Dragonsdawn - Chapter One
Jan. 4th, 2023 09:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kalinara posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
i_read_whatSorry for the delay, I got to greet the new year with a nasty little stomach bug. I'm okay now though.
So last time, we had an introduction to a number of characters as well as their mission. This being a prequel, we have some idea of where things will end up in a few millennia, but it'll take a while to get there, so this part of the setting is basically an open book of possibilities.
Pun mostly intended.
That said, it's already pretty obvious which character's we're supposed to dislike, because it's McCaffrey.
We rejoin Sallah as she's on dogwatch with Kenjo Fusaiyuki. I don't know why the poor guy needs to be introduced by both names again, but I find myself irrationally amused whenever there's a character who is ALWAYS addressed by his first and last name. Sallah's pretty bored, as there isn't much to do if there's no glitch, so she decides to be nosy about what Kenjo is doing.
I'd judge, but I'm probably just as bad. She does remember, after the fact, that Kenjo isn't a people person and might resent the interruption. But fortunately, he doesn't seem to mind. He's tracking an "eccentric wanderer."
And thus, we get our first true sci-fi setting view of the Red Star. At least through Kenjo's observations:
“Quite likely,” Kenjo said. “It does seem to have an enormously eccentric orbit, more cometary than planetary, though its mass indicates its planetary size. Look.” He tapped out a sequence that brought up the satellites of Pern’s star system in relation to their primary and to one another. “It computes to come in farther than the usual fourth planet position and actually intrudes on the Oort cloud at aphelion. This is supposed to be an old system, or so the EEC report leads one to believe, and that planet ought to have a more unconventional orbit.”
Sallah and Kenjo talk about the various scientific hypotheses about the object and its causes and likely orbit. They do think that in about eight years time, there'll be a "rather spectacular meteorite show as [their] new world goes through the wisps of Oort material".
...well, yep. That's one way to do it.
But I appreciate this, because I never really understood how these guys could completely miss the existence of the Red Star and its fucked up orbit in the way that the preludes suggested. But it sounds like they were aware of it, and even that it'd pass by. Just not the horrible life-destroying spore parts. And fair enough.
Kenjo even wonders if the "polka dots" (presumably on Pern?) are meteor damage, but neither he nor Sallah are intending to lose sleep over the idea. They even think it's possible that with it's weird orbit, it might exit the system entirely or fall into the sun. Pern's moons are apparently more interesting.
I don't remember the moons coming up much. I'd even forgotten there was more than one. POSSIBLY they're used in the climax/resolution of All The Weyrs of Pern? I remember liking that book, even though I hadn't read the science fiction prequel stuff before. (It might have helped that a certain character kicked the bucket in it...)
There is an interesting character note in here:
‘’Pern’s two moons are much more interesting.”
“Why? We’re not colonizing them. Anyway, fuel consumption allows for only the one trip to the moons, to set up the relay disks.”
Kenjo shrugged. “You always leave yourself an escape route.”
“To a moon?” Sallah was openly skeptical. “C’mon, Kenjo, we’re not at war with anyone or anything this far from the Hub. Give over.” She spoke kindly, knowing that Kenjo had had several very narrow escapes in the Nathi War.
“Old habits die hard,” he murmured in such a low voice that she almost missed it.
I like the way that the war has been a specter in this book so far. It's had its effect on everyone, and maybe explains why they're so willing to put up with the shit that we know they're about to face. Though personally, I'd get the fuck out of there.
We get some technical info, but the only real relevant part is that the sleepers are all awakening. Apparently, "Many" felt that "unessential people" especially children should have been kept on the ships until the planetside accommodations were done. But this is clearly the WRONG option, as both Sallah and the governor think that everyone should get to see the end of their long journey. (Whatever arguments there are in favor of waiting, such as scarce resources or unavailable shelter or accommodations are not mentioned at all. Because we know which characters we're supposed to agree with.)
However, now we get our historic landing, and it is suitably dramatic and worthy of the foundation for an epic series, even if it's one that causes me to spend most of my time bitching at an old dead Irish woman for her terrible naming choices.
It goes on for a while, Sallah's duty shift actually ends before they arrive, but she sticks around with the others from her watch so she can see it from the bridge officially.
Which of course means we switch to one of our obvious antagonists, the Bitch-ra herself, who is of course conspiring with a dude named Stev Kimmer (we may or may not have seen him before, but reads as cannon fodder to me, so I refuse to give a damn). She seems to be completely indifferent to their arrival on Pern, because, well, McCaffrey is McCaffrey.
But don't worry, we do have time to reassure ourselves that our robust patriarchal hero was immune to the sexual wiles of the evil bitch he was banging:
She grimaced, annoyed by his phrasing as well as the fact that changed circumstances forced her to seek assistance from others. But her first plan had run aground on the reef of Paul Benden’s sudden and totally unexpected indifference to her. Smiling away her distaste, she repositioned the box on her left palm, made a pass at the side facing her, then effortlessly lifted the top. As she had predicted, Stev Kimmer inhaled in surprise, the sparkle in his eyes fleetingly reflecting the rich glow of the ruby that sat nestled in the box. His hands made a movement toward it, and she tilted the box ever so slightly causing the gem to twinkle wickedly in the light.
