At 04:13 PM 2/9/01 -0600, Marvin wrote:
***********Rather Minor Spoiler for Heaven's Reach***********
>In particular, DB dislikes the "superhuman hero who must save the world"
>motif because it implies that ordinary people working together are
>ultimately powerless to improve their fate..... Tom Orley, possibly the
>closest thing we've seen to the superhuman hero, even gets left behind in
>a manner that makes me wonder if DB is making a statement...something
>like, "Compared to the species, we're all expendable."
I have to disagree with this.
In an earlier discussion on this list, I argued that the central
difference between Terrans and Galactics in the Uplift series, was that to
Terrans, individuals mattered. Yes, Tom Orley got left behind - but only
grudgingly and with much angst. Then, the crew of the skiff risks their
ultimate survival by spending valuable resources searching for him. The
Galactics, in contrast, regularly sacrifice individuals for the good of the
species without batting an eye.
Now, I should point out, that when I first posted the above interpretation,
David Brin disagreed that this was a theme of the novels in any way,
pointing out how in _Heaven's Reach_, Peepoe is left behind.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"The point of living in a Republic after all, is that we do not live by
majority rule. We live by laws and a variety of isntitutions designed
to check each other." -Andrew Sullivan 01/29/01
