FOREIGNER: Discussion Post #2

[krait]

Welcome to chapters 1 & 2!

Commence discussion, now that we've met our Actual Protagonist(s?) for this trip!

1. Impressions of Bren so far? (If you can make such quick judgments on only two chapters?)

2. Thoughts about or observations on what we've suddenly been introduced to regarding the aiji's court and (now technologically further advanced) atevi society? Unlike Ian, Bren's right in the middle of it; what stands out to him, what stands out to you, and how much overlap is there? :D


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Regarding spoilers: how far along is everyone? I've read either all, or all but one, book; someone mentioned they were only as far as the third book; and I think one of us has never read any Cherryh before...? So far I've been trying to avoid spoilers for absolutely everything beyond our current reading point, so the "Spoiler Edition" post will follow this one.

Comments

Thoughts so far!

[krait]

Things that stood out to me while reading:

1. Humans apparently are just as pacifistic as they were during Ian's time? Ian's thinking that the colony had pretty much nothing to pursue him with except some things designed to repel animals, and his complete lack of armament in the field (where presumably there might be animals) are an interesting mirror of Bren's general unfamiliarity with guns -- he's only had one for the last two weeks, and the aiji taught him to shoot, meaning it's not something he knew how to do before then. Which I suppose one could attribute to his not being legally allowed to have a firearm amongst atevi; but he doesn't have any stray thoughts about human marksmen he has known, or refer to hunting in any way (in fact, we find out humans are ordering packed meat from somewhere else, annoying the aiji); and the comment about "marksmanship was a hobby among atevi" seems pretty focused -- no "and some humans" in sight. Huh.

2. That said: I know little about shooting, but Bren came across as pretty awesome in those first few pages! From a sound sleep, based on a silhouette at night, he had the presence of mind to locate, aim, and fire a gun he's only had for a fortnight! Accurately enough to wound, too. I would guess most people take a lot longer to get used to something as a reflex; i.e. if I started keeping a gun beside my bed today and you suddenly woke me up a week later, I don't know that I would think to reach for the gun, not instinctively at least.

3. That sudden, initial competence is contrasted pretty sharply by everything that follows: no one will answer in any detail about an attempt on his own life; the aiji never warned him about potential attacks*; he has no vote or even voice in the legislature; he has very little "presence" in the court as a whole ('no one would want to kill him' ... except 'a lunatic') and lives in some out-of-the-way apartment near the servants' quarters; his servants are reassigned at random over his protests. And he has even less power amongst his own species than he does in atevi society. It's really strongly setting us up for SOMETHING, because why would this powerless person, however quick-reacting and linguistically gifted, have assassins climbing in his bedroom windows?

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*Honestly, the way this whole thing was phrased made me think we're being shown very strongly that Bren is naive/still not on perfect form recognising atevi behaviours.

And a handful of weeks ago Tabini had found unprecedented whimsy in arming him and giving him two hours of personal instruction at his personal retreat. They had joked, and shot melons on poles, and had supper together, and Tabini had had all the time he could possibly want to warn him if something was coming up

Arming someone in complete violation of your own law isn't a warning? The leader of a large and complex nation, whose personal attention is needed for just about everything that goes on, takes two whole weeks of vacation to give Bren gun training, and that's not a warning?

Re: Thoughts so far!

[cheyinka]

Yeah, he's definitely pretty awesome in the reacting-with-firearms department, especially with deafening himself with the first shot and having the presence of mind to follow it up with a second! (I do not know that I could do it, even awake and alert, and I've had almost four years of occasional practice with a handgun!) It makes me think Bren's only really competent when he's purely reacting - that he knows what to do as long as he gets out of his own way, but the only time he can get out of his own way is if he is shocked into action.

You have a good point about Bren not picking up on the non-verbal warnings, too. Tabini-aiji takes him with him on vacation, specifically teaches him how to shoot, specifically teaches him how to shoot reactive targets and how to shoot from concealment*, and Bren takes it as a sign of favor, not as "hey, you might need these skills soon, just saying".

I have to wonder, re: humans not hunting, why they don't raise animals. Even if atevi find it non-kabiu to farm, humans are already offending some of the atevi by using preserved meats, and if they were raising animals on Mospheira they'd at least not be relying on non-Ragi for food!


* "cover" means it will stop a bullet, "concealment" means it hides you from view; the bed is concealment, not cover.

Re: Thoughts so far!

[krait]

he's definitely pretty awesome in the reacting-with-firearms department

Thanks for that explanation -- nice to have some more informed input than my own guesses, since my experience with handguns is near nonexistent.

Interesting point about Bren's competence coming strongest when he's purely reacting! He really is, isn't he... And then he spends the rest of the night thinking and shaking; and then he spends the next day thinking and getting angry and confused.

He does seem to put it together afterward, though, about Tabini: "Tabini had felt something in the wind, and armed him", he thinks while daydreaming through his meeting on transport. And he seems to know that the problem with the mail isn't adding up, either, even if he doesn't acknowledge it directly; when Banichi doesn't answer his radio call from Jago, Bren thinks that "the matter of the mail diminished in importance, but not, he feared, significance".

Plus, despite falling over his feet verbally and upsetting or insulting Jago at every other sentence, he's able to read her when she's inviting touch afterward...

re: humans not hunting, why they don't raise animals

I thought about this, and my best guess is that the island is mostly mountains: Bren goes skiing, back home, and (does a two-paragraph spoiler count?) remembers the "white beaches of Mospheira, and tall mountains" ... and we're told that the atevi of the island who gave up their lands for the humans got "much richer" land from the aiji's coastal estates -- so maybe Mospheira's pretty much all mountainous?

In which case they probably raise chickens (or the nearest atevi equivalent) and small, hardy meat animals like rabbits or goats, but if you want a good steak or something beyond the basic poultry-or-rabbit option you've got to either do extensive, un-kabiu land-carving to produce pasture or silage, and we've just seen the aiji ojbect to something as (relatively) minor as buying un-kabiu meat from those willing to sell it... In which case, I doubt he'd tolerate bulldozing the mountains to make cow pastures. :D

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Hey, that's neat: I never knew there was a difference between cover and concealment! Awesome. I will Use The Right Words Like A Smart Person from now on!

Re: Thoughts so far!

[cheyinka]

I think you're right about Mospheira being either beaches or mountains; that makes a lot of sense why they wouldn't have herds, especially if the local animals can't be domesticated or won't stay put in relatively small areas.

Re: Thoughts so far!

[pebblerocker]

He certainly did well to react so quickly! Of course he does better than you or I would, knowing he's in a society where everyone has a gun and nobody comes in without knocking, ever -- I don't live alone, so if someone comes into my room at night it's likely to be someone I'd hate to shoot, and even if it's someone I don't know who has bad intent, they'll likely be after my TV and won't kill me as a first resort, very different from assassins.

The more experienced paidhi of later books would certainly see the shooting lessons as a direct warning without needing anything verbal in addition. But even now he's felt uneasy and wondering if there's any meaning behind the sudden extra security around the aiji and the lessons coming at the same time.