In which Kara ven’Arith takes a very long tenday tour.
I take note of the way Kara’s mother and Kara’s delm are always mentioned in this story in the same breath, and the way those mentions are worded, and in addition consider the similar mention of Kara’s mother early in Saltation, and the conclusion I draw is that this is one of those Liaden melant’i situations where “mother” and “delm” are two hats worn by a single person but spoken of separately because the same person might be required to consider a situation differently depending on which set of eyes she’s regarding it with.
The Station Master is another addition to the list of characters for whom the authors of have chosen not to provide gendered pronouns. I might not have found it worth mentioning, but that there’s a sentence near the end of the story which attracted attention by going somewhat out of its way to avoid a pronoun.
Tomorrow: Agent of Change
This story provided a nice bit of background to bring Kara forward in the story, and also a clearer understanding of the politically deteriorating situation on Eyelot. I admit, as politically conservative as I am, I felt some little trepidation regarding the circumstances unfolding in my own country at the moment.
I find the political situation on Eyelot especially worrisome with regard to Jen Sar’s / Daav’s comment that Liadens make up roughly half of Eyelot’s population. Styling almost half of ones population as other, as minority, as scapegoat, as parasites and therefor deserving of harassment, unfair treatment etc. – is only one example of an illness that reared its head throughout human history a long time before the term nazi was created.
I don’t think it matters who that supposedly bad minority is – as soon as leaders make discriminating comments and thusly making discriminating behavior socially acceptable there is something wrong within this society. In German we would say make discriminating behavior “salonfähig” – a term suggesting that this behavior would be socially acceptable in the highest society and part of good manners.
As for circumstance unfolding in several countries at the moment – I get definitely uneasy too. Such movements have a habit of infecting several countries when one succumbs to it.
If I may use such an old-fashioned word—I found this story heartwarming in the sense that seeing someone with the power to help choosing to help another who would otherwise have been helpless, well, I’ll be less vague and refer to yos’Senchul’s attention to Kara’s circumstances. And then see his choice “pay it forward” in that it is Kara’s advertency that uncovers the mischief/vandalism/terrorism that’s been going on at the station.