Hollister's new friend, Barbara, answers another question that I had had in mind:
"'Some of the men are priests and rabbis and whatnot in their spare time...'" (IV, p. 232)
Of course. The religious impulse will not cease. In fact, some people will turn to religion in the prison-like conditions on Venus. So, if there is no material base to support full-time clergy, then they will have to be part-timers. The monastery that supports our meditation group is funded entirely by voluntary donations from the "lay Sangha." If that were not forthcoming, then the monks would have to be working clergy. But some people would still want to meditate.
Andersonian Biblical references abound. After telling Barbara that Venus has become like an Old Testament God, Hollister advises her to read Job and Ecclesiastes, then ironically asks when Micah and the New Testament are due. She says that Venus will be the Promised Land and, further along in the conversation, he thinks:
"Get thee behind me, Satan." (p. 233)
Poul Anderson just significantly added to his list of Biblical references and quotations.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Exactly, only a near religious belief in the goal of terraforming Venus would make most people there willing to tolerate the grim, regimented life we see in "The Big Rain."
I remember how, when I first read this story many years ago, I was disappointed by it. But when read "Rain" a second time I thought better of it.
Ad astra! Sean
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