Science fiction addresses interactions not only between human beings but also between human beings and the rest of the universe, which can mean:
aliens invading the Solar System;
uninhabited planets colonized by human beings;
newly discovered laws of physics;
technology created by human beings but now confronting them as if it were an external force;
floods, droughts, nuclear wars and any other imaginable disaster;
etc.
Hebo resents the suggestion that only "'...pure-hearted ecologists...'" (p. 183) should help the Susaians to settle on Freydis. He is in that business already. When Lissa accuses him of enriching himself as much as possible as fast as possible with no concern for the consequences, he replies:
"'Do you expect me to work for nothing?'" (p. 183)
We need travel neither to the future nor to another planet to engage in this argument or, as Horatio said, in a different context:
HORATIO
There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave
To tell us this.
-copied from here.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I side with Hebo in this matter, not with Lissa! Why shouldn't Hebo be paid as much as both he and the Susaians are mutually wiling to agree on? I am sure Hebo gave more than fair value for acting as a broker, adviser, and finder of whatever the Susaian colonists of Freydis needed.
Sean
Sean,
I think that it is the environmental consequences rather than the personal enrichment that are the main concern.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
If so, that might have been a legitimate criticism by Lissa, IF she had PUT it that way. As literally quoted, it came across to me as Lissa objecting to Hebo making any kind of profit.
Sean
Sean,
She meant the pursuit of as much profit as possible as fast as possible WITHOUT any concern for the environment. In fact, we learn that Hebo:
only plans to run Venusberg for a limited period;
has big plans for what he will do with the profits gained (something major and potentially of benefit to everyone).
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
IOW, Hebo was a lot like Nicholas van Rijn. Or at least they would probably have been tough, but good natured competitors!
Sean
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