Varvara And Ghosts

The Boat Of A Million Years, IX, Ghosts.

Poul Anderson plays tricks. Chapter VIII introduces a new immortal called Asagoa who will become a Buddhist nun. IX seems to introduce a new immortal called Varvara who ceases to be a Christian nun. However, Varvara turns out to be Svoboda. The convent had not kept her longevity secret. It was coming to be regarded as a miracle. However, the convent is destroyed and everyone but Varvara/Svoboda killed. She has been raped and knocked unconscious but is resilient enough to survive.

Varvara remembers that the Lord went before Israel as smoke by day and fire by night. This is another Biblical reference. Was the Lord a volcano? Was the Ark of the covenant an electricity generator?

She sees "the Heaven Path," (p. 196) another description of the galaxy.

"Ghosts" are the people and gods that Varvara has known and outlived. She prays to:

"...Dazbhog of the Sun, the Protector..." (p. 196);

"...Earth, Mother of All..."(ibid.);

God.

"Earth and sun, moon and stars, wind and rain and human love, she could understand the old gods better than she understood Christ. But they were forsaken by man, remembered only in dances and feasts, fireside tales and fireside spirits; they were ghosts." (pp. 201-202)

Not forsaken then: we cannot forsake earth, sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, human love, dances, feasts, firesides, tales, spirits, ghosts!

In chapter X, Asagoa meets Tu Shan but I do not think that I can tackle that tonight.