Characters expounding to each other is a major feature of the text of this story. A young City-dweller speaks non-stop for nearly two pages to Ridenour about his experiences among the outbackers. There was something that he did not understand about what he calls rituals and superstitions. We have already seen that the outbackers have ways of controlling Freeholder organisms that are not suspected by the Nine Cites. (Now only Eight because the outbackers have destroyed Domkirk.)
When Ridenour has recalled the monologue by the young man, he is joined on his hilltop by the outbacker woman, Evagail. Readers already know that she is a Mistress of a Skill. We are learning what that means. Meanwhile, she expounds to Ridenour. Because the star is F-type, actinic and ionizing radiation penetrates the heavy atmosphere and biochemistry founded on highly energetic compounds makes Freehold life more vigorous than Terran so that it evolves faster and colonists have to learn how to survive in the forest. The outbackers have developed some kind of relationship or interaction with their environment.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
It seems rather odd that the Nine Cities on Freehold were so ignorant about the Outbackers. Perhaps a bit implausibly? Real cities on Earth had people constantly going back and forth, coming and going, etc. My point being that it was impossible for rural/outback areas and cities to be so completely ignorant of each other.
Ad astra! Sean
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