SPOILERS for later in Foreigner; this comment is part of this thread about Chapter 1.
Bren mentions during the ride with the dowager that atevi can be reckless when testing a new arrival in a group; Bren even calls it a "aggressive" impulse, and suggests that they're undisturbed by pushing those tests to near-deadly levels. Which suggests to me that, in some situations at least, even an average, non-Security ateva is more comfortable with the implications of violence than Bren/an average human, and may not understand the strength of his reaction to the attempt on his life.
(Although what reeeeeally intrigued me was the mention of Tabini's court -- and Tabini -- doing exactly that "testing" on Bren when he first arrived! Creepy and no little disturbing, but I'm still curious about how Bren managed it and what it added to his character!)
continued from Post #2
Bren mentions during the ride with the dowager that atevi can be reckless when testing a new arrival in a group; Bren even calls it a "aggressive" impulse, and suggests that they're undisturbed by pushing those tests to near-deadly levels. Which suggests to me that, in some situations at least, even an average, non-Security ateva is more comfortable with the implications of violence than Bren/an average human, and may not understand the strength of his reaction to the attempt on his life.
(Although what reeeeeally intrigued me was the mention of Tabini's court -- and Tabini -- doing exactly that "testing" on Bren when he first arrived! Creepy and no little disturbing, but I'm still curious about how Bren managed it and what it added to his character!)