February 6, 2004

Orcs and (gasp)politics
Tuor

Yes, I agree with Pippin, this is a LORD OF THE RINGS FORUM, and while I find the political discussion almost irresistable, I feel we should get back to matters at hand, or rename this to the "Foreign Policy/Nuke Quebec" discussion. Though about the War of 1812, the US was still a fledgling country then, and Britain was still a global power, plus Chesapeake Bay and the rest of the eastern coast was being blackaded and the American army was spread around everywhere fighting those darn Canadians and Indians ;), so the burning of Washington isn't that surprising. And I doubt the US could invade Canada in the present day without being condemned by the rest of the world.

All right, now that I've totally ignored my opening statement. I was inclined to say orcs were immortal until I read Tarthalion's article. Now I'm not so sure. It's obvious that there are some orcs who are extraordinarily long-lived like Shagrat and Gorbag; and that orcs multiply, however this is done, like rabbits; and that, even if they are immortal, their life expectancy is significantly reduced by their violent nature. But, it is the second one that brought up a question for me. If the first "orcs" were corrupted elves, they would have been immortal, or just very long lived. The first Numenoreans had long life as well, but throughout the years their life expectancy was reduced due to mingling with "lesser" Men. So, maybe orcs' lives have been reduced due to their prolific reproduction, though it would be hard to prove this without knowing just how orcs "spawn". I am sure orcs have no afterlife, though maybe there could be a "cursed realm" they go to when they die.

Tuor
P.S. I have never once ordered a batch of "freedom fries", nor do I know anyone who has. I mean, come on, freedom fries?