Dragons Get a Modern Image Makeover  Old maps bore the scary
legend "here there be dragons." These days dragons aren't so
scary. In countless books and movies, they're portrayed as
loving companions to the humans that ride them.     In a moment,
good and evil from the mind of Norman Mailer. But first, a
meditation on the dragon. The enormous, fire-breathing mythical
creatures we call dragons have been a part of human culture for
centuries. Once portrayed as nothing more than monsters that
devoured and destroyed, they now have a different role in
science fiction novels. They've become companions to humans,
bonded to their riders, teaming to combat evil.  From member
station KUSP, Rick Kleffel looks at dragons and those who ride
them.  RICK KLEFFEL: In the movie "Eragon," based on Christopher
Paolini's best-selling novel, Saphira the dragon is not a
mindless monster with an appetite for armor-wrapped knights.
She's an intelligent and sympathetic character who communicates
with Eragon using mental telepathy.  (S