Valland would have made a good counsellor/clergyman for the dying. Smeth's ribs have pierced his lungs and his spine is broken. Valland asks whether he can remove Smeth's suit:
"'I've only had thirty years,' Smeth shrieked. 'Thirty miserable years! You've had three thousand!'
"'Shut up.' Valland's tone stayed soft, but I've heard less crack in a bullwhip. 'You're a man, aren't you?'
"Smeth gasped for seconds before he replied, 'Go ahead, Hugh.'" (p. 33)
Smeth asks Valland to sing and even specifies a song that is very personal to Valland and, after only a very slight hesitation, the latter complies.
What else could have been done? Smeth receives the best possible send-off in the circumstances. Valland is effortlessly good for everyone that he meets.
(The unfortunate Smeth was created - as a fictional character - only so that he could be painfully killed but authors cannot be compassionate towards their characters. Smeth's death is an important occurrence in World Without Stars.)
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
That's one of the advantages of writing fiction; writers can be as ruthless as they want to be or need to be to their characters.
Albeit I still regret how Stirling killed off Horst von Duckler in SHADOWS OF ANNIHILATION.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Yes. As I remember, von Duckler was an antagonist? He could have been an ally against a common enemy in a later volume.
Paul.
True that authors CAN be ruthless but I do not like occasional details in some authors about torture.
Post a Comment