Suna Rudbeck has left her husband, Jan Cronje, for Dermot Byrne. While she is on a solo mission, her space boat is damaged. She is in danger and in need of rescue. Byrne suggests to Cronje that they pray for her together. How would you respond?
Cronje's response is:
"'I am not a praying man. I doubt that my father's God would hear the likes of you.'" (p. 19)
Mine would be:
"I can offer an agnostic prayer to whatever gods my be but cannot address the one God of the monotheist traditions. However, I can meditate while you pray."
At the very end of the story, the astrophysicist hopes that the twelve million years before Nemesis' return:
"'...will be time enough for a race like ours to make ready.'" (p. 28)
The story is about physics and people.
From here, I want to move to other short stories about space travel but also to stay with the Swedish timeline which means rereading at least the opening chapter of Tau Zero.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I can understand why Jan Cronje was angry and bitter, but I cannot agree with his response to Byrne. Suna's safety should come first and it would have been gracious of Cronje to have prayed for that.
Sean
Paul:
Your reference to "agnostic prayer" reminded me of a line in one of Terry Pratchett's books in which the hero, about to be hanged, said, "I commend my soul to any god that can find it."
"It was generally agreed that they had been good last words."
That's how the book begins.
David,
Another version is "God, if You exist, save my soul if I have one."
I have just finished reading THE FINAL AFFAIR. It is a good ending to the series. Biographical details of the characters differ from those given in the recent prequel film.
Paul.
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