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From: wls@astrovax.UUCP (William L. Sebok)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: drying planets...
Message-ID: <336@astrovax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 10-May-84 16:56:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: astrovax.336
Posted: Thu May 10 16:56:04 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 12-May-84 09:16:50 EDT
References: <7673@watmath.UUCP>, <1786@mit-eddie.UUCP> <1261@ucf-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Princeton Univ. Astrophysics
Lines: 16

>>>  1. There is a planet of amphibious(?) beings which is literally "drying"
>>>  up, for any number of reasons.... 

>Okay, what are some of those reasons?  Did everyone decide to drink at the
>same time?  (Or is it flush?)
>Seriously, you can't get rid of water that easily.  Contaminate it, yes.
>But destroy it, no.  (unless you have *very* inefficient fusion plants :-)).

This was something that always bothered me about the planet Kutath in the last
two books of C.J. Cherryh's "Faded Sun" trilogy.  I found it hard to swallow
that in a mere 100,000 years the planet's seas could dry up.  And at the same
time the customs of its inhabitants could remain unchanged enough so that the
returnee's to the planet could base their strategy on those customs.
-- 
Bill Sebok			Princeton University, Astrophysics
{allegra,akgua,burl,cbosgd,decvax,ihnp4,kpno,princeton,vax135}!astrovax!wls