Thursday 15 November 2018

Zamok Sabyel' III

Poul Anderson, Harvest Of Stars, 60.

See Zamok Sabyel' II.

In the zamok, there are the opulent passages of an entirely space-based civilization that spares mass but is lavish with energy. Colored alloy trellises with twining lattices form arcades for three tiers of shops etc. Light-shapes dance to variable music. Archways ripple with radiance. A transparent column holds whirling ball lightning. There is a hissing aurora and a plaza with a fountain of fire. A door is an iridescent sheet surrounded by moving mosaics.

Visiting the zamok, Erling Davis wears a headband (like an old-style male Kryptonian), shoulder-length red hair, a buckskin tunic, green trousers, moccasins and a knife. Usually he wears a coverall or just body paint. A lot has changed on Demeter since the previous chapter.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

The existence of SHOPS in Zamok Sabyel implies a market economy which uses some kind of monetary unit as a means of exchange. I suspect the Lunarians would have accepted only silver and gold coins (or a currency based on gold). Perhaps with copper/cupro-nickel coins for small change.

And what the description of Erling Davis shows is that Demetrians have developed a taste for elaborate and colorful apparel. Even if expressed in somewhat archaic ways.

Sean