metal
Tony
"Paul tried to swallow in a dry throat. He could not take his attention from
the seamed old face, the glistening eyes, the pale gums around silvery metal
teeth that flashed as she spoke. "
Why did Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, Proctor Superior of the Bene
Gesserit school on Wallach IX have metal teeth?
Sammy Sands
"Tony" <to...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:HPSdnYJjm-x6aITR...@giganews.com...
To eat with.....
Sammy Sands
"Sammy Sands" <wild_mo...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:hvdu2b$p7$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
But to be serious, it was obvious that Mohiam, either by personality or
station, had little concern for apperance, it could be that metal teeth were
the most effcient replacement with no cosmetic considerations.
>
Tony
Hi Sam,
You raised some good points. The answer above reminds me a little of the "Why
did the chicken cross the road joke?" :-) But, with respect to not caring how
she looked, I've never heard of metal teeth, not even in the twenty-first
century, although now that I think about it, don't some rappers get metal
"grills" put in?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grill_(jewelry)
In a way, I wonder if Mohiam was doing something similar to the Baron Harkonnen,
that is, attempting to shock people by creating an unusual appearance. Or
perhaps the metal teeth served some purpose . . . a combat purpose? Didn't
"Jaws" the fictional assassin in the James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and
Moonraker have strong stainless steel teeth that could bite through virtually
anything? Maybe Mohiam would sometimes go into berserker mode and attack people
like that killer rabbit in Monty Python's The Life of Brian. ;-)
Tony
Sammy Sands
> What other major character in the Dune Chronicles has metal teeth?
>
Couldn't the absence of description of teeth indicate that most
characters might have had metal teeth?
Sammy
Tony
I don't think so. We know that Thufir had red stained teeth:
"Thufir smiled, revealing red-stained teeth beneath the carmine lips. "
A spice factory commander had milky teeth:
"A head popped up into the con-bubble beside Gurney -- the factory commander, a
one-eyed old pirate with full beard, the blue eyes and milky teeth of a spice
diet."
While Gurney had white teeth:
"A slow, wolfish grin spread across Gurney's face, the teeth showing white
above the chip cup of his stillsuit."
Sammy Sands
Okay. Three of thousands.
Tony
"Sammy Sands" <wild_mo...@yahoo.com>
<snip>
>
>>> Couldn't the absence of description of teeth indicate that most
>>> characters might have had metal teeth?
>>>
>>
>> I don't think so. We know that Thufir had red stained teeth:
>>
>> "Thufir smiled, revealing red-stained teeth beneath the carmine lips. "
>>
>> A spice factory commander had milky teeth:
>>
>> "A head popped up into the con-bubble beside Gurney -- the factory commander,
>> a one-eyed old pirate with full beard, the blue eyes and milky teeth of a
>> spice diet."
>>
>>
>>
>> While Gurney had white teeth:
>>
>>
>>
>> "A slow, wolfish grin spread across Gurney's face, the teeth showing white
>> above the chip cup of his stillsuit."
>>
>
> Okay. Three of thousands.
Herbert indicating the Mohiam had metal teeth appeared to reflect an effort at
characterization. In effect, he's saying, "Here is a character with metal
teeth. This fact together with other information Mohiam tells us something
about her character in the story." Herbert knows most readers would expect
people to have white teeth and so the fact of metal teeth mentioned in the
passage draws the reader's attention to something unusual.
Sammy Sands
Thank you, Captain Obvious. :^) Which brings to mind another question.
Did the Butlerian Jihad prohibit dentures if they were designed using
Computer Aided Design Programs?
Sammy
Tony
> Which brings to mind another question.
> Did the Butlerian Jihad prohibit dentures if they were designed using
> Computer Aided Design Programs?
>
I'm not sure about that, but I assume they prohibited conscious dentures. ;-)
Sammy Sands
"Thy shall not make dentures in the shape of a man's mind" Right out of
the OC Bible....
Giovanni Wassen
> Herbert indicating the Mohiam had metal teeth appeared to reflect an
> effort at characterization. In effect, he's saying, "Here is a
> character with metal teeth. This fact together with other information
> Mohiam tells us something about her character in the story." Herbert
> knows most readers would expect people to have white teeth and so the
> fact of metal teeth mentioned in the passage draws the reader's
> attention to something unusual.
Except she could have coated the metal teeth to appear as white ones.
--
Gio
Zach Edwardson
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned
to a dead channel.
`It's not like I'm using,' Case heard someone say, as he
shouldered his way through the crowd around the door of the
Chat. `It's like my body's developed this massive drug defi-
ciency.' It was a Sprawl voice and a Sprawl joke. The Chatsubo
was a bar for professional expatriates; you could drink there
for a week and never hear two words in Japanese.
Ratz was tending bar, his prosthetic arm jerking monoto-
nously as he filled a tray of glasses with draft Kirin. He saw
Case and smiled, his teeth a webwork of East European steel
and brown decay. Case found a place at the bar, between the
unlikely tan on one of Lonny Zone's whores and the crisp naval
uniform of a tall African whose cheekbones were ridged with
precise rows of tribal scars. `Wage was in here early, with two
joeboys,' Ratz said, shoving a draft across the bar with his
good hand. `Maybe some business with you, Case?'
Case shrugged. The girl to his right giggled and nudged
him.
