Lunarians differ from Terrans, psychologically and culturally. When Dagny Beynac deduces that and how her grandson, Erann, has murdered the Governor of Luna, he is neither evasive nor repentant:
"'Investigation can belike find traces of me in the room. Denial can but degrade me, and I will not make it.'" (p. 442)
Spoken like a Vulcan? Erann's response fits what we know of Lunarians and sf writers work hard to imagine alien motivations, as with Anderson's Ythrians, Merseians and others. However, Terran human psychology is extremely variable. We can easily imagine Erann's response coming from representatives of several past or current cultures. But, then again, Lunarians are our fellow hominids.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Erann refused to be either evasive or penitent? There was a third way he could have reacted to being discovered as the murderer of the Gov. General: refusing to say either Aye or Nay. What we in the States call "Taking the Fifth."*
You wrote: "Erann's response fits what we know of Lunarians and sf writers work had to imagine alien motivations..." I think you meant to write "hard," not "had."
AD astra! Sean
*That is, the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitutions guarantees the right of accused persons facing trial to decline giving testimony that would be self incriminating.
Note that the Fifth was partially motivated by traditional European systems where confession was necessary for conviction -- an the confessions were often secured by torture.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And not just in Europe. I think the criminal law of Imperial China also depended on confessions enabling courts to reach a verdict. And law in Japan, even if torture is not used, also depends on confessions. Analogously, plea bargaining is used in the US. That is, an accused person agrees to confess to a lesser crime to avoid the punishment attached to a greater offense.
Ad astra! Sean
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