Dutiful Passage
Millsap Orbit
In which Padi and Shan commune with inanimate objects.
This is a surprisingly long chapter and I’m up against a deadline, so I’m going to do it in two parts.
Continue reading
In which Val Con and Miri offer their solutions.
The distinction Val Con makes between those who count themselves to be Scouts and those who count themselves to be Liaden Scouts is one I was reaching for yesterday but didn’t manage to wrap words around. (And reminds me of Eylot, forcing its pilots to decide whether they were pilots who happened to be Eylotian or Eylotians who happened to be pilots.)
It also, come to think of it, suggests the possibility, if not the certainty, that at some point in the future the Scouts headquartered on Surebleak are going to accept non-Liadens into their ranks. Once you’ve reached the conclusion that being a Scout and being a Liaden are not necessarily linked, it’s an obvious consequence. (There have been hints in that direction already, too, with people mentioning that the Scouts have been providing educational opportunities on Surebleak, usually followed by commenting that Scout teachers always treat their students as prospective Scouts.)
Continue reading
Tradedesk
In which Clarence explores the shopping district and his options.
When Joyita first announced himself, he had two rings on one hand. Now he has three.
Although I’ve read the book before, I don’t confidently recall who it is that Clarence has run into, but I have a sort of feeling that it’s not as bad as it might be. And it might be pretty bad, considering the last time Clarence unexpectedly ran into someone who recognised him, it was one of his old Juntavas colleagues, and he ended up having to shoot the guy.
History of Education Department
Oriel College of Humanities
University of Delgado
In which Kamele explains her reasoning.
…and, just to keep the tension going, the progress of the party is interrupted with a chapter set somewhere completely different.
There’s a thing the authors of this series do that I’ve been noticing and appreciating on this re-read, where the reappearance of a character is preceded, a chapter or two earlier, by somebody mentioning that character, to remind the reader of the character’s existence. In this case, we have the return of Ella ben Suzan, whom Theo happened to mention last chapter.
(That mention might have been confusing for a first time reader, since Theo referred to her as “Aunt Ella”, after having told Kareen in a yet earlier chapter that she had no aunts on Delgado… except that she also, in that same chapter, remarked on the fact that sometimes people get called things like “Aunt” or “Grandfather” by people they’re not technically any such relation to. That’s craftsmanship, that is.)
Bechimo
In which Bechimo has doubts.
There are some interesting details about Bechimo‘s background in this chapter. The Builders clearly gave some thought to the question of what might happen if the AI running their more-or-less autonomous ship, with full control over the airlocks and life support systems and all, turned out to be the kind of AI that sci-fi horror movies have warned us about.
Also, we get what I think is the first mention of Bechimo‘s preferred gender.
Arin’s Toss
Solcintra Port
Liad
In which Theo’s father tells her the truth.
Theo’s conversation with her father is one of those things that’s obviously significant but I don’t know how to talk about. (I do wonder if it helps Theo to learn that Val Con’s mother was a respected scholar. It seems like it might make the whole preposterous situation feel slightly more familiar.)
Either Theo’s taxi ride from the Port or her nap, or both, must have consumed a considerable amount of time, since it is now the day set for Korval’s departure and Theo left the Port at dawn the previous day. (Local calendar, explicitly stated, so it’s not one of those things where the Standard Day changes halfway through the local day.) No, excuse me: Theo went to call a taxi at dawn; maybe the city’s in such a commotion at the moment that it took most of the day to turn up.
The detail about Trealla Fantrol is interesting; they couldn’t take it with them, but they weren’t going to let it fall into anyone else’s hands. In which light, I wonder what it says that they didn’t mind letting Liad keep the formal gardens.
Tomorrow: “Moon on the Hills”, then back to Chapter 6.
Day 201
Standard Year 1393
Solcintra
Liad
In which Theo brings her business to the Delm of Korval.
The fact that it’s Clonak on the gate leads me to wonder whether he recognised a family resemblance in Theo, and that formed part of his decision to let her in. He did, after all, know her father well and for many years.
Speaking of family resemblances, Theo’s first words on being reunited with her father are exactly the same as Val Con’s.
There’s apparently been some disagreement among readers about the way I Dare ends, so for the record I personally found it a perfect and delightful note on which to end the Agent of Change series, and would have thought myself entirely satisfied if that had been the last we ever heard of Liadens. (Though I am, of course, glad now that it wasn’t.) To me, it didn’t come across as a loose end, but as a reminder that even with the Department defeated, the wide universe still contains new discoveries and new adventures, and the children of Korval are not the kind to live quietly ever after.
Tomorrow: New adventure.
Delgado
Bjornson-Bellevale College of Arts and Sciences
In which Professor Kiladi suffers an interruption.
Now, this is a chapter where it really makes a difference whether you’re reading in publication order or internal chronological order. In published order, this is the professor’s first appearance, and the scene is full of enigmatic hints that only get paid off at the end of the novel, or even later, leaving us with the question of who he is and why he’s interested in Val Con. In internal chronological order, Professor Kiladi has already featured in several novels, and the same details are not so much enigmatic hints as reminders of things we already knew; we know who he is and why he’s interested in Val Con, and the question instead is what he’s going to do about it.
Tomorrow, a brief diversion from the novel to find out what he is going to do about it, in the short story “Breath’s Duty”.
Ops
Anlingdin Piloting Academy
In which Theo’s advisors advise her.
It’s clear from the conversation Theo’s advisors have with her when they get back to the Academy that their hand-talk discussion on the trip back covered a lot of ground on the topic of What Are We Going To Do About Theo? — not just in general, and for the future, but also in quite a bit of detail regarding how they would approach Theo with their conclusions. The moment when yos’Senchul surprises Theo to make the point about how she reacts to the unexpected — right when Veradantha is drawing her attention by talking about how she reacts to the unexpected — has the feel of having been choreographed in advance.
I wonder if there was any particular reason for Veradantha to pick Jankalim and Theopholis for her list to demonstrate that aspects of culture are universal. (It happens that Jankalim and Theopholis are respectively the first and last planets visited by the protagonists in Conflict of Honors. Theopholis has some striking cultural details, including a peculiarly unpleasant penalty for pre-meditated murder; Jankalim we didn’t really get to see much of, culture-wise.)
History of Piloting
Anlingdin Piloting Academy
In which Theo meets Kara ven’Arith.
Theo is learning a lot of family history without knowing it, lately. Although I suppose that was to some extent inevitable once she started learning piloting, considering how much the history of piloting is bound up with the history of Korval.
I think Inspector Johansen is being unfair, here: it would have been one thing to be down on Theo for not doing all the assigned reading, if that was what she had done, and I would even allow that it would have been reasonable to be somewhat disappointed by the class’s lack of initiative — but to mock them for not doing something they hadn’t been called on to do seems to me to be pushing it, especially since I get the impression that Johansen was counting on them to have not done it so she could be grumpy about it. Or maybe I’m being unfair now, and she was just in a bad mood about something.
Kara, with her own version of having grown up between Liaden and Terran cultures and a willingness to share her understanding, could be a useful friend for Theo to have. (Not that I’m saying, of course, that usefulness ought to be an only or a primary criterion for a friendship.)