The Lonely Galaxy Wiki

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
====== Atavists and Writing ======

OK, so I've established that what appear to be uncontacted yinrih tribes are actually descendants of Atavists who drank Ted Kaczynski's cool-aid and went off to live primitive lives in the wilderness. The problem with this is that yinrih are //innately// literate. A written language will eventually emerge even if pups aren't taught to write, just as sign languages have emerged spontaneously in deaf communities.



What might happen is that the founders forge founding texts like scriptures and the like, in a conlang as often as not, and that becomes the basis for the new society. This may mean that Atavist tribes don't last long in vulpithecine terms, as the ability to preserve knowledge across generations combined with, ya know, being surrounded by a K2 civilization, will eventually mean they find out what's what and want to leave. Even the titular village from //The Village// that I based this idea on only lasted one generation before one of their kids found out they're living on a plot of land in the middle of a preserve.



I also have a possible explanation for Primitive Wayfarers like the one's Stormlight's family left. The Bright Way sees technology as "the offspring of sapience", and to reject technology provided it's not intended for evil ends is seen as a rejection of the gift of sapience. You also can't help fulfill the Great Commandment if you're living on a dirt farm in the middle of nowhere.. So it would seem that Primitive Wayfarers are at least heterodox if not outright schismatic.



Primitive Wayfarers may result from Dativist missionaries preaching to Atavist tribes but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8k8HXf-T0k|only effecting a partial conversion]]. From the Primitive Wayfarers' point of view, they may be like "you know, you have a point and all, but don't you think living as a faceless nobody in a sea of billions of other faceless nobodies, grinding away your whole life, being bombarded by meaningless distractions and softened by modern conveniences is kinda depressing? We think we'll just hang out here, thanks." Alternatively, cradle Wayfarers may look at Atavists and express the above sentiment.



{{tag>atavism}}