How do the Glukkons do it?
 

Here's a little thought which I have been pondering, and don't think anybody has discussed. Here it is: look at your average Glukkon. Weak. Pretty defenseless. Probably got lung problems. So, how on earth does this creature manage to get those big, tough Sligs to follow them? How do they manage it? I mean, without the sligs, they are nothing. Surely it should be the Sligs calling the shots?

Theories, info and comments welcome.

Cheers,

GlukkonGluk

Sligs have no choice. Gluks pay the Queen to give them agressive balls of meanness that will serve without question. The Sligs also stay because they like to beat up Muds and the bigger your Gun, the more of a Slig you are.

I'm also VERY dissapointed that this thread isn't about Glukkon sex.

To each their own, I suppose.

Well, yes, while I do think about Glukkon sex a lot, I don't like to mention it in case people think I'm wierd

In societies, social prowess is far more important than being strong or having a gun.

Well, to a Slig...being strong and having a gun is the very essence of society. That's why I think it's so odd that they should follow Glukkons.

Just think of the nazis... Or the military. All you need is a good speaker, and a tint of fear.

If they don’t follow the Glukkons, they don’t get given the guns by the Glukkons. Slig aren’t smart, but they’re not that stupid.

But once they have the guns...well, that's an even worse lookout for the Glukkons. Especially since Sligs aren't exactly treated like princesses by them, eh?

Individual Sligs think what is in the individual Slig's best interest, not what's in the best interest of Sligs as whole.

There's several reasons sligs don't revolt.

- Sligs are stupid. Many of them haven't even entertained the idea of organizing an uprising. They have no concept of leadership or a better life to fan the flames of revolt. Being security guards is all they know, and all they care about.

- Sligs live in fear of their mum, Skillya. Horror stories of what she does to those of her children that misbehave keep the Sligs in line.

- Sligs aren't the leadership type. Glukkons provide them with guns, ammo, cigarettes, food, shelter, and most of all, mechanical pants/wings. These are the only things Sligs care about, so why throw away such luxuries in the name of sedition?

- Sligs are brainwashed and subjugated from birth. They're programmed to be dumb, obedient drones with itchy trigger-fingers and a touch of sadism. Sligs are actually peaceful by nature, so the industrialists take care in training them to be anything but.

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Ok, I think Sekto Springs wins the Best Answer competition lol

All those things make sense in the present, but I've always wondered how the Glukkons became powerful in the first place. Given their limited physical abilities, how did they come to develop such powerful industries? Obviously in the present they're assisted by both paid and slave workers, but at some point in the past they wouldn't have had those resources.

Well Glukkons advanced into alchemical sciences, abandoning their spiritual ways. It would probably be hundreds of years before they were capable of building complex machines, but they had the time as Mudokons remained harmless naturalists.
They hid away and conspired against them for ages, recruiting other creatures (Sligs, Vykkers) to their cause, bribing them with precious metals and false promises. This collaboration of species hastened their industrial progress, and eventually they were collected and advanced enough to wage a war on the Mudokons.
The Mudokons lost, arrows versus bullets kind of deal.
Many were slaughted, the queen at the time was kidnapped and subjugated to birth a workforce, those that remained hid away in the deepest temples, and I assume this was how it was for decades to come. Then Abe set the wheels of revolt in motion.

As to their physical characteristics, I don't think Glukkons we're always so frail and stupid, especially if the design of the Oldgers is anything to go by.

The Oldgers? Please explain.

I may have my trivia wrong, but I thought the Oldgers (an early creature concept by Stephen Olds) were representative of the Glukkons before they went bad.

Don't suppose there's any concept art of them?

In the book there is. Page 27, farthest right.

Yes, but my question was how did they manage to obtain such alchemical and industrial prowess without usable arms?

Also, Sam wasn't kidnapped. She chose to join the Glukkons.

Well like I said, they might not have always walked on their hands...
Also I didn't specify that the Queen they captured was Sam.

Given that Glukkons have legs of sort dangeling underneath their body it would indicate they haven't always walked the way they do now. Maybe something in that entire alchemical process that messed them up.

Indeed. Bear in mind the Glukkons we're familiar with are the result of eons of exposure to their own industry, self-mutilation, isolation, and good old fashioned bitterness.

I'm with Sekto on this one...

Glukkons were probably stronger in the past but as their living style evolved so did their body.

I know this is more FC fare, but I figured it wouldn't hurt posting my rendition of what the Glukkons might have looked like before their "renaissance".

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...dger_gluk1.jpg

Based on the Oldgers.

I always thought that lifetimes of being waited on hand and foot led their legs to atrophy and become useless. This made them more dependent on slavery, so their legs atrophied more, so they were more dependent on slavery etc.

Also, bear in mind that while they need their hands to walk, they are still (probably) functional as hands. If a Glukkon finds somewhere to sit down, they can probably be quite dextrous.

I thought there was a connection between the glukkons becoming all disfigured after they went against the Mudokons... But it may just be me remembering wrong. Meh.

I remember reading long, long ago that it was the Glukkons' alchemical experiments—an attempt to transform their own hand into one that would fit the shape on the Mudokon pawprint moon and thus earn themselves the title of Chosen Race over the Mudokons—that resulted in the disfigured anatomy we see today. However, this may be a case of Word of Dante.

Well, we know that the Glukkons' bodies have changed with time- for example, we know that their eyes cannot see in daylight, since they swore ages ago never to look at the sky again, since it contained, that filthy, horrible moon that those little Mudokons were using as proof that they were the Chosen Race. So, I expect other things about them could have changed just as easily.

A feasable time frame for Glukkons to evolve (or in this case; devolve) with any significant difference to their physical appearance is somewhere in the xxx,000 year range, if I'm not mistaken. This process can be hastened by exposure to toxic industry, and perhaps a dash of mystical hyperbole to emphasize the wickedness (trope).

Limbs can atrophy pretty severely over a lifetime. A lot of parapeligics have really thin legs. So the devolution in combination with that probably could fit in quite a small timescale.

True. For all we know Glukkons could be born with perfectly usable legs, but are raised from birth to walk on their arms. This seems kind of silly, but who am I to judge Glukkon culture?

It would actually make sense. The height of fashion can be to use the body in wholy unhealthy way. Although the only example I can think of is horses being made to hold their heads far too high to look posh.

But then, why hide that fact from everyone else?

Hrm a Slig coup d'état could happen maybe in the last game or it might make for some interesting fan fiction.

I always thought Glukkons were like that because they were completely taken care of by slaves, as well. Not that they had slaves because they were like that.

The closest human comparison could be Chinese foot-binding.

Neck rings?

That too.

Maybe they bound their legs so that it increases blood flow to the brain.. they have big heads, probably because they have big brains as a result of the increased bloodflow.. They choose to bind their legs because they can still use their hands just fine as long as they are sitting down or something.. maybe they have some sort of bionic legs like the sligs when they're not wearing them silly shoulder-pad suits

There's a thought- if they can make bionic legs for their sligs, then they should be able to make them fore themselves. Which means they either aren't allowed to, or don't want to...

They really don't want to. http://oddworldlibrary.net/toe/FAQ#W...echanical_legs