“Magnificent, isn’t it?” Avril’s voice was soft with affectionate possession as she turned her hand, letting him see the brilliance in the heart of the rose-cut gem. Abruptly, she took the jewel from its bed and handed it to him. “Feel it. Look at it through the light. Flawless.
I suppose I'll give a hat tip to McCaffrey for not having her have stolen the gem, but...
“Believe it or not, I inherited it.” At his suspicious expression, she leaned gracefully against the small table, arms folded across her well formed breasts, and grinned. “My grandmother at seven removed was a member of the EEC team that explored this mudball. Shavva bint Faroud, to give her her maiden name.”
I'm side-eying the decision to give the sultry evil vixen character a grandmother with an Arabic name.
So, Avril's great-grandmother brought back a gem, and Avril has her old notes and...for some reason this is worse than everybody else who wants to colonize Pern for their own comfort and gain? I mean, she does seem to be planning SOMETHING. But what...who knows.
Will she be a Meron, and thus mostly a self-centered irritation to the lead characters? Or will she be a Tolocamp? As in an actual monster? Or maybe a Kylara, someone who has legitimate flaws, but also gets demonized for perfectly rational reactions?
It'll be interesting to find out.
So we switch back to Kenjo, who is piloting the Admiral's shuttle. It's not clear how long this is after the shift he shared with Sallah. One hopes the poor guy had a chance to get some rest. He's focused on the landing and there's a lot of words and paragraphs devoted to that which I'm interested to read but not going to recap. He's nervous though, everything is going too perfect.
I do sympathize with the poor guy's anxiety, as he worries that something will go wrong, up to theorizing that Benden will have a heart attack from joy. But he makes a fine landing, and the passengers are thrilled.
And the chapter ends with the doors opening with suitable cinematic drama:
There, visible not only to him but to the other five shuttles which had landed in due order behind him, were two brilliant banners. One was the gold and blue of the Federated Sentient Planets. The other was the brand-new standard for the planet Pern: blue, white, and yellow, with the design of sickle and plow in the upper left-hand corner, signifying the pastoral nature of the colony. Occasionally hidden by the flapping of the banners in the steady breeze over the meadow were the triumphant figures of Admiral Benden and Governor Boll. The pair of them were grinning like idiots, Kenjo saw, as they enthusiastically beckoned the passengers to emerge.
In unison, they claim the planet and name it Pern.
So last time, we had an introduction to a number of characters as well as their mission. This being a prequel, we have some idea of where things will end up in a few millennia, but it'll take a while to get there, so this part of the setting is basically an open book of possibilities.
Pun mostly intended.
That said, it's already pretty obvious which character's we're supposed to dislike, because it's McCaffrey.
We rejoin Sallah as she's on dogwatch with Kenjo Fusaiyuki. I don't know why the poor guy needs to be introduced by both names again, but I find myself irrationally amused whenever there's a character who is ALWAYS addressed by his first and last name. Sallah's pretty bored, as there isn't much to do if there's no glitch, so she decides to be nosy about what Kenjo is doing.
I'd judge, but I'm probably just as bad. She does remember, after the fact, that Kenjo isn't a people person and might resent the interruption. But fortunately, he doesn't seem to mind. He's tracking an "eccentric wanderer."
And thus, we get our first true sci-fi setting view of the Red Star. At least through Kenjo's observations:
“Quite likely,” Kenjo said. “It does seem to have an enormously eccentric orbit, more cometary than planetary, though its mass indicates its planetary size. Look.” He tapped out a sequence that brought up the satellites of Pern’s star system in relation to their primary and to one another. “It computes to come in farther than the usual fourth planet position and actually intrudes on the Oort cloud at aphelion. This is supposed to be an old system, or so the EEC report leads one to believe, and that planet ought to have a more unconventional orbit.”
Sallah and Kenjo talk about the various scientific hypotheses about the object and its causes and likely orbit. They do think that in about eight years time, there'll be a "rather spectacular meteorite show as [their] new world goes through the wisps of Oort material".
...well, yep. That's one way to do it.
But I appreciate this, because I never really understood how these guys could completely miss the existence of the Red Star and its fucked up orbit in the way that the preludes suggested. But it sounds like they were aware of it, and even that it'd pass by. Just not the horrible life-destroying spore parts. And fair enough.
Kenjo even wonders if the "polka dots" (presumably on Pern?) are meteor damage, but neither he nor Sallah are intending to lose sleep over the idea. They even think it's possible that with it's weird orbit, it might exit the system entirely or fall into the sun. Pern's moons are apparently more interesting.
I don't remember the moons coming up much. I'd even forgotten there was more than one. POSSIBLY they're used in the climax/resolution of All The Weyrs of Pern? I remember liking that book, even though I hadn't read the science fiction prequel stuff before. (It might have helped that a certain character kicked the bucket in it...)
