"I can't say I like most of those money-machine merchant princes, Coya reflected..." (p. 640)
She also reflects that Technic civilization has been:
"...overwhelmed by laissez-faire capitalism..." (p. 647)
Coya's ancestry is Dutch and Malay through van Rijn, Mexican and Chinese through van Rijn's mistress, both Scottish/Hermetian and African/Nyanzan through her father:
"In short, I'm a typical modern human... Yes, also in my life. My grandfather's generation seldom bothered to get married. My father's did. And mine, why, we're reviving patrilineal surnames." (pp. 643-644)
Thus, she is Coya Conyon, daughter of Malcolm Conyon.
When offered every possible alcoholic drink, Coya prefers coffee and also does not smoke. When van Rijn comments:
"'Ah, they don't put the kind of stuff in youngsters like when I was your age.'" (p. 648)
- she responds:
"'A few of us try to exercise some forethought as well as our consciences...'" (ibid.)
When she apologises and says that she did not mean to sound self-righteous, he replies that nevertheless she did in fact sound self-righteous. He wonders whether David Falkayn has influenced her or she him in this respect. This, together with some earlier reflections by Coya, is an early hint of a possible disagreement between van Rijn and Falkayn. When van Rijn comments that, as young people like Coya:
"'...get more prudish, the companies and governments get more brutish.'" (p. 659)
- she retorts:
"'The second is part of the reason for the first.'" (ibid.)
A generation gap but not as we know it. It is the grandfather, not his anti-laissez-faire granddaughter, that has the looser lifestyle.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
You could have noted how Coya, a kindly young woman, also reflected that she did not want those "money machine merchant princes" suffering heart attacks from being outwitted by Old Nick! (Smiles)
In these disagreements between Coya and her grandfather I side more with van Rijn.
Ad astra! Sean
"Life real, serious and earnest" as the Victorians said. That sort of thing does tend to be cyclic.
I'd say life is a joke, myself. A blind, random, meaningless joke, but nonetheless a joke.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Flandry said something very similar, but I'm not quite sure in which of the stories.
Ad astra! Sean
I think A STONE IN HEAVEN.
Kaor, Paul!
I'm almost sure of that as well.
Ad astra! Sean
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