When Terai Lohannaso, a Maurai conqueror, walks along a village street to visit his honorable enemy's widow, adults stiffen, children stop playing and dogs snarl.
"None ignored him but a cat sunning itself on a porch and a raven that flapped hoarse overhead." (4, p. 39)
Of course. Cats are independent of human conflicts. Ravens see and hear for Odin. (We can remember that even when reading hard sf.)
Anneth Birken stands "...for a number of raven-croaks..." (p. 40) at her door before inviting him in. Thus, the raven comments on the action and counts the time.
Launy's and Anneth's young daughter, Ronica, accuses the Maurai of killing her father and yells defiantly:
"'But we'll kill you! Orion shall rise!'" (p. 41)
Orion the Hunter, a Giant in Chains, a winter constellation...
Terai, an intelligence officer, must spend twenty years watching for the meaning of that phrase and we must read most of the novel before we learn its meaning.
CHAPTER THREE begins with over a page of verse followed by another complete change of scene and characters. That is too much for me to handle at this time of night. I return to the adventures of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander without any obligation to post about them...
Downbelow Station is also in the background and should make further appearances here. Some time is also spent watching events on Earth Real in 2020 which currently seems a madder world than any of the imaginary ones.
11 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Are we suppose to understand those raven croaks as a sardonic comment on human conflicts and quarrels?
And I wondered if Ronica's name used to be Veronica, before time and linguistic changes turned it into the possibly later form.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
Commenting on your last sentence here, about how real world events seem madder than anything found in fiction. Poul Anderson would agree! Only a few weeks ago I was trying to resign myself to a feeble old man dominated by hard line leftists becoming President. NOW, however, I actually have SOME hope of the US dodging that bullet and Trump being reelected. Quite a change!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Changes are rapid and accelerating.
Paul.
Sean,
I don't discuss election results until after the election! I once worked in a school where there was an elections-obsessed teacher. People said, "We don't need to have the election. Joe's got it all worked out for us!" Over lunch on the day of a General Election, he kept repeating, "It all depends what the Lib Dems do! It all depends what the Lib Dems do!" I replied, "What does it matter? We'll know in the morning." I had a radio alarm clock and, on that occasion, I was woken by the news of an unexpected Conservative victory. Exit polls are accurate because people who have just voted can no longer change their minds, cannot possibly have forgotten how they voted and have no reason to lie.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Similar things happen here too! Practically all the polls insist Joe Biden will win. BUT, I'm seeing hints and indications that it might not be that simple. I sure as heck hope so!
Ad astra! Sean
The human tendency to believe in a desired outcome is extremely strong. Even the elaborate institutional safeguards of experimental science often fail that way -- it operates below the conscious level.
Speaking of which, I make a conscious effort not to try predicting outcomes where my emotions are involved; that's a fool's game.
We should discuss present social tendencies not to predict outcomes but to decide which tendencies to support and which to oppose, thus to influence outcomes.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Paul!
Mr. Stirling: I agree on the necessity of not letting one's emotions and desires get the better of objectivity and realism. I have only contempt for Joe Biden and the extreme leftists who dominate the US Democrats, but I try not to let that make me deny they can win.
Paul: But we still have soothsayers examining sheep entrails to determine who will win elections--we call them pollsters! (Smiles wryly)
I agree on the desirability of examining which social tendencies should be supported or opposed. I suspect, tho, I would oppose much of what you might prefer!
Ad astra! Sean
It's also a human tendency to over-estimate one's own agency in the world.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I think we are seeing a lot of that just now in the US with the Dems! That, the polls they were loudly claiming for months as showing them getting a landslide has been shown as ANYTHING but accurate. And dirt seems to be coming out about scandalous abuse by the Democrats of the laws regulating how votes are handled and counted in Pennsylvania and Nevada.
Which, if true, shows the Democrats as both corrupt and overestimating their agency in the world!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
"...if true..."
A lot of allegations at present.
Paul.
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