The story itself

[Amaroq Wolf]

I noticed all the characters walk on the balls of their feet.  Even when standing still, the drawings give the impression that the heels never touch the ground.

Evidently, humans gave morphs hands (and shorter arms) but neglected to adapt their legs to comfortable upright motion.  As most 4 legged creatures do, the morphs walk on their toes.  What long-term effect this has on their posture and joint health has never been studied.  I would assume that standing in one place would be hard on the ankles, knee and hip muscles, as they can't lock and balance them like we can.

Actually, I have long suspected that this method of walking/standing would actually be beneficial rather than detrimental.

Look at how you walk right now. With every step you take, the shock of the impact of your foot on the ground sends the vibrations up through your bones, joints, etc. Now try to walk like the animals do. Bend your leg slightly and walk on the balls of your feet. You'll notice that with every step, the shock is absorbed by your calf muscles rather than by your bones and joints.

The downfall to this method of posture is that us humans are so used to walking with straight legs, we can't stand or walk with bent legs very long, because our calf muscles get tired out quickly. But I think that if we learned to walk like this from birth, we would not only have much stronger calf muscles, but this would actually eliminate, or at least vastly reduce, arthritis in the knees as well as hip and back problems. Though on the flip side, if we walked like the morphs do from birth, we'd be unable to walk normally without hurting our achilles tendons because they wouldn't be used to stretching as far as they do now.

[AllieFiona]

My husband walks on the balls of his feet.  He's done so all his life (he had to wear special shoes as a toddler because he walked on his toes).  His feet are like rocks; there is no flex to them.  They are also extremely sensitive to pressure.  So far, no knee or hip problems but his feet and ankles give him a lot of grief.

Anthropologists claim that our human legs are structured like they are because it was the best evolutionary development for bipedal motion.  Resting on our ankles gives us the best balance, while the long leg bones give us a bigger stide, saving energy.  The S-curves in our backs also help with balance, but we pay for it with back problems.

[cairn destop]

Has anyone noticed that the character depicted in Sandy's mind is attired in a similar style?  Although I cannot be certain of the species, (otter? -- ferret? -- other?), I am certain it's not a wolf.  Wondering if there was a falling out among thieves and Sandy wound up on the loosing side.

[Amaroq Wolf]

Wow Allie, I thought there would be some detriment to walking like the morphs do, but I had absolutely no idea that it would be that bad.

What if we walk like humans from birth, but then later in our lives learn to walk like morphs as well. I wonder if practicing both methods of walk and interchanging them back and forth would reap the benefits of both worlds without the hardships that go with either one.

That is an interesting observation, cairn. I wonder if perhaps he was betrayed by a member of his own tribe or family. Although there being an otter or similar creature after him would throw that idea out the window.

[AllieFiona]

I don't think walking like Morphs later in life would work out.  I think my husband's feet are messed up because there is a lot of strain put on the little muscles in the feet, strain that should be supported by the larger thigh and calf muscles.  We humans don't have the luxury of shifting our weight between 4 limbs.  That means all of our weight is being supported by one foot or the other when we walk.  The heel and toe arrangement we have now is probably optimal.  Most of the weight rests directly on a large bone, which takes the shock of placing the foot down.   The arched foot-bones lend strength to the foot.  The toes are laid out flat, but flex upward easily to allow the foot to rock from back to front and provide a push-off in a way that conserves energy.

When I walk on my toes for a while, I notice that not only my feet ache, but the muscles in my calves get sore.   My ankle tend to wobble, exposing a weakness in design that would get me in a lot of trouble if I was running from a predator.  Trying to walk on the toes of our current limb design would be pretty disasterous in the long run.

If we had legs like the morph, we wouldn't have ankle problems but I think the problems I mentioned in an earlier reply would plague us.  We would also have no choice but to walk on our toes, so we couldn't switch back and forth.  Morphs' heels are where our knees are!

[cairn destop]

A comment made by Rif last week has had me a bit confused.  Rif tells Sandy the next creature he runs into might think him a tasty meal.  This infers the morphs compete in the same way as they do in nature.  Makes you wonder how some species manage to remain on friendly terms.  Foxes eat rats and hares.  Dogs eat hares and kill foxes.  Seems intelligence didn't remove that tendency.

One last comment about that strip.  Check out Sandy's expression.  Some of the best artwork is in those expressive eyes.

