Reading Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software by Steven Johnson, I came across the tantalizing statement: "Parsing the complex sexual codes of thirteenth-century Florence from a modern perspective would be a daunting task indeed." Such things always make me think about source material for Okal Rel Universe anthropology, since variations on sexual norms is one of the most alien features of the series for many readers. So I did a web search. Female penitential orders might be one useful outcome, as research for the novella Never Again, in which Amel stops over in an Okal Lumens Abby on a backwater Demish world while trying to do decide whether to go back to court to face the music over kidnapping his infant brother, the Throne Price. Found other things, as well, such as the article linked above on the complexities of relationships with wives and mistresses. This sort of material strikes a resonance for me with Demish culture. Like Medieval Florence, Demish culture juxtaposes virginal brides with other arrangements that are tolerated and even important without being approved of in a open way. Of course the differences are also as profound as the differences between Christianity and Okal Lumens, and Sevolites and humans. While as capable of hypocrisy as any human male, Demish are more chivalrous and romantic—on average—than the natural variety, particularly the Golden Demish sort. For the Vrellish, my best real-life model still remains Bonobo apes … on steroids.
posted by Lynda at 09:49   comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments