Tag Archives: Professor Noni

Fledgling – Chapter 22

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Vashtara
EdRec Level
Library

In which Theo is introduced to menfri’at and bowli ball.

Theo is picking up the pilot’s way of moving from Win Ton, and along with it the mental toolkit needed to avoid the kind of maladapted interactions with other people that got her labelled clumsy back on Delgado.

The bit where Theo gets mistaken for a Liaden is a fairly strong indication that Jen Sar is her father in fact and not just by courtesy and by virtue of having a hand in her upbringing. Whether you find this interesting might depend on whether you were already, notwithstanding the indications that it’s not usual practice on Delgado, taking Theo’s parentage as read.

It would appear that Win Ton hasn’t read Tan Sim’s Ugly Day.

With the benefit of hindsight, at least one of the things Chair Hafley says in this chapter is very, very ironic.

Fledgling – Chapter 17

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Leisure and Recreation Studies: Practical Dance
Professor Stephen M. Richardson Secondary School
University of Delgado

In which Theo dances.

It occurs to me on this re-reading that Professor Noni’s remark about moving apart and coming back together being a normal part of life has particular relevance to Theo’s life these days. She showed a similar reluctance to encompass the moving-apart that was the shift to the Wall (though that’s perhaps understandable, since it was not and still is not accompanied by any assurance that there will be a coming-back-together to follow); it remains to be seen whether she will do better at accommodating herself to the moving-apart that is the trip to Melchiza — which Kamele apparently hasn’t told her about yet, if she’s making plans to go to the Saltation during Interval.

“Saltation” comes from the Latin verb meaning “to leap”, and has a variety of meanings, some more literal and some more metaphorical, in dance, biology, and geology. Even if Theo doesn’t make it to the dance festival, she has a saltation of some form in her future: Saltation is the title of the next book in the series. (What’s more, I seem to recall that we already knew that when this came out, suggesting that this chapter is a deliberate tease.)

Another bit of Delgado gender-role reversal: Theo’s conversation with Bek suggests that it’s not considered polite for a boy to ask a girl out, or directly issue any similar invitation; he’s limited to dropping hints and hoping that she will both recognize the hint and choose to act on it.

Fledgling – Chapter 15

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University of Delgado
Faculty Residence Wall
Quadrant Eight, Building Two

In which Kamele and Jen Sar make plans for the future.

If Theo was unhappy about moving from the suburb to the Wall, how much less is she going to like leaving the planet entirely? Even if it does solve a lot of problems.

I don’t think Jen Sar is unhappy with the idea of looking after Theo, as far as his own preferences go. But there is also to be considered how it would look to outsiders, if Kamele left her daughter in the care of a man — and not only a man she doesn’t have an ongoing relationship with, as far as the world knows, but a man with whom she recently broke off a relationship — rather than, say, her close friend Ella. And particularly at this point in time, when she’s moving in deep political waters and any deviation from customary behaviour may become a weapon against her. And Kamele knows all this as well as he does, which is why, I think, he’s surprised at her even making the suggestion.