"He thought of Kormt, Gerlaug's son, last man on Earth, altogether alone, living alone and dying alone; and yet, he reflected, was that solitude any greater than the one in which all men dwelt all their days?" (p. 206)
A reflective author like Poul Anderson asks such questions whenever appropriate but do we all dwell in solitude all our days? We exist as self-conscious individuals because we have interacted with others linguistically from an early age. Even if, in adulthood, we opt for solitude, we continue to think in English (or French, German etc) and to remember earlier interactions and conversations. Without all those memories, we would be not just solitary but mentally blank.
When he is alone, Kormt anticipates dying alone and lying unburied and does not like it but why should we be concerned about what happens to our dead bodies?
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
But the Catholic Church enjoins on the faithful the necessity of showing a decent regard and respect for the bodies of the dead. Burial of the dead is one of the corporal acts of mercy. Human bodies housed immortal spirits, after all.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
We should bury or cremate the dead also because bodies can't be left lying around but why should Kormt care what happens to his body?
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Logically, he shouldn't, because there will be no one else on an abandoned Earth to show his remains any respect. But human beings are also INCONSISTENT, so I am not surprised if Kormt felt otherwise.
Ad astra! Sean
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