Saturday 9 March 2024

Mary O'Meara

In Poul Anderson's World Without Stars, antithanatics prevent death by old age or disease - like the anti-agathics in James Blish's Cities in Flight. Anderson's characters artificially edit their memories but preserve enough for practical purposes and for psychological continuity. Hugh Valland has lived for three thousand years and returns to Earth every few years or decades to visit Mary O'Meara. The big reveal at the very end of the novel is that what he really visits is her grave. He is monogamous, i.e., celibate, and seems well-balanced but we start to wonder when we realize the truth.

It was suggested that Valland edits out the memory of Mary's death so that, each time he returns to Earth, he thinks that he is returning to the still living Mary. I doubt it. He is never in any hurry to return. A delay of decades does not bother him. And surely he would suffer every time he re-learned that he had deceived himself.

On reflection, the song that he sings is not about Mary but about her surroundings: stars, dew, hilltop, lilies. He knows that he is singing about a grave and we realize this on rereading. But, when stranded on an extra-galactic planet, he is motivated to lead the effort to escape and return to Earth. As with the Emperor Norton in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, Valland's madness keeps him sane.

6 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I agree, once the whole story has been read, readers should wonder how truly sane Hugh Valland is. Very high functioning, mind you, but perhaps not quite "all" there.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

I think he's naturally tough and intelligent. Some people are just hard to discourage; they're resilient and they bounce back.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

I agree, but throughout WORLD WITHOUT STARS Valland talks about Mary O'Meara as tho she was alive--until we find out at the very end she was millennia dead. That can arouse doubts about Valland's sanity.

Ad astra! Sean

Jim Baerg said...

"And surely he would suffer every time he re-learned that he had deceived himself."

In the last few years of her life, my mother had dementia, of course including loss of memories.
I recall her talking about phoning her sister, who had died a few years before. We just said 'maybe tomorrow' rather than put her through mourning her sister again.

S.M. Stirling said...

Being an obsessive is not necessarily evidence of insanity.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Jim and Mr. Stirling!

Jim: Very sad! My condolences as regards your mother.

Mr. Stirling: Maybe not technically insane, but a neurotic obsession of this kind lasting 3000 years still makes me have some doubts about Valland.

Ad astra! Sean