Close Reading Needed

Like Poul Anderson's "Losers' Night," his "Eutopia," first published in Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions, is a story that clearly I had not read closely enough before. I had thought that it was nothing but chase scenes followed by a shock ending.

Instead, it presents:

a rational man's disgust with our timeline;
the unique and original Westfall timeline;
a proto-series, Iason "...could be reassigned to some history he might find more congenial." (p. 139);
a new version of familiar Andersonian arguments about humanity.

Iason asks whether Daimonax means that:

"'Without fighting, clannishness, superstition, ritual and taboo...man has nothing?'" (p. 137)

Daimonax replies:

"'More or less that?'" (ibid.)

More or less? How much more and how much less? I disagree. A false dichotomy is being set up. Is emotion without reason better than reason without emotion? Why not have both reason and emotion?

Daimonax asks:

"'Because we have made our world one, where are color and contrast...?'" (p. 138)

One world incorporates color and contrast. Unity need not be uniformity. My slogan is: "Difference without division; unity without uniformity." See "Fundamental Issues."

Daimonax continues:

"'...where is pride in being peculiarly ourselves?'" (ibid.)

Why do we need this? But, in any case, it is there for the asking. Humanity is diverse and everyone is unique. I will probably pick through more of Daimonax's speech but it is getting late here.