krait: dark-skinned alien in armour (Foreigner - security)
Krait ([personal profile] krait) wrote2011-06-20 05:44 pm

FOREIGNER: Discussion Post #6, Spoiler Edition

If you have discussion points for Chapters 9-13 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!
cheyinka: An ateva riding a mecheita through the snow. (atevi)

[personal profile] cheyinka 2011-06-20 11:07 pm (UTC)(link)
There is something very wrong with Bren that, when he thinks he's going to die, he imagines being alone, away from work, his family, and his girlfriend, just alone. Maybe that's why he ends up so dependent on his aishid and his servants - they don't pull on his human emotions, so they make him feel safe?

And then he realizes he skis because it's dangerous, not because he's alone - but I still think he feels the need not to be around people, not to have their needs pulling at him, now that he's been around atevi, who just don't have the same emotional effect as humans do. That is really not good for a human who needs to interact with humans, which explains why he pretty much stops doing the mediate-between-sides thing after a while!


Also, it looks like Mospheirans believe that FTL involves time-dilation, but that doesn't appear to be the case in later books, or if it is, it's not very dramatic - Cajeiri returns about as much older as he would have been if he'd stayed, etc.
spaceoperadiva: little jellical cat in a sink (Default)

[personal profile] spaceoperadiva 2011-06-21 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
This was like Bren suddenly got plunged into a machimi, only with Atevi, even when they're playing play pretty rough. Bren's PTSD for the next few chapters is very grim.

Bren's absolute shock at the ship arrival at the station was amazing. And in that moment, he's throwing his man'chi in with 'Sidi by way of Tabini. Very machimi indeed.

I love his constant fussing over his computer too, which becomes quite delightful and a bit diabolical in the next section.