Hugh McCormac thinks that Aldebaran and Arcturus resemble fires warming the camps of men whereas Deneb and Polaris, far beyond the Empire and even beyond its enemies, are, by contrast, "...a cold sight." (p. 7)
He then reflects that Kathyrn would:
"...say there must be something in Leviticus against mixing so many metaphors." (ibid.)
Before we let it slip past us, we should notice that here is yet another reference to the Bible. We already know from much earlier in the Technic History that there are Christians on the McCormacs' home planet, Aeneas.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
That bit about McCormac thinking that Aldebaran and Arcturus were like fires warming the camps of men caused me to recall thinking there was something similar in A CIRCUS OF HELLS. There wasn't, but I did find this in Chapter XVIII of that book (as Flandry was escaping from Talwin): "Blink...blink...blink...the blood colored beacon glowed ever brighter. Yet Djana could look directly into it, and she did not find any disc. Stars frosted the night around. Which way was the Empire?"
The pulsar's "dying gasps" and the query at the end me think Djana was here thinking of the Empire being mankind's camp.
And McCormac was indulging in a bit of whimsy with that thought about Leviticus.
Ad astra! Sean
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