The Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy is a series of novels written by Canadian science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer.Science Fiction Writer Robert J. Sawyer: FAR-SEER Index The books depict an Earth-like world on a moon which orbits a gas giant, inhabited by a species of highly evolved, sentient Tyrannosaurs, among various other creatures from the late Cretaceous period, imported to this moon by aliens 65 million years prior to the story. The series consists of three books: Far-Seer, Fossil Hunter, and Foreigner.
The trilogy
Cover Title Year ISBN Far-Seer 1992 Far-Seer is the first book in the Quintaglio Ascension.
Sixty-five million years ago, aliens transplanted Earth's dinosaurs to another world. Now, intelligent saurians -- the Quintaglio -- have emerged. Afsan, the Quintaglio counterpart of Galileo, must convince his people of the truth about their place in the universe before astronomical forces rip the dinosaurs' new home apart. Fossil Hunter 1993 Fossil Hunter is the second book in the series.
Toroca, a Quintaglio geologist (and son of Afsan, from the previous book), is under attack for his controversial theory of evolution. But the origins of his people turn out to be more complex than he ever imagined, for he soon discovers the wreckage of an ancient starship -- a relic of the aliens who transplanted Earth's dinosaurs to this planetary system. Now Toroca must convince Emperor Dybo that evolution is true; otherwise, the territorial violence inherited from their Tyrannosaur ancestors will destroy the last survivors of Earth's prehistoric past.
Meanwhile, Emperor Dybo's rule is challenged by his brother Dy-Rodlox, lord of Edz-Toolar. Foreigner 1994 Foreigner is the final book in the series.
In Far-Seer and Fossil Hunter, readers met the Quintaglios, a race of intelligent dinosaurs and learned the threat to their existence. Now they must quickly advance from a culture equivalent to Earth's Renaissance to the point where they can leave their world.
While the Quintaglios rush to develop space travel, the discovery of a second species of intelligent dinosaurs rocks their most fundamental beliefs. Meanwhile, blind Afsan -- the Quintaglio Galileo -- undergoes the newfangled treatment of psychoanalysis, throwing everything he thought he knew about his people into a startling new light.
The Quintaglios The Quintaglio are a fictional species of sapient theropods which first appeared in Robert J. Sawyer's short story "Uphill Climb", and later on starred in his Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy. Descended from earth's dinosaurs, (specifically, Tyrannosaurs), they live on a moon orbiting a gas giant that they refer to as "The Face of God".
Evolution
As stated above, Quintaglios are Tyrannosaurs. It is stated in Fossil Hunter that they're directly descended from Nanotyrannus. Isolation on the Quintaglio Moon (along with some genetic modifications to their Tyrannosaur ancestors by the aliens that transplanted them there to push them in the right direction), ensured that one day they would evolve into a sentient species. 65 million years later, they did, and the Quintaglio race emerged.
Physiology and comparison to Tyrannosaurs
Quintaglios resemble miniature Tyrannosaurs, and share many features in common with their ancestors. They eat only meat, and have massive heads with jaws filled with rows of sharp, serrated teeth. They have short, muscular necks, stocky torsos, solid black forward-facing eyes, thick muscular tails, and powerful hind legs ending with three birdlike talons.Science Fiction Writer Robert J. Sawyer: Notes for the Far-Seer Cover Artist
However, due to the 65 million years they have had to evolve, Quintaglios vary from tyrannosaurs in several significant ways. Tyrannosaurs have very stubby forelimbs, with only two visible fingers. Quintaglios, on the other hand, have longer, more well developed arms with dexterous five-fingered hands, (four fingers and an opposable digit) similar to a human, (unlike humans, though, most Quintaglios are left-handed). The fingers terminate in curved, retractable claws, which can be extended at will (such as when threatened). They are much smaller than a Tyrannosaur, although still large; an old adult Quintaglio standing about high. Rather than standing with their backs parallel to the ground like a normal theropod, they usually maintain a semi-erect posture, although while running they do stoop forward into a traditional theropod-like stance. They are far more intelligent than their ancestors.
While they are indeed dinosaurs, Quintaglios possess a variety of traits that are more reminiscent of lizards. They are capable of limited regeneration; a Quintaglio can grow back a severed limb or tail, although complex, vital structures such as organs cannot be grown back. Male Quintaglios possess a dewlap sack on their throats, similar to a frog's or those on some types of birds, which they can inflate with air when they are sexually aroused or in "dagamant" (likely "battle frenzy" though no literal translation is given, dagamant is brought on by extreme territorial encroachment and occasionally other factors). Quintaglios continue to grow throughout their entire lives, like crocodiles, although their growth rate slows with age. Similar to certain lizards, Quintaglios have a small salt-secretion gland beneath the surface of the muzzle, but the opening for it is simply a very tiny hole halfway down the side of the muzzle. Except in an extreme close-up view, it would be all but invisible.
