When you were thirty, you met children who were only three. When Hugh Valland is nearly three thousand, he meets a man who is only thirty! The spaceship crashes. The three thousand year old survives. The thirty year old dies. Are the gods just? We do not (usually) phrase this question that way but we do ask questions about life and death. My mother-in-law commented on "how the Lord works" when her (other) young son-in-law dropped dead while her senile mother lingered on. I do not believe in the gods or the Lord but I do reflect like Ecclesiastes. My friend, Andrea, sees Fortuna as the most relevant deity to account for the lottery of life. Contemplating first the chances against even being conceived, then the widely differing lifespans of the chosen few who are born, I think that he is right.
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
In WORLD WITHOUT STARS it was customary to administer the antithanatic when a person was 25 standard years old. Because he would be fully grown and adult by then.
And I don't believe in any god named Fortune. Life is contingent, but not absolutely so.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Of course I do not believe in a literal Fortuna but she is a personification of randomness.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I would prefer to simply say life is often chaotic and unpredictable.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Oh, sure. There is no need to speak in terms of personifications. Thunder makes me think of Thor because I like the myths.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Tolkien's Middle Earth legendarium speaks and appeals more to me.
Ad astra! Sean
Note that someone who's survived 3,000 years is not only going to be lucky -- the dice have no memory, so luck can stop anytime -- but very, very tough and smart.
Particularly if he's in a risky trade, which Valland most manifestly is.
He'll have met countless emergencies and reacted swiftly and correctly.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree, but Valland only needs one bad roll of the dice and he's out of luck and the game is over for him.
Ad astra! Sean
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