Bit of a Triad canon question, here. When a Search dragon searches does it find all the people with 'the right stuff' - i.e., regardless of age and situation?
For instance, would a search dragon pick out grandfathers and four-Turn olds? Would it keep searching dragonriders and candidates? Would it search the blind and the crippled?
If learning to ignore the ineligible is part of the search dragon's 'training', then how good would they be at guessing ages? The Weyr sets the upper and lower ages, but how good would dragons be at picking whether a person was a 22-Turn-old or a 20-Turn-old, etc.
Thanks!
Someone correct me if I am wrong but I think we discussed this once.
A proper Searchdragon essentially is feeling the level of telepathic empathy in the candidates. IE: they are touching their mind and receiving the proper connection. If that connection is there, then there is the possibility they could connect to their own dragon.
And I think that nascent empathic ability might be strongest/easily detectable during the adolescent period in their life when their minds are opening and they're having experiences and old enough to understand things. So that's why the dragons are able to feel them then and not when they are older. IE: a HAD who is 40 would not be Searched by a dragon even though they have significant abilities. Maybe it's like a switch turns off in the candidates' minds when they turn that age-if the connection isn't made by then. The empathy becomes less focused on and used and that part of the brain gets smaller.
I also think the dragon does understand what would make a good candidate ie: are they physically able and so forth to a certain extent because they are also filtering everything through their connection with their rider and the rider would know that. Plus the books always said an injured candidate would never Impress so that follows a dragon would not choose them, either on the Sands or for Search. As for the reason why....maybe it's a survival mechanism. A dragon will pick the mate best suited for it-an injured candidate would not be able to fight thread with it or even care for it when it's young and needs to be fed and nurtured. Just as a healthy candidate would not be meant to Impress an injured/runty dragon (OKAY RUTH IS A ONE-OFF) which is why those eggs never Hatch.
Anyway so those are my thoughts....
I agree with much of what Chelle said. In my mind the dragon may sense the ability in those around them but it is the rider who hands out the tokens.
I'm sure the riders are also trained not to give those tokens to the infirm rather like an applicant to the armed forces has to pass a physical and be the right age.
The dragon is the barometer of the telepathic talent, while the rider is the one who applies the rules.
At Triad we've normally had a search pair escorted by a non-search pair like a brown or younger bronzerider. This other pair can also possess some knowledge/judgement on the eligibility of anyone the search dragon identifies as a possibility.
Then there is also this: Anyone can ask for a ride to the Weyr and will be taken there if they want to go. At that point the Candidate master who consults with the Weyrwoman can decide whether or not they will Stand.
Look at the story of Jenackt/J'ackt - he was obviously meant to be a Bronzerider but his surly attitude and lack of socialization almost prevented him from Standing at the hatching..
So... from the point where a search dragon identifies a possibility to actually Standing, there are many steps and those who are not qualified or don't meet the eligibility won't make it.
Thanks.
What are these tokens? Never heard of them before.
A proper searchrider carries searchtokens with the Weyr's mark on them. They're little wooden pieces of no value. They give them to the candidates chosen. When a candidate arrives at the Weyr, they present their token to the Headwoman to be allowed into the Barracks. If a candidate doesn't want to accept the Search or their parents don't give permission, they wouldn't be given the token.
Are they a McCaffrey canon thing? I don't recall ever having come across them before - not even at Triad last time.
pretty sure it's a canon thing cause I've always seen them. Trying to think of a single candidate in the books though who was Searched on camera and having a hard time coming up with one. Lessa didn't get a token I don't think cause they just took her and ran.
Anyone?
In Red Star Rising/Dragonseye, Debera mentions that the rider who had searched her gave her a letter, but implied that paper was precious and had kept it for reuse. so I don't suppose it's a great leap to go from using a precious resource to something essentially worthless, particularly when levels of literacy may vary in the more rural areas of Pern.
I was always under the impression that the searchdragon only looked over the young people presenting to him/her as well.
I had a look around and I can find a group of references to search tokens in fan clubs but my searches don't pull up any results in book searches or discussion. At least four of the fandom references are identical in words and punctuation suggesting they are all copied from a single source. Might be fanon rather than canon?
Earliest mention I can find in Triad was in March 2011 - in the gap between my memberships which is why the term is new to me I suppose. :)