out that the "vats" are actually Telexiu females.

Which book? It's been 15 years or so...The only one I didn't read all the way through was Chapter House...At the time I remember thinking, Honred Matres, huh...but we all ready have witches. I never finished it(maybe I need to). Anyhow I really liked the first two the most. Thanks.

H:0)

PS I'm the only one of out of my friends who likes Lynch's masterpiece!!! I also loved Jodorowsky's Dune it was an excellent documentry. Wonder how things would have changed if it was made...oh well.

I can't recall if the big reveal was at the end of Heretics or the beginning of Chapterhouse. The other big spoiler would be that the Honored Matres are the descendants of Leto II's Fish Speakers, which makes a lot of sense. They were already an offshoot of the Bene Geseret methods that was more focused on sex as diplomacy. The last two books aren't bad but the setting changes a great deal over 10000 years with human optimization in conjunction with computers and computerized FTL drives. But the broader setting never seems as rich. I'd argue it all makes sense but I'm a bit disappointed we never saw the genocidal sentient robots that Leto II's "Golden Path" was supposed to deflect.