The Ilion Vector by Dwimordene
Title: The Ilion Vector
Author: Dwimordene
Challenge: Natural Disasters: Plague
Summary: Diplomacy is war by other means.
Characters/Pairing: OMCs, OFCs
Rating: K+
Book/Source: LOTR Appendices, UT
Warnings: Too many notes!
Disclaimer: I'm neither JRRT nor making money off this.
( Read more... )
Author: Dwimordene
Challenge: Natural Disasters: Plague
Summary: Diplomacy is war by other means.
Characters/Pairing: OMCs, OFCs
Rating: K+
Book/Source: LOTR Appendices, UT
Warnings: Too many notes!
Disclaimer: I'm neither JRRT nor making money off this.
( Read more... )
Comments 13
I loved the notes; what a great explanation of the geographical pattern of the plague, and a villainously wily move on Sauron's part. My second reading of the drabble certainly benefited a lot from the background info.
Phrases such as "the ultimate in Ardaverse biological weaponry" and "elven T-cell onslaught" simply aren't bandied about often enough.
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The notes really are necessary for this drabble, I think. The Great Plague isn't something I've seen written about really, and certainly not its disease vectors and geographical spread.
Phrases such as "the ultimate in Ardaverse biological weaponry" and "elven T-cell onslaught" simply aren't bandied about often enough.
They really aren't!
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The Great Plague isn't something I've seen written about really, and certainly not its disease vectors and geographical spread.
Hurrah for paths less traveled by.
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This may be the one health regimen I can fulfill effortlessly.
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I suppose the "dark winds" then would be--in Middle Earth terms--a rationalization, the way the concept of miasma and the like was in historic times?
I guess Thranduil would not be too likely to explain it all in detail to his neighbours, even if he had it all figured out, afterwards.
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That's my sense of the matter. I suppose it's also possible there were strong winds and that the virus jumped to birds - hello avian flu! - which subsequently made matters worse for Gondor and other lands.
I guess Thranduil would not be too likely to explain it all in detail to his neighbours, even if he had it all figured out, afterwards. Probably not. Tolkien does say that Gondor at that time retained knowledge of medical techniques and medicines that significantly increased its capacity to handle the plague, whereas the denizens of Rhovanion had none of that knowledge and so really suffered. But Osgiliath, Gondor, and southern Arnor, despite its knowledge, still got walloped. I imagine the only reason the Elves didn't get as walloped was (a) they retained more of that same information; (b) they *are* Elves, and have better immune systems, and (c) Gondor didn't consult Mirkwood ( ... )
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And, for once, this is an occasion when the notes being longer than the drabble really does illuminate the thought process involved to good end, rather than merely cheating on the word limit. ;-)
The latter not aimed at you personally btw, rather a remark to the general.
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And, for once, this is an occasion when the notes being longer than the drabble really does illuminate the thought process involved to good end, rather than merely cheating on the word limit. ;-)
It really does. This sort of thing does need a longer fic to really be able to handle all the data in the notes.
(Although I do love cheating on word limits - hello, footnotes, how have you been today?)
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*baits bee traps with honey*
Glad you enjoyed the notes (and the drabble)!
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