"Time and the ship passed onward through space." (p. 137)
How evocative is that sentence, beginning with "Time...," ending with "...space," and referring to "...the ship...," which, of course, is neither a sea ship nor a time vehicle but a spaceship, described in detail in the previous chapter.
Tales of Space and Time is the title of a collection by HG Wells. All our lives are spent in three-dimensional space and one-dimensional time although we apply the word "space" to the spaces beyond Earth.
Must the travelers spend their time in the ship looking out at space while enclosed in metal? Not entirely:
"However, she had activated the bulkheads. The moving, three-dimensional illusion of a forest that never was enclosed her and him. Trees rose out of night into a dappling, silvering radiance of clustered stars and a huge moon ringed with faceted diamonds. Feather fronds soughed to a breeze whose warmth bore odors like spice." (ibid.)
Lunarians know how to make enclosed spaces spacious and three senses are addressed.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And I agree such things will make long space journeys easier to endure or live with. And besides "view walls" I would probably read and play chess a lot, either with fellow crew/passengers or with a computer.
Sean
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