Friday 7 February 2020

At Sea On Imhotep

The Game Of Empire, CHAPTER THREE.

"Spaceship," derived from "space" and "ship," can be abbreviated to "ship." On Imhotep, ships in the original sense are called "waterships" to differentiate them from spaceships!

Of the two Starkadian species settled on Imhotep, the vaz-Siravo are sea-dwellers whereas some of the Tigeries are seafarers.

Targovi and Diana converse privately in the crow's nest of the Firefish:

"He balanced against the surging and swaying as easily as any of his race, and it delighted her so much that she took a while to calm down and pay heed. 
"Wind swirled in shrouds, bore iodine odors.The ship creaked and whooshed. A low sun threw a bridge over the waters." (p. 242)

Four senses.

Although Targovi's people are seafarers, he has become a spacefarer, within the Patrician System an interplanetary trader and part-time Intelligence agent. Whereas van Rijn was the "Trader to the Stars," Targovi is "'...the chapman who goes beyond the sky.'" (p. 242)

1 comment:

S.M. Stirling said...

There's a similarity in attitudes -- and adventurous willingness (and eagerness) to meet the challenges of a dangerous environment.

My great-uncle Gordon, who was a foremast hand on a windjammer around the horn in 1914 (n his teens) told me about men swept overboard in the storms there3, and just vanishing.