Fiction reflects life. Lives have turning points whether recognized or not. In Poul Anderson's A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows, Dominic Flandry's murdered fiancee, Kossara Vymezal, lies in state in St Clement's Cathedral on Dennitza. She believed. He does not. He asks her for a sign that she still exists. This makes him the first person to pray to St Kossara, later canonized by her fellow Orthochristians. Flandry hears only a priest chanting and does not interpret this as a sign. Brains/minds/souls process experiences differently. Some Dennitzans would feel their faith strengthened. Others would doubt. A Catholic colleague in Merseyside who had lost her young son was later asked about her faith and replied, "That's all gone now."
Any hypothetical greater consciousness observes Flandry and my former colleague with compassion.
Exercise: Find three more turning point moments in Poul Anderson's works.
4 comments:
Consciousness exists during sleep -- in dreams, for example.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I interpret dreams as the sleeping mind thinking or trying to think, no matter how confusedly.
Ad astra! Sean
Language is ambiguous here. We usually describe a sleeper as unconscious. He is certainly not conscious of his environment. On the other hand, he is conscious of dreams. But he does not dream all the time that he is asleep.
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, but I don't clearly recall any sense of duration, of the passing of time in my usually forgettable dreams. One "moment" I'm sleeping, and in the next "moment" I'm awake.
Ad astra! Sean
Ad astra! Sean
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