Re: [GZG] Bovine rebuttal

Robert Mayberry wrote:
> OK so how do you get a feedback loop, one where a species is
> constantly driven to be smarter, but is never quite smart enough? The
> predator/prey relationship is one idea; besides the hunting models
> we've talked about Mary Doria Russell's _The Sparrow_ presents a cool
> idea: predatory mimicry. Though it also raises a logical point: if
> intellect is growing due to competition, then you have a good chance
> of having TWO species co-evolve. Then either the predator is
> exterminated, the prey is enslaved, or you get a weird interdependence
> of predator and prey (as in The Sparrow). Could make for some VERY
> weird psychologies.
>
> Another possibility is sexual competition (though note that it's
> relatively rare that mates are attracted by intellect alone vs
> physical attributes even among humans). Could you imagine the Kra'Vak
> evolving on a world of super-predators, some highly intelligent
> THEMSELVES? Not smart enough for technology, but pretty sharp. Or
> perhaps even intelligent but not technological.
>   
In the "mutineer's moon" series (Also called: Empire from the Ashes - 
from the baen books free library), the humans end up fighting the 
Achuultani with an exstream form of xenophobia.  They refered to any 
intelligent species as "nest killers".	Early in their interstellar 
history, they ran into another violent race, and a war started.  During 
that war, the violent race almost wiped out the xenophobic race.  As 
their government was gone, one of their sentient computers took over, 
and lead the war.  Then the xenophobic race finished the war by 
completely wiping out the other race.  Once the war was over the 
computer declared that the emergency didn't actually end, so it could 
continue in power.  After that they would sweep the entire galaxy wiping

out any race they could find.

In the "Antares dawn" series, one of the enemy mentions their home world

spawned two sentient species.  The two species constantly fought, until 
one was wiped out.  The surviving race never trusted any other race 
again.	Some interesting space battles in this series.

There was another old sci-fi story with an interesting "Intelligent - 
Unintelligent" species.  The main predator was something like a black 
panther the size of a horse with three front legs.  The "panthers" were 
not intelligent themselves.  What made sentience possible was a local 
"insect".  It resembled a large tick.  Maybe an inch across.  The ticks 
were not intelligent either!  It turns out that the ticks carried the 
memories.  One of the "natives" called them: The little bugs that knew 
things.  When the panther in the story made a kill, it was careful not 
to kill the little bugs on the kill.   The more of these memory bugs you

had, the smarter you were.  So any of the local wildlife could make an 
(literally) instant sentient being.  Amazing concept!

In the story the "natives" had a rather advanced society, judging from 
the ruins found everywhere.  They never achieved space flight or star 
flight, because their star was almost outside the galaxy.  Their planet 
was the only object in their starsystem (no moons either.)  So their 
night sky had no moving objects of any kind for them to get interested 
in!  They were trapped both physically, and mentally!

Fascinating stories!

Donald Hosford

_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@vermouth.csua.berkeley.edu
http://vermouth.csua.berkeley.edu:1337/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gzg-l