Entmoot: [On the Middle-earthern Setting: Ken Cheslin of Stourbridge]

[page 25] _Ken Cheslin of Stourbridge._ "....Actually, rather than set the action of the LORD OF THE RINGS in the dim and distant past, that is, SOLELY in the past, I would prefer to nominate a "second Earth" just a few atomspaces away from our reality -- this accounts for not finding remains and for the fact that the vegetation & fauna of the RINGS is so close to our own. I'd say that if the action took place in a "dim and distant" past, then I) if it was dim and distant enough to leave legends but no fossil remains then the flora and fauna would not be so close to ours, and 2) if the dim and distant past was within the last half a million years ((to conform with the said flora and fauna)) then there would have been remains of this civilization dug up long ago.......I favour a "dimension next door". This would explain the vegs and the beasties, and also there is no reason to deny that visiting Elven folk could be responsible for our legends......I suppose you could say that the action took place long ago and that everything was destroyed then evolved again to much the same form...apart from the fact that there'd be no-one to carry on the legends if life had to evolve a second time, it would probably not take the same course. And then the earth not being so young as she was with the first life, and getting on toward middle age any cooling the second time....probably never evolve any more life at all..."