JDG wrote:
>
> Maia immediately takes flight from Jopland Hold towards the
> only place she knows - the iron foundries of Lerner Hold.
>
And we are introduced to a new moon, Iris :-)
> She is taken in by two vars,
> Thalla and Kiel, and begins work at the foundry.
>
Described as: "tall, broad-shouldered" and "almost pure
black complexion, startingly pale eyes" respectively.
> (...) Five days after Kiel disappears, Tizbe
> returns with a band of Joplands and apprehends her. (...)
>
Three days. See below.
> Once again, Maia's unconsciousness provides a flashback to
> days of making mischievous explorations with Leie, back in
> Port Sanger. In this case, we get a detailed look at a
> clone Initiation Ceremony / male seduction gala.
> When Maia awakes, she sees her new prison looming in front
> of her.
>
Also, there's a chronology stuff here. The Ceremony was on
Mid-Winter Day, but also it's said to be on _solstice_.
This term applies to the days where the Sun is in the
extreme declinations - however, we know that the seasons,
in Stratos, are given by the distance to Stratos-S. So,
unless this is a typographical error [and I bet on this],
it would mean that Stratos's orbit is very peculiar, as in
the general case, the solstice does not happen at the
aphelium or perihelium.
> There is a national minium-wage law, defined as providing
> enough for the employee to save. (pfg 173) I have to say,
> that if this law were practical, it is a decent suggestion.
> I think that one way in which governments can ensure social
> justice is to provide everyone with access to
> capital markets. With access to capital, anyone who is
> motivated enough can attempt to start their own free
> enterprise. This sort of access is the best guarantee
> against corporate exploitation of workers. If a worker
> thinks that they can earn more income by striking out on
> their own, they will not tolerate exploitative wages.
> I wonder if DB contemplated this
> when you was writing the passage...
>
Also, there's a day in each year where all debts are cancelled;
this would probably ruin all capitalist system. IIRC, there's
something like this in Leviticus.
My notes:
p.174 and p.180: one day of the week is called "Greersday".
How many days are there in a week?
p.186: in Summer, Wengel star (the small, bitterly bright
companion) shines high in the sky. I really don't understand
what DB means by this - if He wants to say that in Winter
Wengel Star is not visible because it's obscured by
Stratos-S light? Or if in Summer Wengel Star shines in
the day sky?
BTW, I wrote a micro-timeline of Maia's stay in Lerner Hold:
Day 0: (same day of Chapters 5 - 7) arrival at night (1st day)
Day 1: Maia begins working; 2nd evening at Lerner Hold (p.172s)
Day 3 - 10: Weekly electricity bill arrives (p.174)
Day 4 - 13: "next Greersday", Kiel visits Holly Lock (p.174)
Day 14: Appointment Day
Day 15 or 16: Maia misses the appointment day (p.176)
Day 16: Kiel leaves Lerner Hold at night (p.176)
Day 17: Kiel absent "next morning" (p.179),
Thalla tells about next Greersday wagon (p.180)
18th day at Lerner Hold (p.180)
2nd evening without Kiel
Day 18: Caravan arrives (p.182),
3rd evening without Kiel (p.182)
Day 19: another day of hard work (p.182)
Maia is captured by Tizbe Beller at evening (p.183)
Alberto Monteiro
