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Vanity writes...

When early man first met a Gargoyle was he just compelled to kill it? Did early man's superstitious and early proto-religous notions convince him that gargoyles must be evil? I would think that early man would be scared of the much more physically dominant gargoyles, however; mammoths proved no match for early humans. Of course I'm also curious as to gargoyles' reaction/response when early man first starting walking about.
Which specie of man first encountered gargoyle (Homo neanderthalis, Homo erectus, Homo sapien..ect..)?

Archeologists have definately found early man developing weapons crafted of wood and stone and bone. This would help offset the physical inequality between man and goyle. When did gargoyles borrow or invent tool making for themselves. Being 'rational' beings I would think it wouldn't take long for them to realize that the spears humans threw at them really hurt!!

I hate to ask a billion questions like this but....

You have said that gargoyle evolution predates mammalian evolution so Gargoyle evolved before man. So given the seemingly headstart in evolution how could they just let man rule the world.

Why does it seem that given the rough lives of gargoyles, which they had no better that early man; did they not invest themselves in art, music, and architecture. When even some of the earliest men developed tools, made art, evidence of instruments presumed by archeologists as perhaps made for music. They began religous elements as burying the dead and trying to preserve the elderly. (Evidence of this espicially advanced in Homo neanderthalis, of which old men have been found with multiple injuries{perhaps gargoyle induced} indicating his being taken care of by the neanderthal family even at the high risk way of life that the neanderthal lead). What accounts for early man's eagerness to "learn-adapt-evolve" where gargoyles seemed content just to use or mimik man's achievements?

Greg responds...

1. Not necessarily. I don't think early man could kill a gargoyle. That took practice.

2. I think fear -- not necessarily superstition, but old-fashioned, this thing is bigger and stronger than I am fear -- would have been there.

3. And Mammoths were something of a match for man, certainly they were dangerous prey. And they weren't nearly as intelligent as a gargoyle.

4. Since, my theory is that Gargoyles pre-date modern man, the answer is, all of them, I believe.

5. I don't have dates for this, but I'm not sure that gargoyles ever truly adopted the spear. Yes, it hurt. But they had better defenses (and offensive strategies) given their physical natures than to adopt spears.

6. Note - I don' mind a billion questions. Just wish you'd NUMBER them, for easier reference. (EVERYONE PAY ATTENTION!)

7. Well, they didn't just let men rule the world. They were largely asleep when man began to take over. Gargs tended to trump everything that came before, including man. But a man with tools, ultimately trumped the Gargs.

8. Who said they didn't? Who's to say that some of those artifacts you speak of weren't gargoylean. And were just attributed to man by human archaeologists who know no better.

9. No, not burying the dead, because gargs have their own tradition, the Wind Ceremony, ashes to ashes or dust to dust.

10. Again, you're assuming facts not in evidence. The fact that they didn't use clothes or weapons or have sophisticated shelters, none of which they physically required, is hardly proof that all they did was use or mimic man's achievements. The first time you meet the gargoyles, in 994, the species is, sadly, already in decline. What you know doesn't speak to what there was or might have been once upon a time.

Response recorded on June 16, 2003

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Justin writes...

Greg,

I have questions about "full" clans.

1) Now a full clan in definition is a group with common family ties in some form. So would clans ever reach a setup where not every gargoyle knows the gargoyle? I.E a clan with say 500,000 members?

2) Will the Manhattan clan ever exceed a population of a 1 million? or more?

3) If three is yes than will some eventually move into the city and leave the castle?

thanks

Greg responds...

1. Not likely. Clans tend to split after their membership gets up into the range of about eighty.

2. Again, not likely.

3. You know I've only planned as far as the early 23rd Century. The numbers of living gargoyles worldwide don't approach what you're asking about. So I can't answer what would happen if or even whether we'd ever get up to numbers that high.

Response recorded on June 11, 2003

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Jared Jones writes...

Hello. I am a big Gargoyles fan and I was wondering something, what would/does happen if a Gargoyle is no good at fighting enemies or protecting a castle or home? Or if a Gargoyle didn't want to fight. Thanks for your time.

Greg responds...

He or she would do other things. As all our characters do other things in addition to protecting and fighting. There might be some stigma attached. Hopefully, not too much.

Of course the gargoyles have many enemies, who might not care whether or not a gargoyle was inclined to fight. So it behooves all gargs to learn some basics in self-defense. Humans too, probably.

Response recorded on June 11, 2003

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F7 Addict writes...

I finally got to see Bushido. I must compliment you on the effect caused by facing opposite the sun. I never realized just how used to their position relative to the sun I was. The backdrop when they turn to stone threw me. Sweet!

Greg responds...

Thanks, although I'm not sure you're right on target. They were facing into the building as opposed to facing out toward potential danger. Since they were still all around the building, at least a quarter of them were still facing the sun.

