...
>
> Then comes Naroin. Naroin, while a woman, is Master-at-Arms for the crew -
> and she is set to law down the law and teach the vars how to fight.
> Suffice to say, Maia doesn't do so well in her first bout.
>
> Analysis:
> The use of leather armour (pg 43) seems a bit odd, given the presence of
> rockets. On the next page, however, it seems possible that rockets are used
> for signalling and in battles between ships rather than as anti-personnel
> weapons.
...
The fighting is INTENTIONALLY kept low-tech and "nonlethal".
Since the biology of everything else is worked out so well, we could
try to figure out why this low-tech state is maintained. Naroin's
comments seem to indicate that this way of fighting is culturally
enforced.
> This brings me to my topic for discussion:
> Maia continually stresses the importance for her to find a "niche." Does
> anyone else see this social model as sort of an analogy for capitalism?
I see it as BIOLOGY. That is the standard term, an "ecological
niche".
> In a way, is not Brin calling on young people to go out into the world to
> "find niches" and become successful?" Likewise, the established clans
> seem to constantly receive a less-favorable light. Do you think that Brin
> might like stiff inheritance taxes and call on all of us to be vars -
> finding our own niches? Vars, on Stratos, are described as being vitally
> necessary to preserve the vigor of society. But what purpose do the clans
> serve? Might Brin want to get rid of the clans entirely?
I see Brin's role as dispassionately reporting what this
society is like. The clans flow naturally from the biology, as does
almost everything else. You've heard me praise Brin for this before,
I'm sure!
---David
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
