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Body Language Perception; About atevi perceiving Bren's body
Topic Started: Jun 11 2007, 10:01 AM (1,310 Views)
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I've thought that Atevi picked up on slight muscle movements, changes in skin color or breathing that a human wouldn't notice. Think about how a mosquito biting your leg knows when you are going to swat it no matter how hard you try not to give notice.



Hope I've managed to get this right!
Just a thought - the people Bren mixes with are all either highly trained/professional observers or in Cajeiri's case people who have lived very closely with him - are they the only Atevi to whom Bren appears to be so expressive? He has made TV appearances in the earlier books - I just wonder if to the Atevi in the street he appears more volatile/expressive than the norm?
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griffinmoon
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From back a ways:
My thought is that rather a different vision range on wavelength, the atevi ability to know a nerveous/frightened/whatever human is by scent.
Just ask your dog or cat...

And some truely cursed nerveous individuals have a biochemistry that is down-right virulent when nerveous in any degree.

On the more current thought: only the ones who know Bren well can tell. Methinks this is true. Russo didn't have a long contact with Bren, but it seems to me that the common atevi on the street wouldn't know how to gauge Bren's emotional status (if they recognised one as existing).
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Arianne_Luinithil
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Scent as an indicator of human emotional state? That's quite an interesting proposition, nadi. And virulent body chemistry sounds (a very little)like Bren when highly nervous. He was sweating a lot when he had to do that unexpected interview in Foreigner after all but don't know if that improves over the next few books, can't quite remember.

On a side note, atevi are said to be offended by human sweat and its smell.
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barleysmama
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I might be offended by atevi sweat as it is described as smelling like heated petroleum. Yuck.
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griffinmoon
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Barleysmama-ji:
Methinks it was the scent of a roomful of atevi--not necessarily sweaty ones, just a roomful, that had that scent. (Ick from me too). Just like a roomfill of humans just setting about gadding. Nobody's mentioned what a sweaty ateva smells like.
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Neco the Nightwraith
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Living the Right Life
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Imagine what it must be like to have a roomful of kyo smelling up the place. >.<

I'd much rather deal with sweaty atevi than kyo at all...
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Serendipity
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Hi, I'm new here. This isn't really a reply, I just couldn't figure out how else to do it. But I do have a question and hope someone can answer. The atevi don't have any words for the human emotions of liking or loving. But they do feel pleasure when separated people are reunited -- is it relief? joy? a sense of completeness? -- and there must be a word that describes that emotion. Bren should ask Jago. Or maybe even the dowager; she'd undoubtedly get a kick out of it.
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Felicitous Sk8er
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Serendip-ji,
Welcome again! :t

I think atevi feel a sense of completeness: it goes along with counting, :baji , man'chi & all the rest.

I don't have books handy right now to back up my assertion -- but that's my story, & I'm sticking to it! :lol:
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griffinmoon
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Serendipity nadi:
By all means welcome in!
So far we've been told they know "sadness". One might think they know "happiness" by inference. The idea of gaining a mate has been given the word "approval". An ateva can "approve" of a potential mate with or without an "honorable contract" (marriage, to us). Yes, there's some sort of positive emotion felt when a missing memeber of a group comes back (Algini's welcome post-Malguri attack). Oh yes, and sex is "pleasant" per Jago. Anything beyond these incidents is likely to be speculation...and bay, can we speculate!
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