Thoughts on why the Harvestman is actually a failed Uterus/Embryo:
Both the Uteri and the Harvestman happen to be references to albums by Nirvana/Kurt Cobain, with the Uteri referencing the album cover of In Utero, and with the Harvestman being a reference to Kurt Cobain’s Home Recordings album cover.
The Harvestman’s limbs seem to be made up of separate parts connected at the joints, which could suggest that he is a synthetically made being. The New Gods also say this about him:”Unable to satisfy the needs of his victims, he resorts to more violent ways of pleasure.”
To me, this seems to be confirmation that the Harvestman was originally created to sexually please, but for whatever reason, he is unable to do so without murdering the recipients. Uteri are also beings made specifically for sexual pleasure, and are the creations of Valteil.
Valteil is actually the first person that comes to mind when we speak of inorganically made creatures in Fear & Hunger, so if the Harvestman really is a synthetic being – Valteil is most definitely his creator.
Both the Uteri and the Harvestman are seen in “seductive” positions, with the Uteri having a whole puzzle in the Ma’habre libraries, wholly based on their compromising positions, and with the Harvestman laxly laying down while petting the Girl.
My theory on why the Harvestman is male, while the Uteri are female, is that Valteil was trying to make a way for the Uteri to birth Embryos(Which are male), but ended up fumbling it, resulting in the Harvestman being male. What makes me more certain of this theory is the fact that despite his spindly and eerie appearance, his facial features are almost childish. This could also explain his interest in the Girl, as she is both of the things he did not become(A child, and a female).
If all of the things I said earlier are true, it would also explain why the Harvestman has a soul, while the Uteri do not. Embryos DO have a soul, so the Harvestman, presumably being a grotesque mix of both an Embryo and a Uterus, could have a soul from his Embryo part.
The Uteri and the Harvestman are both gone from present-day Ma’habre
All of this is just a theory of mine, though. Take it with a huge grain of salt, whilst also imagining that I am writing all this with a tinfoil hat atop my head, and my walls covered wholly in pictures of the Harvestman, the Uteri, the Embryos and Valteil connected with red string.