There is an interesting character note in here:
‘’Pern’s two moons are much more interesting.”
“Why? We’re not colonizing them. Anyway, fuel consumption allows for only the one trip to the moons, to set up the relay disks.”
Kenjo shrugged. “You always leave yourself an escape route.”
“To a moon?” Sallah was openly skeptical. “C’mon, Kenjo, we’re not at war with anyone or anything this far from the Hub. Give over.” She spoke kindly, knowing that Kenjo had had several very narrow escapes in the Nathi War.
“Old habits die hard,” he murmured in such a low voice that she almost missed it.
I like the way that the war has been a specter in this book so far. It's had its effect on everyone, and maybe explains why they're so willing to put up with the shit that we know they're about to face. Though personally, I'd get the fuck out of there.
We get some technical info, but the only real relevant part is that the sleepers are all awakening. Apparently, "Many" felt that "unessential people" especially children should have been kept on the ships until the planetside accommodations were done. But this is clearly the WRONG option, as both Sallah and the governor think that everyone should get to see the end of their long journey. (Whatever arguments there are in favor of waiting, such as scarce resources or unavailable shelter or accommodations are not mentioned at all. Because we know which characters we're supposed to agree with.)
However, now we get our historic landing, and it is suitably dramatic and worthy of the foundation for an epic series, even if it's one that causes me to spend most of my time bitching at an old dead Irish woman for her terrible naming choices.
It goes on for a while, Sallah's duty shift actually ends before they arrive, but she sticks around with the others from her watch so she can see it from the bridge officially.
Which of course means we switch to one of our obvious antagonists, the Bitch-ra herself, who is of course conspiring with a dude named Stev Kimmer (we may or may not have seen him before, but reads as cannon fodder to me, so I refuse to give a damn). She seems to be completely indifferent to their arrival on Pern, because, well, McCaffrey is McCaffrey.
But don't worry, we do have time to reassure ourselves that our robust patriarchal hero was immune to the sexual wiles of the evil bitch he was banging:
She grimaced, annoyed by his phrasing as well as the fact that changed circumstances forced her to seek assistance from others. But her first plan had run aground on the reef of Paul Benden’s sudden and totally unexpected indifference to her. Smiling away her distaste, she repositioned the box on her left palm, made a pass at the side facing her, then effortlessly lifted the top. As she had predicted, Stev Kimmer inhaled in surprise, the sparkle in his eyes fleetingly reflecting the rich glow of the ruby that sat nestled in the box. His hands made a movement toward it, and she tilted the box ever so slightly causing the gem to twinkle wickedly in the light.
“Magnificent, isn’t it?” Avril’s voice was soft with affectionate possession as she turned her hand, letting him see the brilliance in the heart of the rose-cut gem. Abruptly, she took the jewel from its bed and handed it to him. “Feel it. Look at it through the light. Flawless.
I suppose I'll give a hat tip to McCaffrey for not having her have stolen the gem, but...
“Believe it or not, I inherited it.” At his suspicious expression, she leaned gracefully against the small table, arms folded across her well formed breasts, and grinned. “My grandmother at seven removed was a member of the EEC team that explored this mudball. Shavva bint Faroud, to give her her maiden name.”
I'm side-eying the decision to give the sultry evil vixen character a grandmother with an Arabic name.
So, Avril's great-grandmother brought back a gem, and Avril has her old notes and...for some reason this is worse than everybody else who wants to colonize Pern for their own comfort and gain? I mean, she does seem to be planning SOMETHING. But what...who knows.
Will she be a Meron, and thus mostly a self-centered irritation to the lead characters? Or will she be a Tolocamp? As in an actual monster? Or maybe a Kylara, someone who has legitimate flaws, but also gets demonized for perfectly rational reactions?
It'll be interesting to find out.
So we switch back to Kenjo, who is piloting the Admiral's shuttle. It's not clear how long this is after the shift he shared with Sallah. One hopes the poor guy had a chance to get some rest. He's focused on the landing and there's a lot of words and paragraphs devoted to that which I'm interested to read but not going to recap. He's nervous though, everything is going too perfect.
I do sympathize with the poor guy's anxiety, as he worries that something will go wrong, up to theorizing that Benden will have a heart attack from joy. But he makes a fine landing, and the passengers are thrilled.
And the chapter ends with the doors opening with suitable cinematic drama:
There, visible not only to him but to the other five shuttles which had landed in due order behind him, were two brilliant banners. One was the gold and blue of the Federated Sentient Planets. The other was the brand-new standard for the planet Pern: blue, white, and yellow, with the design of sickle and plow in the upper left-hand corner, signifying the pastoral nature of the colony. Occasionally hidden by the flapping of the banners in the steady breeze over the meadow were the triumphant figures of Admiral Benden and Governor Boll. The pair of them were grinning like idiots, Kenjo saw, as they enthusiastically beckoned the passengers to emerge.
In unison, they claim the planet and name it Pern.