Genetic engineering ~ The Uruk-Hai - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

***Mister Underhill*** · 11-09-2000, 02:51 AM

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
Posts: 183</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
<img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/sting.jpg" align=absmiddle> Re: Uruk-Hai

This thread has been gnawing at me for days. My gut tells me that Uruks aren't just a simple cross-breeding of Men and Orcs. I don't have a lot of evidence to back this up, and I'm too tired (<img src=tired.gif ALT="/I"> ) to look for it now. Here's a couple of reasons, though, off the top of my head:

1) JRRT seems to make distinct references to "half-orcs" in a few places. In UT, "orc-men" (the sort of simple crossbreed that's been suggested, I deem) seem distinct from the Uruks when both types fight in the Battles of the Ford of Isen.

2) If the Uruks were produced via a good ol' fashioned eugenics program, where did Sauron get his Mannish breeding stock from? He couldn't produce a whole new (and distinct) species with only a Rohirrim maiden here and a Gondolinian farmer's daughter there.

These points are certainly open to debate, but something just doesn't feel right about Uruks being that simple. There's got to be some serious hex action at work in their creation, IMHO.

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11-09-2000, 02:51 AM	#12
*Mister Underhill* Dread Horseman Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Behind you! Posts: 2,744	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight Posts: 183</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> <img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/sting.jpg" align=absmiddle> Re: Uruk-Hai This thread has been gnawing at me for days. My gut tells me that Uruks aren't just a simple cross-breeding of Men and Orcs. I don't have a lot of evidence to back this up, and I'm too tired (<img src=tired.gif ALT="/I"> ) to look for it now. Here's a couple of reasons, though, off the top of my head: 1) JRRT seems to make distinct references to "half-orcs" in a few places. In UT, "orc-men" (the sort of simple crossbreed that's been suggested, I deem) seem distinct from the Uruks when both types fight in the Battles of the Ford of Isen. 2) If the Uruks were produced via a good ol' fashioned eugenics program, where did Sauron get his Mannish breeding stock from? He couldn't produce a whole new (and distinct) species with only a Rohirrim maiden here and a Gondolinian farmer's daughter there. These points are certainly open to debate, but something just doesn't feel right about Uruks being that simple. There's got to be some serious hex action at work in their creation, IMHO. </p>