Davenant on Ganymede:
"He had known the inanimate savagery of planets, but this was the first time he had ever encountered hostility from men. The walls seemed to move together and close in on him." (p. 164)
He has never encountered hostility from men? A sheltered life - or a peaceful inner Solar System.
An engineer, particularly a Planetary Engineer, overcomes resistance from the inanimate environment but not from his fellow human beings, still less from within himself - although the latter issue confronts everyone. See previous posts on The Enemy. This future history continually demands an inner-outer synthesis which perhaps is reached in the eventual Galactic civilization.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, I would say Davenant had lived a sheltered life, focusing on practical engineering problems, with little interest in the quarrels and conflicts of human beings.
That last sentence of yours hints at "The Chapter Ends," and our own mini conflict about that story! (Smiles)
Ad astra! Sean
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