[WyrmMaster]

Most of the tribes derived from carnivorous animals either live in or near the Wild Lands. This reduces "survival competition" in the Known Lands. Even so, the Boars and Elks are not exactly on friendly terms, and neither of them are carnivores. (Yes, boars are omnivores. I mean "not pure carnivores.") The Boars and Elks are both warrior tribes though.

[AllieFiona]

Perhaps Rif is exaggerating the danger.

[WyrmMaster]

Rif exaggerate? Never!  :rolleyes:

[cairn destop]

My impression is that Rif was speaking factual.  Consider that the bear had every intention of literally having Sandy for dinner.  She also tried killing Rif in their contest.  Think this society has more dangers from species dominance than we humans have with racial dominance.  I may have noted this earlier, but there was a science fiction writer who wrote that no two races can ever meet without one destroying the other.  Should they be confined to the same space, one will remove the other through extermination. 

Though the advertisement is comical, the facts behind it might give pause.  How many cavemen do we see?  The Neanderthals were exterminated because homosapian competed for the same resources.  Think somethin on that line might become worthy of a fan fiction.

[cairn destop]

Regarding the strip for 3/13/2007:


Methinks the author's logic is both good and flawed.  Rif's reasoning that the box would open on all zeros because it looks like an egg makes sense.  However, good his logic, the reality is different.  Based on the picture, there were three wheels, which means 1,000 possible combinations.  Since the manufacturer sets the boxes with different codes and there are instructions regarding changing the original combination, the solution is illogical.  What is to say the human who used that box didn't use a special number, (social security, phone, employee, address), that would be easy for him to remember?  Of course, with sufficient time, the box could be opened.

[WyrmMaster]

This is actually a comment on how many security devices are set by default to some easy "password." The user is expected (but many times doesn't) change this to a more secure password. This box was probably set by default to 000, and the code was never set to another value. If you don't know that 000 is a likely default, that might still be a good code  -_-

[AllieFiona]

I have 3 suitcases that came from the manufacturer set at 000, and I never bothered to reset them.  (What's the point when the department of homeland security will break your luggage when it cannot easily open it?)  I have also bought several little combo locks in the last few years, and they were all initially set to 000.  I only reset them when I started to use them.  Who's to say that the sextant was ever used before morphs had it?

I read a safe-cracking article a while back that said that a very high percentage of consumers do not reset their locks after they buy them.

[Amaroq Wolf]

I don't think walking like Morphs later in life would work out.  I think my husband's feet are messed up because there is a lot of strain put on the little muscles in the feet, strain that should be supported by the larger thigh and calf muscles.  We humans don't have the luxury of shifting our weight between 4 limbs.  That means all of our weight is being supported by one foot or the other when we walk.  The heel and toe arrangement we have now is probably optimal.  Most of the weight rests directly on a large bone, which takes the shock of placing the foot down.   The arched foot-bones lend strength to the foot.  The toes are laid out flat, but flex upward easily to allow the foot to rock from back to front and provide a push-off in a way that conserves energy.

When I walk on my toes for a while, I notice that not only my feet ache, but the muscles in my calves get sore.   My ankle tend to wobble, exposing a weakness in design that would get me in a lot of trouble if I was running from a predator.  Trying to walk on the toes of our current limb design would be pretty disasterous in the long run.

If we had legs like the morph, we wouldn't have ankle problems but I think the problems I mentioned in an earlier reply would plague us.  We would also have no choice but to walk on our toes, so we couldn't switch back and forth.  Morphs' heels are where our knees are!

Wow, you make a very good argument. Deep conversation such as this is hard to come by with most of the people I talk to. xD

[cairn destop]

That line about "keep your fur on" sounded so funny since it cannot be removed.  However, I do see the need for similar lines within the story.  Can remember using such in my fan fictions on another site and those proved a lot of fun since you're trying to change a common line to one that meets the animalistic characteristics of the story's inhabitants.

puts a real kink in my tail = you're getting on my nerves.
a burr in my fur = you're being a pain in the butt
has my hackles raised = You're ticking me off


Bet others can come up with similar animal analogies.

wagging along = happy as a jay bird
he's so tall-tailed = that guy is really stuck-up / or so full of himself
stop being omega = don't be such a crybaby
try chewing a cud = relax / take a chill pill
sent my ears a twitching = my ears were burning (about gossiping)