"'Few people change much past their twenties. In this my breed and yours are not so different. Perhaps in the Old Stone Age this was of no consequence; one millennium was much like another. But now matters are different...'"
-SM Stirling, A Taint In The Blood (New York, 2011),CHAPTER TEN, p. 192.
Thus, a fictional sub-species enables us to reflect on our species. Fortunately, creative authors can change the kind of fiction that they write throughout their careers.
Some features of a personality change little or not at all but others can be examined and changed over time - but either we are motivated to change or we are not... How many people die with the prejudices and blindnesses that they were born with? (Babies could have been exchanged at birth so that a Maoist would have been a Mormon and vice versa!)
Nicholas van Rijn in his old age leads a new voyage of discovery;
David Falkayn does not retire on Hermes or Earth but leads the colonization of Avalon;
Gunnar Heim begins several new businesses on New Europe;
Gratillonius does not retire to an estate but continues to organize the defenses of Northern Europe.
Poul Anderson's heroes are examples. Each of us can change.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I agree we have the potentiality to change, but for most the likelihood of that actually happening is very low. And not all changes will be for the better. E.g., in November 1918 Adolf Hitler was recovering from a mustard gas attack at a military hospital when Germany agreed to the Armistice. Hitler wrote a vivid account in MEIN KAMPF of his fury and anguish on learning the news. It was at that time that he resolved to become a politician. That was not a change for the better!
Sean
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