Jim Sharkey wrote:
>
> David Hobby wrote:
> >But as for Kault, the Thennanin ambassador, it was his phlegmatic
> >character that kept him from noticing many of the (planted) signs
> >of the Garthlings. If he hadn't been so thick, he might have
> >succeeded sooner.
>
> That's probably a fair point. It might not have been the best example, but it was
> the first one that came to mind. I don't agree, though, that he would have
> succeeded sooner. Had he followed the false trails, he might never have reached the
> conclusions that he did, and probably wouldn't have been in the position to meet the
> "Garthlings."
I guess we don't really know what Uthacalthing intended to
do with the false clues of Garthlings. The ending in the book
(_The Uplift War_) turns on many fairly improbable events, so one
can't predict what would have happened. But I can't see how Kault
is worse off if he believes in Garthlings sooner.
>
> One of my favorite things about that book is the concept of enjoying a joke that
> winds up turning against the teller in unexpected ways. I don't know too many
> people who can handle it when their own jokes wind up having the last laugh on them,
> let alone an entire culture that *enjoys* it. It's nifty to think of the
> possibility of an alien race being so familiar but so alien. I suppose, though,
> that's a pretty common SF theme.
>
> Jim
Not that I play that many jokes, but I appreciate it
when the world plays a joke on me. A joke that yields the
unexpected is a thing of wonder--much better than when all
goes according to plan.
---David
So alien, too?
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