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