In animals and human beings, consciousness occurs at the intersection between the organism and its environment. Unconscious physical and mental processes interact with sensory and perceptual inputs. For example, individuals can either internalize or reject culturally presented deities and mythological figures.
The polytheism pervading Unan Besaran society remains evident. Sumu offers "'...incense to the gods at Ratu Temple!,'" (VII, p. 50) thus reminding readers of van Rijn offering candles to St Dismas, while Dominic invokes "'...the Three Headed One himself...'" (ibid.)
On a clear day, the sun is "...high and white in a pale sky...," (VI, p. 44) its radiance reflected from metal walls and canal water. However, natural beauty contrasts with human suffering. The poorest in society might not be able to afford their next antitoxin pill. We know that Biocontrol sometimes deprives condemned criminals of the antitoxin but does it also let a percentage of the population perish?
Flandry finds that there is no word for revolution in the local language, Pulaoic. However, new words are coined of necessity. (In 1984, the ultimate purpose of Newspeak was to make independent thought impossible.)
Flandry pulls a Spanish Prisoner on Sumu. The latter dispatches a chest of coins to be invested abroad. Then Flandry and Kemul mug the bearers of the chest.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I've also thought that Sumu the Fat is comparable to those other gang bosses we see in the Technic stories: the Merseian Gethfennu boss Haguan Eluatz and Leon Ammon, both of whom we see in "Day of Burning" and A CIRCUS OF HELLS.
I don't think Biocontrol cared much if anyone lived or died, unless they were initiates, acolytes, or employees of the regime. All others either paid their ten silvers for their antitoxin doses or died.
I did wonder if employees like the Guards, antitoxin dispensers, or ordinary civil servants included among the benefits of their jobs discounts in how much they had to pay for their antitoxin doses.
Ad astra! Sean
Note that the spread of slave-like status groups is driven by the cost of antitoxin.
The spread of debt-peonage is a common pattern in low productivity economies of that sort. The poor don’t have the reserves to ride out a family emergency, so over time they become the indebted dependents of those that do, lucky if they don’t end up as outright slaves - the process is described several times in the book. In both Athens and Rome, forceful movements of resistance to exactly this were crucially important to the development of representative government.
It’s worse in this setup Poul describes because the threat involved in going broke isn’t just hunger, but immediate death of an unpleasant sort. Hence the increasing social polarization, with no recourse because Biocontrol has its hand around everyone’s throat in a way armies and secret police can’t match.
As long as Biocontrol has its monopoly of antitoxin, it’s literally true that “resistance is futile”.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Exactly! Biocontrol did not NEED to have more than the ability to distribute the antitoxin for the exorbitant price demanded.
But it could not last indefinitely. Either an ACCIDENT would cause a catastrophic disruption in the manufacturing of the antitoxin or the steady, continued regression of Unan Besar would eventually caused the system to crash, after which almost everyone would die (except a few fleeing in space ships).
Ad astra! Sean
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