When Guthrie and Jendaire have conversed for a while and he has stated what he wants from her:
"She stood quiet for a while. He could guess how she was calculating. A thrush trilled, a butterfly zigzagged on gorgeous wings, a breeze bore scent of jasmine, the stars passed frostily by." (pp. 40-41)
These pauses can become crowded: thrush, butterfly, breeze, jasmine, stars. The conversation continues but we were grateful for that pause.
One of the things that Jendaire has told Guthrie is that, although the Proserpinans make some attempt to spy on the inner Solar System, they are more interested in using their field-drive ships to expand through the Oort Cloud whose fringes mingle with the cometary clouds of others stars. A slow, steady route to the stars suitable for a species at home in low gravity and in enclosed but spacious environments.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I think I recall reading somewhere that the Oort Cloud contains asteroids as large as planets, and that these asteroids are likely to have useful resources. Best of all, resources not controlled and monopolized by the cybercosm.
Ad astra! Sean
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