FOREIGNER: Discussion Post #2, Spoiler Edition

[krait]

If you have discussion points for Chapters 1-2 you wish to bring up but which include spoilers, please post them here. Then link your comment in the general post, so those who want to avoid being spoiled can do so!

Comments

[cheyinka]

I dunno how much closer to humans they are - sure, they might feel man'chi for everyone, but I always read it more like they were humans who thought humans should feel brotherly affection for every other human - "So you have man'chi to the aiji? Even lunatics have that. I say to you, have man'chi for those who despise you and act stupidly." or something. :D

[krait]

like they were humans who thought humans should feel brotherly affection for every other human

Well, but while that might not be universal, it is human, isn't it? :D Whereas the Ragi and their neighbours seem to feel basic 'affection'/loyalty/fellowship only with those who have the same man'chi, the way we see with Jago and Banichi... They feel no compunction about attacking someone with clearly opposing man'chi, nothing like what Bren feels after wounding an unknown assailant in defence of his own life.

Granted, though, we're seeing security staff at those invasions, so maybe they get training the way human militaries do regarding killing? Do we ever get any inforrmation on what joining/being part of the Guild entails?

Heh, now I wonder: how does one become an assassin? Do Assassin parents go to their child's Career Dayy and explain the exciting satisfaction of hunting down targets for one's contractor, after the other parents have extolled the virtues of growing (not)wheat or fixing train engines? :D Does the Guild have a recruitment centre in the major cities, in an effort to collect likely young college-age pupils? Are there posters? Slogans, like the U.S. and its "Be All You Can Be" advertising?

Hmm, come to think of it: Army Of One? Applies to the Guild much better than it does to the U.S. Army! (AHAHAHAHA, SOMEOME WHO CAN DRAW: DRAW THAT RECRUITMENT POSTER, PLEASE!)

[cheyinka]

But it should be an Army of Two, shouldn't it, since Assassins work in pairs? Of course, two is an infelicitous number...

We do get some hints of it in Deliverer and the two books after that, as Cajeiri's Taiben associates start preparing to learn how to be proper security staff.

What I mean about the man'chi-to-everyone thing is that as it stands right now, atevi can rationalize human behavior by saying that, okay, they don't say they feel man'chi, but they respect the treaty with Tabini-aiji and his predecessors, so that's close enough - but if atevi society did the have-man'chi-to-everyone thing, there'd be atevi trying to get humans to do, I guess, "individual treaties", rather than just being linked to the aiji, and that'd go pretty badly, since we just don't feel that emotion.

[cheyinka]

Recruitment poster idea:

some lord with one bodyguard and a dotted outline on the lord's other side - "The Guild wants YOU to make this group a felicitous number!"

[krait]

Ahahahaha, that is brilliant and hilarious and perfect! *gigglesnort* How I wish I could draw! Or even do manips!

[cheyinka]

Me too. Though, if the cover of Foreigner had an ateva in Bren's place, one of the two atevi behind him could be turned into a dotted outline...