"Rain washed silvery down the outer side of the living room, which had been left transparent. Often lightning flashed. She heard no thunder through the soundproofing, and that made the whole scene feel eerily unreal. They settled into loungers opposite each other, amidst soft-colored drapes whose textures were meant to be touched, art from a dozen worlds, a drift of incense. Chives heard their wishes and departed. They lit cigarettes." (V, pp. 56-57)
Notable points about this passage:
the contrast between the elements outside and the luxury inside;
the sound is kept out and the sight of the rain and lightning could be - that outer wall is not a mere glass window;
enormous wealth is represented by the tactile textures and by art from a dozen worlds, so casually mentioned;
in addition, there is incense and Chives;
the lightning is mentioned here in preparation for a pathetic fallacy at the very end of this chapter - when Flandry hopes that Banner will refuse to accompany him into danger:
"It blazed in her. She sprang to her feet. 'Of course I don't!' she cried, and lifted her glass on high.
"Lightning glared. The rainstorm grew more wild." (p. 62)
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
One small point I thought of was that medical science had advanced so far that smoking again became common and frequently seen. Not that it still wasn't a bad habit, as this bit from Chapter XI of A KNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS shows: "...anticancer shots, cardiovascular treatments, lungflushes, and everything, it [smoking] remained a flagellant habit." And probably cloning and replacing of worn out organs as well.
Sean
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