Saturday, 13 January 2024

In Hell II

"The Saturn Game," III.

Alvarlan hears Kendrick and Ricia and asks whether they also are in Hell. He also hears dead children weeping. While Broberg waits, hopefully for rescue, Ricia casts a spell that the Dragon Lord may deliver Alvarlan.

IV.

When Alvarlan thinks that he is "'- alone forever in the dark -'," (p. 53) Ricia hears him call and offers to help him toward the light. Scobie warns against further self-hypnosis but Broberg thinks that she might reach Luis and comfort Alvarlan. 

Luis Garcilaso dies. Scobie and Broberg accept the gift of his fuel cell. Mark Danzig offers Kaddish for Luis as, centuries later, Max Abrams will for Dominic Flandry. More is destined to happen within the three psychodramatists' shared fantasy realm but that is all that I have time for this evening.

We see that an epic could have been written about Kendrick's entry into the City of Ice and about Alvaran's descent into Hell although we have to search carefully through the text of this hard sf story for the few clues as to the contents of the potential fantasy story.

As a Neil Gaiman character says, we all have worlds inside us.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

You've certainly found a lot more in "The Saturn Game" than I ever thought of seeing before. I put that down largely to my lack of interest in role playing games. My inclinations, mentally speaking, are more those of Broberg's.

Ad astra! Sean