Summary:
It was a dark and stormy night...... Well, it *was*! ;-)
The Wotan is taking a beating in a storm. Maia, however, is completely
sick, and can only watch as the men and more experienced vars battle to
save the ship. Disaster strikes, however, when the cargo begins to break
free below, threatening the list the ship and capsize it. Maia joins a
bucket team trying to shovel coal into compartments that are still holding
containment.
Just when the crew seems to have succeeded, defeat is snatched from the
jaws of victory. The remaining uncomparmentalized coal begins to
landslide, burying Maia and a male sailor. Despite Maia's efforts, the
male sailor dies, and Maia is saved only because she is holding a shovel
that just happened to be made of hollow bamboo. What's more, the wreckage
of The Zeus is floating nearby - and Leie is presumed dead.
Maia's skill at navigation makes her invaluable in guiding what's left of
The Wotan, and her crew, into port at Grange Head Harbor. Despite gaining
valuable experience in navigation, despite finally respecting and
understanding the humanity of the lower-class crew of the Wotan, and
despite receiving an offer of a permanent place on the crew, Maia bids the
crew farewell. She has not given up hope, and intends to wait in Grange
Head for Leie.
Suffering from internal injuries, and deep psychological wounds, however,
Maia takes ill, and is taken to the local temple to recover. Under the
guidance of Mother Kalor, Maia finally comes to grips with Leie's death,
and makes a full physical recovery. Mother Kalor makes a half-hearted
offer for Maia to enter the convent, but when Maia refuses, she tells her:
"Your place is in the thick of things... I'm sure fate and the world have a
role for you."
Analysis:
We know that Stratos is entering a Time of Changes. Examples so far
include a rising summer birthrate, flooding society with both men and extra
vars. Additionally, men seem to be staying in "rut" longer than before.
(This may well be a cause of the latter.) Now, we encounter a massive
summer storm occurring unusually late. We know that every-day technology
on Stratos is fairly primitive. Is it possible that environmental changes
being wrought by the Stratoians are causing the early stages of global
warming? This would produce storms of increased severity, and more
frequent storms later in the year. Also, the warmer temperatures might
well keep men in rut longer, thus boosting summer birth rates.
On several occasions, Brin has alluded to the fact that men are often
considered as separate from women as another species. Almost as if humans
on Stratos are divided into homo viri and homo feminae. On page 94, Maia
sees *vars* battling to save the ship (having already observed men) and
wonders "how could *human beings* do such a thing?" Given the biological
definition of species, however, this seems like an odd conceit.
Maia finds a symbol (pg 113) in an ancient temple: a dragon with lines of
fire emenating from its teeth that spear a hovering wheel-shape. The
wheel-shape has been "defaced to almost nothing", implying that the wheel
shape represents "the Enemy." The wings of the dragon are spread over a
scene of tumult: soldiers of "the Enemy" are represented as demons with
allegorical horns, fighting a combined force of men and women. The fact
that this symbol is on an ancient temple, however, and the fact that the
symbol suggests heresy to Maia, is very suggestive. Perhaps this battle
with "the Enemy" has passed to the margins of Stratoian Society in some
way? Perhaps in the intervening years, Stratos experienced a religious
revolution of some sorts? Perhaps a revolution in the science of
Christianity revolutionizing Judaism? Also, is the suggestion of heresy
confuses me..... is it possible that Perkin (or Perkins) was one of the
Founders, and that her heresy has been part of Stratos from the very
beginning? Perhaps Lysos herself considered relgious diversity an
essential element of human civilization?
Does anyone want to comment on the final paragraph of this chapter? I've
read it several times, but the sheer number of reflexive clauses keeps
leaving me in knots. Translating the last sentence in particular leaves
me with: "Maia would call the faint sense of loss 'childhood.' " But that
doesn't really seem to make sense.
Notes:
-Lysos wrote at least two books "The Apologia", which has been quoted twice
so far, and "Methods and Means." The first excerpt was from her "Landing
Day Address."
-Stratoian theology teaches that the world has a "formless, maternal
spirit." (pg 100), as well as a "soul field" after death. (pg 101)
- Men may have their own separate religion, involving worship of a "thunder
god." (pg 101)
- Maia receives a sextant as a gift from Capt. Peygul. It is an antique,
complete with a readout for the no-longer-existant Net. On the cover is a
picture of an airship.
-Grange Head harbor is presumably named for the "Grange", which is
essentially a labor union for farmers. The Grange allows farmers to pool
resources, market power, and advice. The Grange model was presumably
duplicated on Stratos by the farmers for the agricultural sectors, and
Grange Head harbor now serves as a port for inland farming regions.
-"Out of Season" is a colloquialism for crazy - and very appropriate. (pg
107)
-There were no men among the Founders. Also, the Founders apparently left
no descendants. Everyone on Stratos today is apparently descended from a
group of humans that were genetically engineered in laboratories over
several generations.
Lifeforms:
-swoop-birds: live on the coast, are large enough to cast a shadow, and
have the ability to hover. (pg 109)
-jacar tree: short, spindly, shrub, umbrella-shaped leaves and chemical
defenses (pg 112)
-ivy: imported from Earth? (pg 113)
Technology
-The position of Grange Head is known down to the centimeter. This
possibly implies that the Stratoians have maps produced by GPS, even if
they (or the average sailor at least) can no longer access the GPS
satellite network.(pg 104)
-two-way radio (pg 105)
-metal tools (shears (pg 112)
__________________________________________________________
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 institutions designed
to check each other." -Andrew Sullivan 01/29/01
