Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site proper.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!lll-crg!dual!proper!carl From: carl@proper.UUCP (Carl Greenberg) Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: Niven's Protectors Message-ID: <200@proper.UUCP> Date: Mon, 12-Aug-85 07:04:14 EDT Article-I.D.: proper.200 Posted: Mon Aug 12 07:04:14 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 14-Aug-85 20:43:36 EDT References: <> Reply-To: carl@proper.UUCP (Carl Greenberg) Organization: Lunatic Laboratories Unltd. Lines: 19 In article <> hester@uci-icse writes: >From: Jim Hester>I didn't go back and check this, but it was my understanding that >Tree-of-Life virus could not survive (or, at least, was not effective) >without Tree-of-Life root. That's why the protectors died out in the >origianl Earth expedition: the root died, and the virus with it. >The protectors on Home would almost certainly take all the root with >them, since they did not want to raise more protectors after them. >Virus in the air would not be a danger. But there WAS no root on Home: Brennan found a way of making the virus grow in a yam, on Kobold, but he ALSO put one in his body so that it would spread throughout the atmostphere, regardless of where it was... This would mean that Home would probably have the virus there for some time- of course it would need a place to live, and if they all left Home it might just die out naturally, though it might be able to live on anything. (That'd make an interesting story.... Come back to re-colonise Home, everyone turns into protectors....) Carl Greenberg ...ucbvax!dual!proper!carl