"Man was a small and hurried thing..."
When we read such a passage - all the Nomads will go into darkness - we might ask why we continue to read about the feverish activities of the Nomads and other mortal beings instead of just contemplating that old immortal darkness.
In a novel by John Sanders, the hero ascends an Alp and attains an Alpine attitude - the mountains outlast the works, ways and wars of men etc -, then descends to resume his role in a current conflict whereas he had left me behind on that Alp and I really was wondering whether there was any significance in human affairs. This question is raised even more forcibly in sf where human clangor fills the skies of a thousand worlds yet the darkness still reaches further than we can imagine.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And I have to disagree with that kind of Alpine or Olympian detachment! It is the ACTS and activities of living beings, human or otherwise, which gives meaning and purpose to the universe. All that stars and planets, in or by themselves, can do is exist if no intelligent life is to be found.
Ad astra! Sean
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