Sverdlov asks Ryerson whether he never feels violent with frustration at their predicament:
"Ryerson's tone came gnat-like in his earphones, almost lost in an endless crackling of cosmic noise. 'It doesn't do any good. My father taught me that much. We sailed a lot at home.'
"'So?'
"'The sea never forgives you.'" (p. 79)
Another description of cosmic radio noise (see here) and a confirmation that the spacemen who lived on an island did sail the sea also.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I agree with the Ryersons! Uncontrolled anger, frustration, temptation to violence, etc., will do you no good if you are in a dangerous quandary. And the sea can be unforgiving! One moment you might be seemingly safe and then the next moment you could be dead or drowning. All it takes is one moment of carelessness or a trivial mistake aboard a boat or ship.
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I should have added that the one time David Ryerson made an important decision impulsively and emotionally, it was FATAL to him. Terangi Maclaren tried to persuade him to either wait or at least don space armor.
Sean
There's an old saying that anger is like fire: a good servant, a poor master. Anger's hormonal effects do make you stronger; they also, unless you're very self-disciplined and careful, make you stupid and careless. Extreme anger is biologically intended to boost your strength and speed and pain tolerance in a lethal fight, or some other immediate physical emergency.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
I agree! And the reason why professional soldiers so often do so much better against either wild barbarians or amateurs is because training and hard experience "drilled in" the need and value of being self-disciplined and careful.
I would also argue that EXTREME HOPE can make anyone as stupid and careless as uncontrolled anger can do. That was what caused David Ryerson's death near the end of THE ENEMY STARS. Maclaren had pleaded with him to at least don his space armor before being teleported.
Sean
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