I just listened to the most recent episode, and was thinking of your discussion on how normal it is for people to rescue each other in the Underland, and how that especially applies to the bats. Bonds are obligated of course, but even for strangers, there's a cultural expectation that bats will save people from falling unless they have good reason not to. We're told multiple times that humans are taught from toddlerhood that any bat, anywhere, will catch them. Henry demonstrates this in book one, and Luxa says they would have caught anyone that fell from the bridge, if needed. In the Bane trip, Aurora catches Boots and Temp. In book 3, Gregor notes it would probably usually be awkward to randomly ride Queen Athena. But in an emergency? No complaints from the Queen. I don't think it's a bad cultural norm or an external limitation placed on the bats. If I could fly, I feel like I'd want to save someone's life if I could, even if we weren't best friends. But I think it's an interesting cultural norm for the underland. Enemies (like rats/humans) learn to kill each other for no real reason, but allies (like bats with humans) also learn to save each other without any need for an emotional bond. It's not the same as an actual trusting relationship, just like killing an enemy doesn't require personal hatred.
Whoa this is actually SUCH a good observation! It's really interesting to think about how the bats must get taught from a young age to be on the lookout for falling humans, but the humans get taught to go ahead and jump off of high places all they want.
Thanks for this ask; this is very insightful!
