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- Mar 25, 2018
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One of the big challenges to suspension of disbelief for fantasy is explaining how the non-human characters ended up humanoid. Some sort of panspermia or genetic exchange across dimensions might explain having life based on DNA+RNA+protein. Convergence of life on planets in the liquid water zone of stars with similar metalicity to the Sun could explain having similar sets of essential amino acids in the animal life. Having the species with complex cultures being featherless bipeds, not so much.
Viruses crossing evolutionary lineages mostly depends on evolutionary proximity of the hosts plus lots physical proximity for the viruses to evolve to be cross-host pathogens. We tend to share viruses with other old world monkey/ape lineages and with our domestic animals. The analogy of elves to immunologically naive human populations only works if elves are actually hominids (as close to us as chimps). That would mean they are, somehow, recent human off-shoots. Couldn't happen with independent evolution or very rare genetic exchange across dimensions/worlds.
In Tolkien, because he was a theist, the various human-like species were created in the image of the same set of human-like deities. Because Middle Earth elves can share food with humans, we must assume lots of shared biochemistry. Still there's no basis for measuring evolutionary proximity or really guessing about shared pathogens or antigens. How the heck an elf mom doesn't reject a human-elf hybrid fetus is never adequately explained.
Viruses crossing evolutionary lineages mostly depends on evolutionary proximity of the hosts plus lots physical proximity for the viruses to evolve to be cross-host pathogens. We tend to share viruses with other old world monkey/ape lineages and with our domestic animals. The analogy of elves to immunologically naive human populations only works if elves are actually hominids (as close to us as chimps). That would mean they are, somehow, recent human off-shoots. Couldn't happen with independent evolution or very rare genetic exchange across dimensions/worlds.
In Tolkien, because he was a theist, the various human-like species were created in the image of the same set of human-like deities. Because Middle Earth elves can share food with humans, we must assume lots of shared biochemistry. Still there's no basis for measuring evolutionary proximity or really guessing about shared pathogens or antigens. How the heck an elf mom doesn't reject a human-elf hybrid fetus is never adequately explained.