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Silly question in reference to the picture on pg 99 by KS. Is that its tail behind the dragon's head? I have had this book since the early 90s and always assumed it was some sort of cowl/hood/collar, haha. I guess because the end of the tail doesn't have the ridges, and this part looks like it is coming out of the neck/shoulders. Probably would be more obvious in color.

Side note, I also just noticed how the female city rat looks like some of the addicts we pick up at work (which maybe works for a city rat). Not to sound like I am knocking KS's art. I have always loved the dragon, in particular.

If you mean the one in the RMB, that's his neck. It's kinda snaked around and down.

Yeah, that's the one. I knew something was bothering me about that pic, but couldn't figure out what it was once I had one way of looking at it stuck in my head. Kinda like those "is it a vase or two faces" pictures.

Many thanks.

Voodoolaw wrote:Silly question in reference to the picture on pg 99 by KS. Is that its tail behind the dragon's head? I have had this book since the early 90s and always assumed it was some sort of cowl/hood/collar, haha. I guess because the end of the tail doesn't have the ridges, and this part looks like it is coming out of the neck/shoulders. Probably would be more obvious in color.

Side note, I also just noticed how the female city rat looks like some of the addicts we pick up at work (which maybe works for a city rat). Not to sound like I am knocking KS's art. I have always loved the dragon, in particular.

It is a fin or sail running down it's neck.

Aside from the cute city rat, you have to love that mysterious color-art of the androgynous Psi-Stalker.

Axelmania wrote:Aside from the cute city rat, you have to love that mysterious color-art of the androgynous Psi-Stalker.

Yeah. The one with the recessive-gene giving her caucasian skin tone everywhere but her head.

I always figured it was basically makeup and moved on...

No. In other locations it talks about their chalk white skin, and lack of hair.

Up to the point where the "Pony tail tribe' of psi Stalkers actually stitch other hair into their scalps as a tribal thing.

Chalk White skin doesn't necessarily mean immune to tanning though right? Maybe she wore a gimp mask on the beach to retain her natural hues there.

It depends on the 'type' of white skin.

Albinos for example are more prone to burn and skin damage/skin cancers, but I don't know that they 'tan'

"Sit out in the sun too long and ultraviolet radiation from sunlight penetrates your skin and cells, damaging their RNA and DNA. This is bad news, as DNA provides our bodies with all the genetic instructions they need to develop, survive and go about their business, and this kind of DNA damage can lead to skin cancer. To protect you from this, your body helpfully tans, darkening the the skin with a pigment called melanin that reduces UV penetration into cells.

UV radiation stimulates the darkening of existing melanin and spurs increased melanogenesis, the production of new melanin. Cells called melanocytes generate the pigment and push it out of the cell, where it darkens the skin and absorbs and transforms absorbed UV energy into heat."

Now this is important because... you need Melanin to tan, and albinism is the absence of melanin.

So they can't tan. That's why they burn easier and develop more skin cancer than your average person. Many also suffer from photophobia, which means their eyes are less tolerant of light.

Now if Psistalkers are genetic albinos (As well as their other mutations) Then their skin is white due to the lack of melanin, then no, they can't tan.

If it's white for some "Other' reason, then it's something out side 'real world' science that we know of.

As for the pic in question, the art in the RMB, page 160 or so, looks like an 'early' rendition of a Psistalker. And was colored black and white artwork. At that point, in the 'first book of the line' by Palladium, Psistalkers likely wern't totally fleshed out yet. After RMB, it was decided that the psistalkers would default to the appearance on page 106 instead.

Now... I will speculate... that the pick on page 160 comes from this quote in the RMB "The character can be human, or a D-Bee, or a mutoid. "

That doesn't pop up later. So the pick on page 160 of RMB (Or the last color plate there) can be thought of as a "mutoid' psi stalker.

We don't get the discription till RUE, where the quote is,

"Psi-Stalkers ARE different from true humans. in addition to their famous psychic powers and teh fact they live on psychic energy rather than solid food, they are strikingly different in psychical appearance. Average height is more consistant at 6 ft to 6ft 6inches tall, half are ambidextous, neither male nor female has any body hair (not on their heads, arms, legs or anywhere) and their skin is a pale powder white with faint hints of pink around their lips or eyes. Their eyes are typically a piercing blue or smoldering gray"

Now, this appearance, found in the RUE (with tattoos being mentioned to explain the black markings you often see.) are important in that... they DESCRIBE Albinism. Pale powdery white skin with sometimes faint pink around the eyes or lips, and pale blue or gray eyes. (The pink eyes you see in rats and such rarely happens in human. Usually it's pale pale blue eyes that look almost gray, or grayish eyes).

So while they're described as mutant humans (In the RUE and what not) their appearance is the same or mimics that of genetic albinism.

Which circles back around to "no they can't tan"

And .... That one pic in the book described as a wild psi-stalker, could be one of the 'dbee psi-stalkers' or 'Mutoid' psi-stalkers.

Which.. allows both art to be 'correct'.