Response recorded on June 06, 2003

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Benjamin Gilbert writes...

"A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the castle than breathing the air."

You've said (or implied) that Castle Wyvern was built while Hudson was the clan leader. So protecting the castle can't have been a deep-seated, traditional, imperative practice for the Wyvern clan. Sure, there was the normal gargoyle territorial instinct, but there wasn't a _castle_ to protect.

1. Did Hudson (or another clan elder?) invent that saying out of whole cloth? If so, why? Why did he feel the need to word this saying _so strongly_ for a practice less than a generation old, and repeat it to the hatchlings until they were sick of it? (Certainly the Trio seem to have heard it enough.)

2. If not, where did the saying come from, and why did Hudson latch onto it as strongly as he seems to have?

Greg responds...

1. I think that it was a slight adjustment of the original phrase, which may have been something like "A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the rookery than breathing the air." (I believe, by the way, that the "Rookery" used to refer to the gargs' entire home, not just the cave with the eggs.) Or maybe "A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the clan than breathing the air." Or something like that. Did Hudson make the necessary change? Probably.

Response recorded on June 02, 2003

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matt writes...

do gargoyles have any special terms or names for the years or the parts of the year that they mate, lay eggs, or eggs hatch?

Greg responds...

Gargoyles aren't too big on naming things. But, yeah, probably.

Response recorded on May 19, 2003

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Cha-cha writes...

1.Where there any other clans in Scotland around 994?
2.Was(and is it)uncommon for a gargoyle to mate outside the clan?
2a. If not, would that gargoyle belong to both clans or have to choose just one?

Greg responds...

1. Where were they or were there any? The answer to the latter is yes. Though even by 994, the Garg population in Scotland had already been decimated.

2. Well, I wouldn't say it was common back then, but no, I wouldn't say uncommon either. That's not meant to be evasive, just nuancy. It happens often enough so that no one would think it truly odd. But it's not like it was happening all the time.

2a. Ultimately, the gargoyle can't physically live in two places at once, so he or she or rather they (the couple) would have to chose, but that doesn't mean both or either wouldn't be welcomed at the other location.

Response recorded on April 21, 2003

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Daphne writes...

you said that eventually the Gargoyles would attend night classes at colleges. would high schools or younger hold night courses for young gargoyles, or would they be generally homeschooled? and how would the schools adapt for the difference in aging rate?

Greg responds...

I won't pretend I've thought out all these details. Any change would be gradual at best. Homeschooling would predominate at first, certainly. Age would fundamentally have little to do with aptitude, I would think. But that might be controversial. It would be fun to explore, given the opportunity.

Response recorded on April 21, 2003

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Dragon7 writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman I find your posts on gargoyle physiology and culture very fascinating. Having recently read some of your earlier answers to the newly identified Loch Ness Clan a question came to my mind as to how this clan raised and cared for its offspring. It is widely known that gargoyles in the other clans in the gargoyles universe lay eggs is this also true of the Lochness Clan and if so do they put their eggs into caves until hatching as the Wyvern Clan did in generations past?

Greg responds...

Yep.

Response recorded on April 15, 2003

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Vashkoda writes...

I've never bother to question any of the following, and I still pretty much accept it as "just the way things are", but I figured I'd still ask about it just in case it led to any interesting revelations:

1) Why *do* gargoyles assume threatening poses while they sleep? You've mentioned that gargoyles have a similarity to scarecrows. Also, one explanation for building gargoyles on medieval churches was to scare away demons. But what's the "Gargoyles-Universe" explanation? Is it really that effective in scaring away predators (and what kind of animal would attack something made of stone, anyways?). Even scarecrows lose their effectiveness over time, once birds get used to them.

2) In Japan, where the clan said that they face inward as a sign of trust to the humans, they still strike frightening poses. Is this "pose-behavior" therefore something instinctual?

3) Similarly, why did the trio, Hudson and Bronx assume threatening poses as the Magus's sleep spell took place? I'm not sure the gargoyles even understood what was happening, or identified the Magus as a threat (Lex says, "What's he talking about?" and Hudson asks, "What's all this?" just before the spell). As they see the magic swirling around them, I think they get suspicious, but it still seems odd for them to assume attack poses at that moment (I would have expected them to be confused or afraid, but not violent, especially if they haven't had time to understand what's going on). I was wondering whether the fact that they were becoming stone had triggered their instinctual pose-behavior, or were they indeed getting ready to attack the Magus?

Greg responds...

1. Partially, it's just tradition. Keep potential enemies away. A reminder to any potential attacker of what they might face.

2. Possibly. You're in a state of relative vulnerability. The pose might lend some sense-of peace-of-mind.

3. That's possible too, although I always assumed that they were on the verge of leaping into action at the attack when they got caught in it.

Response recorded on April 11, 2003


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