Scrolling back through previous blog references to Martians reveals that I was unable to find any physical description of the Martians in Shield. Not only that but:
"...he and Elkor traveled to the Philosophers, whose very shape he could no longer quite recall...." (p. 24)
An entirely unfamiliar shape is difficult to describe or even to remember.
"God, he cried wildly, or Existence, or whatever you are, don't let me kill anyone!" (p. 20)
"Dave had been his closest buddy. Still was, by Existence." (p. 24)
OK. So a new philosophy or world-view hypostasizes "Existence"? Or is Koskinen's thinking influenced by that of the Martians?
The shields, or "...portable potential-barrier units..." (p. 25), are an engineering application of a new concept of energy phenomena resulting from a fusion of "...Martian and Terrestrial science..." (pp. 24-25) They are not Martian force shields as I wrongly said here.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I would think even a dogmatic atheist (which I don't think Koskinen was) would find it implausible to swear by "Existence" in moments of stress. Even atheists tend to instinctively invoke or pray to GOD at such times.
Sean
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