Thursday, 28 November 2024

Pulsar And Son Of Man

A Circus Of Hells, CHAPTERs EIGHTEEN-NINETEEN.

Flandry in his Comet-class scoutboat uses a storm, then a pulsar, to evade Merseian pursuit. Like Larry Niven's Beowulf Shaeffer in "Neutron Star" (Known Space future history), he swings around a pulsar.

Flandry:

"'Gray waves. Somebody under primary acceleration.'" (p. 352)

That should be "Grav waves." This is about the third occurrence of this miss-print.

Djana:

"Son of Man, help us." (p. 353)

Another Biblical quote, of course. We can be so used to Biblical phrases that we don't question them but why "Son of Man" instead of "Son of God"? A "son of man" is just a man but "one like a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven," the complete phrase, is not a man. He is a supernatural humanoid being. 

Djana continues to pray:

"'God have mercy,' she cried with her whole being. 'Oh, send them back where they belong!'" (ibid.)

Her psychic power, carefully nurtured by her enemy, Ydwyr, works. The pursuit recedes.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

But "Son of Man" is a traditional title for Christ, Who is both human and divine, wherein the Second Person of the Trinity united a human nature and soul to His divinity. It's a way of affirming Christ's humanity.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

It is a title for Christ because he applied the phrase to himself in order to differentiate himself from the other Messianic concept, the Davidic monarch, who would have conquered the Romans and ruled the world from Jerusalem.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

And that as well. Christ did not come to found a merely earthly kingdom.

Ad astra! Sean