Quintaglio hide is tough and leathery. As humans have lost most body hair, Quintaglios have lost most scales and scutes, but these may be present in individuals. Quintaglio skin is almost entirely green, although it may be freckled, mottled, or splotched with brown or yellow in some individuals, and with black in old individuals. Oddly enough, Quintaglios cannot lie; their muzzles turn blue when they say something untrue, and for this reason the colour blue is reviled among Quintaglios as "The Liars' Tint". Those who can lie without their muzzles turning blue are called demons or "Aug-Ta-Rot", which literally means "Those who can lie in the light of day", and though there exist Quintaglios capable of doing so, this is not widely known, and Aug-Ta-Rot are believed to exist only in mythology.
Lifestyle
Quintaglios are exclusively carnivorous, like their Tyrannosaur ancestors. They bring down larger prey by hunting in packs. While they are advanced enough to use weapons to kill prey, their culture forbids it; Quintaglios hunt the old-fashioned way, running prey down and dispatching it via tooth and claw. Quintaglio hunts are led by special female Quintaglios who perpetually emit the pheromones characteristic of being in heat, though they are typically also sterile.
Quintaglios live a mostly nomadic lifestyle, travelling in packs and following herds of animals. They set up camp for a short while, then move on so that prey can repopulate extensively hunted areas. Quintaglio population density is kept fairly low for this reason, and also due to the culling of egglings by the Bloodpriests. The culling of eggs is necessary as Quintaglios have a large sense of territoriality, socially acceptable close quarters means anywhere from 7 to 10 paces between each person. Quntaglios who feel that their space has been violated, along with other factors (such as having not hunted in a long time) tend to get fierce, and if not calmed might enter dagamant and fight the intruder(s) to the death.
Quintaglios are sparsely clad, and wear little clothing beyond simple sashes, hats, belts and jewellery. Priests, however, wear robes; junior priests wear robes of black and red, senior priests wear colourful, banded robes coloured like The Face of God (these are changed to white robes after Far-Seer), and Bloodpriests wear purple robes.
Religion and tradition
Quintaglios are a very religious people. Their original creation myth tells of a goddess who laid the "Eight Eggs of Creation". From the first egg came all the water, and from the second came the land. From the third came all the air, and from the fourth came the sun. From the fifth came the stars, planets and moons, and from the sixth came all the plants. Finally, from the seventh came all the herbivores (Ceratopsians, Ankylosaurs, Sauropods and Hadrosaurs, among others), and from the eighth and final egg came the carnivores which preyed upon them, (Tyrannosaurs, Ornithomimids and Dromaeosaurids, among others.) God created the five original female hunters by biting off her left arm, each of her fingers becoming a Quintaglio. They wished to create as God did, so she bit off her right arm and these became the first males, the mates of the original hunters.
Quintaglio tradition states that a Quintaglio must go on at least one proper hunt in their life in order to go through the rites of passage. After a successful hunt, the Quintaglio gets a hunting tattoo which symbolises their passage into adulthood. Adults with no hunting tattoo are accorded no status at all.
The Quintaglio mythos was further expanded when roughly 150 years prior to the story, the Quintaglio prophet "Larsk" discovered what he believed to be the face of God, and a religion was built around the worship of The Face of God. Larsk's descendants became the Royal Family, and rule all of land. Dy-Dybo, former Prince and current Emperor, is a part of the Royal Family and a direct descendant of Larsk. This religion adds a new tradition to Quintaglio society; that of sailing across the ocean to retrace Larsk's voyage and gaze upon The Face of God. The story of the first book in the series revolves around Afsan (the main character), discrediting this notion while on one of these voyages, and challenging Quintaglio tradition by proving that the Face of God was nothing more than a planet.
There also exists a cult known as the Lubalites. This cult is based around the worship of the original five hunters, particularly Lubal, and rejects the notion that The Face of God is actually God, adhering more closely to the original creation myths set forth in the sacred scrolls. Worship of the original five was banned by Larsk, but after Far-Seer the Larskian faith is discredited and the Lubalites are free to engage in worship of the original five without persecution.
A special order in the Quintaglio Priesthood are known as the "Halpataars", or "Bloodpriests". In order to prevent overpopulation, a Bloodpriest is assigned to devour seven out of every eight Quintaglio hatchlings a day after they hatch. The Bloodpriest first goes into a trance, then dons a purple robe and enters the nest; there, he chases the hatchlings and eats all but the fastest, strongest one. The order of the Bloodpriests is exclusively male; the original Bloodpriest was Mekt, one of the original five hunters, but she passed on the tradition to males because she felt it was inappropriate for one who lays eggs to dispatch hatchlings.
Territoriality and dagamant
While Quintaglios consider themselves to be civilised beings, deep down their thoughts and actions are ruled by their primal, territorial instincts. Quintaglios hate physical contact with one another, value their privacy and have a wide circumference of personal space. Spending too much time in the company of others, or extended time in close quarters with other Quintaglios can cause them to enter an animalistic frenzy known as dagamant. This also happens if exposed to sufficiently alien stimuli; it is implied that this is triggered by the uncanny valley effect after some Quantaglio are driven to immediate dagamant by the merest sight of the Yellow Quintaglios.