[WW] Brutes, Tolkien, and the OSI

["Theron Bretz" <tbretz@montroseclinic.org>]

In reading the bestiary, I noticed that the OSI calls Brutes "Nazi Orcs".
"Why is that?", I asked myself, knowing full-well, that the term Orc
wouldn't generally enter the English language for nearly another decade.
For, you see, the origins of that particular word are more-or-less
inextricably linked to Professor Tolkien's epic work that needs little
introduction to this audience.  The word "orc" doesn't appear in English
prior the publication of Lord of the Rings, even in The Hobbit, where such
critters are invariably referred to as "Goblins".  Now, the actual word
"Orc" is much older than LoTR, having its roots in Old French, as a sea
monster in the Song of Roland (this tiny piece of information kept the
Tolkien estate from blocking TSR's use of the word "Orc" in D&D).  But for
such an obscure word, with no cognitive connection any sort of land-dwelling
creature to come into even limited use in the mid-20th century seems, to say
the least, unlikely.

Unless...

Professor Tolkien was an expert philologist, with a strong understanding of
mythology.  He created entirely new alphabets and languages (codes?), many
using runic components (can you see where I'm going with this?).  He was a
survivor of one of the bloodiest battles of WWI (the Somme).  Perhaps his
survival was due to something other than luck?  Perhaps, the symbolism he
"found" in these "made up" languages has more than just a mythic resonance?
Perhaps, in fact, Professor Tolkien, besides being a powerful adept is one
of the OSI's top experts on supernatural creatures.  Perhaps, upon examining
the remains of a brute, he finds parallels between these slow-witted
creatures and those he's written of in that ongoing imaginary history of
his.  Perhaps it's a case of the chicken and the egg.  At any rate, the term
stuck, at least in OSI circles.

Theron
Houston