5 - Video
I never wrote the essay on equivalence I had planned--it is, after all, difficult to come up with someone coherent to dictate to who can be directed to go back and correct one's mistakes. Still, it's a topic I've found myself thinking about more and more today. It was not so long ago I found myself in human form, and today I find myself in the form of a sea serpent--not as dramatic a change perhaps, but still unsettling. Is Temeraire the dragon equivalent to Temeraire the human or Temeraire the sea serpent. I suppose that, however big the differences, I am still myself.
There are many sea serpents in my world, though I have only encountered one up close. I tried to communicate with her, but I could not. Laurence said they are not intelligent, so do not talk, but I am not so sure. There is no reason a sea serpent would speak the language of men or of dragons. In the end, I had to fight her and kill her, even though I did not really want to. I don't think she realized that she was close to sinking a ship full of intelligent beings.
That said, please keep in mind that any sea serpent you encounter today is likely to be me, and I am quite content to mind my own business.