"'On the double!' [Larreka] flogged his tired body into a smart trot." (p. 130)
I still have to pause to reflect that it is Larreka's own body that trots, not some other animal that carries him.
He and his companions trot into a kind of courtyard that is familiar to us from several other Andersonian planets, a paved rectangle walled in by:
barns
stables
kennels
mews
storehouses
granaries
workshops
bakery
brewery
cookhouse
laundry
surgery
school
observatory
library
sheds
The enormous hall is at the middle of the court. Inside, the main room is carpeted and wainscoted with fires in four hearths, bracketed lanterns, pictures, trophies, ancestral shields, battle banners hanging from rafters, a shrine of She and He although most of the household are Triadists, mattresses and a few chairs for human visitors. Warm air smells of woodsmoke and bodies and the storm is audible although muffled by closed windows.
We feel that we have been here before - apart from the mattresses instead of chairs for residents.
6 comments:
When you're in that state, it often -feels- like you're being carried by your body, not that you're inhabiting it.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: I assume Ishtarians eat standing at tables.
Mr. Stirling: I agree.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
There is also a long table that I did not mention.
Paul.
From Sean M. Brooks:
Kaor, Paul!
And that makes sense for centauroids.
Ad astra! Sean
That sort of arrangement is actually historically very common. With a few modifications, it could describe a Norse long-house, a Roman villa, a Mexican hacienda or an English medieval estate manor.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree, I do see how much they all have in common.
Ad astra! Sean
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