Van Rijn tells two Diomedean nations:
"'...you know, at least, that you are of the same race. Any of you could have been a solid member of the other nation, nie?'" (p. 148)
That is true of human beings. Anyone who has been brought up as a (fill in the blank) could have been exchanged at birth and brought up as a (fill in another blank). (It would be very easy to suggest some outright shocking exchanges.)
As van Rijn speaks:
"On creaking planks, under a red sun and a low sea wind, the scores of winged warriors and captains shuddered in the face of the unimagined." (ibid.)
A low wind rather than a loud one is appropriate for this moment of horrified realization. The "depraved," who are permanently sexually active and who therefore have marriages and families, could have been the "swinish," whose procreation results only from an annual orgy, and vice versa.
Van Rijn suggests that they might now experiment with different life-styles but sees immediately that this is not yet acceptable. In any case, he can do business with both.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And I reject "multiculturalism" because not all nations, civilizations, and cultures are equal in value. Some, like what we see in the barbaric laws, beliefs, customs of Islam, are ghastly. Plus, India is still crippled by the caste system.
Ad astra! Sean
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