History of Education Department
Oriel College of Humanities
University of Delgado
In which a late evening is unexpectedly extended.
Sinister hooded figures and a threat to the integrity of the entire University? That’s more like it!
And, speaking of things that are suggestive to the reader familiar with the wider Liaden universe: Jen Sar Kiladi’s alertness behind the wheel of his rally car. We know, though Theo doesn’t, that he used to be a pilot, and he’s been grounded for over a decade; racing the car is likely the closest he’s been able to get to flying in all that time. And, of course, the reviving of the pilot he used to be is accompanied by the reviving of other parts of himself that haven’t seen much use in the last few years.
I can see how the Simples fit in as an extreme form of Delgado’s emphasis on teamwork and consensus. That doesn’t make them less sinister, though.
(And a passing thought, brought on by Jen Sar’s Bjornson-Bellevale College and Kamele’s Oriel College: I wonder if those two colleges are named after women, and if the reason Theo’s school gets the full “Stephen M. Richardson” is because otherwise people would assume it too was named after a woman?)
Interesting observation about the names. Outside of the book, I find myself curious about whether the authors named these colleges after real people, perhaps someone(s) they know/knew?
An-n-n-d…what I had *planned* to say about this chapter relates to a thought Kamele has about Jen Sar—one of those times I might have spit out my beverage, had I been sipping at the time. She is wishing she had the opportunity to talk over with him the “recent rash of mess,” and then her thoughts turn to: Not only did he know how to listen, but he brought what was very nearly a woman’s understanding to certain matters. Talking with him, she had thought more than once, was like talking to a sister.
On my first reading, I had only thought of how her feelings fit into the perspective of such a female-oriented society. But this time? It was obvious she had interacted often not just with Jen Sar, but with Aelliana. OF COURSE it seemed like “talking to a sister”…she *was* talking to a sister!