Spiral Dance
Twilight Interval
In which Jela ponders human nature.
A short and thoughtful chapter, to which I don’t think I have anything to add.
I’m curious about this “long twilight”, though. Apparently not all interstellar journeys are over in twelve seconds. But why? Is it just that things are that much farther apart out on the Rim and beyond?
I got the feeling it was a loooong journey, to the outer rim where Uncle is docked. I liked these quiet scenes with everyone reading, the easy companionability, and the ship-shape sounds of the ship.
This bit of Jela’s reflection was interesting, given that I have queried the “human-ness” of these characters: “He and pilot Cantra might be said to have a [human] mother and father, even if no one could ever have come forward and claim them. Met or unmet, there were … progenitors of sorts. Dulsey though, was a full custom-build, her and the rest of her batch, pulled from human genetic parts for a specific job, for profit.”
I agree. That was the section of the chapter I found most informative:
– Neither Jela nor Cantra had anything resembling an active parent involved in their raising, though they each might have been said to have such progenitors.
– Dulsey’s genetic components are completely designed or selected. Possibly some cloning is involved in the creation of a batch. And the resulting designs and constructions are likely copyrighted as well as trademarked – in the vivid green, genetic tattoos they have on their forearms.
I most appreciated, however, Jela’s musing that profit forms the motivation for his, Cantra’s and Dulsey’s creations, which seems to be true of the vast majority of human decisions, from the small and individual to the grandiose and world-spanning. And if not profit, then what motivates the Sheriekas? And lastly, given the current outcomes, is an instinct for profit possibly NOT a long-term survival trait for the human species?
RE: comment from Jelala alone in 2013 “I got the feeling it was a loooong journey, to the outer rim where Uncle is docked.”
I inferred from this that transition is only possible along known routes, for which very specific coordinates have been established as consistent. Other routes could be worked out, but still required travel in real time, without a “fold” of space to provide a shortcut.
Interesting question as to what motivates the sheriekas. They seem obsessed with their interpretation of perfection. Is this a racial purity thing? (Come to think of it, we’re not even sure what race(s) they evolved from, assuming we accept that they were once human.)
re motivations, names, races:
Jela reflects that they were originally called sheriekas. They were human. So is sherieka the name of their home planet?? Not sure. When they supposedly attained their notion of perfection / godhood, they adopted the name Elohim. Hebrew for Lord, I think. Elohim is widely mentioned in Crystal Dragon. I’d say the major motivational force for them is pride. Vainglorious self-aggrandizement. Another motivation force is the need to control.
Wiping out imperfect worlds is similar to Nazi extermination of Jews. The final solution. Not all Germans agreed with that plan, but most feared to gain say hitler and his goons. Possibly it was the same for the sheriekas. Some powerful mad dictatorship with few Willing to resist him her
I see the self-aggrandizement and pride, for sure, and that’s what fuels the drive to “perfection.” But I think they’ve gone beyond even the need to control everyone and everything. The Iloheen want to destroy everyone and everything; they desire total annihilation, not only of everything outside itself but even of itself . . . a twisted and insane version of perfection, as if nothing will be perfect until nothing, in fact, exists.
Coming back to add:
While I believe that the sheriekas‘ ultimate goal is total annihilation (and there’s a whole other discussion could be had about their motive), Crystal Dragon introduces us to a creation of theirs who does desire subjugation and domination. We know her only as Simbu’s dominant. It is indicated that she also has aligned with other dramliza of the Old Universe in a desire to wrest control from the sheriekas, whether in the Old Universe or the New.
Iloheen. Oops. Yes. Good points, Ed8r. I stand by control as another motivator.
The question I have: Were all sheriekas insane, or just the powerful minority? It’s not likely that an entire race went bat-crazy, unless it’s in the water.
I don’t think of the sheriekas as being a race in the traditional sense; it’s something that the people who became sheriekas turned themselves into, discarding their old identities and allegiances in the process. I don’t expect that every member of their former race (or races) chose to become sheriekas, but I do think that everyone who became sheriekas shares the sheriekas mindset, because there must have been a point where anybody more reasonable would have looked at what they were doing and noped out.
OOooo . . . Paul, I’ve not heard that expression before (maybe I’m just not quite as exposed to current media trends). “Noped out” is a new one to me . . . I like it!
A form of fascism run rampant. Is that the right term? I agree that there were nopers amongst humans from other planets, and probably even from their own sherieka planet/ race/whatever. Crystal Soldier chapter 1 suggests they all originated on the same planet:
Sheriekas . They’d been human once, at least as human as he was—…. They’d named themselves after their own dead planet, which they’d destroyed early on in their quest for transformation—for superiority. In their way, they were brilliant: Conquering disease after disease, adjusting body-types to planets, increasing life-spans.They’d been driven to achieve perfection, he supposed…. That those refusing the initial offer of sheriekas guidance had supposed they’d won the war rather than a battle meant . . . It meant that Jela was here, fighting a battle centuries later . . .